I was watching some videos on youtube and saw some creators that switched to Blender from ZBrush, and it got me curious, what made you guys switch from ZBrush/Other Sculpting programs to Blender?
I'm really focusing on the GameDev/Box Modelling courses here on CGCookie but I'm planning on starting the sculpting courses, I was wondering if ZBrush is better to learn sculpting or it doesn't matter where you learn? I really don't want to invest a kidney in a ZBrush license but MudBox seems to give 3 Years as student license
What do you guys think?
Like other questions in the same vein, it doesn't matter what software package you use as long as you understand the principles behind it. It's just a tool to an end. Think about traditional sculptors. Some use clay, some use marble. There might be some workflow differences, but understanding form and anatomy is never going to change. Blender has a very comparable sculpting toolset, although quirky when compared to Zbrush. By quirky I mean the Refine Method and Detailing can affect your sculpt whereas in Zbrush is feels a little more intuitive to traditional sculpting.
I learned Maya first. Just because I learned Maya first doesn't mean I don't know how to model. After working with Blender for a few years now, I've made many things I can also make in Maya. Take Blender for a whirl. Heck, why not MudBox, too, if you can get if for free. Maybe you'll like one over the other. What this winds down to is it doesn't matter what tool you use as long as you understand the fundamentals.
Totally agree with Silent. And since you haven't done any sculpting yet and don't yet know if you even like it, I would suggest starting with the free options available to you. And if you find out you really like it and want to pursue it further, you can always look into payed tools that better suit your needs and perhaps speed up your workflow (like Zbrush).
concerning the cost of Zbrush... once you purchase, it's no more payments for the rest of upgrades and such...
as already stated the principles of sculpting are learned whatever tool you decide to use...
Can't really see any benefits of switching from ZBrush to Blender if you already have a license. Blender has absolutely nothing superior to ZBrush in terms of sculpting and is losing at any point.
But in terms of starting, Blender is a good option, because it's still pretty capable and of course is free. Another overall benefit is that you can limit your pipeline to a single modeling package with blender, though I still recommend using something else for texturing, like substance painter, for example.
nekronavt I see, do you use ZBrush in your workflow? Having everything in one single software is indeed pretty cool, and with Armory 3D coming along as a proper substitute to the BGE (rip) Blender will become a monster. I asked this question because I saw some videos/artists that completely changed their workflow to blender, even sculpting with 2.8 getting more and more stable, so it was more of curiosity. I got Substance in a steam sale a while a go and I really like it, I'm a little worried about Adobe buying them though
eduo ZBrush is just had much more awesome and handy tools for sculpting and can handle a significantly larger amount of polygons with the same hardware. I don't understand why to switch to blender sculpting otherwise than get some youtube views from blender fans.
I don't use ZBrush in my workflow yet, but I touched trial version and it's just gold.
nekronavt I'm not talking about youtube views, it's just that blender has come so far in sculpting that a lot of artists are changing their workflow to adapt to 2.8 and I think it's pretty great, I want to test the ZBrush trial version though, does it have any limitations or is it the full program for a timed period?
blender has come so far in sculpting
Still not as far as ZBrush :) And I spot nothing in 2.8, that is really different from 2.79 in sculpting besides UI and matcaps.
does it have any limitations or is it the full program for a timed period?
Full program for 45 days.
nekronavt Sorry for taking so long to reply, I didn't know about the trial, thanks! I'll be trying ZBrush for the next few days, It's just that I got so used to Blender's navigation and shortcuts that ZBrush seemed like a 7 head monster hahaha. The Alt clicking and releasing to zoom is a terrible terrible navigation shortcut for example in ZBrush, but i guess it's more of getting used to the UI myself. Thanks for the answers!
The Alt clicking and releasing to zoom is a terrible terrible navigation shortcut for example in ZBrush
Actually it's very comfortable, when you get used to it because you only need Alt and you mouse to navigate. But you have a Ctrl+Right Click as an alternative. Navigation is always a struggle between similar soft :)