Zbrush and what?

[Tenly]

Zbrush has been recommended for creating shoes, however, as I understand it...you cant rig for SL with zbrush? and you have to take the mesh into something else to not only add bones to rig, but also to do something to reduce the number of polygons?

Is that correct...or does anyone know of a reasonable work flow with Zbrush?

Im looking at modo which is amazing. but over 1000. US. Zbrush seems to be only slightly less, but also does not seem to do all that Modo does. 

Anyone else experience between the two?

and no, blender is not an option. I hate blender with every fibre of my being. lol.

[Cathy Foil]

If you can afford ZBrush get ZBrush.  If ZBrush is a bit too expensive get 3D Coat from Steam.  3D Coat auto retopology has gotten much better over the last two years.

You need to know the way you model in ZBrush or 3D Coat is different than how you model in Maya or Silo.  ZBrush and 3D Coat is more like modeling in Clay where you sculpt the shoes.  Maya and Silo you more model what is called subdivision modeling.

Benefits to clay type of modeling is it can be fast and end up with a more organic feel.  Bad is you have to retopologize your mesh in order to get it ready for SL. Benefits to subdivision modeling is it can also be fast but less organic in feel or at least the final product.  Another plus is it does not need to be retopoligized to once you are done with your initial design it is ready to go and always has better edge flow and quads than having to retopologize with the auto features in ZBrush and 3D Coat.

If you want to try the clay modeling approach try Sculptris it is free. http://sculptris.en.softonic.com/

For shoes I say subdivision modeling would be my perfered method but what ever method works best for the individual creator is what is most important.

Since you are only doing shoes you could rent Maya LT from Steam for just $30 UDS a month.  Maya LT you can model and rig in but you don't get all access to all the Maya features and tools.  You have to export your rigged FBX file and convert it to DAE with Autodesks Free stand alone program FBX Converter.

Maya LT allows users to make up to, I believe, $10,000 a year before being required to buy the regular version of Maya.  You could also take some online Maya classes or sign up at your local community college and get the Student Version of Maya for free.  The student version is a full version of Maya. Once you made enough money with Maya LT you could then buy the regular version of Maya.  This is what I would do if I was just starting out.  

Hope that helps.
Cathy

[Chic Aeon]

 

Just wanted to state that as I suspected (I used to teach at a college and the banged this into our heads):

 

Software and cloud-based services provided without charge to Education Community members may be used solely for purposes directly related to learning, teaching, training, research or development and  shall not be used for commercial, professional or any other for-profit purposes.​

 

This comes from the infor on student software for Autodesk from this page:

http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/all

 

A repetition of that is down at the bottom (twice) and a link to the license agreement.  So the cloud based LT version would be needed for selling.

 

[Tenly]

I had no idea there was a maya LT version! I think Id rather have the vertices. Ill check that out and thanks for the advice!

 

[Nacy Nightfire]

Tenly I've noticed you have repeatedly mentioned the program Blender in your mesh forum posts. And you've spoken about it in very negative terms.

Many, many Second Life creators are very content using Blender. It's very popular.  

Keep in mind,  also, there are some folks who simply can't afford anything else and they have no other options. To repeatedly bash Blender, expecially where you have very very little experience in 3d modeling is not very tactful.  

Your  analysis of the program and your supposition that Blender is a free program because of it's deficiences (which you mentioned on another of your posts) is incorrect.  You may choose use it for free, but Blender.org gratefullly accepts donations to compensate the amazing and brilliant individuals who work on the program.  Every year I send a donation.

I own and have a lot of experience using Modo, Zbrush and Blender and I must say I generally do my modeling in Blender.  I do some of my texturing in Blender and Modo and I mainly texture in Zbrush and Photoshop.  Zbrush is great for certain types of modeling, but it doesn't export collada files natively and it's is not necessary if you haven't yet learned the fundementals of modeling.  It's unique approach may confuse and frustrate you.

Modo is an excellent program for advanced users and it's amazing for things you will never need for Second Life.   I consider myself an advanced intermediate modeler and I favor modeling in Blender.    And Blenders great advantage is the tremendous amount of training resources for Blender available on the net that are both free and for sale - and quite a bit of it is Second Life specific.

The fact that a program you like doesn't export collada files is just a very minor annoyance.  Every program imports and exports obj files.  If I want to turn a zbrush model into a collada file, for example, I export it as an obj file and import it into Blender and from there I export it as a collada file.  So you might rethink your relationship with Blender if only to use it for this one purpose.

Prepare yourself to be very frustrated and humbled by hours of failure as it's part of the process. Until you are proficient at a few 3d programs, any problems you will encounter will be undoubtedly USER error and not a problem with the program itself.

 

 

 

[Jorie Muircastle]

the answer to this is.. get what you are most comfortable with using.

there is an addon that will make blender easier.. called blender sensei... but in the end it is a matter of what you are most comfortable with.

for the longest time i used carrara studio pro, and to this day I still love it for doing mesh work.

as far as the modo thing... there is an indie version of modo that only costs 200 dollars or so.. or you can just subscribe at 15 dollars a month... this is uncrippled and the only limitation is you cannot export more then 100K poly... but then if you are trying to 100k poly into SL you need to be shot. so no need for more then that.

here is link to modo indie

http://store.steampowered.com/app/401090/

[MishkaKatyusha]

eh,blender is fine.its complexity is way over my rather limited attention span but that has to get a good thing,i hope some day to be pro enough for it

one time afew years ago,i was in a spot for a commisioned art peice i was making,so i downloaded blender out of desperation.and i still forget what i did.but it worked beaitfully.made 15 usd that day

[Tenly]

Im sorry that you are upset because some people dont like blenders UI. If you do a little research you will find my so called negative attitude regarding blenders UI is in fact an attitude held by many.

I did not ask you to evaluate my attitude. I asked for software recommendations.

[Tenly]

Ive never heard of blender sensei. Ill google that. And check out the subscription option on modo. TY!

[Tenly]

Jorie, thank you for the blender sensei tip. looking at videos of this now and this looks very promising. Going to download and see if I can get a step farther with this tool added on. THANKS!

[Tenly]

Just wanted to update my quest for a sensible mesh creation tool to say that I have found a great place to start. Which was the last place I wanted to go. BUT thanks to a wise and very helpful Jorie, in another thread, Ive been pointed to an addon called Blender Sensei. And as I noted to Jorie, just three videos in and already some truly mystifying and frustrating issues for me, regarding blender, have been resolved.

It might be Ill never be a super mesh creator of shoes...but at least now I think I have a solid platform to begin to try.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. if I manage to master blender Ive no doubt Ill invest in other programs in future and your advice means a lot.

[Nacy Nightfire]

I'm not the least bit upset. And my attitude evaluation must have worked as I see you are warming to Blender .  I'm quite certain you will happy with your decision.

Much luck and prosperity to you for the New Year both in SL and out.

 

[Tenly]

thank you Nightfire. This new addon called Blender Sensei and the creators tutorials are helping me be much less frustrated with blender. Now I just need to get a cheatsheet for all the shortcuts. :-)