Other commercial applications discussion thread

[Bo Atkinson]

Thanks for the opportunity to see what else is new in commercial NURBS products. There really is a natural root-difference between vector and raster design approaches. ZBrush is an ideal partner for pure vector applications, (including NURBS).

I'm a dedicated user of muiti-versatile-vector-based formZ. Have been so for 12 years, or so. (The only 3D program I know well). I doubt i'll want to learn much more interface juggling. In fact i'm waiting for the ZBrush to upgrade before delving deep in in to it's interface. (May I hope it settles in the interface for some time to come. That's due to human brain limitation. We mortals are really frail when it comes to accommodating too many diverse interfaces of life. The artist faces ample hurdles to creativity, let alone interface. Youth may be swayed by claims of skill without work, but beware. (I know, I got into Scientology at age 18, far from home. They swayed me with the idea of "total control over matter, energy, space and time, etc" Ha, what a delusion).

I realize that we have to thank the game and movie industries for 3D development, but the bigger promise of 3D is for all industries, even ones which make entertainment possible at all. One has to find their real goal in 3D before diving too deep. Shallow dives are OK, but for those of us who need to earn a living with dependence on 3D, dive with care.

I've tried hard to invest in software which would last but still wasted money along the way (on software which really had little hope of market growth). Competition is tough. Softwares promises look good on the surface, up until you invest deeply in time and creativity. Then you find the bugs or limits that kill your hopes. Unless you have a software which has developers on hand to fix the bug. That's why I would stick with better established softwares with a real user-based income. A $100 isn't going to solve the gaps which an avid user will find. They all run into bugs because 3D is infinite to the computer, (a fact brought by evolution). Furthermore, let's theorize that rising markets like China or India would rush to support $100 NURBS aps. Now you have other interface problems, human language and cultural accommodations. Besides that (and piracy), you have too many broad interests to serve. Each user has such varied needs in 3D, even within one nation.

I'd expect to spend 4 figures on a long lasting 3D ap. My ap, formZ has free demos for the starving artist to try. Besides one can work their way up progressively. Employer's software is another route to master established 3D and another is ebay deals on good ap licenses, (used copies- but check validity).

I won't bore you with the countless customized needs one may have. Except one should pick a Swiss army knife if you realize the importance of versatility. NURBS alone is not enough. Strong polygon geometry is still super hot. So are the crushing expenses of survivable rendering, vector-animation and strong import/export. Ver 6 of formZ does it all.

BoA

Sample

http://www.formz.com/downloads/sampl...fly_small.html

[mudboxhype]

anyone else getting this same result? the mudbox site seems to no longer have anything besides a splash page! its tough times for us digital sculptors

[Frenchy Pilou]

MoI Export Obj finalizing

[gottsbett]

Check this out 3d modeler had some fun with the demo

http://www.curvy3d.com/

[Frenchy Pilou]

...of a very curious prog Curvy
Ps How draw a straight line ? Not yet found

[maledon]

Frenchy
You can use the 'Straighten curve' tool in the tool panel to straighten part of a selected curve.


Cheers

[mica ticu]

"TopoGun is a specialized retopologizing application. It contains two main modules: TopoGun:3D and TopoGun:2D."

They have some sneak videos on http://topogun.com/

[Frenchy Pilou]

... here by me myself and I
I had a Moment of Inspiration
Ps
@Maledon : many thx for the tip !

[Frenchy Pilou]

...visible again new adress!
here

[wckedsunny]

Hey guys

Sorry to interupt here, But I came to know about shake today .

What exactly is shake for ? Illustrations ?

Do I need to be good painter to use it or its like zbrush easy to use tools.

[lemonnado]

Shake is a compositing program running on Apple's not on PC's. http://www.apple.com/shake/
It is used for motion pictures. Look at it on the apple website. I doubt that you have any use for it.

It is very cheap right now as Apple has dropped the price substantially but also froze that particular version. Apple plans to release a new product sometime in the future. Currently no upgrade plan to this new system has been released by Apple. So, it's a great compositor and the best bang for the money if you need one. But it's also a monster of an application and it's almost a job on it's own to control it. IMHO it's more a pipe line tool than a utility for a one man studio.

Cheers
Lemo

PS:Photoshop is of more use for you. Or if you think you get into animation etc. then consider XSI Essentials. Looks expensive on the first look but considering the fact that it contains a compositor and other modules one has to buy over the time it is more than a fair price.

[wckedsunny]

Lemo I use photoshop for mainly layouts and color correction and bit of post effects

painting in PS is too big a thing for me, will take time as I get more used to level of detailing. me not a traditional artist


... Zbrush still lets me do wonders thats why I like it more then any other software, the moment I stroked the first brush on its canvas with Zdepth on, I knew God had send this as a gift for me and I am still learning it after a year( almost by this time last year).

Will jump to XSI in coming months.....

[lemonnado]

I use PS for the same job. You can think about Shake as a PS for image sequences. Unless you have those it's of little use.

I think you are perfectly equipped with ZB and PS. Don't get involved with XSI before you have ZBrush nailed down. Or XSI will take a lot of time away from your work. ZBrush is a perfect learning tool to get acquainted with the 3D world. XSI adds about ten times more control. And that comes with the price of complexity and a learning curve. It's fun to dig into it but it costs time and patience, and... money.

Cheers
Lemo

[wckedsunny]

Lemo actually I am looking for another illustration software which combined with Zbrush can help me do my work better, more detailed and faster....

But I doubt I will get something as innovative as Zbrush...

How is Corel Painter ? I have used other corel products but not this one, is it like another photoshop/illustrator or as versatile as Zbrush( Dont forget my non artistic background). I am jealous of people who have traditional background in art, they can with time easily use any painting softwares to create amazing stuff.....years of actual painting experience helps

Will need to spend some money on Gnomon DVDS, starting from Zbrush Illustration one... is it worth it ?

[sirquadalot]

wckedsunny, check out PD Pro (Project dogwaffle) You can find it at the, http://www.thebest3d.com I use it for compression mostly. I bought my liscense through DAZ3D...and it was a steal...and worth it. I have not really had the chance to grind the app yet,...but I'm happy sketching with it. A ton of tools but FYI it's a little awkward to get started with. I.E no layers, but It kicks butt.