*** Introducing ZSpheres II

[Pixolator]

The ZSphere modeling tool within ZBrush has ignited artist's imagination by freeing them from technical restraints.

ZSpheres have always been one of quickest and easiest way to bring your concepts to life.


Until now!

ZSphereII_Image1.jpg
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ZSpheres II coming to you in ZBrush 3.5. see this thread (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=73517)




©2009 Pixologic, Inc. All rights reserved. Pixologic and the Pixologic logo, ZBrush and the ZBrush logo are registered trademarks of Pixologic. Various patents pending.

[r0xmys0x]

Must admit I overlook Zshperes alot of the time and end up jumping back and forth to max but this looks AWESOME

[mikezoo]

I might of missed something before, but is zbrush working in a full 3d space now? I saw the grid lines under the model.

[Trybal]

I will definitely use that. Thank you. :cool::tu:

[dozogovi]

this is so so so sso amazing i love it. can these meshes by chance have there sub divisions reduced to a low res cage? i am guessing not.

[psaldari]

I like it, I like it! :D

Paolo

[JuanVal]

Just great! Can't really figure the process of making the muscles, it looks so simple!

[seanforsyth]

That looks sweet! Wonder how quick it is to build up form that way though... Still, very interesting way to do it nonetheless.

[nebular]

Looks amazing! Great! :tu: :tu:

[cuffi]

THAT blows me away...AMAZING. Well implemented Voxel like feature! As always, best in sculpting apps...Can't wait to get 3.5 :eek:

[Moni-Poroni]

Wow! So cool! This looks like tons of Zsphere fun. :) :tu::tu::tu::tu::tu:

[nerveink]

Must admit I overlook Zshperes alot of the time and end up jumping back and forth to max but this looks AWESOME

same here. i think this advancement in zspheres should keep me from jumpin back and forth from zbrush and maya tho.

great work pixologic. cant wait to try it my self.

[jinchoung]

HOLY CRAP!!!

that's just almost exactly what i was hoping for! takes the best aspects of zspheres and combines it with a next gen metaball meshing kinda facility....

freakin' great!

jin

p.s. actually, and it seems like if somehow, the zsphere STROKES were exportable, it might be useful in other apps in create muscle volume structures for muscle sim!

[jokerking]

this goin awesome.keep it up

[brettSinclair]

Hectic.

This is as close to physically building a maquette as your going to get on a pc. Starting with the wire skeleton and slapping on the clay. Wow! This could be very interesting to use.

[MotleyPete]

This looks absolutely awesome. It appears to be just like building up clay over a wire armature (and very easy to re-pose in the process).

I'm blown away. I mean, wow. Cool stuff.

[Trurl]

This is looks great. Thanks Pixologic Team!

[dieselnyax]

Wow~!! This is very cool.

[ASW316]

that is by far the coolest thing I have seen all year

[weeks]

Great !

But guys, where do you find the time to create such amazing things like that :eek:

Best,

Weeks

[renderdemon]

It's not completely clear to me how the muscles layer is done,it seems great!

[tez]

Wow! way to go Pixologic. Love to see what kind of topology it produces painting volume directly on Zspheres. :D

[InkySpot]

The wait is torturious.

[yvan_c]

Now this is why I love ZB and the good people at Pixo.:D

Just when you think they surely won't deliver anything more in the line of a FREE upgrade, they manage to astonish and surprise.:cool:

Thanks guys:tu:

[zipfelklatscher]

Now we need a new retopo tool to make those sculps clean!

[troy1617]

if this works the way as advertised i will no longer have to use unefeied skin to get a descent armature representation looks great but confused as to how it works even after watching it..

but thanks for incorporating this looks useful if it acts like a voxel not sure yet though....;)

I guess my question now is this the unannounced feature that we were supposed to be hearing of in the coming weeks..

[splodge]

Interesting!

[ZedHead]

Looks awesome, but not sure how the muscle layer is done.

If this works the way I hope I may start using Zspheres

[smeagol]

wow ! its seems very simple and very fast to build a full character .

great job Pixologic :tu:

[Etcher]

Awesome! :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: !

Pixologic rules.

[TheGreenMachine]

just woke up, check Zbrushcentral if 3.5 had been released...and we get this...

AMAAAAAZING stuff, now I really can't wait anymore :D
absolitely blown away (my jaw actually dropped when he started layering clay onto it :D )

[LY]

Would be a lot more happy if standard Zspheres could handle junctions like hands with 5 fingers better. As it is now, I prefer to do my base meshes in other apps as I only have full control outside Zbrush...

[Captain Sensible]

Wow! That was unexpected! I had actually gone off the idea of using ZSpheres for doing anything as we weren't always friends, or maybe just my bad technique. ZSpheres II looks awesome and has all of a sudden got my interest again. Bring on the 3.5!!!

Thank you Pixologic :D

[Cral]

the video looks very interesting.
But I'm wondering what happens when you add/remove zspheres after adding muscles mass to it :qu:
And whats about the mesh later on in the video, where he is using the claybrush. is it generated by ZBrush or is it made by the topology tools :qu:

[Trurl]

Would be a lot more happy if standard Zspheres could handle junctions like hands with 5 fingers better. You can find the ZSphere Tweaks plugin with a how-to in this thread: Zscript : XYZ Adjust (rev B) ... (http://pixolator.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=3405&page=8&pp=15&highlight=zsphere+tweak)

[a i r]

I was expecting something like this in zbrush 4.
I love this feature and haven't even tried it!

[eldee.s]

looks cool, cant wait to get my hands on it

[undoz]

Wow, simply mind blowing. Awesome model by the way.

[{SeanL}]

Oh my GOD that is awesome, and no doubt will be extremely helpful. Thanks Pixologic!

[truenorth]

oh man... so great i hardly could tell this is for real. you guys totally rock!

[DarklighTTT]

amazing...maybe there may make something that will be good rig tool in intuitive and fast way for ammm lets say for 80% of projects cases...it may be great
anyway very good work it seem promise.
;)
by the way i mean above about real rig...

[artstorm]

OOH! This is sweet! Can't wait until I can put my hands on 3.5. Thank you Pixologic!
Are we there yet? :)

[Totyo]

Would be a lot more happy if standard Zspheres could handle junctions like hands with 5 fingers better.The new skinning (first part of the video) solves this restriction. Now, it's hard to generate unexpected results!

[digitaldecoy]

Wow, that's an amazing new workflow. I always liked to use ZSpheres to model a volume and then simply use Unified Skin to create a mesh from it. With the new ZSpheres this process will be really sped up. I guess, it will also help to make Unified Skin more popular because the final mesh which is sculpted in the video for sure is a Unified Skin.

[Max the Artist]

Beautiful stuff Pixologic! real intuitive and easy to use system :) if this will be in 3.5 i wonder what version 4 will have.. :)

Great stuff! :tu:

/ Magnus

[dirtbox]

Just release it already!

After watching this, I'm holding back on a big job as I can see this taking months off my workflow. Somehow zsphere 1s feel like a crap now. Thanks.

[n-drew]

i have to say this blow me away (wooho a rhyme)

this was F***** awesome. never used zpsheres alot but with this muscle stuff its just AWESOME!!!!

A W E S O M E....well did i mention it looks awesome? :D

btw we had a look how the new perspective grid will look like. Yeah \m/

[testure]

After watching this, I'm holding back on a big job as I can see this taking months off my workflow. Somehow zsphere 1s feel like a crap now. Thanks.heheh, this should go without saying- but bad idea. never rely on an unproven feature for paying work :)

unless it's a hobby project, in which case.. carry on :D

[LY]

Still doesn't seem to provide what I need in order to create nice, clean base meshes...

[LY]

Well, then the video failed to proaperly demonstrate this... :P

[dirtbox]

Oh most definitely true, but it's just so tempting!

[zayacoon]

I cant wait :tu::tu::tu::tu::tu:

[Plakkie]

How do you guys come up with this stuff??! :eek: Love the filosophy behind all these new ideas and Zbrush overall.
Thanks for the teaser!! :tu::tu::tu::tu:

[Disco Stu]

I cant even imagine what a great think tank pixologic is.
Truely stunning feature and again something i have never seen someone
suggest in the z4 wishlist threads.
Thanks for ignoring many great ideas and coming up with even greater ones.

[SixxPixels]

I need this now! Wow, I just love waking up to new ideas like this, that pave the way for the future of 3D.

My head hurts from all of the ideas that just blazed through it - I'm going to watch this over and over.

Thank you Pixologic - you guys are the best!

[haamu]

I find it disheartening that there is fair deal of innovation going on for freeform sculpting, yet next to none in terms of fluent mesh generation. The poly by poly approach that all apps seem to have is just too slow and cumbersome.

For static sculptures this one seems pretty neat. I just hope they have finally sorted out the bugs and "features" that have previously made it almost useless to me.

[dustbin1_uk]

YYYEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Cool!!! I love ZSpheres!! and this is going to make me love them even more!!!!

100% happy!!! :D:tu:

[mutte696]

This will really speed up a lot of creative sculpting on figures, ride the big Z. thank you pixologic. *****

[Graphite]

So this does look beautiful and seems for me to ba a great way to concept a design quickly and fluidly so congratulations on this.

So can I make a 5 fingered hand now? Without plugins and manually resculpting the mesh to get them in the right place? I'm guessing the placement of the muscle spheres would make this easier?

[scottleroc]

I HAVE NEVER WANTED THE SUMMERTIME TO END

BUT

Now I know this winter is going to be amazing. This is like everything you could ever have wanted with Zs's but never had.

The video is so well made. I was like 'yeah so where's the new stuff...' then I was like '...oooohh my god...'

Please let summer end so I can lock my self indoors and cuddle up to ZB 3.5

Thanks once again guys - stunning

[rudymassar]

Brilliant. An even better practical sculpting approach than it already was.

[mr-ru]

When the video started, I just saw the new skinning method and thought it would help out a bit. Then I saw the demonstrator sculpt muscles on directly and went :o

Curious though. I saw the wires for the final mesh in one frame and it seemed to be the same as Unified mesh. All one polygroup and dense, like it only has one division level. Won't this method produce an adaptive mesh, so we can go into the very low levels to make large changes?

[locusta]

...just wet myself.... :o :lol: :lol: :lol:

BRILLIANT GUYS, AWSOME!! :tu:

When does August finally end!!??

[ahtiandr]

I love you Pixologic!!! You are so great!!! Thank you Thank you thank you ... :D

[DigitalDreamer]

This looks very interesting! The creature at the end looked great too. Like others,wondering how dense this mesh becomes, any new retopo features I wonder?

[klausknuth]

Oh My God :eek: ... Want it now!

[AVTPro]

Sometimes I can't even believe my eyes when I come the to ZBrush site.
This is big time.


it looks so similiar to dynamic muscular system for animation. Can the forms be used as muscles for Maya?

[AleksanderA]

Where do you get music like this?

[3dzeiro]

amazing!!:D:tu::tu:

[Stubi]

That what you want for a rigging tool! I really like this approch. At this step, it is possible to add key framing to do little animation?

[juliowassaf]

Just AMAZING! :D

[Dman3d]

I am sitting 3" higher in my chair, and I need a new pair of pants.
Awesome:tu:

[cookepuss]

Well, then the video failed to proaperly demonstrate this... :PYou can already get 5 finger hands without weird results or oddball intersections. Just adjust your intersection resolution. You can find the intersection resolution controls under the transform menu. The x,y,z sliders more in unison, but you can control them independently by holding SHIFT. There's a hand tutorial here on ZBC that shows this. No weird intersections. No bizarre overlaps. A hand the way you expect it to come out, right down to the low poly base cage.

[abe_Tamazir]

AWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOME
A muscle type system!!! looks sooo artist friendly as well...come on pixologic! release it now! :)
can't wait :)

[Buckie]

I think anyone one here would happily pay for this in an upgrade, yet Pixologic are giving it to us for free along we the other stuff on both Mac and PC at the same time........

So whats the catch, does Pixolator actually own all of us in licence agreement small print??? Do we have to do Auricks laundry on a rotation system???

[Imhotep397]

This is awesome and someone else mentioned about how good this would be for the beginning of the rigging process. If one could somehow transfer the ZSphere skinning to some kind of bones/skin relationship data/image to build accurate skinning maps, probably bones, and possibly muscle shapes for external rigging purposes it would be insane and a great start for character rigging too. Riggers have been wanting for a more intuitive way to do skinning like forever.

[bogeywash]

i must admit i dont normaly use zspheres, i do the base mesh in maya and sort out me uv's with blender then take it to zbrush. But i do like this and it will be wonderfull if at some point you could use the zshpes in another app as the rig / rig placments and maps.
All hail pixologic :cool:

[Antimorph]

Wonderful!

I for one am never going to go looking for an edge or vertex again.

[n-drew]

yeah we have to know if its only for unified mesh or adaptive, too.

[MalottPro]

beautiful and amazing! This is like building up clay on an armature vs chiselling the clay away. Another revolution in 3D modeling.

[LY]

There's a hand tutorial here on ZBC that shows this. No weird intersections. No bizarre overlaps.

Sorry, but that method's results are not as good as what I need.

[ivar_sn]

Another great addition.....:D

[ubermensch76]

You guys are crazy.. I love it !!!

[ubermensch76]

one question . Where can I get that Music and all the others u guys have used in your preview Videos ?

[Burchigb]

The link for the demo is not working tried three different browsers and no go.

Please fix thanks.

[dagoned]

burchigb - yeah I was not able to see on mozilla firefox and I had to open it with explorer and it worked for me.


Wow I am speechless. Zbrush Freaking ROCKS

[womball]

That looks like it could be useful. I'd have to try it out first before I say much more though. If its as simple as it looks I hopefully will be able to do a lot more in zbrush. It would be really cool to still be able to alter topology of the adaptive mesh, and have loop tools for this.

Are the rotational issues of zspheres addressed? It was very hard to rotate a zsphere precisely a x number of degrees. Also when switching from zspheres to adaptive skin, you coudl lose all of your sculpting work, if you added zspheres. Also do zspheres still need 2 of them to start.

[jaystein777]

Damn, just..damn. Thanks Pixo, but now I'm late for work.

[hyper1]

Just when I think I've nailed ZB2 you guys come out with ZB3. Now I've got my head around ZB3.1 and you shoot me up with ZB3.5. I feel dizzy and disorentated :lol: . Muscle mass building on the fly!!! I just got through with an experiment trying a complex model entirely within ZB3.1. With the slight exception of having to be a little fiddley with the hands and feet the experience was entirely transparent. With the new features of ZSpheresII I'm very curious if I will need to build base meshes within other apps?
I'm SO impressed.
Gary

[Burchigb]

Preview working now.
dagoned - Yea I tried all three windows based ones and they did not work. Waited a few minutes and then it started to work.

Pixologic, Look I have to say this: Maaaannnn.
Wonderful preview of the program, now I am going to have to break out the books to study the human form, bad enough you just released PaintStop.
Cannot put that program to rest. Lots of fun to work with. Now I am going to have another soon to work with.

Like ubermensch76 stated, where do you get this music from? Well selected to say the least. Please provide the artist and name of music.

Seriously, Thanks. Cannot wait until the relase date of 3.5.

[Morph Division]

OMFG!!

How sweet to be able to define muscle as well as bone :)
Seems like it might also be able to define the 'flow' of edgeloops.
:p:p:p

EDIT: CHEERS!

[cresshead]

looks fantastic!

seems that pixologic took a long look at things like the old metareyes plugins for 3dsmax and re created that as a muscle brush tool

awesome work!

[cetrian]

Pixologic just came here to save us all :D making our job more fun and easy, just pure artistic and creative work instead of lots of technical details and styff, thank you very much guys :tu::tu::tu::tu::tu::tu::tu::tu::tu::tu::tu:

[Nemoid]

Actually awesome ! I liked the fact you can build up muscles onto a structure, and deform/pose the model ! :D

I have yet to understand if final mesh should be retopologized or not and hows the polyflow, though.

[Eraserhead]

That was an amazing video! One question I have is if it will be possible to arbitrarily create holes in the mesh. For example, if sculpting a skull will you be able to create a hole between the temple and the zygomatic arch? The only thing I DIDN'T like was the music in that video.

[mr-ru]

It would also be nice to see if it can do cavities. I only saw Zadd and smooth in the video.

[keridan]

..... just wanted to add a quick enthusiastic comment about how great this version is shaping up to be, really appreciate your efforts. Keep up the incredible work, can't wait.
Keridan

[spaz8]

Wow you guys keep dropping bombs.

Very cool. I've played with zspheres a good bit and wanted to like them since ZB2 but I've really never taken a project from start to finish with them. This looks like a great improvement over what I hoped they could be. Another workflow changer. You guys keep making me ask why I have all these other apps ? :)

Hope the retopo tools got some love in ZB 4 since that is a big factor in how useful zspheres are outside of a personal project.

[Chamelion]

Amazing!!! Zbeush 4ever!!!

[hdrop]

Oh boy! That seems fun! :D
Even x-ray vision. Can’t wait to try this out.

[mdale13]

oh my. this combined with what will hopefully be a revamped retopo tool in z3.5/4 will be an amazing combonation. once again, thank you pixologic!

[Lucky_1]

This looks so amazing and useful.
Thank you !

[roger]

Looks amazing! :tu:
You guys have the BEST music showing new features. :cool:

[Super Glitcher]

This looks awesome. Can't wait to use it!

I had a thought regarding how zspheres operate, specifically regarding the utilization of zspheres for hard edge work. Currently the mesh that zspheres generate is based around a cylindrical profile. It would be amazing to have an option to toggle individual zspheres to generate geometry that was of a different basic profile (for example triangular or rectangular profiles, ztri's or zsquares).

Just a thought, but the idea of having some sort of elementary vector profile control over individual mesh segments seems like it would be a lot of fun to use and save you some time if your goal for that area was not cylindrical.

[maxgamer]

I have worked in the game's industry for 14 years and have used 3D Max, along with Maya on certain projects, for nearly all of my 3D needs. Recently we have been using ZBrush for our sculpting needs for our next gen characters and I have been the person responsible for making sure that everyone is familiar with the program.

There is a slight learning curve with ZBrush but once you "Get It" a switch is flipped and you soon realize that we have been offered a real gift from Pixologic. No longer are we "Technical Artists" that manipulate polygons via a 3D package but we can truly call ourselves "Artists" again; Sculptors, Painters, Inventors, free from the restrictions of conventional 3D Manipulation.

After 14 years of searching for a vertex I now feel as if I can truly be a 3D Sculptor. To prove it, I canceled my subscription for 3D Studio Max as version 10 will take care of all of me needs for rigging, skinning and rendering. I will purely focus on my skills as a ZBrush Sculpter, Purchase a 21" Cintiq and eventually get a 3D Printer once they become cost effective.

I CAN'tTBELIEVE MY COMPANY WAS ASKING ME TO REVIEW MUDBOX AS AN ALTERNATIVE.

ZSpheres II looks awesome, truly awesome. Think about these these though:

1. The ability to lock the Spheres and add IK and handles to assist in the orientation and adjustments.

2. Refined retopology methods once it is locked to a mesh (yes, I understand GoZBrush will assist in this using Max's new retopology tools). But it would be nice to keep it all in ZBrush

3. Inegrated, quality, UV Unwrapping tools that will work with the meshes created with Zspheres II.


Thanks to Pixologic I am no longer just a 3D Artist. I am an ARTIST.

[Mahlikus The Black]

Absolutely Wonderful!
You all at Pixologic always amaze me.
I like it when Z leaves me speechless.
If this is 3.5 then 4 must be a real gem as well.
Awesome~!:tu:

[goldo_O]

I love you guys, I want to marry you. :tu::tu::tu:

[RawSunlight]

Specular map me moist with anticipation!!!
Can't wait... literally can't wait! Are we there yet... are we there yet...ARE WE THERE YET????????????????????????????????????????????

Pixologic rocks!!!

[manzarek123]

Stunning!!, the most realistic way to slapping clay into the armature like in the real world, is this ZSpheres II !!! DAMN! I LOVE THEM, all in Pixologic are genius! to creat such an amazing features like this!! If right now zbrush 3.5 looks FANTASTIC with this super features, i cant imagine zbrush 4!! it's gonna be the hit of all time!, imagine this, working with the zspheres like that, and then moving the mesh with GoZ very quicly to retopo and then back and then aaaaaakjhgas I love Pixologic :D

[askue]

once again Zbrush has made me wet myself!!! holy crap this is going to be so much fun. Pixologic i love you!

[slocik]

Ok, i must have missed something in this video that the rest of the ppl see, but i see exactly the same zsphares with no changes at all. Sure you can now spawn them in air by holding the mouse button, but what ? its still just some balls in space with no polygons and no topology, you still have to retopo it, or use adaptive skinning and pray for no errors. Still usesless in any serious workflow for me. Also the video is misleading, it dosnt show the part where the sphares where cahnged to real polygons.
On other hand, meybe its just a very bad presentation, meybe there are a lot of awesome functions that havent been shown;] I cant wait for 3,5, im expecting a lot from it.

[Nemoid]

actually,it looks how he builds up a structure with z spheres, then paint on it generating a mass, like muscles. So, the z sphere armature becomes a sort of skeleton/deformer for the model.
I don't think this is adaptive skin. it seems to be more like unified skin, to me. its not clear if it has a good polyflow ready for animation purposes into traditional apps. maybe for this purpose, we'll have to retopologize the resulting model however.

[Vancross]

This is really awesome and I have to say that this is finally something that I can actually make use of! I can appreciate what they are doing with paintstop but I have yet to figure out how to use it professionally. I do however love using zspheres as it is but now that they will be able to work predictably I am really getting excited.

I am not sure how the topology will end up after building up from the zphere rig but it does look like there will be a major improvement just with the standard use of zspheres as far as edge-loops and topology are concerned. Although I would love to have something that will help to generate a super clean mesh; I hate to think about having to re-topologize an entire piece after I am done.

[gioNak]

as someone who tries to sculpt in clay, this totally blows my mind. you guys are rockstars! besides ability to sculpt on 3d meshes (which you guys pioneered),
this feature is probably the closest thing to the act of real world sculpting one can
get in cg at the moment. awesome! :)

[konjo kothar vignar]

i lost all control of my bodily functions while watching this video... i want to cry and beat someone up at the same time right now. this is a happy day

[Dryn]

that is absolutely sick

pixologic is like GOD

[hobo]

fantastic .. now where are all those anatomy books ... ? ...

[Paint Guy]

I am not sure how the topology will end up after building up from the zphere rig but it does look like there will be a major improvement just with the standard use of zspheres as far as edge-loops and topology are concerned. Although I would love to have something that will help to generate a super clean mesh; I hate to think about having to re-topologize an entire piece after I am done.

Totally agree. This looks amazing but a couple of questions remain.

1) Will we have to manually retop this or will there be some sort of Auto-Retopology to allow for easier retopology like in 3DCoat?

2) What happens when you delete a ZSphere that has a sculpted mass?

3) Will you be able to shorten a ZSphere and will the sculpted mass also shorten. Let's say you create a torso and want to shorten it. Will the front and back legs follow?

4) Will there be new UV Unwrapping tools that will work with the meshes created with Zspheres II.


Looks Great and very excited at the mac release in September :)

[Kerwin]

This has the potential to be a game-changing technology. Well done Pixologic. (I knew all those years of playing with Zspheres would pay off!)

-K

[Ztrong]

:eek: OHHH MY GOD!!!!! Please, can you repeat the release date for 3.5? I JUST CAN´T WAIT!!!!! :eek:

Thanks Pixologic, you Effin Rule!!!

[CowboyBunny]

I gotta say showing new tech certainly gets people amped.
Tho, for me personally, I won't use this at all as for most of the office boys. "Go" is the holy grail for production.
Inspiring video though.

[z3phon]

All you guys at Pixologic rock!!
Zspheres II really looks great. Cant wait for Zbrush 3.5!

[slickytom]

Wow pixologic has quite an imagination. This is wonderful. Closest thing to sculpting clay on a wire mesh!!!
I too am curious about what happens if you need to change the zspheres. I hope we're able to do more than just add a zsphere insertion to end point and smooth it. Can you delete them?

[Bingo_Jackson]

Please release ZB 3.5 now.

Thanks :)

[vanden]

Woooouuuu I want it right now:D

[Mike_Semionov]

Pixologic you are genius
Thanks very very much!

[Slosh]

Edit: Thought I was being funny, but mods didn't like my humor and edited it out, but left in my praises. That's okay, I removed the glorifying comments as well.:)

[wethand]

this is insane. already love it!

[Mikeporetti]

Very cool, but without knowing what polycage it creates it has yet to show any practicality.

[policarpo]

Wow...just wow...looking better and better every single day.

Keep up the amazing work!

[Art-Machine]

Very cool, but without knowing what polycage it creates it has yet to show any practicality.Yes I'm curous about this too. Looks very cool but hard to tell if it will help production or just create a messy mesh and cause more workarounds. Hoping to get my hands on this and find out.

[Eonsuu]

Zspeheres II...and who said sequels often suck? :D Exellent stuff!

[Danny R]

Fabulous! My compliments to the team.

[Nemoid]

well i don't see any real problem.
if the generated mesh will be "messy" we'll have to retopologize it(maybe with some better retopo tools) and then project details coming from messy(but sculpted) one?
but we should be able to mantain armature in it to deform/pose it within ZB

[Daevasmodeus]

The only negative comments I'm hearing are coming from people too lazy to re-top their models, assuming they even have to when this comes out. The sheer awesomeness of being able to sculpt musculature and lay a skin over it, instead of messing with geometry from the start, should be blowing everyone's minds.

[Crusoe the Painter]

Did you guys see the bug-critter with the mesh before the sculpting demo? That looked a lot cleaner than anything zspheres already do. So I think they improved things a lot.

[noob4life]

well done to the programmers who worked on this, looks awesome..and it looks like you corrected the zsphere overlaping..i might be able to make hands along with the rest for once ^^ KEEP IT UP !!!!!
PS: i love you :D

[Art-Machine]

The only negative comments I'm hearing are coming from people too lazy to re-top their models, assuming they even have to when this comes out. Nice of you to assume that professionals discussing potential pitfalls = lazyness.

When you think about it, If this muscle mesh is made of a mish-mash of intersecting bloby or sphere-ish meshes, trying to reproject to new topology could have the potential for a lot of projection errors as Zbrush already does around intersected meshes. That's just one of the cases in which such a system would become too troublesome for production.

I'm not assuming this is the case, but without a clearer demonstration of the resulting mesh out of the new system, speculation is inevitable.

[INFINITE]

Simply stunning. A cut above the rest. :D

[Clappy71]

No worries about retopology here. That's what GoZ is going to be for. All they need to do now with Zsphere's, is to have some sort of Zcube for hard surfaced objects. Good work lads!

[jinchoung]

nothing in the sculpt demo at the end of the video indicates that it's more than a single mesh... no multimeshes intersecting.

and as for retopo- unless your plan is to end up with a digital sculpture or a 2d image, for most purposes (like games, cg chars that need to be rigged, etc) you have to retopo anyway.... so this seems to be a non issue.

the only question is whether the generated mesh is regular enough to be subdivided and sculpted on... and the brief demo at the end seems to show that it is.

that being said, yes, i would love to see what the generated mesh is in wireframe.

jin

[rimasson]

I'm simply blown away by this demo. Congrats to all the team.

[hobo]

Did you guys see the bug-critter with the mesh before the sculpting demo? That looked a lot cleaner than anything zspheres already do. So I think they improved things a lot.yup ..

[Dryn]

Very cool, but without knowing what polycage it creates it has yet to show any practicality.I think we can give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.

[Mahlikus The Black]

You totally got me Buddy! I was so confused as to what happened to you?

[HaloAnimator]

That video was amazing...now i have never used Zspheres because i often build the base meshes, but that makes me want to go back in there and learn how to use them. It would be very useful for posing your models and overlaying the clay to simulate muscle...

on the side note, i love the grid on the ground. That is SO cool.

[deep]

wooow it looks like we have the best sequel ever :lol::lol::lol:
thank you guys, u simply rule the zunivese

Cheers

[Avan-AMS]

beautiful... oh i wonder

[Vancross]

Yup, that bug thingy is what really nocked my socks off and I can't wait to start to work with these new zspheres!

I also really like the new ability to overlay the muscle structure and such but I tend to like more control over what I am doing to really get too excited about it—even though I really am.

The worst case scenario I see with it is: like when 3d really started to take off for film and vfx work and hand sculpted models were being scanned in point by point. I really hope they do introduce some really cool and fast re-topology tools but even with the ones they have now it will simply be like scanning your hand sculpted work in point by point.

It would be cool if they had some kind of skinning system that would aid this and at the same time could produce usable seems for UV work.

[amarantus]

Wow unbelievable !!! The coolest thing I ever seen in modeling tools

[Carsten Lind]

Jaw dropping!

[moonlitmaverick]

I knew Zspheres would evolve and they did. I once posted a question asking if a feature similar to this existed. ( http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=68731). Back then I wanted some kind of skinning that would retain the look of Zspheres and allow me to create blobs of zspheres to add volume without really connecting them. My wishes came true. YAY!

I still haven't managed to see the entire video. it is really slow. perhaps too many people wanting to see it at the same time. Pixologic, can we have this on Youtube please.

My guess is that the blobs are Zsphere chains that emanate from wherever you click on the Zsphere skeleton underneath. they have that muscle like appearance, which makes them more interesting, and the skinning is a lot smoother and more subtle. so you get this nice layered, organic looking sculpt. so it is more of a display trick while the zspheres with steroids work underneath.:D it is like interactive skinning and not the adaptive or unified skinning from the old days.

I hope it takes us one step closer to creating without technical hurdles. I like to sculpt in Zbrush without any initial concepts. I create from scratch in Zbrush, but mesh density and polygon stretching get in the way. the video however shows more flexibility, letting one push and pull without worrying. This is a great new feature. it will let me brainstorm and imagine using Zbrush. :tu:

[loki_22]

woooooow. that is fricken wild. you guys are geniuses!! :D

[Karrma]

:eek: wow, simply amazing. Very cool update.

[Deim]

The only negative comments I'm hearing are coming from people too lazy to re-top their models, assuming they even have to when this comes out. The sheer awesomeness of being able to sculpt musculature and lay a skin over it, instead of messing with geometry from the start, should be blowing everyone's minds.I don't think it's a matter of being lazy, more-so of reducing the time it takes to make a model. While this new ZSpheres might make it easier to make a base mesh, if it means you need to re-topologize it then wouldn't it just be easier to make the mesh in a program like Maya/Max/XSI where you already have nice topology? Tools that speed up one part of the process yet slow down another aren't really an improvement in workflow - you just transfer the time consuming part to a different area of the chain.

That being said, all of these new tools are really cool looking. Just how amazing they will really be will only be decided once people get their hands on them. Personally the only thing I hope they announce at this point is that they've made a "3d model" mode and have gotten rid of the idea of things being "tools" ;). But that's just me, lol.

[Jason Belec]

Guess I'll have to revive the Eternal Zsphere Thread...... Hopefully we'll see some hug leaps forward from the talented people who have kept Zspheres alive! ;)

[spaceboy412]

this is interesting, although i would have preferred a less standard type of model so we could get a good look at the real benefits of this. i'm having difficulty seeing how this is much different than the normal skinning methods and just using inflate or clay over them. unless the issue is that there is no polylimit like with those skins...
did i miss where he turned the big zsphere set into the mesh with the rig underneath, i mean did it generate the rig automatically or do you still have to redraw that?
it would be nice that if you are using zspheres for muscles that they would deform correctly by maintaining volume.
always nice to see another pixolator model :tu:
lastly i've always loved zpheres and they are one of my fav things about zbrush, i make all my mesh's that way, so maybe thats why i'm confused here.

slosh, too funny, how did you use zbrush with no electricity?

[Walt-Art]

awesome just awesome!!
wow tech like this makes me smile.
this will increase work for musculature maquettes tenfold
So what you gotta retopo! it's a part of the bidness we are in :idea: your STILL saving time.

thanks Pixologic

[starblaze]

OMG! When is the video of the timeline and keyframes coming!;)

[Santis]

This is sooooo cool :D
This will speed up my zbrush workflow alot, thanks Pixologic :):tu:

[andreseloy]

Thanks Pixologic Team!
ps: Hey Jason...this is great oportunity to Master ZphereII as you did with ZSphere I !!:tu:

[cymj001]

***22826;***26399;***24453;***20102;.:lol:
:tu:

[cami2k]

wow :eek: , just for my new cintiq, thanks

[Richard Marklew]

I still haven't managed to see the entire video. it is really slow. perhaps too many people wanting to see it at the same time. Pixologic, can we have this on Youtube please.
All the new feature videos are on the Pixologic YouTube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ZBRUSHatPIXOLOGIC

Richard

[jewilhel]

I've watched the video numerous times and have read every post in this thread, but I believe most here don't really perceive where Pixologic his heading with all this!

It seems rather obvious to me after watching the video that the entire sculpting workflow is about to change inside of Zbrush itself even with the huge advance of GoZ integration. Many speak of wanting better topology tools so you can harness the new powers of zsphere modeling, but I think most here are failing to grasp what Pixologic's end game really is in the next couple of versions. I believe the video deliberately stops short of showing the next part of the modeling process.

After watching how the zsphere "skeleton" is preserved underneath a "muscle" like volume sculpt, it can be inferred that the skinning process will be a dynamic, nonlinear one as well. I foresee that the skeleton and muscle spheres will be maintained in a dynamic relationship with the final skinned and subdivided sculpture. Everyone is just assuming that the skinning process is a one shot deal, a conversion to polys like it is now, before the final sculpt begins. But clearly the video shows almost fully detailed models beings sculpted entirely out of zspheres. And even more enlightening, that you can repose the model at any stage of the process. It just doesn't make sense that after a conversion to polys that one would have to resort to using the laborious posing tools to make modifications to the character's pose. It seems almost inevitable that zbrush will maintain the flexible zsphere "rig" for posing the model and the "zmuscles" to deform the skinned geometry that "rides" on the surface of the zsphere under-structure.

As far as topology is concerned, I predict that a very low-res sub-D ploy cage will be generated to encapsulate the zsphere volume without needing to capture all the details of the model underneath. This low poly cage will make it easy to order the mesh and define its flow on the lowest subdivision level. Perhaps a "ztopology" cage will define this initial mesh and allow for simple modification. As you start to subdivide the skin, then more detail from the zsphere under-model will project out onto the higher levels and combine in a nondestructive way with additional sculpted detail that you perform on a sculpting layer. I believe, the entire process will become nonlinear and you can repose the model or rework the "muscles" at any stage of the sculpt. I believe the transpose tool will become a thing of the past, unless you start with a "rigless" model.

I think its too simplistic to just wish for better topology or UV tools, I think Pixologic is way ahead of this thinking and will reveal their true plans really soon. But to the perceptive out there, I think this video starts to demonstrate what's coming in the very near future!

- Jason W. ;)

[Martin@PIXOLOGIC]

"I still haven't managed to see the entire video. it is really slow. perhaps too many people wanting to see it at the same time. Pixologic, can we have this on Youtube please."

Sure thing

http://www.youtube.com/user/ZBRUSHatPIXOLOGIC

[daugaard47]

Jason I hope you are right!

[Doqpelgänger]

one question . Where can I get that Music and all the others u guys have used in your preview Videos ?BSO: Hayling by FC Kahuna...

[jamespthornton]

Well, this looks like you can create a bone rig, do all of your main build up of sculpting, and even arrive at a great pose......all before you even create a mesh. W :eek: W

[jewilhel]

I would also like to comment on the colorized zspheres featured in the video. This certainly seems to be significant and a useful starting point for poly painting. The "rat" model uses red as "muscle" color and white to indicate attaching tissue. The later models use various colors to establish the rough palette of the character. It seams like a very useful feature to me to block out the colors while you're roughing out the form.

I can also imagine using the "zmuscles" in various poses to form morph target meshes for output to 3D packages using GoZ to expedite the process. In the video you see the cursor painting across a "zmuscle" and inflating its volume. Thus after reposing a character, you can just paint the proper volume compression or relaxation of the muscle groups that you've created and then make morph targets for export. Just one more reason why I think their will be dynamic subdivision skins in Zbrush 3.5 or 4!

- Jason W. :D

[Vanrailey]

Pixologic needs to stop putting videos up of future add-ons. I kinda feel like my brain is about to.... aaaAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

[overd21]

oh!! Great!!! ^_^)b

[Sazdum]

Looks great!

[Cherea]

Awesome.

[explodingseashells]

mind status = blown.

[dargelos]

WOW... I really had dreamt with something similar to this but it seems is real!!! THANKSSSSS!!!!!!

[prosthetix]

cant wait to try this :tu: :tu: :tu:

[jewilhel]

I've been analyzing the Zsphere 2 modeling approach and the key difference that I see is the division of building an armature and building up form. With the old Zspheres, you were un-intuitively forced to do both at the same time. For example, you would scale certain zspheres larger than others to increase the volume in that area in the final mesh. But the problem was, the skinned mesh would seldom have the same proportions as the zsphere model, thus forcing you to exaggerate or contort the model in some way to get the desired look in the mesh. Not to mention using even more un-intuitive zsphere magnets to help shape the polymesh. By separating the process of building a "skeleton" and then building up mass on top of that, the entire process becomes substantially more intuitive and new users will spend less time trying to learn how to get the zspheres to cooperate with special technics.

Also, after seeing how form is built up on the hands in the video, I'm pretty certain all the weird tricks used to build articulated hands and feet will be a thing of the past as well! I'm hopeful the whole process will feel less technical with less to learn and more intuitive and natural!

- Jason W.

[arthurduque]

ahohaoahaoia....This is Really ammazing!!!! I love work winth Zspheres.,.and this ZSp II ...look like! fantastic....

[KrakenCMT]

Such great innovation as usual from Pixo! Can't wait to see what else is in store for the future.

[threetails]

for a guy like me that loves anatomy and building a characters from the inside out...this is a spectacular addition to the zphere tool. i cant wait to try it out. as always pixologic is a truly driven company.

[WoL_]

I can't wait!!!

[Intervain]

OMG guys, stop the torture already! Give us the toys :)<img src="http://www.zbrushcentral.com/upload/atn.gif"> (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/faq.php?faq=vb_read_and_post#faq_zbc_display_image s)

[Jon DP]

This all looks like an improvement over old z-sphere mass building techniques.

Not to be negative but I still feel like there is a distinct lack of anything that truly tries to simulate laying down pre-shaped masses of clay in an additive manner to your sculpture. The nice thing about these muscle style Z-spheres is that they allow you to create something that looks to be a step closer to that. Like others are saying I'd love to be able to lay down hard edged/non-spherical zpheres as well to build up the mass. I'd like to go one step further and be able to make pre-defined shapes for slabs of clay to add onto the model and have it instantly blend to the model (it looks like the muscle Z-spheres are intersecting rather than combining although I could be wrong about that).

The biggest basic sculpting method that seems to be missing in any computer based sculpting is the ability to pre-fashion pieces (which takes a blink of an eye with real clay due our many fingers being so specialized) into specific shapes on the fly and then apply them to the model.

Finally, i'd love to be able to do this onto the model itself as well rather than just the Zsphere core. That's my dream-wish.

This is still a step forward in that regard and I like it.

[AleksanderA]

Music please!!!! The spheares are owsame. No doubt.
Anyone vould like to have it while working with them ;))))))

[BARON_3D]

Awesome !!! :eek: :tu::tu::tu::tu::tu:

[Soulrunner66]

I am totally blown away with Zbrush and the development team. You guys are simply amazing with these new features that continue to push the boundaries. Pixologic makes other developers cry in the night. : P

[skello]

Wicked!! :tu:
Now if only you could export those individual zspheres out for use in a muscle rig...That will be plain genius

[jewilhel]

Hi Jon DP,

I've long wished for similar tools that you described! I can imagine that it would be fairly easy to turn a zsphere positioned on a zsphere model into another Ztool or prebuilt zsphere model. All zspheres are, are points in space that describe their positions and a list of other zsphere specific attributes. A substitution for another shape would be an easy thing for Pixologic to incorporate, but skinning that shape into a cleanly flowing polymesh would be another thing entirely unless it's form could be projected onto a simpler mesh generated by a normal zsphere. But I'm not sure it would be possible for the more complex shape to contribute to the ordered ployflow that needs to be created directly. But I certainly agree that such a feature would be awesome! And it would allow reusable parts such as ears, noses, mustaches and you get the idea. Just plug them onto your zsphere model! That would be cool!

-Jason W.

[spaceboy412]

ok rewatched the vid and it is a unified skin at the end, i hope the algorithm for that has been updated because you get some really messy stuff, especially at the ends of pointy bits. not to mention that the resolution is wonky depending on scale.
also i didn't see anything that showed the ability to add more zsphere mass/clay/muscles(whatever its called) to the unified mesh at the end, that is somewhat disappointing.
i'm hoping when its released i'll be slapping my forhead going "of course"

[Freerunner]

Looks truly awesome..... really looking forward to being able to play :D

[Znub]

That is INSANE. <img src="http://www.zbrushcentral.com/upload/atn.gif"> (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/faq.php?faq=vb_read_and_post#faq_zbc_display_image s)

[DarkHalo]

WOOOW!!!!!!!Thank you Pixologic!!!

[alancamara]

Can´t wait to get the new ZB, impressive!

[Webhead]

In a world where good news is so rare these days, we have even more good news from Pixo.
Looks like this will finally make the results of zsphere hands much easier to control.
I must admit, I am amazed at how fast Pixo has been developing new tools in ZBrush as of late, and even more amazed that that all these goodies are included in the free upgrade(s)! :D

[Mikeporetti]

The only negative comments I'm hearing are coming from people too lazy to re-top their models, assuming they even have to when this comes out. The sheer awesomeness of being able to sculpt musculature and lay a skin over it, instead of messing with geometry from the start, should be blowing everyone's minds.it would be foolish not to retopologize, but having a high resolution skin has absolutely no advantages. Im sure pixologic has that one covered, but as it stands and i paused the vid to take a look at the mesh, its just not practacle. Also as far as retopology goes, using the low poly skin as a start is a great way to save time in the current workflow, this is another reason why low resolution is important.

[sclptr]

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!!!!! :tu:

[neilford]

Jaw dropping goooood!!!! Can't wait to try it. Thanks pixologic. As always, you never fail to amaze me.

neilford

[Paint Guy]

Wicked!! :tu:
Now if only you could export those individual zspheres out for use in a muscle rig...That will be plain genius

QFA :)

[Teyon]

I almost never use ZSpheres but this may just be the thing to change that. Nice work.

[Lone Deranger]

This is so cool, I kinda feel guilty about getting ZB3.5 for free. :o

[sowrdfish]

my GOD this is AWESOOOOOOOME ... defining your geometry like adding clay muscles on a rig ....this is big time saving ... the rig is already there for posing and control .... the pixologic lads did it again ...i just wonder how the retopology will look like ....man i cant wait to get my hands on 3.5

[jaystein777]

Wicked!! :tu:
Now if only you could export those individual zspheres out for use in a muscle rig...That will be plain genius
You can, think about it for a sec. ;)

[skulll_monster]

oh...WO&)oW !! your rock PiXO)Ogic !

[tokio]

AweeeeeSomeeeee great video present. thank pixlogic team developer for many many new feature:D:tu::tu::tu:(paintstop , goz , zsphere2 , lightB... ETC...)
i'm very surprised with zbrush program. it's next ganeration program in the future sure!! !!:tu::tu::tu:


thank god. i lucky:cool: i choose purchase zbrush for my hobby and my work. i decide true!! SURE!!!

thank you again:D:tu::tu::tu:

** if ZB has animation too . it must to be blackmagic program sure:p he he

[CrazyMatt]

Awesome stuff Pixologic!

For traditional sculptors, I can see this is going to be like candy :D

[asecbrush]

:eek:

My prayers have come true !

AWESOME !

[Jester]

My jaws dropped to the ground...It's like the armature and clay stuff in real world sculpting...

I'm in love with ZBrush...

[yukikaze7]

Love this new tool !! :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[Nemoid]

I've watched the video numerous times and have read every post in this thread, but I believe most here don't really perceive where Pixologic his heading with all this!

It seems rather obvious to me after watching the video that the entire sculpting workflow is about to change inside of Zbrush itself even with the huge advance of GoZ integration. Many speak of wanting better topology tools so you can harness the new powers of zsphere modeling, but I think most here are failing to grasp what Pixologic's end game really is in the next couple of versions. I believe the video deliberately stops short of showing the next part of the modeling process.

After watching how the zsphere "skeleton" is preserved underneath a "muscle" like volume sculpt, it can be inferred that the skinning process will be a dynamic, nonlinear one as well. I foresee that the skeleton and muscle spheres will be maintained in a dynamic relationship with the final skinned and subdivided sculpture. Everyone is just assuming that the skinning process is a one shot deal, a conversion to polys like it is now, before the final sculpt begins. But clearly the video shows almost fully detailed models beings sculpted entirely out of zspheres. And even more enlightening, that you can repose the model at any stage of the process. It just doesn't make sense that after a conversion to polys that one would have to resort to using the laborious posing tools to make modifications to the character's pose. It seems almost inevitable that zbrush will maintain the flexible zsphere "rig" for posing the model and the "zmuscles" to deform the skinned geometry that "rides" on the surface of the zsphere under-structure.

As far as topology is concerned, I predict that a very low-res sub-D ploy cage will be generated to encapsulate the zsphere volume without needing to capture all the details of the model underneath. This low poly cage will make it easy to order the mesh and define its flow on the lowest subdivision level. Perhaps a "ztopology" cage will define this initial mesh and allow for simple modification. As you start to subdivide the skin, then more detail from the zsphere under-model will project out onto the higher levels and combine in a nondestructive way with additional sculpted detail that you perform on a sculpting layer. I believe, the entire process will become nonlinear and you can repose the model or rework the "muscles" at any stage of the sculpt. I believe the transpose tool will become a thing of the past, unless you start with a "rigless" model.

I think its too simplistic to just wish for better topology or UV tools, I think Pixologic is way ahead of this thinking and will reveal their true plans really soon. But to the perceptive out there, I think this video starts to demonstrate what's coming in the very near future!

- Jason W. ;)That's actually interesting ! In facts from the vid it seems like an extended z sphere modelling process. Now you're forced to build up z pheres and then do adaptive skin, then if u want to get more edgeloops do a polymesh and loose the possibility to repose the z sphere model. Now, the process seems to be seamlessly, because armature allows to always repose the model while youre building and sculpting it. Very nice !
I stll don't get how you can obtain a low or mid poly mesh with right topology ready for animation without having to retopo it at te end, it all depends also from how is the final mesh you get with these muscles but who knows... after all with some new retopo tools the process could be quite fast. the concept of a low poly mesh generated from the volume as a start for a model with correct topology could be great ! 3d coat does this yet, so i don't see why Zbrush shouldn't be able to do that too.

Another thing i wanna say is.... just put a good timeline within z brush and let's start to animate with it, forgetting all other apps LOOL :D

[warpy]

at the very beginning of the movie it keeps buffering without actually downloading movie data. does this happen to anyone else ?

[graphicted]

Just had my WTF! moment of the day! Thanks ! Looks promising/amazing.
:tu: :tu: :tu:

[bryzol]

I want this stuff very ****** much!

[LY]

The only negative comments I'm hearing are coming from people too lazy to re-top their models, assuming they even have to when this comes out.

Sorry about being "lazy", but our clients have kinda demanding deadlines. We retopo a lot anyway, but I don't want our artists to come crying to me, because the smooth brush just can't handle poles and using Zspheres you get far too many of them.


The sheer awesomeness of being able to sculpt musculature and lay a skin over it, instead of messing with geometry from the start, should be blowing everyone's minds.

It's a personal preference really, but I'd much rather mess with the geometry from the start instead, as that's what will be seen eventually and noone cares about the pseudo-muscles underneath.

[LY]

I think we can give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.

I'm really sorry to say this but in my experience it's the other way with Zbrush. At least for us doing serious production work with serious deadlines - for the lone artist working on his own creations with no budget constraints, it might be fine.

But to me, every new and supposedly super cool feature is only good for 70% of the way and the remaining part is so painful and time consuming that you're usually better off if you do it in another app from the start.
And instead of fixing existing features, Pixologic just keeps throwing more new and incomplete features into Zbrush. GoZbrush is really the first sign that they're trying to listen to the feedback coming from the industry.

So while I really hope that Zspheres will get better and more complete, I still don't, or rather can't rely on it.

[KHALLUS]

Very nice features in zspheres 2,I hope you can generate a low lv1 adaptive skin with ths muscles like in regular zspheres,if not i got 3dcoat with what i saved not having to upgrade zbrush4 so at least i have good retopo tools if needed.Im looking forward to trying zb3.5 out and im so happy all this is free thank you so much,Also the video was very movie like and a good trailer and the music suited it well.Now im getting saving for zb5 in 3 years perhaps?
pixologic is awesome,and zbcentral is the best online community in the world ,thanks guys.

[asecbrush]

I have been dreaming about voxels in ZBrush for the past days and I didn't know what to expect from ZSpheres II so at the point in the video where suddenly "geometry" appears on top of the ZSpheres, my jaw dropped almost onto the ground.

It's a dream come true !

THANK YOU PIXOLOGIC !!!

(Plleeeeaaazzzzz give us 3.5 now ;) ! )

[Sasmo]

Amazing, bring on Z Brush 3.5!!!

[roger_01]

Wow, Amazing! I should be using Zspheres to create my models. Looking forward for Zbrush 3.5.

Thank you so much Pixologic for being generous and making Zbrush an awesome package!

[gpepper]

Amazing new tool !
It will be a great pleasure to work with !
Another great way to create our creature...

[Darukin]

Another thing i wanna say is.... just put a good timeline within z brush and let's start to animate with it, forgetting all other apps LOOL :DTimeline in Zbrush, this is definitely possible by Pixologic. Check my Zscript out where I scripted a primitive timeline with camera system, in fact this timeline also works with ZSphere positions in 3d space.

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=61937

This works so far with cameras and even ZSpheres for animations but I have left the ZSphere part because I got busy don't have much time and also got stuck, but it works even now with Zspheres (read the thread I linked) as with a timeline anything's possible to change over time such as ZSphere x,y,z positions and then animate and render etc.

Either way it's still primitive but it just serves to show what's possible with Zbrush and I'm sure Pixologic can do it soon (since they have real programmers heh which i'm not exactly)

ZSpheres 2 looks really exciting and so long as Pixologic has fixed the ZSphere bug where you can't script the x,y,z positions of a Zsphere beyond 16 units in Zbrush units from the origin then I will continue to script my ZSphere animation plugin. when I next get free time, but until then it will be hard.

Please fix this bug for Z 3.5!

[Madeleine]

Can't wait!! :D

[Nemoid]

yes, Darukin i do remember your script, which is cool. Hope that ZB 3.5 /4.0 will solve those issues. It would actually be awesome having the ability to do character animation within ZB. ;)
Seeing those new cool features makes me wonder what the future of ZBrush could be...

[cgdexter]

WOW and another WOW.........this looks awsome!!!!!!!
Looking forward to the future of 3d........
Pix team.....your'e the best!!!!!!!!!!:D :D

[williamyan]

:eek::eek::eek:
can't belive my eyes, great!!you people did it.
zbrush rule them all!!!yeah!!!

[yangbo]

:eek: wow,very cool.

[calico1]

I was thinking the same thing. Bones...could Pixologic actually be thinking about rigging?

Nah. Too much right now. Ri-i-i-i-i-ght? :eek:


This is awesome and someone else mentioned about how good this would be for the beginning of the rigging process. If one could somehow transfer the ZSphere skinning to some kind of bones/skin relationship data/image to build accurate skinning maps, probably bones, and possibly muscle shapes for external rigging purposes it would be insane and a great start for character rigging too. Riggers have been wanting for a more intuitive way to do skinning like forever.

[slashpot]

<911 operator> "This is 911, what's the emergency?"

<me> "Yeah hi, need ambulance, my mind has been blown!"

<911 operator> "Do you have ZBrush 3.5?"

<Me> "Yeah, but how... "

<911 operator> "All units, all units, we have another ZBrush related mind blowing. When will these pixol-jockeys LEARN!!"

[metalpiss]

This is the best thing that has ever happeed for modeling (so far). :tu:

[Nemoid]

Regarding animation, what about something similar to this ?
It seems a very interesting and quite artistic approach to animation


(www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmv) http://www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmv (www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmv)

[peres]

Omfg2 !!!!!!!!!!

[calico1]

The link doesn't connect.



Regarding animation, what about something similar to this ?
It seems a very interesting and quite artistic approach to animation


http://www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmv (http://%20http://www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmv)

[Jaxx]

Wow! I never like to fool around with polys - ZB is getting more and more intuitive! Sure hope that like what other people are wondering, the rest of the workflow is also taken care of (topo).

I must say that -and I mean this in the most positive sense- you people at Pixo are really sick in the head!! :eek: :D :tu::cool:

Go go Pixo!!

[Jaxx]

The link doesn't connect.Look at the address in your browser and correct accordingly

[sandpiper]

way to go Pixologic! I'd use this technique right away! Genius...

[Nemoid]

The link doesn't connect.sorry.
should be fixed now. :cool:

[jewilhel]

That's actually interesting ! In facts from the vid it seems like an extended z sphere modelling process. Now you're forced to build up z pheres and then do adaptive skin, then if u want to get more edgeloops do a polymesh and loose the possibility to repose the z sphere model. Now, the process seems to be seamlessly, because armature allows to always repose the model while youre building and sculpting it. Very nice !
I stll don't get how you can obtain a low or mid poly mesh with right topology ready for animation without having to retopo it at te end, it all depends also from how is the final mesh you get with these muscles but who knows... after all with some new retopo tools the process could be quite fast. the concept of a low poly mesh generated from the volume as a start for a model with correct topology could be great ! 3d coat does this yet, so i don't see why Zbrush shouldn't be able to do that too.

Another thing i wanna say is.... just put a good timeline within z brush and let's start to animate with it, forgetting all other apps LOOL :D


Not sure if I explained myself well enough in the last post. I believe a low resolution adaptive skin will be generated from the simpler "Skeleton" Zspheres and not the "muscles" Zspheres. It is this "skeleton" or armature that contains all the necessary information to form the mesh topology. The "muscle" Zspheres only contribute to the volume of the the skin and have no influence on the topology of the mesh itself. As you subdivide the skin, more and more of the muscle detail project through onto the higher resolution skin. At the lowest subdivision level is where you would be given manual controls like little Zspheres placed on every vertex of the adaptive skin to allow you to control the topology of the model. I believe the re-meshing of the model will be integrated into the modeling process in a natural way instead of just leaving it for some step at the end. Alternatively, you might import a custom mesh from another 3D program to be used as the final skin after exporting an adaptive skin as a template using GoZ. This custom skin would then be rigged with the Zsphere model allowing flexible posing throughout the rest of the sculpting and detailing process. Whatever the case, I expect to see a clever solution come out from the Pixologic team!

-Jason W.

[Stephenrminkin]

This is truly shocking. This addition to Zspheres is a complete game changer. Its ideas like this that make Pixologic's Zbrush so unbelievable and ahead of the competition. I cant believe this is a 3.5 update.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Pixologic Rules! :D

[hummboxx]

Don't really know what to say, looks mighty impressive. Nice job! :eek:

[Nemoid]

Not sure if I explained myself well enough in the last post. I believe a low resolution adaptive skin will be generated from the simpler "Skeleton" Zspheres and not the "muscles" Zspheres. It is this "skeleton" or armature that contains all the necessary information to form the mesh topology. The "muscle" Zspheres only contribute to the volume of the the skin and have no influence on the topology of the mesh itself. As you subdivide the skin, more and more of the muscle detail project through onto the higher resolution skin. At the lowest subdivision level is where you would be given manual controls like little Zspheres placed on every vertex of the adaptive skin to allow you to control the topology of the model. I believe the re-meshing of the model will be integrated into the modeling process in a natural way instead of just leaving it for some step at the end. Alternatively, you might import a custom mesh from another 3D program to be used as the final skin after exporting an adaptive skin as a template using GoZ. This custom skin would then be rigged with the Zsphere model allowing flexible posing throughout the rest of the sculpting and detailing process. Whatever the case, I expect to see a clever solution come out from the Pixologic team!

-Jason W.Maybe i'm missing something you got, but n the vid it doesn't seem to be like this. It seems he builds up a z sphere armature (which could also generate a low poly adaptive mesh) then he adds up muscles and mass onto this, and obtains an high res skin.
The armature acts as a rig skeleton.and deformer.

As for topology, since normally this armature would generate a common adaptive skin, i don't see how ZB could generate some sort of mail of zspheres arranged into quads or whatever to further edit the topology of this new low poly mesh.

or better, may be it could, but seems like sci fi to me.

However, in this case it would allow for reapid workflow, cause you'd have to fix only small parts of the mesh for a good topology for animation

[Darukin]

Regarding animation, what about something similar to this ?
It seems a very interesting and quite artistic approach to animation


(http://www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmv) http://www.kunzhou.net/publications/MeshPuppetry.wmvwow, I saw the video Nemoid and it looks really promising.

The place I'm stuck with ZSpheres is the bone length constraint as I'm not exactly great at 3d-space Maths, but the animation process in the video looks really intuitive and smooth. Also seems less technical like you mentioned, much more artistic and fluid for the artist, which is what Pixologic pushes for in general anyhow, breaking technical boundaries etc. I understand why Pixologic haven't looked into animation yet, but they should really soon if you ask me, they're really getting there.

Either way, ZSpheres 2 looks amazing, and I can't wait to play around with it!

[PMRRRI]

We're going to need a bigger boat.

[organicoman]

Definitly Ingenious, for an innovation, this is the most tricky idea even thought off.
ZBrush Competitors will get their hairs falling down spontaniously.
But one thing that the demo don't show. How to flip from muscles Zsphere (I'll call it like that) to a low res mesh??
And for the grid, this is now 04 yrs since i was waiting for a Normal 3D space in ZBrush, only for standardization sake with the other 3D Soft.
Only one thing missing to make Zbrush the perfect Sculpting Soft:
"Pixolators try to make the meshes editable even if we go out from the edit mode (of caurse without using any technique like subtools or layers)"

any way your scripting advance has become more powerfull day to day, witch make me able to suggest more crazy things to develope.
Thanks guys Keep advancing. :tu:

[A_HUGHES]

iam not getting my hope's up to see 3.5 in august ,, i remember waiting for zbrush 3,

[Paint Guy]

Anyone have any ideas how you would delete a muscle group from the ZSphere armature?

I mean in ZBrush it looks as if the applying of muscles or clay is done almost in layers and they are somewhat separate unlike 3DCoat voxels where adding clay melts or merges with previously applied clay. In ZBrush how would you delete an underlying muscle or am I just not understanding this properly! :cry:

Just really interested in this and this may just convince me to buy ZBrush again? :D

Thanks

[Maxmate]

Only the guys at Pixologic are mad enough to come up with something this awesome!!!!!!!!

[maxinkuk]

Oh I'm soooo excited. Well done guys, I'll drink to you.

[Nemoid]

wow, I saw the video Nemoid and it looks really promising.

The place I'm stuck with ZSpheres is the bone length constraint as I'm not exactly great at 3d-space Maths, but the animation process in the video looks really intuitive and smooth. Also seems less technical like you mentioned, much more artistic and fluid for the artist, which is what Pixologic pushes for in general anyhow, breaking technical boundaries etc. I understand why Pixologic haven't looked into animation yet, but they should really soon if you ask me, they're really getting there.

Either way, ZSpheres 2 looks amazing, and I can't wait to play around with it!yeah that's the main point.
When i saw this vid I said if that armature could be made out of zspheres and provide the same skinning and deformation results it would really be awesome and intuitive for animators to work with.

instead. after thinking a bit to it, this new z spheres technology seems also to go in this direction:

1) build up skeleton armature
2) build up muscular structure over it. deformation could be handled through morph targets or maybe be tied someway to bone rotations
3) obtain a skin, over that muscular structure, in which you sculpt al dermal an surface details(pores, wrinkles, fat) so that you can mimic real organic structure if you need this-
4) a way to obtain a low poly mesh with good topology onto which project skin details

last point would be animation features. Rigging and animation btw brings up several complex problems, but vid i posted show a good direction to handle them.

[Codexus]

Even more awesome than when the first ZSpheres were announced! I can't wait to play with that! :lol: