So what's your preference? I've focused more on organic models than ever hard surfaced ones, so I'm having some issues finding out what is the best way to go about it. I've found that sculpting doesn't seem to do it for me, and I'm going to be trying modeling it entirely rather than trying to sculpt it. But that might also…
All those things you listed, are limitations with 3dsMAX NURBS. I'm not using MAX though, i'm using MoI which is a CAD package written for designers, not engineers. Yes I would rather use NURBS over sculpting for some of those armor pieces. The lion and eagle head would be easier sculpting.
You can use the planar/clip brushes in ZB for sculpting, there's some pretty good kits out there like the Eat3d one showing how to sculpt hard surface - personally I prefer a mix, start in ZB and put some basic forms down with cuts/grooves where you want them, then retopo in something like Maya or Max and add loops for…
And Maya made it's debut back in 1998 with the artisan module, which when paired with global stitch let people sculpt on complex multi-patch nurbs surfaces very much like what people do in Zbrush. The main difference being the 'base mesh' in this Maya 1.0 workflow was a multi-patch Nurbs surface that didn't need UV's or…
No, not really. I've seen quite a few character artists create 'blockout' sculpts which is just a basic sculpt really roughed in, plotting where all the details would go, then they retopologize or model over that with final details. I find it a good way of laying down what you need quickly so you can try different ideas…
Yep I was referring to more character accessories, maybe that's where the confusion came from - for vehicle/weapons I would use more hard surface modeling than sculpting :)
I agree with Ged. Zbrush is great for quick, stream of conscious concepting without artwork, but I can see how that wouldn't work in a production environment wher ethe concept art is provided. I generally start with a mesh from Maya, using the crease tool to keep corners crisp without adding loops so that Zbrush subdivides…