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By GEORGE MAESTRI used to create highly detailed and realistic models in games, film, and illustration. In addition to the offering’s 3D sculpting power, ZBrush also can create 2D illustrations as well as “2.5D” images, which are made by painting with depth. Te new version of ZBrush adds a number of tools that make modeling and painting much easier. ZBrush works on both Windows and Apple’s ZBrush P OS X. Upon launching the software, you’re given an option to load one of several stock models, import your own model, or proceed to a blank canvas. Once you are past this menu, the inter- face appears. Te interface is attractive and has a large workspace in the center, with tools arrayed on either side. Pixologic tends to march to its own drummer when it comes to interface design. Te menu structure is different from most appli- cations, and the company tends to use its own terminology. Tis, however, is not a huge hin- drance, but it does take a little while to get used to ZBrush’s unique workflow. Te basic workflow is brush-based: You either brush onto a blank Sculpting ixologic’s ZBrush has always been a little ahead of its time. Te software pioneered the area of interactive 3D sculpting many years ago, and over the subsequent years, the software has been tools that allow you to create geometry from scratch within ZBrush. One of the most interesting of these tools is called ZSketch, which provides a digital equivalent of clay modeling techniques. Typically, sculpting in clay involves creating a wire armature to which clay strips are added, building up the model from scratch. ZSketch allows you to ZBrush uses a brush interface that allows for highly detailed sculpting on models. canvas or an existing model to add or subtract detail. You can paint in 2D, much like in any paint package, but the real power comes when you paint with geometry. Brushes can contain any geometric shape and be used to stamp or pull the surface of a model to add detail. Brushes, however, can go a lot deeper than simple pushing and pulling; they can actually invoke macros and other high-level functions to create very specific effects. A cloth brush could easily transform the surface of an object to canvas, for example. Another brush paints stitches for seams in clothing or for stitching up scars on the skin of a character. Te pos- sibilities with Pixologic’s technology are very broad and allow for a high degree of creative freedom. Te most common use of ZBrush is for sculpting in 3D. Typically, ZBrush has been used as a finishing tool, with the basic geometry modeled elsewhere and the final touches added in ZBrush. Te software’s ability to handle very large models allows for a high degree of detail to be added. Tis workflow, however has been slow- ly changing with the addition of ZBrush $595 Pixologic www.pixologic.com 46 March 2010 paint “strips” of geometry that can be attached to a ZBrush skeleton, much like an armature. ZSketch also can be used without an armature to model free-form. Tis process is driven by ZBrush’s ZSpheres tech- nology, which uses the brush strokes to create the underlying geometric mesh. Spheres II, the new version, allows for branching structures— such as hands, fingers, and limbs—to be created. Another nice modeling improvement is called Unified Skin, which gives you the power to control how ZBrush creates a mesh. Te up- dated version of Unified Skin greatly improves the ability to create edge loops around specific areas of the mesh, as well as create smoothing groups. Simply put, these new features allow you to sketch in 3D to your heart’s content, and then be able distill those creations down to models that can be used in other 3D applications, such as assets for film, games, and so on. In addition to creating and sculpting geometry, ZBrush can be used as a paint package, either painting on a canvas or a 3D model. Not only can you paint color and texture, but you can also paint materials on a model. Of course, when painting on a 3D model, you need to be able to map the brush strokes to the model effectively. Te new version of ZBrush helps out in this area by revamping the UV editors, which control how textures are placed on a model. You can also continued on page 48