Good day to you all, my name is Joshua; I’m a student at a small but very good school, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD), and I have been using ZBrush for about 2 years prior to my being in school. During my application process to the school we were required to submit a portfolio for review, some of my pieces were created using ZBrush. During the review I mentioned to the admissions counselor I had used ZBrush for said pieces, to which she replied “What’s ZBrush?” I thought this was an oversight; my admissions counselor, a graduate from this school, did not know what ZBrush was. As time went on during the semester I found that many students didn’t know what ZBrush was either, and after I showed them they were elated! So, since the fall semester and the last few weeks I’ve been trying my hardest to get my school involved with ZBrush, and amazingly enough, I’m having some effect!
All the computers in our computer labs have ZBrush installed on them, so I decided start a group at my school centered on learning to use ZBrush. It’s gotten quite a few people interested, including school faculty. Not long ago I gave a presentation on what ZB is and it can be used for. 10 people showed up for the presentation, and considering that 20 or so people is large for class size I think I did well! We were supposed to meet Fridays each week; however there had been a huge oversight that I was unaware of until recently. I learned that, even though our computers have ZB installed on them, our school did not have an activation code for each copy. It turns out our school is open to suggestions for new software, and there was one woman who asked for ZBrush. However, someone flubbed up, and purchased a student/academic license (single user) instead of a volume license.
… This did not deter me in the slightest! I found the people I needed to speak to, David, and set up a meeting. Afterwards I left to speak with one of the school’s faculty who encouraged me to start my group, Chris, one of our schools sophomore-senior illustration instructors. Oddly enough, I found that she was the woman who suggested our school purchase ZBrush. Chris had been trying to learning how to use ZB on her own in hopes of incorporating it into her curriculum someday. She was kind enough to write an email to the man I would be meeting with, David, providing him some of the story you see here. Most importantly, she mentioned how art and the industry are moving towards using programs like ZBrush, and that we really need to “get on the boat with this thing.” I was told that in my meeting with David that purchasing software during the school year is highly unusual. However, given these unique circumstances, he was very excited to say that our school will be purchasing enough copies of ZBrush to accommodate students!
So, now that you’ve read all that, I need help! ZBrush has changed my life as an artist and I’d like others discover what a joy ZBrush is! I need ideas, learning material suggestions, and most importantly some structure (a curriculum of some kind). I’m going to need help, lots.
What’s next; where do I go from here?
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