ZBrushCentral

Why No Free / Learning Version?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I was just wondering why you don’t have a version of your software that is free of charge to encourage people to learn it. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a version people can learn on, in order to promote its use in larger studios? Wouldn’t it just make more people want to use your product, if you had more people showing off what it can do? It would also be a way for someone to add a knowledge of Zbrush Software to their resume, without needing a 400-600 dollar license to legally be familiar with it?

A lot of other companies have versions that have trial licenses that last for up to 3 years to allow someone to familiarize themselves with it. If your worried about someone abusing your software in a professional setting, then digitally watermark the model etc so that unless it is saved and compiled on an official version it would be easily identified among a games assets.

That is just my personal opinion. I would find it interesting to self teach myself Zbrush, but I prefer to learn software when possible on free versions. I know at least a half a dozen guys who were interested in learning Zbrush but gave up because they didn’t have legal means to get a free version to learn it on. If you think about how the Unreal Engine has been adopted by so many as well as the Unity Engine, you can see just how they have driven their product by making it freely available to learn to those that choose to pursue it.

You would also likely find tinkerers and others playing with it in a variety of ways, and likely informing you of bugs and perhaps making very useful plugins that your entire user base might make use of. Think of all the games and new game developers have emerged from the ether because of the Modding community, and free tools that have let them pursue their dreams. A learning version of Zbrush should bring in a wider array of end user customers; since they could then require prior experience with it from an applicant, who could spend their time learning it on their own or whatever. I think requiring prior Zbrush experience is likely not on anyone’s list of pre-requisites at present. With a free learning version that could totally change.

Anyways that is just how I feel about it.

#2

They used to offer a trial back in version 3. I’m hoping they focus hard on version 5 and release it along with a trial version. Zbrush really needs to get into the 64-bit as they’re hitting the limits of 32-bit more and more.

#3

Yea, a trial version would be good at the least. So you could get some experience with the program. Though I would prefer it be of a more open nature to encourage others to take it up.

Hopefully they get a 64 bit version done soon as well.

There are also other things that can be done with Zbrush now that 3D Printing is coming into the forefront as well.

#4

I can only think of just one company that offers free educational licenses for up to three years, and while that seems great for students I don’t think it is as good for them in the long run as it sounds. That type of free is a catch-22, and once that grace period is up the real price rears its ugly head. One day you suddenly find that if you wish to continue using software you’ve grown dependant on, you now have to pay an absorbent amount for it. And you have to continue to pay for it every single year to keep it up to date, because if you let it slip too far behind then one day you’ll find you have to pay the full price for it all over again. With zbrush, the commercial license isn’t that much more than the educational one and updates have so far been free for years. It’s been a pretty sweet investment to say the least.

Wouldn’t it just make more people want to use your product, if you had more people showing off what it can do? You would also likely find tinkerers and others playing with it in a variety of ways, and likely informing you of bugs

I don’t think zbrush is short on people (both hobbyists and professionals) creating amazing work for it and showing what it is capable of. And while there are always a few exceptions, the more inspirational ones tend to be from people who have been using the program for a while, not from people just picking it up and being unsure about the ins and out. As for bugs, it would more likely only complicate things as there would then be two different ongoing versions that would require support (and a bug that may be present in one version may not be in the other due to the difference in features).

Ultimately I think a 7-30 day trial would be a better solution, but if it was removed in the past then maybe there are reasons for it.

#5

Without a trial though, someone couldn’t familiarize themselves or potentially make a portfolio piece. A portfolio is critical to showing employers etc that you can do good work, as well as showing them you have experience with the software in question. A programmer would associate themselves with the programming language, and often times with the engine itself and its tools before applying for a job. Wouldn’t you expect employers to also seek out those with prior experience in modeling etc before hiring them?

You could even make it so you couldn’t export a model to anything other than to save your work. Just be able to take screenshots etc to show your off your work visually within a trial / learning version. I suppose I feel that you should be able to learn the software without having to buy it. To really learn something you have to use it and try lots of different things.

#6

I think portfolio slots are better saved for the best work someone can do, not something they’d create when teaching themselves how to use a trial. Employers do expect applicants to have experience in the software they use, but they’re usually looking for years of experience, not 7-30 days.

It’s usually up to an individual to make a financial investment on improving themselves or engaging in their hobbies. In this case it could mean buying software, training books and dvds, online workshops, or tuition at a school that offers such courses. It’s not free, but the people who provide these services deserve to make their living too. And there are still student discounts for learning versions, tax credits, etc that can help alleviate some of the costs involved in doing so.

#7

I agree that you wouldn’t want to use it for a portfolio if the trial lasted only 30 days or less. But a Learning version would work for that. My point is, will the average person invest 600-700 dollars in a software they may or may not use in their professional job. I just feel that people would greatly benefit from the ability to get used to the software, and show off more and more stuff that it could do.

Generally people or companies who are already using it will buy it. I think they have more to gain by a learning version than they have to lose. People who are going to pirate their software likely already are, I think it more beneficial to everyone to offer a way to learn the software for free without piracy. That is just how I feel about it at least.

#8

My point is, will the average person invest 600-700 dollars in a software they may or may not use in their professional job

$600 gets them the program, commercially, for life. For many (myself included), it’s because they invested that amount or more that they get to use such tools in their career. It’s a far cheaper deal than you’ll see from monopolies that tend to offer free programs initially in order to really put the squeeze on them (and studios) later. And average people do invest money (and more than that amount) into their future, even though no certainties can ever truly exist. They invest even if its a hobby, and they surely invest if it’s something they plan on trying to do for a living. Workshops alone can cost more than a zbrush commercial license does.

I think its important to realize that this software was designed to create things, period. That’s what you’re paying the bulk of the price for; to use the tools they spent a decade creating. The user’s intentions are a small factor to the cost difference with the commercial license, and a watermark doesn’t nullify the sense that someone essentially feels they want to use another person’s work for free.