More Zbrush Beta Results

[skycastle]

Just wanted to share more results of our
Zbrush testing. Zbrush allows you very very
fine control our high poly meshes.

Its is the best way out there to sculpt digitaly hiRez meshes for film or games.
Very stable and very fast.

I wish I could go into more detail on the
features and workflow. I will just say that it works WELL!

Dave Cardwell
Modeler on the Rings Flics.... http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200307/user_image-1059001803ooh.jpg
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200307/user_image-1059001849rnv.jpg

[Mentat7]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Forget about pushin points, its now time to get to sculpting!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah baby! Yeah!!

One question...I noticed you imported models into ZBrush that were created in Maya. I assume you could easily have created the same models in ZBrush with these new features rather than using an outside app??

[DMerchen]

Wow, the detail on these models is incredible. Thanks for the preview once again. :D :D

[drjjwow]

now thats what i call detail.. awesome work.. i cant wait to play with the next version.. i sure wish that it would come out already.

[Gary Komar]

great detail,cant wait either,now i feel kind of handicapped!!! :mad:

[Mentat7]

I can't wait to use these new features on my own models! I have been putting noise in using the NOISE deformation...a far cry I bet from the way you were able to do it. Love the trollish looking chap!

[Mahlikus The Black]

Yeah I saw that on your last MNC head Mentat! Really sweet!

Skycastle...I hate you! You have the new toy!!

:mad:

Ah just kiddin! Wicked great work man...keep the stuff coming! I miss having juicy teasers! :tu: :tu: :tu:

[skycastle]

Just so you dont feel left out.
They Beta testing is something that was setup
between Pixologic and Weta Models.

So nothing personal.
I can say that people I work with are very impresed with what it can do and the amount of time that can be saved using Zbrush!

As a modeler I personaly recommend the product.

Dave Cardwell

[skycastle]

Also to reply to Mentat7,

I am creating the low res in Maya because it is a part of my usual work flow which I very familiar with.

After the low-res model is created I import it into ZBrush and add the level of detail that I can not do in Maya. ( 1 million plus poly
meshes! still fast to use )

When the detailed model is completed I can generate displacement maps in ZBrush and export these to be added to the rendering pipeline.

Hope this answers your question.

Dave Cardwell

[Nemo]

always a pleasure to see new Zfeatures in action :)

For the time being until the rest of the community can lay its hands on the new version could you please elaborate a little IF it is now possible to get a nice mesh topology within zbrush?

This would be really really interesting to me an i bet others too.

Great modelling :tu:

[grassynoel]

Holy hell that's impressive! Bring on the new version!

Very well done.


Grassy. www.3dluvr.com/glenn (http://www.3dluvr.com/glenn)

[The Namek]

I like the big guy , amazing details.
are these test models or are they going to be used for something ?

[Gary Komar]

your post has interested many and after seeing it i did a search for weta many sites
havent read them all,the software mentioned
only maya,after your praise of the beta version of zb and its ease and time savers
does this mean we will be seeing its use in
possibly the next episode of rings(if any)
and a quote from one site-not enough
skilled personal in new zealand to fill the needs-thats interesting also as there are probably many artist or modelers here at zbc including
myself that would love to participate in such a project.thanks for any feedback :tu:

[upham]

Ahh, only a face a mother could love!

Tell us some insider-info Dave! What's-it like having to hand over your model to the animation department after spending so much time labouring over a model?? This is a first-rate model, and I could imagine it would be a real buzz seeing your model come to life when animated!

Can we expect to see these models in the upcomming L.O.T.R. movie?? That will be a real buzz to say we saw a fraction of production here first!! :D

Best of luck with the upcoming next 6-months. I'm sure the Return Of The King movie will cause 'hair-regrowth' formulas to double in sales! I-for-one will be a spoilt consumer, by the production team's great work and devotion to personal best. :tu: :tu:
U :)

[Gary Komar]

in regards to uphams question,or have we already? http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200307/user_image-1059059151njy.jpg

[juandel]

wowowowowow - thats one mega :cool: model. thanks for sharing beta - results - more pleeeease! :)

- juandel

[DMerchen]

Wow again! I have a question. I don't want to go into features, I just want to get a feeling for what we can anticipate. I don't know if you have messed with the current version or not, but I wanted to get an opinion about how much ZBrush has improved. I was very excited to go from 1.23 to 1.5, and a lot had changed. I just wanted to find out how this compared. If you can't answer, that's ok. Still, WOW! :eek:

[Curious]

Hey Dave,

Say hi to Gino for me. We used to work together at Patrick's.


Great stuff by the way!

-Tully

[50'sKID]

This is so exciting, like waiting for Xmas!! 50.

[Mahlikus The Black]

Hey Aurick, can we expect an inteface-facelift for 1.75? More windows like maybe?
What about the possibility of plug-ins both for Zbrush and by pixologic? Would be a dream to have the revolutionary hi-poly sculpting for progs like maya, lightwave, and of course c4d...and in turn have shader plugins and what have you for ZBrush...*eyes glaze over*....
.....
.....
Ah, nevermind me...I am just way too excited!

KEEP IT COMING!

[andreseloy]

Yes, Im very happy with this good new, the most important point to me....is that the new version is a reality...and its take his time to maturity at all¡¡¡¡ This adittional time must be to give gratitude to those who contributed to all previous version and to the present one, to those who with its suggestions helped to finally improve new versiòn and to Pixolator and its equipment that allow us to enjoy this artìstic wonder and finally to the ZB forum.

[KenH]

I would say the next Towers movie is just about wrapping up on most of the stuff at this stage. Nice work Skycastle...it'd be interesting to know what those models are for...if anything. :tu:

[DeeVee]

Impressed! this is fantastic work...I will be patient!

[WingedOne]

1 million plus polys. :drools:

I can't handle any more than about 350,000 at most right now.

I wonder what kind of programming tricks they used to achieve that. :)

Cool stuff, I can't wait until we all get our hands on it.

[skycastle]

I just wanted to respond to some of your comments.

As far as the amount Zbrush has improved from
the current version. I would say that now
they have a production ready tool that can fit well into most pipelines during the modeling and textureing phase.

It became a production friendly tool. It provides a full solution for creating highly detailed models and being able to use them in production.

I would say that if you dont have a clay modeling dept, or the time to spend sculpting
in clay then scanning it ( then rebuilding a lowRez ), you would need Zbrush.

Dave Cardwell

[skycastle]

Oh BTW,

If you want to see the some of the results of Zbrush. You may want to have a peek at
Rings 3....

[WingedOne]

By the way, a little off topic, in regards to your signature: You wouldn't happen to be a Miyazaki fan by any chance? :D

[davidT]

Dave, your killing me......
D.T.

[Mahlikus The Black]

*Claps furiously for Pixologic and Weta Digital*

Bravo!!!!!
:D :D :D :D :D :D

[skycastle]

Re: Off Topic

Yea i love Miyazaki's works.

[Hookflash]

Is this the 1.6 beta, or some later version? Thanks

P.S. Very impressive model! :eek:

[ambient-whisper]

well considering 1.6 will be the public released version that hasnt been announced officially yet.( usually companies announce products 1 month before release )
id be willing to bet its a version prior to 1.6. but i could be wrong.

btw. dave, once again killer models :D

ps. when the final zbrush is released, id love to see you release a zscript to the public that shows your workflow on building up fat and other details.

[Muvlo]

Awsome! Congrats to Pixologic! :tu: :tu:

And nice creature, Skycastle. :)

[andreseloy]

Hy 50Kid what is "for Xmas"
Thanks.

[somlor]

Beautiful work, Dave. Can I ask, what was used to render the displacements? Is that also ZBrush?

Sean.

[Zendoftheworld]

Hi Dave,

Great modelling work and workflow example.

For those that are interested in more examples of this type of workflow (low res from Maya -&gt; ZBrush -&gt; Displacement and normal mapping), feel free to check out my research page at my web site:

Direct link: http://home.pacific.net.au/~phourmouzis/research.htm

Mu homepage: http://home.pacific.net.au/~phourmouzis/


Regards,
Zendoftheworld...

[chikega]

For workflow, here's a tutorial by Ken Brilliant using Amapi 6, Zbrush, Lightwave 7.5 and Normal mapping.
http://www.brilliant-creations.com/amapidemontut.htm

[nickz]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering, I use Maya and I model with polys. I'm real interested in the workflow to get these type of results in Maya. I have a model that I'm currently working on that I would like to use z-brush to generate a displacement map that would in turn be used at render time in Maya. Here is another question. If I'm using polys in Maya, can the standard Maya render handle this type of displacement. It seems every time I try to displace polys in Maya it totally chokes the render. Will I have to use Mental Ray?

Also, can anyone give the down and dirty version on how to import a model into z brush, sculpt on the model in various resolution or smooth levels and then have a normal and displacement map generated. It's all I'm really interested in using the package for, but I think that alone would be well worth the purchase.

face_pre_displacement.jpg

[aurick]

Hi nickz,

The next version of ZBrush will be able to do what you're wanting, and that is the version that WETA Digital has been using for their tests. It will be a free upgrade to all registered users of the current version.

The current version is capable of being used to create normal and displacement maps for flat surfaces (such as game environments). It is also an excellent tool for creating morph targets for use in animations, as well as texture maps. So you may very well find that it gets used a lot more than you expect. :)

I would recommend getting the current version and becoming acquainted with what it can do and with its workflow. Then when the new version is released you will be able to more easily jump right into the features that you're mainly interested in -- you'll already be over much of the learning curve. :)

[akhromov]

Nick,

The short answer is: Yes, using the current version of Zbrush you can do the Displacement Recovery technique. It follows these steps:

1) Create Maya low rez, UV map it, export as lo.OBJ.

2) Import into Zbrush, Divide it till you hit the current 250K poly limit.

3) Sculpt it and export as hi.OBJ.

4) Use NormalMapper from ATI to generate the normal map & displacement map.

5) Use Olivier's shaders to render in Maya.

Sounds simply, but there are serious gotchas sometimes.

Basically, the next version of Zbrush will automate steps 2 - 4 as I undestand it. It will also have a much higher poly limit, somewhere in the millions. Dave Cardwell (of Weta) has been using the beta and raving about it.

I just bought Zbrush for this very purpose. The workflow works even in the current version, though the 250K limit does hurt you. My biggest concern is getting a clean Maya shading network.

There are some out there, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that with the release of the next Zbrush the good folks here will make some clean shading networks for Maya.

(I know I was probably way too vague here, but Dave Cardwell's gallery here is a good starting point if you want more details.)

[Zendoftheworld]

Hi there akhromov,

I'm in the process of writing shaders and a tutorial on how to use them in Maya, mentalRay and renderman.

That said, the development of shaders is the most difficult aspect of this technique.

This tutorial will be printed in an upcoming issue of Highend Magazine, which is actually a follow-up the the article I've already written on this technique (due out in a few weeks when Issue 3 of the magazine ships).

Regards,

Zendoftheworld...

[akhromov]

Zend...

That's great to hear. Just keep in mind that the shaders need to use Tangent/Point space vs. the World or object space that others are using. (Vertex level deformations screw up unless in tangent space.)

Anyhow, I doubt I'll be getting the HighEnd mag, as I have yet to find a single store that has it, so posting something here would be a great help.

Andre Khromov

[Downwrdspiral]

I love these characters. The pig is awesome. and Nickz character rocks as well.

http://www.deathgoth.com/sitegraphics/sitebanner10.jpg (http://www.deathgoth.com)

[Northstarr]

Boy, am I out of the loop! I didn't even know that there was a newer version in beta testing until a few days ago. Looks like it could do some really neat things.

[zeebit]

hey, any idea when v2 is due out?
i am still trying to figure out 1.55. wondering if it is lacking in general, or if i just have no idea what i am doing. heh
i am doing the whole, model wicked high rez thing, but in nurbs patches in maya, and the overhead hurts. i can't wait til i can get a hold of v2 so i can use zbrush instead of maya.
-pete
an example of my latest:
process (http://pete.cardboardboxstudios.com/summer2003/jawHeadProcess.jpg)
final (http://pete.cardboardboxstudios.com/summer2003/jawHead.jpg)

[andreseloy]

zeebit
Your model are so impressive¡¡¡Is a masterpiece modeling to me¡¡
Congratulations

[Antimorph]

I've been reading them on cgtalk and now they begin to infect this place, it amazes me how closed peoples minds are to the challenge of learning Zbrush's interface. They expect service, they expect answers, they expect way too much. Screw them, I say. They have lost the ability to learn by themselves; they expect special treatment, and in rancid arrogance they lay the foul stench of thier judgement on Zbrush, something that is greater than they are.

Such people deserve contempt.

So says me.

Glad I got that off my chest.

Impressive work in this thread. Well done all involved.

[ambient-whisper]

i wouldnt say they deserve contempt.

while i personally dont have many issues with the interface, i can see room for improvement in areas that could make it easier for new commers.

[Gwot]

Agreed. It's a new app with a different interface, and a lot of people will find that difficult to absorb, especially after years of using a specific program. However, the benefits to be gained from zbrush, in terms of time saved, and quality/quantity of potential output made my choice to learn it a no-brainer. I'm always on the lookout for new programs with new features - anything that has the potential to make my life easier at work is worth checking out.

[Mahlikus The Black]

Something I wrote a long time ago...

There can be more knowledge in a young bird...left to the limits of the heavens...
...than within an ancient oak...
...confined to ground...
...rooted and ever still.

So, let some of those old timers over there sit and sulk and never grow. Those who take up the novel skills are the young bird...expanding the power of knowledge. Diversifying.

I used to be upset at those said individuals but not anymore. I am through the door that they care not to see and I am glad to be here!


Oh I feel poetic now.. :D Wel, My 0.02¢ anyway.

Great modeling guys!! Can't wait for the new stuff. I'm itchin for a bite of it!

[zeebit]

yeah, i dunno, a ui is a ui. i don't think z's is too bad, just the camera control could be a little cooler, but it is probably me not knowing what i am doing yet. i am just wanting the super powerful poly engine that dave is promising for v2, hehe.
-pete

[grassynoel]

Man, I have been animating for 20 years and used countless different apps. Zbrush, although unique, still falls withing the common paradigms assocoted with creating things in 3D. I had no trouble learning the interface. People get thier backs up if the buttons are in the wrong place.

The same was true of painter. Photoshp people sooked it up no end that painter's interface was different. Now with V8 they have adopted a more photoshop interface but who's to say it's better? I'ts actually quite Darwinian how the most dominant packages infulence the smaller apps.

Screw them I say.

Grassy (slightly annoyed) Noel

[Mahlikus The Black]

You go! lol

[CGDude]

:tu: So looking forward to this next version!!!!! :tu: