Should I go for ZBrush?

[memory556 18]

Hey everyone.

I've been looking around for a 3D Modeling software. I've messed around with Sketchup and Blender. Both were ok. SolidWorks looks awesome, but I don't have that kind of money to just drop, sadly. I have come across ZBrush. I love the concept of it, and I was wanting to get some of your opinions of it. Should I go for ZBrush or not? Thank you for the help!

MemorY

 

[SandervG 1,521]

I really want to start learning Zbrush, i hear it is pretty complicated.

But I guess that goes for mostly all CAD modeling tools.

The bottom question I think is, what do you want to make?

There is a big difference in whether you want to be making Bustes or Architectural models, as an example..

 

[memory556 18]

I want to make all kinds of things. Nothing too specific. But the majority would be more "organic" stuff. Like rounded and smooth surfaces, not a lot of architectural stuff.

 

[SandervG 1,521]

In that case I would say Zbrush, if you think you are up to it.

You could start with sculptris, which is a free stripped down version of Zbrush..

 

[memory556 18]

Ok. Thank you! That's something that I don't like about ZBrush is that there is no demo. :( But great! Thank you! I'll check it out!

 

[skint 61]

Solidworks and Zbrush are two totally different modelling packages, so if your more into your organic modelling and characters etc then go for Zbrush. I can use Creo/Solidworks pretty well for all kinds of mechanical things, with parametric modelling...however because of my Parametric mechanical mind I found Zbrush sooooooo hard!! There are loads of tutorial videos online though, and as suggested above go for Sculptris first which is a great little version of Zbrush but is free.

 

[memory556 18]

Solidworks and Zbrush are two totally different modelling packages, so if your more into your organic modelling and characters etc then go for Zbrush. I can use Creo/Solidworks pretty well for all kinds of mechanical things, with parametric modelling...however because of my Parametric mechanical mind I found Zbrush sooooooo hard!! There are loads of tutorial videos online though, and as suggested above go for Sculptris first which is a great little version of Zbrush but is free.

 

Ya. I just like SolidWorks because it had a lot of functionality and has a pretty big community. So it'd be easy to get answers to questions.

 

[anon4321 16]

For your organic stuff, check out MOI 3d. they have a 30 day trial and it costs I think about $400 US you can do mechanical things in it too but its more oriented towards organic models.

Also check out DesignSpark Mechanical for mechanical things.

 

[memory556 18]

For your organic stuff, check out MOI 3d. they have a 30 day trial and it costs I think about $400 US you can do mechanical things in it too but its more oriented towards organic models.

Also check out DesignSpark Mechanical for mechanical things.

 

Ok. I've seen a few topics here about them, but haven't looked into them that much. Thank you.

 

[illuminarti 18]

Z-Brush is an incredible piece of software which I love using, and which I think is actually really good value for money for everything it can do. But it's important to understand that it is solely a freeform sculpting package. You basically start with a ball of clay and pull it into shape. It's not for making accurate flat-sided geometric shapes with known dimensions - like mechanical parts.

Sculptris is a very, very cut down version of Z-Brush, and has one major drawback for 3D printing use - it doesn't remesh the shapes - i.e., re-covering your edited object with a new simpler mesh of triangles when it intersects itself or gets twisted - but instead keeps contorting the original one, so that it is fairly easy to end up with a very complicated, self-intersecting mesh that will confuse slicers and be hard to print.

DSM is the free version of SpaceClaim - which is another awesome piece of software for doing more geometric/mechanical work. SpaceClaim is a few thousand dollars, but still cheap compared to something like SolidWorks I think. DSM does most of what you need for most 3D print modeling, however, and is free.

 

[anon4321 16]

The one thing missing from DSM is loft or blending. That's actually the reason why I purchased MOI 3D.

 

If you are unfamiliar with those terms, it the process by which you draw 2D shapes and blend between them.

 

[memory556 18]

Ok. So I've figured out that I need something more structural oriented. I need to be able to keep proportions the same throughout the project. So ZBrush for this use would not be ideal.

 

[gothampixel 10]

I just started learning Rhino 3D because I want to create more organic shapes. It is a very different approach to modeling when coming from Blender but I'm finding you can be more creative with your shapes.

 

[valcrow 145]

The one thing missing from DSM is loft or blending. That's actually the reason why I purchased MOI 3D.

 

If you are unfamiliar with those terms, it the process by which you draw 2D shapes and blend between them.

 

Does it blend the shapes regardless of anchor point placement in your example? or do you need to keep the number of anchor points and positions relatively consistent throughout the U-loft?

 

[skint 61]

lol Valcrow, that sounds like a question from a solidworks user?

 

[valcrow 145]

Na I'm a max user, we have Nurbs. It's just very limiting so I almost never end up using them. I just wonder if these new programs have magical nurbs that defy anchor point physics.

 

[memory556 18]

Have you all used Creo?