I just wanted to let you guys know that based on my recent experience with a few of the moderately priced 3D applications, Zbrush is still ahead of the pack for making 3D modeling far more artist friendly than any other prog. I have gone through Truespace, Amapi and the latest casualty being Animation Master. All along, having to deal with rediculous amount of bugs and crashes. very disappointing experience for a proffessional illustrator and designer trying to expand his skills into the realm of 3d. However, Zbrush has been the most friendly and intuitive app. Hopefully, future versions will have even more added 3D modeling features. I will stick with zbrush, painter and photoshop. the three make a killer package for digital art. Maybe someday, artists don’t have to be stuck having to either shell out rediculous amounts of money to get many of those overly complicated 3d apps or having to deal with buggy, unreliable ones. I am sorry, but 15,000 dollars for Maya is just nuts and unjustifiable. just thought to share my experience with all you guys. Keep on zbrushing! I know I will. can’t wait till i post more pics here. 
theres alot of good info there… thanks…also 15,000 dollars is way to much money to spend on any program…unless your either rich… or you are in the business like our famous ken b…
thats what i like about ZBrush you can Jump right in it no experance to start playing with it.
other 3d programs you got to read 3 weeks of stuff just to get started thats over your head and you spend more time scratching your head going HUH!.
15,000 dollars for Maya ill Take 2…
i think thats for the corprate edtion and it only works on ONE OS.
i think
Here here! Well stated talos!
It is great to hear that I’m not the only one frowning at the rediculous prices of some 3D programs.
You hit the nail; right on the head
one thing i forgot to say is… maya is a really good program for gaming and video animation… the movie final fantasy was created using maya… and yes i have done the research on alot of programs in fact i have over 20 different ones… but the best program that i have is still zbrush…one for its really easy interface,and two its simple to add alot of features without having to refer to a huge manual, or college courses… (my two sence about it)
Ditto ,Ditto,ditto.
Agreed.
What makes ZBrush so powerful is the sheer range of applications for it. From game texturing to movie modeling to textile patterns to Poser morph targets, there is something in ZBrush for nearly everyone. It may not always be able to do the entire project, but it can so easily fill in the holes that other apps lack.
Maya, for example, is a dynamite animation program. But for Final Fantasy they used Photoshop to create the textures. How many of those textures might have been easier or even more stunning had they been created with (or with the help of) ZBrush?
Poser and Bryce are also both excellent at what they do, but the first has a really lousy rendering engine, while the latter has a time-consuming behemoth. In both cases, elements can be created in them and then brought into ZBrush for rendering using a real-time engine and with built-in retouching tools. After all, how many Poser or Bryce renders need post-render work? How many ZBrush pictures do? Hmmmm…
Incidentally, if anyone is using ZBrush in the “real world” (like DeeVee with his jewelry), please let me know! I would love to hear all the different industries that ZBrush is making its way into.
I have to admit that since getting into Zbrush I find myself using Maya less and less. ZBrush is so much easier and fun to use and it doesn’t take a lifetime to get a decent looking mesh! I suppose the big horror story for alot of us would be if pixologic was bought out by makers of Maya or XSI… Really with the impact they are making in the world of 3d its only a matter of time before some big firms accountant tells them it would be a REALLY good idea to buy them out 
The other option would be for other firms to try and come up with their own version of the technology involved while not breaking patents. Either way Zbrush definately gets my Top 3D Application award, not only for the program itself but for the way its revolutionised the 3D industry.
Also although Maya is expensive I was incredibly lucky enough to be given it as a present off a freind who owed me a favour, so not all Maya users are rich. in fact I’m far from it! (and in need desperately for a job!!)
Wayne…