ZBrushCentral

what are the possibilities?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

i was just wondering about the possibilites of using ZBrush in a production pipeline…
I am a Filmmaker and decided to turn to CGI to make my films, it just seems more ideal to me because of my ideas which could never be recreated in real life. I saw ZBrush as a way to speed up the process of modeling in a 3D APplication such as my first choice, MAYA.
I Love the way you can build models in Zbrush, I was just wondering if i would be able to build my models in Zbrush, Take them in to MAYA and rig them and animate them and re texture as needed. I wanted to know what the difficulty level of this process would be…I see the workflow working as such, please let me know if this is just hopeful wishing:

Zbrush for building models and detailing them.

MAYA for rigging, animating and camera work as well as retexturing as needed

VUE for my eco systems and vegetations (and environments; clouds, sun and what not)

PhotoShop for all 2D needs (textures, alphas, masking, art work, cloth patterns and etc etc)

After Effects for compositing and post work

Boujou for camera matching

Thanks in advance!!! :smiley:

#2

for now,its a little inadequate if only use zbrush to do the charater modeling work.

as for my opinion. :ex:

#3

To put things very simply, Zbrush lets you do what some heavyweight 3d software can’t do, that is, let you sculpt on millions of polygons effortlessly, besides other things. It also lets you export these sculpted details to externel applications using bump, normal and displacement maps. so a relatively low poly model in max or maya can be given a lot of realism using the details ( warts and all ) exported from Zbrush.

You can create yor base mesh within Zbrush using a number of techniques, such as Zspheres and retopology .Retopology lets you create better edge loops.

There are plenty of discussions here at ZBC that deal with displacement, bump and normal map creation and using them in other applications, so dig around and you’ll have lots to read and learn. :slight_smile:

#4

There really is a ton that you can do exclusively within ZBrush, or by combining ZBrush with other apps. Everyone has their own preferences, but as with any tool you will find that the more you put into it, the more you get out.

ZBrush has been used extensively in the movie industry. You may have heard of small films like “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” or the last two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. :wink:

To learn more about how ZBrush has been used and is being utilized today, this is a great place to start: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/forumdisplay.php?f=88

Especially check out the interviews with:


  • Pendulum Studios
  • Frank Gravatt of ILM
  • Aaron Sims
  • Sze Jones

You should also check out the movies at http://www.pixologic.com/user_stories/ – especially the lower right one where Kris Costa talks about his work at Cafe FX.

#5

Big ups on the heads up Guys! :smiley:

I had been hearing a lot about how Zbrush can really make things complicated when going back forth from, say, Maya. I just wanted to make sure i was on the right page… after all, Lots of money is behind this!

most of my curiosity was born when i was viewing the work posted on here, they are so highly detailed i was just wondering if that would be possible to rig and make it come to life. I also just purchased some DVDs from Digital Tutors and answered my own question (to some degree) also i must say i viewed all 30 of the basics movies in the Zclassroom and after combining the digital Tutors lessons with it I have a deeper understanding for the program and workflow :smiley:

now, being that I am a brand new user and still new in 3D overall, I have Dedication and the know how to achieve my goals, i was thinking (not trying to put a time cage on it) that i might be able to turn out some truly powerful results within a year or less.

here is to hoping all goes well! :slight_smile: