Ready, Set, Render! Part2

[Pixolator]

In the previous (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?162330) "Ready, Set, Render!" thread, I demonstrated the use of BPR when rendering a 'hard-surface' model. This time, I opted to demonstrate the use of Z4R2b BPR for rendering an organic surface, in particular, a skin surface. For this test, I used an excellent head sculpt created by ZBrush artist Majid Esmaeili.

About using Z4R2b in this render...
In the previous Z4 version, we introduced the capability for each shader within a material to have its own settings for shadows and ambient occlusion strength, which allows for more control over the look of a material. In Z4R2b, new global shadow and ambient occlusion multipliers have been added to the BPR renderer. This enables you to test different strengths of shadows and ambient occlusion by simply modifying these two sliders without having to visit each shader individually. In Z4R2b, there are also similar global multipliers for the Ambient, Diffuse and Specular strengths. These enable you to adjust properties globally, again, without the need to visit each shader to adjust its ambient, diffuse or specular values. These features do not introduce new capabilities to ZBrush, they are simply intended to streamline ZBrush features. However, there will be several new features that add capabilities not currently available in Z4R2. As an example, the Material mixer has a new filter added which allows the opacity of a shader to be controlled by cavity. In earlier versions of ZBrush, cavity shading was only available with MatCaps. in Z4R2b, all shaders can now utilize cavity shading. There will also be enhancements in other parts of ZBrush. ZBrush4 R2b is planned to be released before the end of the month as a free-of-charge upgrade to all registered users.




<IFRAME height=616 src="http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/zbrush4r2/tut-17-1024.html" frameBorder=0 width=1034></IFRAME>
model courtesy of: Majid Esmaeili. See ZBC thread here (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?163490), ZBC Gallery here (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc-user-gallery.php?uid=166130), CGHUB Gallery here (http://majid-smiley.cghub.com).


An in-depth ZClassroom movie about rendering will be added at a later date.
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Have fun ZBrushing:)
-Pixolator

[jramauri]

Jesus Christ... what a render!

[Dman3d]

Friggin-saweet
Is that rain Mr Mercury from AE or a Z thing!??

[Mahlikus The Black]

Been dreaming about rendering in zbrush like this for a wicked long time!
LOOKS WONDERFUL!

[patokali]

Nice...I love IT! :D

[chalkman]

Absolutely amazing model, rendering and as always presentation. Hats off to Majid and Pixolator. :lol:

[M-Wicz]

Yes men!:tu:

[spacemonkeydr]

Love those renders! wow! Just another step closer to being able to do everything in zbrush without any other program.

[Slosh]

If you can't find it in yourself to be impressed with the materials and rendering capabilities of ZBrush after watching that video, then you are truly a hard-core cynic. Wonderful model by Majid Esmaeili, too.

[Elii]

fantastic ... I love it ... :) :tu:

[AgentSmith]

Another beautiful step for a user to be able to work in ZBrush, self-sufficiently from other programs.

To sound like a broken record; Pixolator and Pixologic are just THE best things in the world of 3D.

Thanks!

[tobbeo]

I don't mean to be a downer in any way but is it really wise for Pixologic to focus efforts on their renderer? Maybe my perception is skewed but in feature films and broadcast I don't believe I've seen one Z-brush user use the BPR for production. It can be useful for concepting but even then it's extremely rare to non-existent to take the shaders very far. It's usually only to show basic color design.

I could see it being useful in Print for freelancers though I haven't personally tested how Z-Brush handles 5,000-10,000 pixel wide renders. The monkey is definitely impressive, all I am questioning is this what most people want to see who use Z-Brush on a regular basis? It also seems lately that to show these features, the images that make it to the top row use the BPR.

Just my 2 cents...

[SolidSnakexxx]

Whoa...the renders look so awesome!

[hirnlaich]

Fantastic, I´m speechless. Thank you for the demonstration.

[EricShawn]

The monkey is definitely impressive...


What monkey? You mean, the man?

[andreseloy]

just wonderful!
The Master of the gem!!

[Santis]

Droool, awesome!

[Nattawat_OBBI]

Thank you so much for showing this, renders look beautiful. :tu::tu::tu:

[tyrellcorp]

nice... just that the spin animation is a tad fast..

[Frenchy Pilou]

...gift ! :cool:

[crumbaker]

looks amazing, I will definitely refer to this for any organic render I do. Thanks a ton!

[Bas Mazur]

Thanks, beautiful render!!

[loki_22]

wow!! :D

[goktugg]

These are really amazing.Very nice rendering. Also, modelling is great.

[mathew o]

I love you. :D

[Ronny Penko]

Impressive ...

[abiko]

Thanks, awesome !

[danpants]

Nice renders, more for us to play with. Thanks!

[AndreHolzmeister]

I don't mean to be a downer in any way but is it really wise for Pixologic to focus efforts on their renderer? Maybe my perception is skewed but in feature films and broadcast I don't believe I've seen one Z-brush user use the BPR for production. It can be useful for concepting but even then it's extremely rare to non-existent to take the shaders very far. It's usually only to show basic color design.

I could see it being useful in Print for freelancers though I haven't personally tested how Z-Brush handles 5,000-10,000 pixel wide renders. The monkey is definitely impressive, all I am questioning is this what most people want to see who use Z-Brush on a regular basis? It also seems lately that to show these features, the images that make it to the top row use the BPR.

Just my 2 cents...

Feature film and broadcast usually uses CG in movement, have you seen some awesome animation made in Zbrush? Humm.... Zbrush is not a animation production tool, so your comment is a bit off. instead there are lots of scultors and modellers that have joined this awesome app and want to go further than the model itself, in feature film there are a lot of concept art done in real phisical scultures, that are painted and used materials with different ior for simulating real skin etc... that maket is growing digitally as well, most of the films today have a lot of digital sculpture in the concept art pre-production, and growing, this is a very welcome feature for those that work on this field, that´s for sure.

For small business of just artists, I can point myself, i am working on a character now and I used polypaint and BPR just to experiment the final look i wanna achieve in my regular 3d app, as a first goal, so i can improuve it even more afterwards... but if i were just doing a sculture, i will probably use it as my final image for my protfolio, saving hours or days of work to get a slightly better render, and it depends on your shading/lighting/render skills, making time for working in other projects. This way you don't even need to worry about UVs, that is revolutionary in my opinion... the artist can focus on being artistic rather on the tech part of the job, that is what pixologic is for me, an app focused in the artist, and still a great aditional tool for creative technical directors.

[Jelmer]

Wow..! This is amazing pixolator!

With regards to the comments made regarding the usability of the Zbrush render capabilities in a film environment I can say the following. I am using the BPR and lightcap tools on a daily base at the moment. Being able to present polished, well lit imagery to the director and production team in such a time efficient manner is a huge step forward for this type of work. Zbrush is a tool specifically aimed for artists to create, design and explore. Don't see it as a production core package, such as Maya, rather see it as a hugely timesaving addition to production in which ideas can be explored, worked out and polished beforehand.

[wayniac]

I'm actually glad to see them taking rendering to the next step! Zbrush is fannnnntastic for concept design.

That being said, I wish the implementation of the material system was ala Maya/Softimage/Max/UDK/etc. Having a node based schematic view is so much easier to grasp visually and very, very good for organization/management as well as sharing macro'ed assets with others.

Same thing can be said of the first implementation of the pass system. It's cool that we can have ZB put out a bunch of different passes but the management/organization of them just isn't so great in its current form. Having something like the Softimage pass system and have the zbp file stores all the passes, cameras, lights, etc. would be great! I know that's a huge endeavor and we'll most probably NEVER see anything like that but hopefully it's not too big a put off in expressing thoughts/ideas.

Regardless, the work shown here is phenomenal and glad Pixo and the team keep pushing the envelope ever further!

[julien3d]

Completely agree with Jelmer.
But i'm also agree with Wayniac, actually in my opinion the rendering and material interface are really not enough confortable to work with. I love the state of mind of pixologic, of instead of working on old bases software, creating new methods of working, pixo revolutionise the industry! but actually lights materials and render are completely not confortable for me.

Anyways, the final result you obtain PIxolator is really great! and i can feel the power of this tool for concept design, i'm just hoping for some improvement in the way of using it.

The model of Madjid is great as always, he is one of the most inspiring actual sculptor!

All the best guys.

[CrazyMatt]

I love the state of mind of pixologic, of instead of working on old bases software, creating new methods of working, pixo revolutionise the industry! but actually lights materials and render are completely not confortable for me.


I Quote this ^ as well.

[siyukalebtao]

wow, fansinating man!
Could you show some processes just like it in your Ready, Set, Render! Part?
Thanks.

[gwainbarek]

:)

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Vh78T--ZUxY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

[Morph Division]

In production it pays to know how to light and render. If you where 'look developing' this feature really doesn't help.
Why waste time developing a look twice?

If you are illustrating/concepting on your laptop outside of a developed render pipe then yeah it is a nice feature.

Perhaps Pixologic, with the advancements in the lighting and rendering in zbrush, you should adjust the list of material attributes as they don't relate to how people render in production.

The closer it relates to other prominent techniques the more useful it would be.

The render has some elements which personally I wouldn't want even in a concept. Although I agree it does peak my interest as a solution contained inside a single app.

One suggestion if I may, would be to get rid of these materials which contain more attributes than needed and allow the user to simply assign attributes and elements to a basic shader. Therefore only adding what is needed. In essence a material creator. Not matcap but a system allowing the artist to add and remove what is needed/wanted.

I would really like to see this progress further

[Guto Sposito]

Very nice!!!:D

[mxhaunted]

This is a great. I've been enjoying the new rendering in ZB and have found it a great use for preparing concepts to show clients. It really does help the client to get an idea of how the characters will look further down the pipeline. That said, I've only been using the wax effect, which works well when the light is quite straight on to the model. When the light is higher/ perpendicular the render can look quite harsh. Maybe using the SSS will soften it down a bit.

Keep up the good work.

MX

[stef.an]

this is perfect.....i am new with zbrush and i was on the search ....how to put materials on something....and how to render that......this is the answer and the inspiration:D:D:D:D

[dannepop]

I'd love an in depth tutorial in this shader and render!

Danne/

[TheCelt]

Excellent work on making Zbrush even greater! Thanks Pixologic! Those renders look SWEET! :)

I agree with Morph Division in regards to a Material Creator (node based), would be great! Perhaps in v5?

I'd love to see more Presets (defaults and user saved/managed) added to various parts of Zbrush; instead of repeating tasks for various things (again hopefully in v5).

[HerraPuputti]

My job is doing illustrations to newspapers and this is just what I need! I hope the instructional video goes really in-depth. I would gladly even pay some money for couple of hours of rendering and material instruction on ZB4r2b.

[Ronboy]

Jesus Christ... what a render!
you shall not take the Lords' name in vain!

[Blaine91555]

I don't mean to be a downer in any way but is it really wise for Pixologic to focus efforts on their renderer? Maybe my perception is skewed but in feature films and broadcast I don't believe I've seen one Z-brush user use the BPR for production. It can be useful for concepting but even then it's extremely rare to non-existent to take the shaders very far. It's usually only to show basic color design.

I could see it being useful in Print for freelancers though I haven't personally tested how Z-Brush handles 5,000-10,000 pixel wide renders. The monkey is definitely impressive, all I am questioning is this what most people want to see who use Z-Brush on a regular basis? It also seems lately that to show these features, the images that make it to the top row use the BPR.

Just my 2 cents...


If Feature Film and Broadcast were the only customer base you would have a point. However that market is rather small, while the market of Artists and Hobbyists is huge, not to mention the value for Concept work. Seems like those in specific fields think only they exist at times.

If you go back in history you will find that ZBrush was developed by an artist for artists, not just those in a specific aspect of a specific industry.

Would you rather have a potential of millions of customers or a few thousand?

For me the main reason I use ZBrush is not professional. I do, do lots of desktop publishing and occasionally work for others, but mainly for me ZBrush is a hobby I enjoy, having been an artist my entire life. I'm thrilled about ZBrush and how Pixologic has kept it affordable and not forgotten it is for art first. After many years of laying my art aside, ZBrush revived my passion. There simply is no substitute for it, nor does anyone else seem interested in doing anything similar. ZBrush fills more than a single niche.

These new rendering features are wonderful and to be honest not that hard to figure out if a person actually wants too. I jump back and forth between ZBrush and other software with Node systems without difficulty and I'd think Pro's in feature films and broadcast could do so even easier as they spend far more hours than I can in this stuff. All I have is a few hours of spare time a week.

Anyway, thanks so much for everything Pixologic. Greatly appreciated by me and I'm sure the many other artists who have found this wonderful program.

[magalhaes]

Jesus Christ... what a render!

+1

Awesome job ! Can't wait to play with it.

[dargelos]

great render!It would be nice if pixolator shared the project file with the BPR settings, filters and materials... not the head, just the settings.

[Dman3d]

on the whole render thing, personally if I could do absolutely everything in Z instead of 3 or 4 programs, damn straight.
Or skip intermediate programs and go straight to AE for post, hells yeah.:tu:

I hope they keep it up forever and once more, everybody say it with me:
::Free is in the budget

[HammerHead]

really awesome!

But, There is no hair and eyebrows!

Hair/Fur feature is desired in ZBrush 5.

[rasmusW]

this looks great, pixo guys... really looking forward to try this out.

-r

[lukx]

complicated process

[MjTheHunter]

... woaw

[Morph Division]

It wouldn't need to be node based, but simply a way to 'cook' 'bake' a set of attributes into one material.
therefore removing the need to blend materials which have more attributes than you need. As is demo'd in the video.

For example,
From a list you would add what you want then 'bake' / 'cook'.
add sss, spec, 2spec, textures, indirect, direct, reflection etc...
This material is now saved and can be used.
The difference being only the attributes you need are present.

This would also be awesome for brushes too.

The one thing which is annoying about materials and brushes is even though you can save them out, tweaking is more an exercise in going through seemingly endless attribute lists.

Its great to have that much customisation, but when you got what you want it makes sense to reduce the screen clutter.
Hence bake or cook material and brush.

Also being able to apply a texture as well as an adjustment curve to any material attribute is needed, if you really want shading in zbrush to be helpful.

BTW, I'm curious why a hdr envirnoment wasn't used?

[Nemoid]

it will probably never happen, but it would really be awesome if shading done in ZB could be exported in other apps, like Maya and applied through their shading system. As it is now these features are very useful at a concept stage, but at the end, work would have to be redone in traditional 3D pakages.

[Dman3d]

is there any reason some sort of bridge app like goZ could not eventually translate material properties from Z to whatever?
Maybe not a translator but a plug-in suite like GoZ that would handle the differing aspects but use the host software.
blue skying here, Im no programmer but that would be super cool if we're stuck with having to use other products.
But it seems to me Z is getting much more sophisticated and I can imagine a time when all the features we see
elsewhere show up in Z, of maybe a Z-suite of sorts? hmmm, anyway still cool, and with Pixologic I believe anything
is possible.

[Morph Division]

I think the best we can ask for is a shader/material which 'follows' a similar logic to other apps.

e.g For SSS, simply an epidermal, subdermal, backscatter, diffuse, overall.
In other words an Add and a multiply.

[AndreHolzmeister]

I agree with some posts that asks for a more cg like pipeline for shading, it will be much easyer, but I think that pixologic is so much revolutionary exactly because they think outside the box, with new and creative ways to do what we are used to do already, but in a new and fresh way... over time it can be prouved to be a wrong direction, but for now it is just a new direction, maybe it will get to be a revolutionary way for doing shading as this develops further, i don`t really know yet, what i know is that it is working for me as an artist, i use it to experiment alot, then when i am done, i will retopo the model, unwrapit and use polypaint as my base texture, then i will finish it in my 3d app, for now... the future may change this workflow a lot... i sincerely believe that UVs and bitmaps are in a countdown to extinction... and then shading with suffer a deep change as a process... just my two cents...

[Bas Mazur]

@ AndreHolzmeister +1
I do not want to follow the 'logic' of other apps :-)

[Cral]

great render!It would be nice if pixolator shared the project file with the BPR settings, filters and materials... not the head, just the settings.yeah that would be awesome. I think we could learn a lot from that :)

[XIII]

Awesome...:D:D:D Simply amazing

I don't suppose... Could you, or someone else, explain how to get transparency / opacity (like shiny glass or an eye cornea) to work? I just can't seem to get good results. Do I have to start with a particular shader?</SPAN>

[hussainSS]

WOW...nice rendering:tu:

[ZeiTGeist]

This looks very interesting! I agree with others that more in depth training material for rendering / lighting / materials in ZBrush would be great! I too would gladly pay for that - given it is from someone as knowledgeable as Pixolator :)

[Neox]

Isn't it great to see someone selling someone elses work under their name and even giving this work to companies to spread the word? Really awesome, the image courtesy of the neanderthal isn't with Majid Esmaeili alone, it partially is but the final result isn't only his work, there have been other artists involved and they don't get credit at all - i really like the new rendering features but this is just wrong.

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Thank you for your cooperation.

[majid_smiley]

THANKS ALOT Pixologic !!! :)

Super Aweosme ! somnething that all we need to Present our models !!

.........and it was a great honor to work with Ofer Alon (Pixolator) !

[Morph Division]

my point was not to change the way/method of how things work in zbrush, merely to take whats there and organise it into something more intuitive.

+1 not follow the logic of other apps?
Is that to say you wouldn't consider using texture maps and curves to control material attributes within zbrush a plus?
Attributes which already exist, and functions already present.

To clarify, instead of pluging materials into materials, why not plug attributes into materials?
Thats what I'm driving at :)

Its fine to have zbrush as a totally 'unique' app. Just means that for artists with access to other apps for rendering and texturing and most importantly concept and look development. Zbrush won't be used as widely outside of modeling which is still its strongest feature.
The die hard fans will cling on, but to be honest better and faster results can be acheived outside of zbrush with regard to rendering and texturing even if only for concepting. I dislike jumping from app to app which is why I think pixologic should look at how to upgrade the way materials are used, a 'less is more' approach.

Mainly how to utilise less attributes to create a look for your model, be it organic or hard surface. Once you start overloading the amount of 'tweaks' and 'attributes' you use to develop a look the harder and it becomes to translate, therefore becoming a waste of time.

I think that keeps in check with the philosophy of 'Artist Friendly'

Would you also say having a 64bit version is too inline with the 'logic' of other apps? Coz thats a big draw back too.

[majid_smiley]

Isn't it great to see someone selling someone elses work under their name and even giving this work to companies to spread the word? Really awesome, the image courtesy of the neanderthal isn't with Majid Esmaeili alone, it partially is but the final result isn't only his work, there have been other artists involved and they don't get credit at all - i really like the new rendering features but this is just wrong.


FYI all the work is done by me for the GUY who didn`t pay my payment after one year (9300 USD) and We solved the issue this way ! I allways credit the people who work on other part of a work, check my portfolio you will see !
please do not disturb this thread with something that is not releated to ZBrush ! and just drop me a message if you have any more question about it !
thanks :)


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Thank you for your cooperation.

[eduardopsf]

wow! great renders, very impressive.

[Tallooriravi]

Awesome !!! spechless!!

[dargelos]

I think its perfectly ok if someone doesn´t like the rendering system in Zbrush; it´s just a matter of preferences. I don´t think a render is better because it´s more photorealistic. I think we can agree in things like faster is better, or simpler , or more intuitive... I personally prefer the zbrush render and I think many of the people complaining about it didnt give it a try.

[Arthaven]

WOW, Amazing work!

I'm really curious about those water droplets at the end. Is that being extremely creative with the current tools or something that's in the works? Some sort of physics/fields system in place? Hmmmmm....

[stalsby]

I don't mean to be a downer in any way but is it really wise for Pixologic to focus efforts on their renderer? Maybe my perception is skewed but in feature films and broadcast I don't believe I've seen one Z-brush user use the BPR for production. It can be useful for concepting but even then it's extremely rare to non-existent to take the shaders very far. It's usually only to show basic color design.

I could see it being useful in Print for freelancers though I haven't personally tested how Z-Brush handles 5,000-10,000 pixel wide renders. The monkey is definitely impressive, all I am questioning is this what most people want to see who use Z-Brush on a regular basis? It also seems lately that to show these features, the images that make it to the top row use the BPR.

Just my 2 cents...


I understand where you are coming from but at the same time, as long as Z-Brush isn't slacking in there sculpting tools and workflow, I say more power to them! Sure, most companies aren't using BPR for production but it's nice to have that all in one package even if it's just for displaying your model or concepting and being able to do it quick and efficiently in the same program without having to export or any other hassles.

[Seavannah]

Wow cool movie. I hope we will get to see how you made this in more depth when the update/patch comes out like the settings you used for the mats and filters and lights. The rain at the end was totally awesome! Thanks Pixo! :cool:

[milivoj_popovic]

amazing and inspiring stuff! Tnx for showing how far the BPR can really go! I am looking forward to an in-depth movie! My hat down to you Pixologic

[Ben_Mauro]

So wicked, gotta try this on my next sculpt!

[Crispy4004]

I have to agree with the skeptics here. This is a great showcase for what is possible with the upgrades to BPR, but I am certainly not convinced it is any more practical. While on the surface it seems straightforward, I can't help but think of how much additional trail and error was necessary to get this look and how complex it would be to re-create. Then there is perhaps the biggest deterrent, not having an energy conserving material to automatically re-balance the shading after making a change.


What I really wish Pixologic would work on instead is a way to integrate GOZ with pre-existing shading networks and materials in other applications. It would be incredible if I could say GOZ a model to Maya, build my shading network with any combination of materials and nodes, then bring it back to Zbrush with all incoming texture inputs listed and editable. Finally transfer back to Maya and maintain + update the network. Now that would be revolutionary.

Not that furthering development on BPR is a bad thing, just that the type of integration I am talking about should be a higher priority as realistically more working artists would find a daily use for it.

[Arthaven]

What I really wish Pixologic would work on instead is a way to integrate GOZ with pre-existing shading networks and materials in other applications. It would be incredible if I could say GOZ a model to Maya, build my shading network with any combination of materials and nodes, then bring it back to Zbrush with all incoming texture inputs listed and editable. Finally transfer back to Maya and maintain + update the network. Now that would be revolutionary.

Not that furthering development on BPR is a bad thing, just that the type of integration I am talking about should be a higher priority as realistically more working artists would find a daily use for it.
I think everyone would agree with that. But who is to say Pixo isn't working on those things? That these steps we are seeing are the building blocks for those other things to happen? I don't recall Pixologic failing to deliver innovative tools for the times. Until that starts to happen then I can start critiquing their judgment. You can't reach the top of the mountain in one step, you must take the step in front of you. This is extremely complex stuff we're wanting and I would imagine each program would have to be figured out individually (OUCH!).

I've just been wanting some easier specific retopology tools. They may even exist within the current matrix if someone is creative enough to combine the right settings.

EDIT:
BTW, Speaking of retopology; Really nice retopo beta you have there.

[Crispy4004]

I think everyone would agree with that. But who is to say Pixo isn't working on those things? That these steps we are seeing are the building blocks for those other things to happen? I don't recall Pixologic failing to deliver innovative tools for the times. Until that starts to happen then I can start critiquing their judgment. You can't reach the top of the mountain in one step, you must take the step in front of you. This is extremely complex stuff we're wanting and I would imagine each program would have to be figured out individually (OUCH!).

I've just been wanting some easier specific retopology tools. They may even exist within the current matrix if someone is creative enough to combine the right settings.

EDIT:
BTW, Speaking of retopology; Really nice retopo beta you have there.


Lets hope they are. Honestly I do think BPR is very useful for quick conceptual type renders, but it has reached a point where all I can say is "cool" to these new BPR advancements as I continue working with Mental Ray for the foreseeable future. Naturally, I would love to see improvements to the integration with a typical rendering pipeline instead.

Thanks for the compliment on my Retopo tool!

[nickz]

Crispy4004 (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/member.php?85761-Crispy4004)
- I must agree, very nice topo tools indeed! Maya should have this built in directly. Looks rather topogunish ..that is a good thing!

[CyberSpawn2100]

Great render... I haven't used Zbrush in while I really need to hop back in and tune up my skills


really awesome!

But, There is no hair and eyebrows!

Hair/Fur feature is desired in ZBrush 5.

Zbrush already has Fur shader dude you just have to tweak it a lot to get realistic results

[MetaFirefly]

Great demonstration of Zbrush power. I'm new to Zbrush, and the more time I invested in this convention-defying creative tool, the more I wish I could just stay within the program all the way to final bake render.

I enthusiastically agree with almost everything Morph Division said in this thread so I will just quote and bold/highlight my emphasis...


It wouldn't need to be node based, but simply a way to 'cook' 'bake' a set of attributes into one material. therefore removing the need to blend materials which have more attributes than you need. As is demo'd in the video.

For example,
From a list you would add what you want then 'bake' / 'cook'.
add sss, spec, 2spec, textures, indirect, direct, reflection etc...
This material is now saved and can be used.
The difference being only the attributes you need are present.

This would also be awesome for brushes too.

The one thing which is annoying about materials and brushes is even though you can save them out, tweaking is more an exercise in going through seemingly endless attribute lists.

Its great to have that much customisation, but when you got what you want it makes sense to reduce the screen clutter.
Hence bake or cook material and brush.

Also being able to apply a texture as well as an adjustment curve to any material attribute is needed, if you really want shading in zbrush to be helpful.

...


To clarify, instead of plugging materials into materials, why not plug attributes into materials?



Its fine to have zbrush as a totally 'unique' app. Just means that for artists with access to other apps for rendering and texturing and most importantly concept and look development. Zbrush won't be used as widely outside of modeling which is still its strongest feature.
The die hard fans will cling on, but to be honest better and faster results can be acheived outside of zbrush with regard to rendering and texturing even if only for concepting. I dislike jumping from app to app which is why I think pixologic should look at how to upgrade the way materials are used, a 'less is more' approach.

Mainly how to utilise less attributes to create a look for your model, be it organic or hard surface. Once you start overloading the amount of 'tweaks' and 'attributes' you use to develop a look the harder and it becomes to translate, therefore becoming a waste of time.



The amount of production time wasted in exporting/importing translation between multiple programs is the greatest beast of this industry. Creative Flow and Time are two most precious commodity for artists, pros or hobbyists. In the near future, when shading and lighting and even animation process get economized within Zbrush, the industry will be truly revolutionalized. Hope that day will come soon!

[wattachai]

I love It.

[adel3d]

amazing work
Modeling,Shading,Rendering :tu:

[Thomas Rudat]

Hi Pixolator,

at the start you´ve mentioned an in-depth ZClassroom movie will appear about this fantastic render feature . When will you come up with ? Forgive me if it´s already existing.
I can´t await to get it. It´s brilliant. :tu:

Thomas

[milivoj_popovic]

Yea, yea!! i wanna, i wanna! :))

[dannepop]

Come on you promised! We need to know!

D

[panphoto]

Hi Pixolator, I'm almost speachless in admiration at your render. As a relative ZBrush newby, work of this level is truly inspirational, I can't wait to get to grips with your promised tutorial. A small request though, please could you make it drum-kit free! I have a hearing impairment which makes it difficult to hear speech clearly.

[yxyl1987]

This is so cool ***12290; I love it

[idlemind]

very amazing thank you

[zbsolomon]

Dear Pixolator,

As always "YOU ARE THe MAN" :) Awesome BPR render and the new Fiber Brush. Very impressive update. Thanks a lot for all the hard work for you and your team.

Feedback : As VFX artists we like to go beyond the Turntable animation, and the depressing JPEG output. Multipass output (EXR would be awesome).
Please consider MDD/Alembic, Camera Import from 3D Apps for future releases so that we can be free from the clutches of other BIG-ASS legacy code 3D Apps that doesn't progress mush these years like you guys.

Good Job.

Solomon.

[nickz]

Alright.....how did you do it???? Tell me....pretty please with sugar on top??? :)

[zuvran]

Amazing just... amzing:tu::cool::lol::idea: :ex:
Army
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[Spellbot5000]

Can't wait for an in-depth vid about the process here. Fantastic work all around.

Maybe even if all parties are okay with it, release the full scene file so we can poke and prod and eyeball how things are set up. Wishful thinking, but I definitely learn best with a hands-on approach.

[Bas Mazur]

Still no an in-depth ZClassroom movie... :cry:

[dannepop]

I´m waiting for the in depths movie as well!

D

[panphoto]

I´m waiting for the in depths movie as well!

D


I'm still holding my breath....don't know....how......l..long......I.....I......c....c. ...can.......llllllllast.........ou.............ou .........

[skdzines]

Any word as to when the in-depth tutorial might be coming out?

[lonrot]

I just replied to subscribe to this thread in case the tutorial movie gets released.
In other words "bump".

[Lex84]

still waiting!! :D

[nickz]

chirp chirp chirp....hello!! :)

[Mahlikus The Black]

Hello. :D

[jBogh]

Suspiciously quiet...
Would love to see this breakdown too!!

[Blackshore]

Pixolator!! Come on aleady! Waiting for the breakdown!
Stop teasing us!

[Ham Sammich]

gotta echo everyone else...
gimme!!!

[pabgo]

are we still waiting on this?

[MetaFirefly]

A year later I've returned... Happy to know hair and leaves are now possible.

Has any of these lighting/surface/rendering features improved or added?



Simplified Material System
Ability to port Zbrush model complete with WYSIWYG textures to and from all GoZ external applications
Ability to render a scene with multiple subtools on a large stage with easy to use transform/gizmo


If the texture/material situation remains the same, I really much prefer to stay inside Zbrush all the way to final bake render. I hope it is possible today. I'm willing to use HDR for distanced backdrop but need sufficient objects in medium range distance.

Please advice.

[ThrashBrush]

How do you get those fine skin details that are in the head and neck?

[Seavannah]

I have found that the tutorial on materials shows already how you got the materials to blend and look so real and in some place wet/oily like the one found in the Shader and Material Blend movies found in Pixologic's classroom, but would still love to see your exact settings used for the materials, LightCap, and BPR.

Most importantly would love to know how the heck that rain was done lol. Just a quick peek please lol.

If not still inspires me, you always have since it was your movie that I first found out about ZBrush many years ago in the 1st place. So a big thank you on that, it's all your fault I am hooked lol. :tu::lol::D:lol::tu:

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