ZBrush 2.0 is the latest release from Pixologic and continues to be a very individual piece of software. Designed to give an artist the freedom to sculpt high-frequency detail, all the while striving to make it as intuitive as possible. ZBrush has been adopted by major 3D Studios across the world and integrated into the production pipeline. Get Into ZBrush will take the artist on a tour of the ZBrush interface and explain how each tool can fit into their workflow. Using plain, well paced narrative Glen takes the viewer, panel by panel on an eye opening exploration. Part two then moves onto a project to model a 3D head from the innovative ZSpheres onto high polygon modeling, texturing using the native mapping modes and finally onto lighting and rendering the model. There is no other software on the market today that allows you to model organic models with polygons counts reaching the million mark and this video helps you to explore it fully.

The video is aimed at people new to ZBrush and the artist that simply wants to know more. As ZBrush has so many hidden depths this title helps to how and where ZBrush can be used in a modern graphic environment.

Home made

This product seemed to have been made one rainy afternoon when Mr. Southern was nursing a creative block... and slapped together while the block cleared up, with whatever tools were within arms reach.

The DVD uses Internet Explorer to view the lessons. Internet Explorer rejects playing lessons with a message that says the DVD poses a threat to the system (XP Home).

I don’t doubt the author’s capabilities with the Zbrush tools, but the execution and production of his tutorial struck me as home made at the kitchen table.

Home made

This product seemed to have been slapped together one rainy afternoon while Mr. Southern was nursing a creative block, with whatever tools were within arms reach.

The DVD uses Internet Explorer to view the lessons. Internet Explorer rejects playing lessons with a message that says the DVD poses a threat to the system (XP Home).

I don’t doubt the author’s capabilities with the Zbrush tools, but the execution and production of his tutorial struck me as home made at the kitchen table.

Want to learn ZBrush? Buy this DVD!

I’m fairly familiar with ZBrush, but I’m always looking for more. I’ve seen things by Gnomon, Digital Tutors, and more. I would agree that maybe he’s not the best artist - he’s plenty good enough, though. First, he speaks understandably, and he has a sense of humor, and, unlike 99% of computer manuals, he just says, "The color picker is like any color picker, we don’t have to get into that." Thank you, thank you!! Most importantly, he goes through each and every control and button, in enough detail to understand them - ALL details would take 5 DVDs, of course. Not just the best ZBrush tutorial, but maybe the best tutorial of any kind I’ve seen. The modeling demos are good, but more importantly (as is the plan), it lets you watch him put it all together - how everything works in the real world, and in context.

Thorough, but a bit sloppy

Having recently acquired a copy of Zbrush 2, I needed somebody to sit down and explain to me where everything is. Thankfully, I found Glen Southern’s DVD tutorial and read rave reviews about it. However, it isn’t available anywhere in the UK (ironically where Glen belongs) and the result of buying from America was a massive cost of ý40+ and took approx. one month to arrive. This drastically affected my impression of the DVD when it showed up and my expectations had skyrocketed.

Glen Does a great job of explaining Zbrush from the smallest of detail and eventually moves on to model a head from start to finish. He’s not the greatest artist in the world, but he knows this program very well and that’s all that matters to those buying the DVD.

What I didn’t appreciate was the sloppy interface that the videos run from and the order they’re presented. One vid’ in particular was an actual mistake and was left there through neglect. This means that the viewer will sit through half and hour of footage that will be repeated in the next vid.

My advise to anybody in the UK thinking of buying this is to weigh up all your other options first, but if you don’t mind paying more than double the original price and waiting for it, then you’ll become a more proficient Zbrush user through it.

My Review

The DVD is packed with a lot of information, but the problem is how the information is presented. As a novice with ZBrush 2 it’s very hard to follow Mr. Southern’s tutorials. Many times he performs tasks without explaining how he did it.

Best buy on the market...

Glen Southern is my favorite Zbrush artist. Before I ever bought Zbrush, I’d admire his paintings and wish I could come close to creating images like his. Well, guess what? With this DVD, I can! Of course, I can’t do what he does nearly as well as he does (can anyone?) but this DVD has shown me so many tricks and tips that there’ll be absolutely nothing that I can’t create in Zbrush once I’ve watched these demos a few times -- and practiced till I drop, of course. If I can imagine it, I believe I’ll be able to create it with Zbrush. This DVD truly opens one’s eyes to what a fabulously powerful and versatile program Zbrush really is.

I’ve never seen any product so thorough. I think that’s what impresses me the most about this DVD -- Mr. Southern covers every Zbrush graph, every tool, every icon -- nothing is a mystery after viewing this DVD. I just can’t make enough positive comments about this product, and I would urge anyone who has a desire to learn Zbrush -- buy this DVD! Buy it, watch it, and keep your copy of Zbrush open so you can pause the DVD at intervals and practice what you’ve learned.

I have never been so pleased with any program as I am with Zbrush. Actually, I’ve come to the conclusion that one could conquer the world with Zbrush and Photoshop. :-) I have also never been so pleased with any teaching tool as I am with Mr. Southern’s DVD. Both have truly opened my eyes to a wonderful new creative world.

Jan Letoha

GET IT !!

This is all you’ll want for christmas this year and next!
ZBrush appears to the novice as an extremly complicated program, but Glen Southern’s training DVD takes the mystery out of all those buttons and sliders. Even if you’re a proficient user, dont skip the in depth interface tutorials, because i can bet you there will be several things in there you never knew before.
Glen takes you through manipulating ZSpheres and skinning them to adding detail and depth with the numerous brushes. Then on to the last section where he models a zombie head from start to finished image. Just sit back and marvel at a true expert at work. You learn to create textures in Projection Master,how to make your own Alphas to add amazing detail to your models, to modify and save materials, and finally, lighing and rendering.
Whew! And when you’ve been through the 9.35 hrs of this video,there’s a further 12 freebie vids tucked away. What more could you ask for!
I would thoroughly recommend this DVD to anyone wishing to improve their skills in the mighty ZBrush. It clearly and simply lays it all out for you to easily take in.
I love it!
So go GET IT !!