Sculpting app for furniture?

[duke2]

Something came up in the Mudbox vs. Zbrush thread in this forum, which is something i've also been looking into - does anyone use either of these programs to add realism to the soft elements of furniture? Any tips of workflow? I own ZBrush and Modo (modo can sculpt as well but it's got nothing on ZB/MB) so i'd be able to dive into it with either of these if I could work out a good workflow.

[thablanch]

I use it a little ( mudbox or z-brush) for soft seating and for bed duvets/covers.

Not much to say about the workflow. Save max's obj, fool with in the sculpting package, generate disp. map and reimport in max, map with disp. map. that's about it.

I do not use it that often, but can be usefull.

[pg1]

I use z brush quiet a bit and although it takes a bit of getting used to I love it. They have just released a new update that has a lot of hard surface modelling tools so will probably be seeing a lot more arch and car stuff done in the next few months.
Pixologic have a great product and as a company have a great attitude towards their users.

Mudbox is owned by autodesk (enuff said)

Try using radial symettry and check out http://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/homeroom/ for some other good ideas
Happy zbrushing

[duke2]

Here's a few dumbass questions that never seem to be answered in any of the "getting started with.." videos cover.

1) Save document or save tool?

2) When I save my document, I try to keep sculpting but instead am drawing more objects (tools) - how do i get out of this? How do i delete all the objects I just drew?

I did have a fiddle on Tuesday and painted creases in a mattress. I was really impressed! Have any of you setup some shortcut keys so that viewport navigation is more similar to what you'd expect? The zoom shortcut is godawful.

[thablanch]

Mudbox is owned by autodesk (enuff said)

Mudbox ain't genuine autodesk, it was bought. Product was great before, and I think it is still great even if autodesk owns it now. For somebody that does just a little of sculpting, I think it is a good option. Learning Mudbox is like 10x faster than learning Zbrush

[pg1]

zbrushes shortcuts are a mess to get your head around but after a while they are second nature.
they work much better when used with a wacom tablet (which in general only have a few buttons) and thats why you have some shortcuts which are multiple keys combinations.

The biggest problem for most people using zbrush is in the first few days.It has 3 "modes"
2d - to paint your textures decals and alphas, Document based
2.5d - essential 2d but you can relight your scene (mainly used for illustration made completely in zbrush) 3d models (tools) that are then placed on the Document
3d - This is tool based
Ctrl N clears the document (or look under the document tab at the top)

When you draw a 3d model on the canvas you are placing it. To edit it you must go into edit mode. Its on the top panel just above the document space or you can shortcut with T

Yep mudbox was a weta product before autodesk snapped it up and for someone doing just a small bit of scultping I agree, its a better option

If you are looking at putting a decent amount of time in, then z-brush are leaders in terms of innovation.

[stevesideas]

I use it a little ( mudbox or z-brush) for soft seating and for bed duvets/covers.

Not much to say about the workflow. Save max's obj, fool with in the sculpting package, generate disp. map and reimport in max, map with disp. map. that's about it.

I do not use it that often, but can be usefull.

Do you have a process and settings for outputting high quality disp maps from zbrush to max and to be used by vray. I havent managed to find an accurate way of doing that yet...

[mike_kennedy]

I am learning both apps right now, pretty comfortable with both though in terms of quick turn around Mudbox is way more straight forward. 2010 is pretty much what most people comfortable with doing base meshes in Max would need.
Zbrush I find is better in terms of the sculpting brushes and it's Zspheres are pretty cool for making organic models from scratch. Once GoZ is working with Max it might e a bit of a game changer, but I still find Zbrush limited in terms of painting game models compared to Mudbox 2010.
If you want a holistic app I would go Zbrush, if you want detailing, sculpting and texturing I would personally go Mudbox.

[judderman]

My vote would be for mudbox, think it's a great wee app, far easier to get in to than z-brush like others here say. Hated z-brush from the first time I saw it's UI and never bothered with it since then and mudbox ticked all my boxes.

[tammo]

You could also use the L-Brush plugin modifier and work directly inside max.

This would be the best way if you want to add some quick details to your meshes and don't want to learn a whole new app with all the import/export problems.

"LipService is a powerful multi-resolution subdivision surface sculpting and animation system built into a single 3DSMax object modifier.

LipService's sculpting tools are comparable to ZBrush** and Mudbox*."

You can download a 45 day trial on http://www.lbrush.com

I think the plugin is marketed wrong as an lip-synching tool and thats why so few people know about it.