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#641

A word about 3Dcoat: If you look in the manual …3Dcoat isn’t intended to replace programs like Zbrush or Mudbox but speed up textureing & detailing.

Why do I need 3D-Coat?
You may ask: “Why do I need 3D-Coat when there are such cool applications as Zbrush or Mudbox?” 3D-Coat is not designed for creating a human body out of a sphere or a cube. The main focus of the program is detailing and texturing of objects already roughly shaped in another 3D-package. Here you work initially on detailing level equal to 3-5 million of polygons. Use of normal mapping as opposed to geometrical splitting allows for a considerable increase in the editing and objects viewing speed. It is common knowledge that shaping an object doesn’t take long – up to a few hours maximum. However the detailing and texturing are both lengthy, taking 3 to 10 times more than modeling the draft itself. 3D-Coat is designed specifically to speed up this part of the technological process. The program contains tools for sculptural modeling, provides for a considerable change of shape, however detailing remains the key function of 3D-Coat

Its clear to me in one form or another topology independent sculpting is the future! Having said that I think ZB4 is going surprise us and open up Big Old can a woop…!

#642

This is more valid for version 2.10. Version 3.0 of 3d coat has many, many new tools and improvements upon this, so that you see people doing characters and creatures with it even now in alpha stage. If it will be smooth in sculpting with voxels like ZB is now, it will be a great ZB competitor.

#643

Curvy3D is looking more and more like a useful base mesh creator for ZBrush with the new features in version 2.0 Here is an example mesh drawn and merged into a continuous skin in 15 minutes:

Original Post
http://www.curvy3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=11996

Finished model after z-brush
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/VanRailey/Ranger3.jpg

Base mesh in curvy 2
Each part is drawn separately then merged into one:
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa44/VanRailey/Ranger2.jpg

#644

For those of you who have complained about 3D Coat’s UI, you may not have been following it recently. The UI has been totally redone with tabs for each of the “rooms” like Painting, Sculpting, Rendering, etc. All of the panels are now dockable so you can put them where you like, similar to Photoshop. The background of the viewport can show a gradient, a still image, or a spherical panorama.The painting tool icons have been redone to be simpler. The theme of the app is also redone with a much nicer style. I’ve posted screenshots here, the ones at the top of the thread are from early in the UI update, the ones at the bottom are closest to what you’d see now.

[http://www.spinquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25491](http://www.spinquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25491)

3DC 3.0 is also now in Release Candidate status. The final version is due to go on sale on the 1st of June.

Attachments

3dc_scrnsht.jpg

#645

wow looks totally different and more professional. question, i notice you can tear off menus, but can you tear off individual buttons(text buttons not just icon) like in zbrush or is it still restricted like PS?

#646

No, just the menu.

#647

I want to start this discussion by saying, In my opinion, whilst Autodesk is a company that has capital and power I really don’t appreciate them at all.

Also I did a search and couldn’t find a similar thread so forgive me if this is redundant, even though the argument may be.

I first started using 3D studio r2, when it was being doled out by a bunch of characters from the Yost group, and was being published by Autodesk (1991/2).

This led to the creation of 3D studio Max by the Yost group and then was published by Kinetix (still a subsidiary of A_desk). That software made it to version 2. Then ever so subtly the darkness began to creep in.
A_desk purchased 3d studio Max (and promptly under their yoke, screwed it up).

During the times of just plain 3d studio, Hollywood and some studios in France and others around the globe were using a combination of tools called “Power Animator” and “Softimage”. I could only dream of using that software and often did, but hell, I was so poor I was lucky to be in the 3d animation world to begin with, so 3d studio had to suffice.

Right about the time of 3d studio Max r1/2. Alias/Wavefront introduced Maya
and right away it was apparent that this program was the shizzle.

I really, really, wanted it, BAD. But it was like 50,000 dollars for what was deemed Maya Unlimited with Hair I believe cloth came a release or two later, man those were the days! Also good ole’ Zbrush was just about to be released and was under development.

Now comes the end of my happy trip down memory lane.

I just went to the A_desk website to check out the new features of 3ds Max 2010, and I saw their product list and immediately was very upset/angered.

First, 3ds is at the top of their list (of course it A_desks baby), forget the fact that this product copied every feature it could from Maya one full release after Alias/W had implemented it, forget the fact that 3ds was not open source and was basically crippled in the face of Maya and Softimage/XSI.

Now all of the wonderful work that was once many different companies products in a healthy competing market is doomed under A_desks whip.

Of course I realize that Maya was in trouble around 2005 and I’m grateful A_desk kept it alive, but from what I see they are trying to kill it slowly. I can only feel sadness concerning XSI as well. That is what makes my blood boil…

#648

You aint the only one, therere XSI outrage when Softimage got taken over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR7UWImpG54

And they refuse to call it Autodesk Softimage.

#649

Yeah I have a friend who wants to make some games, and we were about to dive full on into XSI and then he said that A_desk is going to discontinue the Mod Tool… :frowning:

#650

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR7UWImpG54

Many many thanks, feel out of the seat!!!

#651

LAAWLS!!! I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. It’s so true every second…

#652

Well, it is a dead market, really. Or at least very very mature. There’s no room for 8 companies that make major animation packages. Especially not 8 companies that have lots of fans but when you dig around much you realize their products are incomplete and/or deeply flawed.

The good news is that you really don’t have to upgrade anything, short of high end movies where money is no object anyway you can pretty much do it all with maya 6, and you can do it better than anything else out there if you trick it out with scripts.

The other good news is blender is getting close to that point.

#653

Well I will always have a copy of Maya 7. But I disagree about the market. We needed the big three to have their own turf, now it will be the big One, deeply flawed and the only option. :cry:

#654

1/2 Double on that!. Yah, with current softwares available, we can create just about anything even with home PC.

However, even so, A large amount of times spent on learning technical matters are still needed.
I think that the major competition from now on, won`t be about what can the app do, but on how easy it is to pull something off.
By making things easier for non-technical people.

There`re still many of those [I wish we have that] stuffs.

#655

3D Coat user Javis Jones has made a ton of tutorial videos for sculpting with voxels.

http://www.3d-coat.com/voxel_tutorial.html

#656

Good stuff !
p.s. 3d Coat is near to release !!!

should be released in June, 9 :smiley:

#657

Jeez man, whats the big deal? And in 2D we have only Photoshop yet nothing mayor happened and everyone are living with that.

Pointless.

#658

That would be because 2D app today can provide us with everything we need, on rather easy to do and easy to learn basis.

But 3D still got a long way to go.

#659

looks much better, some of the brushes seem redundant and could’ve been consolidated i think. also phrasing and work flow is slightly clunky. love the idea of voxels though.

#660

I’m sure 3Dcoat will be a nice package, especially if they price it low enough to steal some potential ZBrush customers away. Sculpting with the current RC though, it just doesn’t ‘feel’ right to me. I can use Mudbox and ZBrush interchangably, but 3Dcoat feels alien. Maybe they just need to tune some of the brushes, I don’t know. I’m keeping my eye on it though, I remember a time when ZBrush didn’t feel right to me and I waited until Z2 to finally plunk down some cash for it :stuck_out_tongue: