Hiya, I'm primarily a programmer, but I've been playing around with 3D modelling lately and I'd love to try some 3D character modelling. I had a look around at some of the more well known packages - Max, Maya, XSI, etc, but ZBrush 3 seems to have some really cool technology, and it's not too expensive for a single-user license. I had a couple of questions about ZBrush though, and I was hoping someone who has some knowledge of it would help... Firstly - it seems whenever you see someone using ZBrush, they are using a graphics tablet (or something like one) to to sculpt and detail models - is this required? Also, can anyone tell me the 3D model file formats that ZBrush exports to? Any help or advice is very much appreciated [smile] James.

Zbrush exports to the .obj format.

Having a tablet isn't a necessity, but applications like Zbrush and Mudbox are really designed to be used with one. Sculpting with a mouse just isn't nearly as intuitive as with a pressure and tilt sensitive pen.

That being said, if you haven't a whole large amount of experience with 3D modeling, diving in a package like Zbrush and attempting to do character modeling is not the best route to go. I'd recommend downloading Blender and giving that a whirl for awhile.

Generally speaking, I don't think ZBrush is used to create models for games, though it is a very useful tool for creating normal maps and texturing models that have been made in other packages. If you are a student of any university (not sure if high school counts) you can get a full featured version of Maya 8.5 Unlimited for $400 from journeyed.com or other official distributors (you can also save 100 dollars on ZBrush through this site if you are a student).

Also, I agree that you should try Blender out before you spend anything on this stuff. Autodesk also has a version of Maya 8 (or maybe 8.5, I forget) called Maya PLE (personal leraning edition). It is free and is a good tool for getting into the field. Only problem is images rendered with it are watermarked (though it isn't so bad that you can't see your work).

OK thanks. I've used Blender before, and I have a copy of Caligari TrueSpace which I've been using to model basic game objects. I guess I'll just stick with that for now, and see where I'd get.

Thanks for your help.

ZBrush and Mudbox are tools used to create incredibly high detail/resolution/polygon models to generate normal maps off of. Generally you take a model created in Max/Maya/Blender/etc and then subdivide and sculpt onto it in ZBrush. The actual game model will never be created in ZBrush itself.

Unless you're goal is to compete with top tier professionals in game art, it's not a necessary program to have. Creating models for games is much easier in other packages.

I would have to say that things are changing. You would be suprised at how many game pipelines now include ZBrush in the mix. With ZBrush 3 comes a topology tool. This now allows you to change the order of your model creation. Instead of low first, and high second, you can now start with high, and use the topology to create a low poly from it with whatever detail you want. IMO, that is truly the next generation pipeline.

Now, for indies, the pricetag is a bit much, but in actuality, it is VERY fair. I use it in PW's art pipeline in just the way I described (used to be low to high with ZB2, but now high to low with ZB3). Also, zer0wolf's comment about not going that route is correct. You really should learn the basics to form a strong modeling foundation before you tackle the high poly stuff. That being said, I found ZBrush very easy to pick up. I imagine if someone just wanted to go straight to using it, that would be fairly easy. I found the video tutorials/examples to help a lot.

Oh, and I also usually find it important to mention that an Academic Version, while cheap, does not allow for commercial goals. The licenses are worded so that you can't use anything you create in something commercial. Just thought I would point that out.

Yeah, was talking to a character artist at Epic and there workflow is to make a medium poly model, work on it in z brush, export the normal map... Then lower the med poly model down to about 12000 polygons...

The Z brush model ends up at about 9 million to 20 million polygons.

But yeah assuming technology keeps up with moores law (sorry if I spelt it wrong) then we'll have character models that are 120,000 polys+ when ps4 is made lol. At which point I guess they'll just take the z brush models, shove them thru poly cruncher and then apply a normal map to that for the small scratches and stuff...

Anyway my point is that ZBrush is an imporant part of most studios pipelines atm, and is likley to become ever more important as poly counts we can use in games increase...

Quote: Original post by Hilm
Yeah, was talking to a character artist at Epic and there workflow is to make a medium poly model, work on it in z brush, export the normal map... Then lower the med poly model down to about 12000 polygons...

you sure their game models are 12,000 polys (tris i'm assuming)? i hangout online with a lot of pro character modelers and the most they've been asked to do professionally is 10,000 tris, unless it was a portfolio piece.
however, yes zbrush is a major part of character modeling these days, and its also not bad for environment pieces depending on the item in question.
the workflow is generally what hilm stated, however some artist's have different workflows like modeling basic shell in their modeling app, take into brush, add low frequency detail, then medium, then high. then optimizingng in zrbush a bit, then exporting, then building a new low poly modeling around the high, then generating the maps to put on the low. others may take both models and export them out to an external app for generating their normal and ao maps. it all is really personal preference.
however while i've seen a ton of great works with just a mouse, i have heard a tablet is better.

"Anyway my point is that ZBrush is an imporant part of most studios pipelines atm, and is likley to become ever more important as poly counts we can use in games increase..."
Actually quite the opposite. zbrush allows us to model all the detail we want and then bake this information into a map to transpose this detail onto our low poly. which, if you try the same with the non-shader days it would take a considerable increase in polys to achieve the same effect.