Newbie question Zbrush, Maya, modeling and frustration

[chinadrgn]

I tried searching the forums for an answer but I kept getting an error message, so please forgive me if this is a frequently asked question.

What is the connection between Zbrush and Maya?

I just want to sculpt characters/creatures but I’m not sure about how to use Maya with Zbrush. I’m learning Maya now but I’m trying to focus on the functions that will pertain to what I’m doing.

I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of confusing information. I am taking a Maya class because my Zbrush instructor recommended it. But I really don’t know what I’m doing here. I don’t even know how to phrase questions in class.
I have already asked people what the work flow is and the general idea, I think, would be that you can render in Maya and can fix the geometry but do you really need to do any of that if you’re just making a computer model? Zbrush seems to do everything.

I also suspect that I SUCK at all of this stuff. Do most people who take this stuff just understand it/ get it, find it enjoyable, easy? Or are there any other folks that feel like this is similar to wading through quick setting cement mixed with rusty razor blades? Is there a time limit as to when people “Get it” ?

Maybe I should have stayed in the family business and become a ferret tamer like Papa Joe wanted.

[joe55]

firstly this isnt easy. its gonna take you a while (years) so dont get discouraged or feel bad. if you really wanna learn it just dont give up.

secondly, i would suggest you learn how to model in maya before moving onto zbrush. its kinda hard to get your meshes right in a timely fashion if you aren’t good with a base modeling package. as great as zb is, it still has alot of issues with its poly modeling.

but if you really must learn zbrush first (itll proly end up hindering your progress in the long run) but you need to just check pixologic’s tutorial pages. they are really good/thorough

[MarakSan]

ZBrush is a means to bring incredible detail in the shortest timespan.

I think everybody feels like they want to smash their computers and work in a meat factory, even when they actually know a lot about their programs. Don't worry about not being good enough. You will never be able to do what other people can do AND you know what? They will never be able to do what you can do either! Hahaha! I'm sure you have a rough idea of the process involved for making a character or making a 2D animation to tying your shoe! Break everything you find into small manageable chunks and conquer them individually. There is a tonne of lingo that's associated with 3D, that got me feeling overwhelmed and I came from a programming background! Mipmaps, antialiasing, shaders, Inverse Kinematics, point constraint, NURBS, Loft, Emitters, Rigid Binding. The wacky list goes on! So when you come across words like these open up a text editor and write them down and copy and paste the definitions from [www.dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com) or help files in maya. You will come across the same word over and over, chances are you know what it means the whole time you just havent associated it yet. These are your notes alone. You should see my mess of notes when I learnt how to rig arms and legs correctly in Maya! hehe! (its my mess and it all makes sense to me) You know some but not all of the tutorials written on websites were purely written just for the author so that they wouldn't forget what they had learned. Then they felt that they were written nicely enough that they should be posted up! Just keep coming across tutorials on youtube or anywhere and write a description down in a text file followed by the link and save it. Eventually you will come to a point where your ready to texture or ready to animate or whatever and you will have everything all ready noted down and where to go to procede to your next step.

I’m not going to say don’t give up, because someone who has just being crawling through quick drying cement with razor blades doesn’t need it. There’s enough fight in there already.

[Morph_Division]

hey chinadrgn,

Be methodical in your approach.

Learn how to model in maya purely because it will teach you the rules of polygonal modeling with regard to animation and rendering in the most direct way.

When you know your stuff move onto breaking all those rules in zbrush.
To be honest, I move back and forth between apps because neither app is perfect for every situation. But by all means don’t toss aside zsphere modeling because someone tells you to start with a cube.

The question you are after is “What is the character pipeline between maya and zbrush”. Basically this is modeling, texturing, map extraction, retypology, blend shapes for animation.

[chinadrgn]

Thanks everyone for your sage words and advice. I have a frustration build up at least once a week, usually after Maya class and then I start to feel like a whiny little moron.
It’s just nice to know that I’m not entirely alone and someone else has already beat their heads to bloody pulps trying to understand the mysterious gods of CGI.

Maybe I’ll put the ferrets on hold for now. I’ll just have slather some on some first aid ointment, bandage up and get back into the pool…sob