zbrush4 - august 9 2010

[andreicirdu]

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=089971 :dance:

ZBrush 4 will be released for Windows and Mac systems on 8-9-10
(Monday, August 9, 2010)
At the same time, we will also be releasing updated versions of all major plugins,
as well as GoZBrush support for Modo, Cinema 4D, 3DSMax and Maya for Windows and Mac systems.

More information about ZBrush 4 and its features will be disclosed as we get closer to launch.
Come see us at SIGGRAPH 2010 and see Z4 in action!

ZBrush 4 will be released as a free upgrade to all current registered ZBrush users,
and for those who purchase ZBrush before Z4 is released. .

[MikeANash]

Great news if they actually release it on time :D

[El Burritoh]

Great news if they actually release it on time :D

Seriously, this is pretty much what they said in early 2009 "ZB4 will be out this summer..."

They have a history of being late to their own deadlines, but they make cool stuff, they're not owned by Autodesk, and don't charge you for the upgrades, so what can you say? Go Pixo!

I think that since Mudbox got all spiffy they realized how much of a threat it can be!

[PascalR]

if this kind of subsurface is achievable in zb4, it will be like Christmas time for people like meclap
http://www.pixologic02.com/1007ZBrush4/89-Pixolator.jpg

[phrenzy84]

Yeah there are translucent materials in Zb4.

Ive also heard that paint layers is definitely in there. I hope ptex is also an option because Houdini 11 (just released) has the option of rendering them.

[oglu]

think thats a render and not realtime...
and as long as i have to polypaint in z... i wont use it for painting...

[El Burritoh]

We were wondering about that too. A couple of other images featured that SSS as well.

The new shadowbox modeling method looks very interesting for us hard-surface people!

[Intervain]

The transparency is a render feature not a material feature :)

[companioncube]

some cool new stuff, but i agree with oglu's view on polypainting.

the pixologic site still seems bogged down but i found these links for features videos

pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/animateExpose.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/timeLine1.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/animate3Dlayers.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/mannequins1.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/mannequins2.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/introducingClipBrushes.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/brushRadius.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/shadowBoxAlphas.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/shadowBoxReference.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/rectAndCircleMasks.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/lassoAndCurveMasks.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/moveTopological.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/decoBrushes.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/alphaRoll.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/selectAndClipBrush.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/Zbrush4_GoZ_1.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/animateExpose.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/BPR.f4v
pixologic01.com/zclassroom/homeroom/modules/zbrush4/video/alphaTiling.f4v

[jack_sparow]

I was desapointed by this release, some good new tools and brush as always but once again lot of past year features, and no Ptex... when it will be in the next mudbox by default.

it's a shame

[oglu]

im not really disapointed... but most of those fancy features i cant use here... i need clean hardsurface objects... and the only way is to model it by hand...

z4 is great for finding ideas and doing character stuff for games... at the moment there is no place for it in my pipeline...

buti really like to do a ride on a private project... :dance:

[PaulAdams]

Eek. I'm caught between a hard place and a rock. This release still hasn't convinced me to jump from Mudbox to Zbrush but at the same time I'm getting tired of Mudbox's slowing down when I cross the 1 million threshold dislike its poor shaders too.

You'd think it was the 2nd coming over at ZBC. :p

[charkins]

I agree with oglu, in that I'm not disappointed, but I was not waiting on anything here. I'm not a hardcore Zbrusher, so most of these enhancements are wasted on me.

The mannequin, shadowbox, spotlight and added render features are great. And best of all, it's free. As I was discussing with a colleague, they're going to have to step up their game if they're charging for updates after this. Look how people whine about Zbrush updates now - just wait until they have to start paying for them...

[El Burritoh]

Ideally, artists could have access to both Mudbox and ZBrush. But it's hard to argue with the development pace we've seen from the Mudbox team. They originally had to play catch-up with Pixologic but they've done that and more. Pixo is going to have to change their game to stay competitive if Mudbox keeps improving the way it has, especially since this is the last free ZB update.

About ZB4 though... seriously? More brushes? It's almost too much to manage. Slim it down! (I guess I shouldn't complain about having options, though huh?)

The Clip Brushes in conjunction with the hard-surface brushes from 3.5, however, seem to be a pretty powerful mix. Almost like sculpting with nurbs surfaces.

[gjpetch]

All the stuff in the beta testers forum is crazy inspiring.
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112

Looking forward to getting a free moment to update my license so I can have a play.

[Garrick]

I have to say one of zbrush's core strength are it's brush's.
Less brush's to zbrush is like saying Mozart music just has to many notes in it.;)

Just take a look at the new move Topological brush, zbrush is still king of character creation.

[BrettSinclair]

Not sure i'm convinced with this release.

Maybe I expected too much after 3 years? I dunno. But it seems they ignored all the needs of artists and made some random plugins/tools. The 3rd release was better. Granted it needed a service pack release shortly after. Layers can only work on the highest subdiv? wtf is that?

[El Burritoh]

I have to say one of zbrush's core strength are it's brush's.
Less brush's to zbrush is like saying Mozart music just has to many notes in it.;)

Just take a look at the new move Topological brush, zbrush is still king of character creation.


I agree that the brushes are a strength in that they offer awesome functionality. There's no getting around that! But now they're just cluttering the UI. I know I can redesign the UI somewhat, but it's still cumbersome.

Since many of the brushes are variants of another, why not group the those common brushes together? Why not have all the polish brushes grouped together under a button somewhere, for example? I know I can hit a key with the brush palette open to isolate brushes alphabetically, but I'd almost prefer a Photoshop-style implementation where similar brushes are just grouped together in a single button that pops up its own menu.

[Storm]

@El Burritoh
I don't know if you know this feature, if you hit "B" that will bring up the brushes, now, if you want the move brushes, you can hit "M" and this will highlight all the brushes starting with M. And of cause all the brushes you use, will jump to the top-row.
Hope makes it a bit easier to navigate around ;)

[El Burritoh]

Oh yes! I use that all the time. It's a partial solution, IMHO, but it does work.

Hey, by the way Frederik, how much of your rhino was done in brush? Looks great!

[Storm]

Thanks man ;)
Sorry I must have missed your reply, my rhino is done 100% in zbrush. I only left zbrush to make the final touches on the rendes, color-correction, DOF, a few hairs etc in Photoshop.

And I don't think sorting the brushes is really a problem, but they should really make some sub-tools groups, really hope they'll add that feature some day.

[El Burritoh]

Thanks! I just got my email with the download info over the weekend and got ZB4 up and running at home.

It's awesome! I didn't know about the new move brushes! Those are interesting. Seems like they're really advancing the whole conceptual stage quite a bit with the tools they've added with this release.

[ZippZopp]

i saw this over at cgtalk and this is one thing about zbrush that has always bugged me. whenever i make a fast stroke, i get dotted lines. My sculpting process is somewhat fast and sketchy and this is a huge reason why I don't like sculpting in zbrush. up until now I never knew this was a 'feature'

Aurick from ZBC says:

That's not a bug. It's a design feature, meant to help you create randomness in your organic sculpts without having to change settings. The faster you move the cursor, the more spaced out the dots that make up every brush stroke will be. For smooth strokes, draw more slowly. For super smooth strokes, activate Lazy Mouse.

[Storm]

@El Burritoh
Definitely, also the clipping brushes gives a great opportunity to do hardsurface concepts in zbrush is a really great addition.
But I've got to say, my favorite addition is the clay buildup brush, I wouldn't know what to do without it.

@ZippZopp
I was pretty surprised to see that reply as well.
You should try out the claybuildup and soft clay, they allow for very fast sculpting, clay buildup is properly my favorite because it works fantastic at both carving into the mesh and adding to it. While softclay is brilliant for wrinkels.

[Garrick]

The thing I wish zbrush 4 would have is the ability to see and paint on only a spec or gloss layer in OGL, like Mudbox does.