This is a post for the 1 year animation 2nd semester group project, which encompasses many disciplines necessary for an animation and visual effects (vfx) career:
Today’s class was an introduction to ZBrush.
ZBrush is a digital sculpting and painting program that allows a far greater intuitive and creative approach to making detailed and photo-realistic characters than has been available with more traditional animation and modeling softwares. Because ZBrush allows the artist to sculpt models containing many millions of polygons (something previously unheard of), the technical and logistical limitations that constrained previous workflows are now a thing of the past. Students and professionals now feel free to express themselves in a more pure and direct manner, similar to the way a sculptor might feel when modeling with clay.
ZBrush has gained great prominence in the movie and gaming industry as a fast and efficient way of creating complex and believable characters inhabiting their productions. For instance games developer Ubisoft used ZBrush extensively in their production pipeline for both Rainbow Six: Vegas and Assassin’s Creed.
By Robert Appleton, New York Film Academy 3D Animation Instructor