ZBrush 3 Beta Images/The latest Zbrush - ROCKS!!!!!!

[Jason Belec]

Hello, I'm Jason Belec and I've been doing this stuff for over 23 years. It's been a blast. Zbrush has opened up possibilities unheard of a few years ago. I have worked on various features and tv shows and concepts for such projects over that time. And I been involved with alot of new technologies some of which I've developed. Currently I'm in pre-pre-production for 'Origins' a feature created by my good friend Robert Fong. As the Director I cannot express how wonderous it is to have the latest iteration of Zbrush for concepts, character development and the outright ability to just try anything quickly. Zbrush has become the 'No.#1 tool' for development, enhancement, finalization and even tweaking. I hope you all enjoy it as much. ;)

Here are some images. The dragon is 'The White King' in 'Origins'. I've used the new tools to adjust things quickly and easily to get a sense of motion, style and to finess where the detail will be going in upcoming images.

The surfer-cyclops is based on a character on 'The Eternal Zsphere Thread' that was derived from the concepts of Atwooki (Chris Baker). This allowed me to test out ideas without giving away characters I'm working on for other people and has taken on a life of it's own. Atwooki and I have plans for this fella and his girl! ;)

Turntable: http://molecubes.com/cyclopswave.mov

Everything is Zbrush only....

cyclops_HR.jpg

Picture 3.jpg

[AgentSmith]

Woah....dat's some freaky stuff. On a another level.....;o)

[AngelJ]

Jason- Great stuff as usual, I thought you had been a bit too quiet on the forum though just figured you had a ton of projects. Not a surprise your on the beta team, though it never did cross my mind either. Any 1 or 2 features that stood out for you and if so why? That is if your at liberty to mention at this stage. Can't wait to see more of your stuff from Z3!! Your a big boost to this forum, your insightful help you graciously provide is one of the cornerstones of this forum. :tu: :tu:

[feureau]

Jason- Great stuff as usual, I thought you had been a bit too quiet on the forum though just figured you had a ton of projects. Not a surprise your on the beta team, though it never did cross my mind either.
Took them words outta my mouth.

So this is what them white dragons look like on that movie thread of yours. :tu::tu::tu: :lol:

[SolidSnakexxx]

Weird and cool models..the first one's very abstract to me..

[Jason Belec]

Hello everyone, thank you.

AngelJ, I have been very busy. Acquired 2 companies on top of all the other stuff, like pre-pre-production for 'Origins'. I have been a little quiet on the foums, but still present when I have a few moments. Always willing to help if I can, all anyone has to do is ask.

As for the favorite new tool/function I enjoy the most - ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!! Still haven't put more than 60% of the new stuff to good use. However if you look through all the forum images by all the testors you will see some amazing things. I've already drastically adapted my pipeline to take advanatage of the new speed and creativity.

A lot of the new techniques were used to adapt the zsphere base from the Eternal Zsphere Thread for the cyclops, then I just got carried away. ;) I have some cool tuts that I will eventually post on how I got certain results. They might even make it into the Wikki, which has some of the coolest stuff ever explained...

All the techniques I used for the cyclops are being applied to the White King, and soon the Grey King and Dark King. I think the result will blow my mind anyway, each is so radically differnet from the other it is proving interesting. Robert has been drooling over the images so far.

I LOVE ZBRUSH! Shhhhhh, don't tell my wife.... ;)

[gpepper]

Hey Jason, nice to see you sharing this !

Cheers and stop kissing my sister please... ;)

[lil-goodi-2shoes]

wow. Seeing all the kinda stuff here and in other z3 threads gives me soo much inspiration to push on and learn more. Thanks for sharing.

[Yari Jindou]

We are truly fortunate to have such an amazing and helpful guy like Jason. The art he does is amazing, keep em comming!

[50'sKID]

Hey, Jason. Good looking Z3 examples. Love the guy running off the giant tongue-diving board thingy. Can't wait to get my hands on it. 50.

[Jason Belec]

What the tongue? You want what you percieve as a tongue?!!! 50 buddy you are a sick puppy!!!

For the record it is a surfing cyclops, that is a surfboard and he is riding a wave, no more yellow snow for you man!!! ;) To think I hold your art in high praise, oh, me, oh, my, oh, my, hmmm, hmmmm, hmmmmm!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[50'sKID]

Ooops, sorry, Jason,...I didn't read the 'surfing part'. Now I get it. A thousand and twenty-seven apologies. Now I feel bad. I'll just go away now. Cool pic though. 50.

[billrobertson42]

I thought it was a phallic ectoplasm shaft that he was sliding down...

[womball]

Cool stuff Jason! I still not quite sure where you going with the dragon yet detail wise, but the base structure is pretty sound. The feet look a bit too jagged right now, but they may change during the sculpt I assume.

What's this Origins movie? Is it all CG? Or does it have some sexy 2d (most likely tradigitial)? And the even sexier cels, but no one uses that anymore. :-(

[Jason Belec]

It's wonderful to know the things I do draw out all the weirdo's! I love you people, I really do.

50'sKID and billrobertson42, I can honestly say that any production that got both of you in the ideas department would defeinitely set new ground. I'm just not sre if that's going to be an acceptble thing! ;)

Hi womball, thanks for the plus'. The movie is live-action with 3 main characters all CG and probably several others that are less important. We'll use some of those wonderful humans on this planet to fill out the rest of the cast. I'm just trying to find some time to get the blog up and the concepts for the other CG characters to a point Robert feels are a fit for his minds-eye.

The new Z3 has been very exciting in exploring options for things like skin, feathers and hair and I'm trying to leap ahead a bit. ;)

[billrobertson42]

50'sKID and billrobertson42, I can honestly say that any production that got both of you in the ideas department would defeinitely set new ground. I'm just not sre if that's going to be an acceptble thing!

:lol:

[womball]

Your winking muscles must be tired. ;-) You wink a lot. Looking forward to the movie. I'm still working on my abomination of animation. :lol:

[TVeyes]

I really love that guys pose and expression. My favourite shot is from the third thumbnail picture. Very dynamic.

Oh, and just for the record, I always knew it was a skateboard he was riding ;)

[50'sKID]

Yes, Jason, we'd like more info on the movie. Cels, yes beautiful cels. Ah the memories of working in a studio flipping papers surrounded by walls lined with drying cels. Cels as far as you could see. A Sea of cels. Tables of happy cel painters. I remember talking about the possibility of a computer that could paint them digitally. It seemed out of reach, and now,....... progress. :)

[womball]

I did cel painting for my Sophmore final 2 years ago. I even got to shoot on a oxberry with 16 mm color film.

[Jason Belec]

Lots of movie stuff coming actually. Perhaps lots of work for ZB3 users as well. Lots to do in the mean time. Still waiting on the 5 Red Cinema cameras - pretty, pretty, toys.

Cell painting, oh man, that was so long ago, so long.... I think the last time I did anything of that nature was some matte's for 3 Disney flicks and it all ended up on the cutting floor. Story of my life. Of course that may be what drove me to go forward and rule from my own little empire. That or the fact I'm controlled by Rufus' mental abilities, he has been sitting behind me a lot, perhaps I'm just a Poddling. Hhhmmmmmmmm..... ;)

[boozy floozie]

Thanks for showing:tu: it's a shame your hiding all those goodies from us mortals.

Curious to hear whether texture painting in V3 has brought new things also?

[womball]

So how have zsphere's improved? Do you need to use a bunch of zscripts like before?

[Jason Belec]

Hi guys and gals. Thanks for all the warmth, even if I know it's just because you want me to spill the beans!!!!

boozy floozie, I'm not hiding things, just very busy and very tired. ;) Painting improvements are like the sculpting improvements, begin drooling on your Crayola's!

womball, zspheres have been used quite a bit by beta testors. They seem to be primarily used to get a good structure to work from. Several of the beta wranglers have posted images up with zspheres. Of course now, you are not limited in anyway worrying about posing your zspheres as Transpose frees you up completely. So as with the Cyclops, he was originally zspheres, I can work him up, retopologize, pose, paint, etc., and not necessarily in that order. Zspheres can be returned and used like bones but I think Transpose is going to become the new way to adjust meshes.

Everything is so much more fluid.... ;)

[Yari Jindou]

you amaze me Jason, we are so fortunate to have such a guy like you on the fourms. :tu: :tu: :tu:

[Tartan]

I have been sparing in my remarks to the beta testers as I didnt want to flood the boards all I can say is Jason is that the work you and the other beta testers have been doing is superb:tu: The cyclops rox :)

[Jason Belec]

Well thank you Yari Jindou, long time no chat. ;)

Tartan, it is very pleasing to get your comment as I love your stuff. ;)

[Jason Belec]

I've pulled some images from the beta area to answer some questions people have been asking... ;)

Probably just get more questions... ingrates.... ;)

[brettSinclair]

Your thread has some really wierd stuff. haha. I really like the surfer. Will you be texturing? It would look awesome with this rocky coral dude on that wacked out surf board riding a wave. :D

[Jason Belec]

Hey brettSinclair, I will when I have a few moments and whipping up his gal pal. I've just been real busy with the drudgery part of the business.

Thank you very much for your comments, the little bugger has taken on a life of his own. ;)

[Frenchy Pilou]

It's the new wave! :D :tu:

[Jason Belec]

Hey Frenchy Pilou, thanks for dropping by. You are still the 'unofficial' Zbrush ambassador and apparently a connoisseur of waves! Or is that waves of monsters? Monster waves? Sea creatures? Oh drat, whatever! I'm getting some sleep.... ;)

[Yari Jindou]

LOL Frenchy and Jason is right!

[Frenchy Pilou]

No, no, this sort of surf: on the right (http://nicerugbyfeminin.canalblog.com/images/t-Surfeur.jpg) :D

[billrobertson42]

Frenchy, did you notice how the shark has evolved a lure to help it catch surfers?

lure.jpg

[Jason Belec]

It's a curious odity that my threads draw out the real freakizoids around here!

I really love you guys, you keep me smiling... ;)

[Kosher]

Mmmm... creativity inspired by acid ;-)

[Jason Belec]

Acid!!!! Dude! Got some???? ;)

[SNARK]

Hi, Jason.

If I search 'Zsphere Belec' nothing comes up.

If I search 'Eternal Thread' nothing comes up.

I know the thread I want to post to, but it will not search.

I want your 'Eternal Zsphere Thread' to post a question but I cannot find it. Please advise.

Thanks!

~S.~

[billrobertson42]

Click the link in his signature. The words "Eternal ZSphere Thread"

[Jason Belec]

Thank you billrobertson42. Hope that helped SNARK... ;)

[SNARK]

Thanks, guys. I've just noticed a lot of my 'Favorites' links are dead.

~S.~

[piz]

Very Fun character here...!!!

:tu: :D :tu:

[Jason Belec]

Thank you piz, everytime I think this thread has fallen away, a nice person comes along and pokes it to life. Glad it brought a smile! ;)

[Mascuud]

man your the man, its wierd you start 23 years ago and now you what 40 so Im thinking you started at 17. Im a newbie also 17 and i know a few things also, Im curently studing MATH Biology Chemitary Advance studies to be come a doctor but i would like to do do animations/character creating and stuff like that for a hobby, i love this stuff i got bord of playing these MMorp games (massive multiplayer online role playing games) so i was think i wanna make something like that, (one day lol) but im not afrad to start from the bottom down to the very core of the earth and i have time lots of time. the thing is i dont know where to start i have autodesk maya learing edition and Im curently playing around with that and i wanna get zbrush soon so have you got any tips for a newbie it would realy help. i was thinking of making the human body from scrach for better understanding as a future doctor

please reply i realy need help :D

[Jason Belec]

Hello Mascuud, well any place is good to start. Zbrush will allow you many more options than almost any other tool, from concept to sculpt to texture and pose. Then an animation package will allow you to go further. I don't know of anything that will make easy for you as rigging is going to be the hard part (model to boned character for the package of choice), but several scripts exist on Highend3d.com that will make getting this out of the way a lot easier. You are lucky hobby or otherwise, non of these wonderful tools existed back when a computer wasn't even the equivalent of a modern day calculator. By the way, math is good, Pixar makes the prettiest math I've ever seen... ;)

[Mascuud]

Well thank you very much, i see things much clearly now ill go a head now and start building i will send you some of my work when i complete it . it'l probably take a week or more because Im a newbie anyway thanks for the help:)

[claudiogen]

just royal

[i_close2you]

Nice work! thankx

[Jason Belec]

Hello i_close2you, I take it your a person of few words, but like the thread content or perhaps the additions by our fella Zbrushers. Either way welcome, and thanks for reminding me I have some stuff to get up here in the next couple of months as this fella's surfer pod has grown. ;)