ZBRUSH
ZBrush 4R8 continues our tradition of creating digital sculpting tools that enable an artist to design with immediate response, even with digital sculptures that have vast amounts of detail.
IDEAS BORN IN CLAY.
ZBrush is the 3D industry’s standard digital sculpting application. Use customizable brushes to shape, texture, and paint virtual clay, while getting instant feedback. Work with the same tools used by film studios, game developers and artists the world over.
Dynamesh is ZBrush’s digital clay. It rebuilds the topology of your model as you sculpt, creating a smooth, even surface for you to add fine details. Step between different resolutions of your model, and changes on any level will be applied to each one. This enables you to create complex models, but still be able to make big changes when you need to.
If you’re a concept artist or illustrator, you’ll find that ZBrush bridges the gap between 2D and 3D. Compose 2D images where you can make real-time changes, while maintaining accurate lighting and depth. Paint models with pixel-by-pixel control using customizable brushes. Use GoZ to create complex textures in PhotoShop and see them applied to your scene as you work.
These are just a few of the unique and powerful features you’ll love about ZBrush.
LIVE BOOLEAN
For all their power, Boolean systems have historically required a lot of trial and error before finally getting a satisfying result. With Live Boolean, artists gain the ability to combine multiple sculptures together and see in real-time what the resulting mesh will look like. Any model can be subtracted from another, regardless of their polygon counts. You can even use Live Boolean with the existing instancing systems in ZBrush such as NanoMesh and ArrayMesh. While Live Boolean is active, you can even sculpt on your models while previewing the Boolean results. All of these options can be combined together to provide new sculpting workflows that are unique to ZBrush.
*Render is an example of the ArrayMesh instance copy system being used in conjunction with Live Boolean.
Model courtesy of Nacho Reisco. The above render illustrates boolean operations on a multi-million polygon sculpt. Rendered in Keyshot.
See a complete list of all new features in ZBrush4R8.
GIZMO 3D
The Gizmo 3D provides the artist with a new, simple UI element that will allow sculpts to be manipulated and transformed with precise control. Gizmo 3D can be easily placed at any location or orientation to perform accurate transformations. You can instantly change the pivot point for Move, Scale, or Rotation. There are options to rotate relative to the surface normal or world axis and much more.
TRANSFORM MULTIPLE SUBTOOLS AT ONCE
The new Gizmo 3D transformation tool will allow multi-selection and manipulation of SubTools. Select as many SubTools as you want, then move, scale, and/or rotate them as a unit. This makes it even easier to pose hard surface models!
INTERACTIVE PRIMITIVES
Design rapidly with simple geometric shapes. Artists can freely adjust the geometry that defines the shape, even after the shape has been applied to the surface. Convert a smooth cylinder to an octagon, adjust a sphere to have flat poles or change a cone into a pyramid – all in real-time. Using this system, a few primitives can be turned into a whole library of sculptable shapes.
MULTI VECTOR DISPLACEMENT MESH
Similar to the Insert Multi Mesh (IMM) brushes, the new Multi Vector Displacement Mesh system allows you to build custom brushes with a variety of vector displacement meshes and switch between them on the fly.
Not only can a brush chisel into the surface to create overhangs, complex objects can be drawn – complete with back surfaces – in a single brush stroke. Imagine being able to texture a dragon with overlapping scales, or draw a fully formed ear without needing to re-sculpt it for every model.
LAZY MOUSE 2.0 WITH CONTINUOUS STROKE
Our Lazy Mouse system was designed to draw with smooth, precisely controlled strokes. Now an artist can guide any stroke’s angle and length before applying the result to the surface. You can even keep a stroke on a consistent elevation level with no buildup when the stroke path crosses back over itself.
Ever want to apply a pattern continuously around a sculpt without any break in the design? The new LazySnap addition to Lazy Mouse makes it possible to start a stroke, stop to rotate the model, then continue the brush stroke from where you left off without breaking any pattern associated with the brush.
ZBRUSH ARTIST CKI VANG
IMM SELECTOR: BRUSH CONTENT MANAGEMENT
It is now even easier to select any mesh that is saved with your Insert Mesh brushes and Multi Vector Displacement Mesh brushes thanks to a new browser. Appearing along the top of the interface, this selector provides smooth cycling between meshes. With a quick swipe to the left or right, this system allows an artist to swap out any inserted mesh with another in real-time.
If you’re someone who enjoys creating brushes you can now copy, paste, and delete the contents from one brush into another.
3D TEXT & VECTOR SHAPE CREATOR
ZBrush 4R8 comes with a complete generator for creating 3D text in real-time. This makes it possible to create individual words or small phrase in 3D. You can also use an SVG file to create your own custom logo for placement on any surface.
Combined with the new Live Boolean system, this 3D text creator is an easy way to engrave or emboss your surfaces with text. Thanks to the new deformers you also have powerful ways to adjust the text or even change the silhouette of your logo.
MULTIPLE LANGUAGE SUPPORT
ZBrush 4R8 is now available* in several languages: English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. You can switch from one language to another at any time. Beyond the officially supported languages, it is even possible to create your own custom translation which can be shared with others.
*While the ZBrush interface has been translated into these languages, customer support from Pixologic remains English, only.
NEW LIGHTBOX WITH 3D CONTENT
LightBox now gives an artist the capability to cycle through the files worked on in previous ZBrush sessions. Also added is the Go To Folder option: a one-click solution to navigate your file system directly within Lightbox.
ZBrush 4R8 comes with new startup projects and materials, originally created for ZBrushCore. These new projects include:
- Jewelry rings and pendants
- New base meshes of quadrupeds
- Assets for 3D Printing that any artist can begin from and sculpt into something with greater detail
Several new Brushes and Materials have also been added that are excellent to use with the other new features.
UPDATED USER INTERFACE
Unicode text is now fully supported, letting you use non-English characters for your names. This also means that scaling the UI will now also scale the text size, which is especially beneficial for today’s high resolution displays.
ZSPHERE DYNAMESH MODE
Creating a base mesh with ZSpheres has become even more streamlined for sculpting. In ZBrush 4R8, creating a polymesh from ZSpheres will now default to using our popular DynaMesh system with equally distributed polygons easy sculpting. Generate a quick base mesh with ZSpheres and continue to push or pull the surface without having to worry about technical barriers and stretched polygons. Of course, if you prefer the original Adaptive Skin system for a specific model it can still be used.
ALPHA STREAKS
Give any existing alpha a new look with the Alpha Streak mode. By applying random streaks to the alpha an artist can create a unique brush stroke that is similar in effect to motion blur. Alpha Streaks also gives any alpha that perfect “paintbrush” feel.
BRUSH MAGNIFY
Adjust any alpha’s magnification with the pressure of your pen. Keep a constant alpha pattern with a light touch, but then add magnification to the alpha with stronger pressure. The reverse is also possible. This functionality allows you to create one alpha and vary the pattern along a surface with pen pressure, alone.
ZBRUSH ARTIST JARED KRICHEVSKY
PLUG-IN UPDATES
3D Print Exporter has been replaced with the new 3D Print Hub plug-in. This plug-in now gives any 3D printing enthusiast the capability to save and share those perfect export settings, or even export to FormLabs PreForm software with a single click. When updating export size, make sure it’s just right with a new Dimension Check window.
The new Scale Master has also been added, making it easy for setting ZBrush to use real world measurements of CM, MM, Inches or Feet. It can also resize an entire sculpt with a simple click, including all SubTools.
Enhance your BPR render passes with the new ZBrush to Photoshop CC Plugin. This plug-in gives you freedom to select various render passes and several material options that will be exported into Photoshop CC as individual layers.
These are all automatically included with the default ZBrush 4R8 installation.
ZBRUSH TO SCULPTEO
It has never been easier to 3D print your models! With the new ZBrush to Sculpteo plugin from Pixologic, you can send your models directly to Sculpteo with the click of a button. PolyPaint can be included as a vertex color, if desired. The plugin also supports multiple Sculpteo accounts and anonymous uploads.
GOZ UPDATES
GoZ has been updated to support the most recent versions of Modo and Maya.
- Maya 2015, 2016, 2016.5 and 2017
- Modo 10 and 11 (Supported by The Foundry)
- 3DSMAX 2015, 2016, and 2017
- CINEMA4D R15, R16 and R17
Many additions have also be made to GoZ for Maya. Pixologic will continue to provide any updates or support to GoZ for Maya.
- ZBrush Polypaint can be sent to Maya.
- All polygroups will be maintained as Maya selection sets. Any selection set created in Maya will be converted to a Polygroup in ZBrush.
- Not only will texture files be sent from ZBrush but texture files in Maya can be sent back to ZBrush.
- Increase speed up to 10x faster on heavy meshes.
- Maya NGons correctly tessellated and exported into ZBrush
- GoZ Maya will no longer default to Mental Ray renderer.
- GoZ is now a Maya C++ plug-in.
