The constant attention to detail and commitment to refinement, means the team is always finding new ways to implement design and technology throughout the creative process. Read more about it, and hear what VFX supervisor Vincent Cirelli had to say about new camera techniques at CG Society.

See the role ZBrush plays in the professional pipeline, and watch your favorite Lycans come to life.

Students appreciated Bryan Wynia’s 3 week Concept Maquettes course so much that he’s made a full, 8 week online training course for us. So get ready to make some serious, full-bodied monsters, creatures and characters!

Course description: 3D CREATURE SCULPTING

ZBrushCentral veteran Cedric Seaut (user name ced66) received another Top Row nod for his “District 9″ inspired Power Supplier. The concept, retopology, polishing, and color concept were all done in ZBrush. Check it out for some good inspiration!

See Cedric’s Top Row thread at ZBrushCentral
View more of Cedric’s artwork at his ZBC User Gallery

Now that Z4R2 has been put to the test by ZBrush users on many different system configurations and workflows, we found some ‘rough corners’ which we would like to polish. Therefore, we have released an update patch allowing you to take full advantage of the powerful features in Z4R2 now, without having to wait until Z5 is released.

But that’s not all! ZBrush4 R2b also includes exciting new features that are designed to push your artwork to ever greater heights! FiberMesh to create true 3D fibers, fur and hair which may be sculpted, painted, UV mapped and even exported to other applications.

• New set of dedicated FiberMesh “Groom” brushes and corresponding Brush settings.
• MicroMesh support to render fibers or single polygons as another 3D object.
• New set of BPR filters and operators to greatly improve your final ZBrush renders.
• BPR Global Shadow and Ambient Occlusion settings which simplify shadow management.
• New Cavity Mixer which to define different material shaders based on the mesh cavities.
• Improved small details creation through Alpha and Mask. Alphas may be placed using TransPose.
• Surface Smoothness feature detects mesh curvature for Mask creation.
• New global deformation with Transpose Curve deformation and UnClip.
• Improved Mask operations with Shrink and Extend.
• Topology editing additions: Group Mask and Edgeloop Mask Border.
• New JPEG Exporter with Crop, Preview and adjustment settings.
• Numerous improvements such as storing shadow information based on the camera point of view, preview of mesh Extraction, Auto Adjust Mode for perspective… and a lot more.

Click Here to view the FiberMesh Preview at ZBrushCentral.

Click Here to learn more about ZBrush 4R2b’s many other features.

Last but not least… In Z4R2b you’ll find two palettes that require the use of a plugin. One of these plugins, the NoiseMaker, was previously announced and will be coming your way within a couple weeks. The other is now being announced for the first time and is code named: QRemesher.

QRemesher is result of the collective efforts of both Pixologic and Verold. As it’s name suggests, it is a remeshing solution both automatic and guided. Stay tuned, for a February pre-release Alpha version of QRemesher, available for download and preview inside ZBrush 4R2b. Once completed, QRemesher will be available for purchase and download at Pixologic.com.

More news, and exciting updates will be made available in the weeks to follow. We look forward to seeing all of your exciting new artistic pursuits on the ZBrush Central Forum.

ZBrush4 R2b is a free update for all registered ZBrush users.

For anyone who already has ZBrush 4R2 installed, an Updater is available now in the Pixologic Download Center. Please carefully read the instructions that are provided with the Updater.

If you cannot install version 4R2 (because you never upgraded to it or did not save your installer), you will not be able to use the Updater. Instead, please submit a ticket in the Support Center. Choose the “Upgrades” department when prompted. Be sure to include any information that can help us locate your account so that we can assist you promptly.

New purchasers of ZBrush will receive version 4R2b directly and will not need to update.

Floating license customers will receive an email with special upgrade instructions before the end of January.

Documentation for the new version is installed with ZBrush 4R2b. You will find a Documentation folder within your ZBrush 4R2b folder, containing PDF files covering the new features in ZBrush 4, 4R2 and 4R2b. Online documentation is available at www.pixologic.com/docs/. We will also be adding new movies to the Education section at www.pixologic.com to demonstrate the new features and their use.

Should any issues arise, we have posted an FAQ and Troubleshooting thread for ZBrush 4R2b HERE.

Happy ZBrushing!

Epic Games and People Can Fly studios “Bulletstorm”, leaves no shells unfired.

You can see the amazing concept art and how ZBrush was used to bring these 2d trigger happy combatants to life by checking out the article at CGSociety.org.

Game designer Arcade Berg commented, “ZBrush can be a great way to start models using sketching tools, Zspheres and by simply moving older base meshes around, scaling limbs, rotating joints. This is best for organic stuff.”

Check out how ZBrush is helping artists in the most demanding workflow pipelines.

ZBC favorite and ZBrush beta tester Christopher Brändström (aka Chris_Brand) received a top row nod for his noir version of “The Flash.” He has added a few ZBrush screen grabs and texture tests on the 3rd page, and on the original post there is a link to a super high res version of the finished product. That way you can see it in all of its textured glory.

See the top row thread at ZBrushCentral.
Check out Chris’s ZBrush 4 Beta Tester Thread.

The challenge of generating assets for an iconic brand is no easy task. Thankfully, Snowblind Studios and our friends over at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment were up to the challenge. The results are a breathtaking re-imaging of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. The folks at CGSociety.org have posted a write-up on the game and included some amazing images. Check out the full article here.

Art Director Philip Straub, and the dedicated designers at Snowblind, worked hard to create vast worlds and characters for this epic RPG adventure. According to Straub, “there was a big push across all the art staff to implement ZBrush into both the environment and character pipeline. For many, ZBrush was a brand new tool, but the artists quickly got up to speed on how to implement it into the overall pipeline.”

Read more about the process of bringing this game to life at CGSociety.org.

CG Society is a cornerstone in the digital art world. The site is a hotbed for talent, and serves as a showcase for what is happening and considered relevant in our industry.

The annual CG Retrospective celebrates the achievements of the men and women who make our industry so dynamic. The ranking is dictated by a public voting system striving to keep its ear to the street. This year, Pixologic’s ZBrush 4R2 is sitting in the number two spot overall. Let’s not forget ZBrush’s little sister, Sculptris holding down the number 16 spot! We are delighted and thrilled that both applications are considered among such tremendous competition.

Visit CGSociety.org for a full rundown of the nominees.

The fans have been supportive of Pixologic’s ZBrush in previous years, and helped push ZBrush into the Top 20 on more than one occasion. Having been nominated over the course of the last 5 years, we are grateful to all our supporters and community members on ZBrush Central for helping propel Pixologic and ZBrush into the number two spot this year.

Until next year, keep on ZBrushing.

Join Novedge and The Pixologic Team on February 1, 2012 at 11 a.m., as they take you through this informative educational opportunity. This Webinar will highlight ZBrush and its effect on various industries.

Webinars are a great way to interact and communicate directly with The Pixologic Team. Take full advantage of access to the development team during in-depth question and answer time, and see the inner workings of what you can achieve inside ZBrush.

To enroll in this webinar, visit Novedge.com.

See you all there.

Vancouver’s Image Engine has been nominated for the 10th Annual VES Awards. The Visual Effects Society recognizes the achievements of professionals in film, animation, commercials, special venues and video games.

This year, Image Engine has been nominated for “Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture” for their work on Universal Pictures Edvard/Adam from “The Thing”.

The competition is fierce, the likes of which include, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2-Ukrainian Ironbelly, Paul-“Paul” and finally, Rise of the Planet of the Apes-“Ceasar”.

If you are in the area, the 10th Annual VES Awards take place on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. You can also catch the action broadcast on the ReelzChannel.

For the complete list of nominees, visit www.VisualEffectsSociety.com.