ZBrush 3.5

[Elyaradine]

Released as a free upgrade to existing users, the new ZBrush includes a host of increased functionality, including ZSpheres2 and being able to swap between ZBrush and (certain) other apps with a simple button click (without having to import-export and fiddle with settings the whole time).

Apparently ZBrush4 isn't far away either...

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showth ... p?t=074989
http://www.pixologic.com/

[FuzzYspo0N]

oh man, been messing with the new zbrush, its got some ridiculous features,like the 3d paint sculpter things, its awesome. worth buying twice for modellers of all kinds.

[Elyaradine]

Whoo! They released a new (free) plugin that's supposed to be a one-click UV-unwrap solution!

There're apparently some problems in that it may be difficult to paint where the seams should be exactly (as Zbrush doesn't let you select edges, so much as paint large areas), but the stuff it spits out seems to be a good starting point. The demos show cheap, distortion-free UVs.

[edit] Here are some shots from the announcement at the Luxology (modo) forums:

This is the one-click unwrapping. The face breaks up when you don't paint some of the protection areas in, but other than that, it's a really nice unwrap.


This is with a protectiom map on the face, and an attraction map at the back of the head. Apparently it was super, super quick to do.


Apparently the algorithm works by calculating where the ambient occlusion is the darkest; if it hides the seams there, then the chances are that the seams won't be visible. Not ideal, but pretty clever.