ZBrushCentral

Zbrush only artists?

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#1

I look through all the works in progress and I notice that people use Zbrush, then transfer the models into programs like Maya and 3DMax and all these other multi-thousand dollar packages.

Okay, are they all using educational pricing versions or are they all working for shops that have the software or what? I personally can’t afford all of that and can barely afford Photoshop and Zbrush alone…much less a full rendering/animation package. Especially in this economic environment.

Just wondering if any of the big Zbrush artists work only in Zbrush alone…including rendering and all of that with the possiblity of Photoshop?

Just curious as to other people’s workflows and how they afford everything. :smiley:

#2

Working in the Industry is well known that companies provide the tools. Now as far as i know, all zbrush artists who do freelance work have purchased their copy cause soon or late they’ll amortize it. Same for zbrush app. Some companies also offer educational of “hobbists” licences but those who are using these apps just for fun or self training are ,mostly, using pirated versions. And u can find LOTS of them on the net. As long as you don’t make money its not illegal to use them. Also i know some apps that can do pretty well modeling such as Silo3d and are really cheap. Hope i’ve helped :slight_smile:

#3

it’s definitely illegal to pirate software whether you make money from it or not… but honestly, your chances of seeing any consequences are very slim so long as you avoid using something you don’t own commercially, and don’t broadcast your piracy to the world

I don’t blame pirates, because these software packages are obviously priced for corporate environments, not individuals… you have to start somewhere, and educational licenses from most companies are a total pain… I’ve tried a couple of them and they’re just not worth the money and effort with all the limitations they usually impose

I recommend going open source… Blender and Gimp may not be as decked out as Adobe or Autodesk products, but they’ll cover your bases… at the very least, they’ll give you an opportunity to learn concepts in the fields you’re studying without having to pay money… and there are some cheaper softwares that will get the job done as well… Silo is an excellent example… you just have to do some exploration and research

there’s a thread here in the community forum that collects free software, and it has a ton of good stuff… good starting point

as for workflow… I want to learn rendering in Blender, or possibly Modo if I find I have the money sometime… but everything I’ve done so far has been just ZBrush/Photoshop… you can do alot with just these two programs… even a sort of stop-motion animation if you’re really determined :smiley:

#4

Hi ksgant,

I´m a newbie and I can´t tell you how many discussions I had with people who told me “You need photoshop, max…and whatever to get great results”.

I think you don´t need anything else if you don´t want to animate your model.

BTW- a little info:
Check out this thread from the Action-Hero contest

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?p=542434#post542434

Entirely Zbrush work!
What do you think now? :slight_smile:

#5

A lot of 3D artists would’ve grown up with Photoshop and poly modeling so it’s natural and fast for them to create their base meshes in other programs and then do the touching up in Photoshop. and I suspect some may even do it out of habit than necessity.

I personally don’t like Photoshop and I find it strange to see some people fit it into their pipeline just becasue they own it.

It’s like - “I’ve spent all this money on this program and so I’m gonna bloody well use it, even if it kills me!!”

So they start up their photoshop and apply a silly filter, change the color of a pixel in a texture and feel happy.

“Hey, I’m a professional!”

#6

But u are so right. Thanks for having the nerve to post that.

TuSo

#7

Great things can be accomplished with any tool at hand. One just has to work within it’s boundaries. Disappointing results are created because effects are attempted which are beyond the capabilities of the tool. So, ZBrush alone is capable of nice illustrations, but forget anything photo real.
Lemo

PS:I don’t like PS either, but it’s indispensable for color corrections and other manipulations. Now I have to go and find that ‘silly filter’…

#8

when i first started i used a app called blender (www.blender.org) its opensource/free and can do almost everything maya 3ds max or xsi can do and combined with other open source app’s like luxrender is perfectly able to create Vray/mental ray standard images (even its biult in render engine can achive photoreal results)

now i have got into XSI (via a student edition) and while i love it almost as much as i do zbrush i still find myself hoping back into blender from time to time. as in my opinion its poly modeling tool set is far quicker than anything else ive tried; and its UV unwrapping is second to non.

so i’d suggest looking into blender and if its not for you there is always maya ple which is also free (if not a bit restricted)

#9

Slightly off topic, probably belongs in the other apps section.
But.
My belief ( and I am only guessing) that most of the people involved
in 3d type work, come to Photoshop through the back door.
They hear that everyone else has it and feel that there is a gain in quality by having it.
Also since major places that hire use it, they feel they must learn it as a form
of survival.
There are also some, like me, whose primary reason for using/having Photoshop is photography.
Before there was a Zbrush there was a Photoshop, most popular version was
Photoshop 7.
My acquaintance with Photoshop goes back many years to using it as a “working” photographer.The purchase price was recouped by the quality
and speed of what was produced.
There were/are certain type adjustments that could, at the time, only be done in Photoshop. Not going into history, but the concept of layers is a
Photoshop Landmark. Now every program has a form of it.
I have been quite fortunate in being able to afford some of the bigger programs.
In one case, Maya, I was fortunate to meet someone from the company who
has been able to provide me with a program I could not have afforded on my own.
Back to the point and this is entirely my own opinion based on my own interests.
If you take all my programs away and I only get one, Adobe is the kid.
As I say, from a photography point of view.

( Edit: another selfish reason, all the time I spent learning Photoshop, books
courses, filters, add ons, would not want to have to start over )

#10

almost like any “hammer only” construction guys. It is only a tool. Its not the tool that makes the artist but the artist makes the tool. I use photoshop to enhance what other programs cannot do alone. or just to paint.

#11

Well, I’m kind of different I suppose. I came to Photoshop from a professional angle since it’s inception…but not from the 3D side of things but from the graphic-arts side of things. I worked in pre-press for years and years using Photoshop to color-correct and retouch and assemble many things for print media. It’s what I did for a living with 3D always being a side project.

Photoshop is in my blood I guess, since I’ve been using it since it came out and it will always be a part of whatever I do for the simple fact that it just feels right in my hands. But this has gotten off my main question in that are there top artists out there that only use Zbrush for their art (with the possible exception of using PS for compositing). Meaning modeling, texturing, lighting and rendering all in Zbrush alone…on a minimum budget.

It’s just frustraiting when you’re on your own and you see artists like maxedwin and his Joker/HeathLedger work and then see he used XSI, Zbrush, Maya and Photoshop. I mean, don’t get me wrong the guy is a top notch artist and I’m sure he was using the tools that he was comfortable with…but we’re talking about like $20K worth of software there! :o As others have pointed out, this may be someone using software from the place he worked at etc etc. :smiley:

#12

I’m working with Photoshop since version 3. As a photo-realistic illustrator I’ve always worked with acrylics and airbrushing techniques, but changed my working approach half way the 90-ties with Photoshop. I can’t remember the time I’ve used a ‘filter’ or any of the pre-made tricks that are possible. I use Photoshop in a very tradition matter, as I would do with painting materials. For me, 80% of my working process is painting with the airbrush tool on an empty canvas. This is how I make my living for many years. Photoshop is a fantastic application that, in the right hands, can become a powerful tool. Those who do not have the artistic qualities, or believe Photoshop is about throwing a filter over a photograph, rely on these cheap tricks to impress their friends. If you know how to use this program it will always be your best companion, and you’ll find a use for it, even if it’s just for some tweaks on the final render.

Expensive it is, but there are cheaper alternatives, like Painter or Gimp (free).
Certainly worth a try, but if you make a living in digital imaging, Photoshop is the most widely used application, a reliable heavy duty workhorse.

#13

the pricing in digital arts industries can be very exclusionary, in my opinion… stuff is definitely aimed at corporate environments or individuals/small business who manage to get rolling and raise the funds on their own somehow… it’s really tough to get your hands on software just to learn (and the educational licensing deals with companies like autodesk or adobe are such a pain)

my advice is to check out all the open source or cheaper packages out there… stuff like Blender, GIMP, Silo, etc… you can pretty much cover your bases with this stuff and learn concepts applicable to all the major packages as well

there’s a huge thread here in the community forum dedicated to free/open source graphics oriented software with tons of awesome stuff… I would add a link, but I can’t find it right now probably due to the server upgrades

it’s noteworthy that ZBrush is the best software investment I’ve seen… free upgrades and tons of unique/high quality features for really cheap considering most major packages price in the thousands

#14

Skullbeast: I use photoshop to enhance what other programs cannot do alone. or just to paint.

Thank you, should have said it like this and saved the typing:D

#15

salmongod, heres the freebee thread.
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=19484

i like to try to stay within zbrush myself, i do use photoshop for painting etc once in awhile but i hate the lack of customization. anyone know of a freeware painting program where i can make tearoff popup menus like zbrush or the hotkey menu in maya or silo etc. i guess i mean that PS is very hotkey oriented, where i like to have maybe only 2 or 3 hotkeys pull up menus and hit my buttons in there, like zbrushs menu. lol.

#16

You can organize menu’s in Photoshop, tear them on and off. Perhaps not like ZBrush, but why compare apples with oranges. I only use a couple of hotkeys, for the rest it’s just clicking menus and options for me. So, my advice for you is; learn Photoshop!

#17

i’m still using PSCS, and i DO know photoshop, obviously you and i have a different idea of customization.

#18

I couldn’t use another image editing software other than Photoshop. After using it practically every day for the past 18 years, it’s kind of grown an extension into my brain. :smiley:

But not sure how this thread got onto using Photoshop or an alternative. I was commenting on the high price of 3D applications and how could any free-lance artist afford different packages out there. I know they’re all “tools” to use, but they’re all fricken expensive also.

And it seems many of the top 3D people have tons of time on their hands to make their creations. Are they all between jobs? When I was working in pre-press I’d work a 12 to 14 hour day…often on the weekends…and didn’t want to even LOOK at a computer at the end of the day, much less spend hours and hours on something to post in a forum. :lol:

#19

I don’t know how people do it either… I’m working full time with two kids and my wife is going to school… I’ve hardly done anything art related since I graduated 2 1/2 months ago, even though I intend to every single day… it just doesn’t happen

#20

I’m SO NEW to 3D , I’m only on my second model EVER . I can see how you could go without Photoshop and just use Zbrush for painting but to me using zbrush with photoshop is as potent as it gets , like i said im only on my second model and this second model is only the first i tried painting and it was a joy using photoshop for me . Then again I’ve been using Photoshop going on 7 years now so its cozy to me , as for 3DMAX and all the other stuff Im not really sure I need to use any other 3D programs besides Zbrush for now but like i said Im a super Newb :rolleyes: