ZBrushCentral

3D Newbie Needs Help Establishing Workflow :)

Community
#1

Hello! :slight_smile:

I draw and animate in 2d, but now I’m learning 3d as well! ZBrush got me so excited because of the way you can “draw” (sculpt) that it is the first 3d program I’ve got. Now I just need to figure out how to integrate it into a 3d animation workflow! But I know nothing of all the different programs and procedures. Will you help? Here are some questions!

1: I want to render full 3d scenes in animation - backgrounds, cameras, grass, sky, water, trees, mountains, rocks, grass, dirt, weather, architecture, indoors and outdoors, lights, particle effects and special effects of all kinds, etc. What other programs besides Zbrush will I need? I’m so confused by how many there are! :slight_smile: Also I do not know the difference between the programs I “build” in and the programs I animate in and the programs I render in - do I need different programs for every step? But to put it simply, I need some kind of workflow where I can animate both characters and environments very well - but be able to build them in good detail too. :slight_smile:

2: It seems like everyone uses Maya. Zbrush’s shaders, so I have read, do not “translate” into Maya. Does any other animation program read Zbrush’s shaders? Are they as good or better than Maya? If I have to use Zbrush to “build” and Maya to animate, what will I do about my shaders?, I do not want to use no shaders at all because that would not look very good. :frowning:

3: I’m confused by all the different “renderers” that there are. Pixar has one for sale, many other people have theirs for sale…what is the difference of them, how do I use them?, what do they do?

Thank you very much for your help. :slight_smile:

EDIT: Oh yes, another question. :slight_smile: I would ask those of you who do something similar (even if you do not animate, even if you just have Zbrush in some wider workflow you need other 3d programs in too) to please describe what you do in your workflow step-by-step. So you would say, in this program I make the mesh, then I bring it into Zbrush, then I use this program for this other feature, etc. That would help me. :slight_smile: Thank you again!

#2

Oh yes, a new question already. :slight_smile:

Will I need a “workstation” 3d card? What is the difference between these card and normal 3d “game” cards? I am reading about the Quadro from Nvidia now and it sounds very impressive, but at the same time Nvidia’s “normal” videocards can be set into 4 GPU chain with SLI. And I wonder, at the end, which will render faster? So what is the purpose of choosing Quadro instead of something like 4 GPU with SLI?

Thank you :slight_smile:

#3

Also may I ask, if I do want to put the cloth/hair/fur/feather simulation on a model from Zbrush, what is the right program for this? :slight_smile:

I am sorry to ask so many questions! I hope someone helps soon. :slight_smile:

EDIT:

Even more questions! :slight_smile: What is the texture resolution I should use for making textures of film quality? such as in “Ice Age”, “Shrek”, “Incredibles”, etc., and not for computer games.

#4

www.cgtalk.com

All programs, and all answers for even more questions.

If you work through the practical guide a lot of answers will become obvious.

Good luck!
Lemo

#5

I do not understand what to do with this website, sorry. :frowning: Are you saying to ask my questions there?
Where is the “practical guide”? :slight_smile:

Thank you!!

#6

All major programs have a forum at cgtalk, so just go there and read through them and you will get a feeling about the application, the happiness of the users with it and a lot of technical information to make up your mind. There is also a hardware corner with all the advice you need.

This board is pretty much limited to ZBrush and thus will not provide the general information you seek. Which explains the lack of respoonse to your initial questions. No better place than cgtalk to get into the groove.

Here is the place for THE GUIDE:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/zb_quicklinks.php?q=0

Looking forward to see some work from you!
Lemo