See how the unusual inhabitants of Barsoom were first envisioned and the role that ZBrush played in bringing Disney’s spectacular production to the big screen. Pixologic takes you behind the scenes at Legacy Effects for an in-depth interview with concept artist Scott Patton.

Read the Interview

ZBrush artist Jerry Groshcke (aka lazy noob on ZBC), has provided a new turntable for his gallery at Pixologic.com. This one is a model of Davy Jones that was based on artwork by Tiago Hoisel. Jerry found DynaMesh an integral part of his sculpting process and used BPR for the final render.

“Dynamesh is fast, easy and gives artists freedom to do what is in mind in one nice workflow.”

Check out Jerry’s most recent artwork at our Turntable Gallery.

See more artwork from Jerry at his User Gallery at ZBrushCentral.

We’re pleased to announce the release of ZBrush 4R3 for both Windows & Mac.

ZBrush 4R3 not only implements various enhancements and polish to existing features, it also introduces major new features to dramatically expand your artistic possibilities.

The following are some of the main features added:

Advancements for FiberMesh Include:

• Curve modifiers added to a number of FiberMesh settings ranging from Length, Coverage, Gravity and Color Profile.
• Add the right amount of curl to your Fibers with the new Revolve feature.
• Textures can be applied to the Fiber preview for increased color vibrancy.
• Fiber textures now support transparency and antialiasing.
• Build your own library of FiberMesh presets by saving and loading settings to be applied to any selected SubTool.
• ZBrush proprietary FiberMesh vector displacement export.
• FiberMesh guides now export: .obj .lxo .lwo .ma .fmg (.fmg is a simple raw data format which allows game developers and studios to easily incorporate ZBrush fibers in production pipelines).

Advancements for NoiseMaker Include:

• A wide variety of procedural noise generators, making it easy to create almost any effect imaginable.
• Noise displays more accurately, even on low polygon models.
• NoiseMaker sliders accept numerical input.
• Enlarged NoiseMaker preview window makes it easier to fine tune your noise before accepting it.
• NoiseMaker preview window now supports standard ZBrush move/scale/rotate shortcuts as well as navigation buttons.

Pipeline Advancements Include:

• Vector Displacement Map exports supporting 16-bit .tiff or 32-bit .tiff and OpenEXR formats.
• Flip and Switch as well as Tangent Flip and Switch sliders provide a guide for creating the perfect vector displacement map for the renderer of your choice.
• Find the perfect settings with VDMap Auto FlipAndSwitch detection, which compares two vector displacement maps with each other.

Advancements to Other Features Include:

• Convert BPR to Geo feature turns the Fibers and MicroMesh objects you see in your BPR render into real geometry.
• Create Texture to LightCap feature creates a texture which can then be applied to any MatCap.
• Improved BPR Shadows which also render accurately with transparent textures.

UI Advancements Include:

• Direct access to LightBox folders from the following ten locations… FiberMesh sub-palette, NoiseMaker sub-palette, Alpha palette, Texture palette, saved SpotLight files, Document palette, File/Project palette, Tool palette, Material palette, Brush palette.
• Organize your sub-palettes with the new UI Groups.
• Magnifying Glass feature to zoom in on parts of the document and UI when recording your ZBrush videos.
• Auto-Updater makes it easy to check for and install future updates.

Now that ZBrush 4R3 is released, we are working on the next update to ZBrush which will include the QRemesher (Alpha version).

Update Instructions:

• ZBrush 4R3 is a free update for all registered ZBrush users.
• For anyone who already has ZBrush 4R2 or 4R2b installed, an Updater is now available in the Pixologic Download Center. Please carefully read the instructions that are provided with the Updater.
• Skipping steps may prevent you from successfully completing the Z4R3 installation.
• If you cannot install version 4R2 or 4R2b (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 4R3 directly and will not need to update.
• Floating license customers will receive an email with special upgrade instructions within the next few days.
• Documentation for the new version is installed with ZBrush 4R3. You will find a Documentation folder within your ZBrush folder, containing PDF files covering the new features in ZBrush 4, 4R2, 4R2b and 4R3. 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 4R3 HERE

We have just added a few turntables from a member new to the gallery. This illusive artist only goes by VISEone, and has been building a portfolio of some interesting characters and creatures for the past year. The creature titled “Swoopy” is what caught our attention; the texturing and rendering are great, and FiberMesh was used for the grass.

Check out VISEone’s artwork at the ZBrush Turntable Gallery
See more artwork from VISEone at ZBrushCentral.com