PolySculpt

I’m back to my blog after a logng spring break. But why so long? This is quite simple:

• ZBrush 4 has been released! Oh yes, releasing a software takes a lot of time, from days to night The Redbull is my friend (that’s a problem when you don’t like coffee…)
• Vacations! Well, not really as I had to cancel a part of them because of ZBrush 4 release, and after, I had to take care of my two kids because my wife holidays ended.

In the next fays and weeks, I’ll write new posts and show some ZBrush step by steps and tips and tricks!

We just released a new free plugin for ZBrush today: UV Master. yes, again a free one and we hope it will help all the artist by removing one of the most complex task in the 3D production: the UVs creation.

UV Master is originally a one click button plugin to make the UV creation accessible for all the “humans” (and not for the “Aliens” ) and which producing a result understandable in a 2D editor like Photoshop, if you need to tweak or paint manually your texture in 2D.

We also add to this easy step an optional one, which name is “Control Painting”: paint areas on your model where you want to attract the UV seams created by the plugin or paint areas where you don’t want to have seams (like the face of your character). It’s just painting areas, not accurate seam. The purpose is to quickly paint these areas in few strokes!

This control painting also include a Density mode which, still through painted strokes, can change the local density of the UVs and then, allowing more or less pixels density for your textures.

I hope that you will enjoy this plugin, your feedback is welcome!

While I was at the International Comic Festival of Angoulême (FIBD), I’ve been interviewed by the french magazine Advanced Creation [FR], about my blog, and others. If you want to see what I’m look like and if you understand a little bit french, watch it

Thanks to Thierry Maurel!

I will post soon some photos I did of my own cooking sculpting. It’s not like what my sister is doing, but I was proud of my first Japanese cooking (yakitori, maki, katsudo, oyakodon, etc..)

Alain Juppé

This last Monday, I did a ZBrush training to the first year students of the ESMI school in Bordeaux. I like giving a training as it is always a good way to have the question that you don’t want to have, and then, you need to mix your knowledge to find the answer. Then, it’s a good way for me to learn too!

But the most important point of the day was the visit of the ex french Prime Minister, Alain Juppé (EN). He is currently the Bordeaux’s Mayor and decided to visit the school. We didn’t really know why he wanted to visit the school, but after some Google searches, I found that they want to create a kind of University Campus (FR) downtown, because of the hudge number of existing schools in the area.

Juppé came to my classroom and then, discover ZBrush. I wasn’t in his mind, but he didn’t gave me the impression of someone who had a lot of interest (perhaps too “old” for this kind of new technology). I also show him one of our demo real, including the Pirate of the Caribbean, Beowulf, Assassin creed, etc..  His reaction was clear: “Humm, a lot of violence and monsters”… Well, yes, he wasn’t right. Politically correct…

He did a small test of ZBrush on the Cintiq because I think he had the feeling that he have too… I just hope that this visit will bring some visibility of the ESMI School. It’s a young training center with a lot of motivation, then we will see if something new will happen in the next month, following this visit!

I’m so happy to do my 3D, discussing with artists and users, with my students and I’m so glad not doing political stuff!