Zbrush to Max/Maya or standalone

adobbs

I have been tooling around with the basics of the major 3D packages, and now I'm looking to focus on a workflow that will let me do most of the modeling and texturing in a single app. The game companies I hope to apply to all use Zbrush, but they are split between Max/Maya. I am on a part-time contract job until June, and I want to have enough skill by then to get a job as a junior environment artist. I have a couple years of programming and level design xp, but I am switching to art because I enjoy it more, and I am much better at it.

The general advice I've seen is start in Max/Maya, but I am not sure why that is better than starting a model in Zbrush. Zbrush is the most comfortable for me as sculpting and painting come much more naturally to me. Am I going down the wrong path if I focus on Zbrush as my modeling and painting tool (along with Photoshop)? Essentially, I want to spend as little time in Max or Maya as possible, just using them to prep models created in Zbrush for importing into a game. Is using Zbrush as my primary tool or even my only tool possible?

I am focusing on creating high poly environment art that will be imported into the UDK. I'm more concerned with having brilliant-looking portfolio pieces than having the perfect workflow or the most efficient poly count, and from what I've seen, Zbrush is an amazing tool for highly-detailed work. Thanks for the help!

NordicNinja

I think it's a perfectly valid approach to have a ZBrush oriented workflow. I've noticed that my own workflow has gradually shifted and is now centered around ZBrush. In the recent releases you can do almost everything you need. Assuming you start with zspheres, do all your retopology and use UVW master you could theoretically have it all done in app.

However, as powerful as ZBrush is it would not be as productive to use it as the entire pipeline. I usually do all of my sculpting / painting / retopologizing in ZBrush and go to other apps such as Maya or Blender to tweak things and do the UV work. Plus you have apps like Topogun and UV Layout that can be faster and let you have more control then using the tools build into ZBrush. There are also a lot of things you can do in Photoshop (like you mentioned) that are not possible with polypainting.

That said I luv me some ZBrush! :poly142: Easily my favorite tool in the box. Plus those Pixologic guys are awesome.

Ben Apuna

IMHO, at this point in your career you would be limiting yourself too much by not learning either Max or Maya.

How will you sell yourself as better than all the other applicants for a junior position when most of them are going to be well versed in either Max or Maya AND Zbrush?

Will your portfolio be so much better than everyone else that a company will hire you strictly as a high poly modeler? On some(perhaps many?) projects environment art doesn't even get a high poly pass with all normal detail being generated in Photoshop/Crazy bump. Many companies don't even work on "Next Gen" projects so normal maps and high poly models aren't even in the equation.

What happens if you actually land that junior environment artist job and they tell you your job will be to model collision meshes, LODs, or create lightmap UV sets the whole time?, which AFAIK can not be done (or done well) in Zbrush.

thomasp

imo, the real part of the work of a game artist is not happening in zbrush. the endless tweaking that turns some ok-looking baked normals/AO/flat textures-job into a nice game asset will require working in whatever app your company exports from - while keeping an eye on what the asset actually looks like on your target platform (editor, console testkit hooked up to a telly or whatever).

in my experience on any asset that has some serious attention put into it the bulk of the work actually happens after the zbrush and baking pass.

a folio strictly full of zbrush doodles might indeed turn companies off, unless you are outstanding.

adobbs

@Nordic It sounds like you are a fan. What I might try is doing as much as possible in Zbrush to start and then work in other tools as I get more acclimated. I'm just concerned with trying and using too many tools at once and not becoming an expert at anything.

@Ben Excellent points. The specific companies I want to target do focus on so-called "next-gen" work. I'd rather create stuff at their level of detail. I don't have any illusions about doing some glorious work, but I don't think a portfolio of collision meshes or super low poly stuff is going to impress the companies I want to contact later this year (or later if it takes me longer).

@Thomas It sounds like Maya or Max will need to be an important part of my workflow at some level. I am hoping that I can primarily sculpt and paint in Zbrush/Photoshop and simply tweak in the other programs. What I'm worried about is spending months getting better at modeling in Maya if modeling in Zbrush is becoming more the standard.

Thanks for the insight!