Migrating to Zbrush from Mudbox

Dean

Hi!

I'm amazed by-, and drawn to Zbrush's capabilities but coming from Mudbox I'm also rather put off by the UI and viewport (being 2.5D). I tried my hand at it ages ago but at the time couldn't get past it, whereas Mudbox somehow "clicked" much easier and feels way more intuitive and even easier on the eyes. I think this is especially because of the viewport. Zbrush's for some reason really strained me in the sense that I had a hard time (I think, looking back) "grasping" the information in the viewport, by which I mean interpreting the actual model. Working in that 2.5D space. It felt uncomfortable....this is a little hard to explain.

Beyond the obvious "sink some time into it and see if it gets better", is this something that anyone has experienced improving as you use the tool longer? Something you adapt to perhaps. Has anyone had experiences with this? I feel limited by Mudbox's features, yet am in love with it at the same time because it's so crystal clear. Staying in that comfortable bubble won't do me any good though I think, seeing as the feature set of Zbrush enables such a more fluid, flexible and powerful workflow.

Cheers!

-Dean

Fomori

I used to be in a similar situation going from Mudbox to Zbrush. But it is simply a case of pushing through it and then Zbrush will click. Just set aside a couple days and go through a bunch of introductory videos. I would say that's all it takes.

Once you get the hang of Zbrush you won't regret it. It's such a powerful tool and there's so many new workflows and techniques you can pick up as you get to know it better. I am still learning so many cool things you can do with it. I only started using it a couple years ago, but it's revolutionised my work and I spend most of my time now in this amazing software!

PyrZern

The most problem I had with ZB's UI was: I can't find the damn things I need. Where's Mirror. Where's Mirror and Weld. Where's this and that button. Once I customize the canvas and put all buttons I always use there, everything is a walk in a park.

Torch

Mudbox is definitely easier to get into, mainly because the UI is more similar to Max or Maya (than ZBrush) and will feel familiar to those users, but I'd recommend trying to get upto speed with ZB as I feel its leagues ahead of Mudbox in what it can do. The only thing I can really think of in terms of perks Mudbox has over ZB is its robust painting system - ZBrush's Polypaint/Spotlight are ok, but it would be great if we actually had an improved texturing system in the 4r7 update....heard some rumours about this but still have yet to find out!

Watch kits from Digital Tutors and Gnomon if you can, the Pixologic Zclassroom also has some great resources.

Dean

Thanks for the replies guys. You were right, takes a few days to get used to, tailor the ui and to work around some minor grievances (seriously, what is up with the way layers are designed...) but it's not that big a mountain afterwards. Starting to get comfortable

Cheers!

baalnazzar

I have same feelings as Torch. I've been working on both ZBrush and Mudbox. The only thing I like in Mudbox more is texturing and painting system. If this would be improved in ABrush it will be perfect

Goeddy

i´ve been working with both for years and i would say you never realy get past the UI in zbrush, you just kind of learn to live with it.
shure you can taylor your UI for you basic workflow, but as soon as you want to try out something new you are back in UI-Hell.

that said though i feel like Zbrush offers a lot more possibilities, while mudbox has a few tricks that its very good at its ultimately very limiting.