ZBrush 4R4 is now available

Pixologic has announced the release of ZBrush 4R4 for both Windows & Mac today ZBrush 4R4 continues to expand on creative freedo...

Pixologic has announced the release of ZBrush 4R4 for both Windows & Mac today

ZBrush 4R4 continues to expand on creative freedom with a focus on model topology and detail creation. These new features were developed to let you be an artist first and foremost, giving you more freedom to explore new ideas!

The following two movies illustrate some of the things that you can now accomplish when you harness the power of ZBrush 4R4.

Main Features:

*IMM
Insert Multi Mesh Brushes combine entire libraries of objects into a single brush. Select from any object within the brush, then insert it into your model. Easily convert any Tool to an Insert brush with a single click. If your Tool has multiple SubTools, an Insert Multi Mesh brush will be created, allowing you to select from any of its objects at any time.

*Tri IMM
Tri Part Multi Mesh Brushes advances the Insert Brush features even further, using PolyGroups to define end cap objects along with a middle segment. When you draw a curve, the end caps will be placed at either end with the middle segment being duplicated along the curve's length. Instantly build chains, zippers and other complex shapes in full 3D. In addition to Tri IMM, the new Curve Brushes can be used to draw almost anything!

*QRemesher Alpha
frees you from the complex tasks of creating new model topology. QRemesher can automatically or semi-automatically clean up your mesh topology. Special automasking and other control features including curve guides let you control the retopology, when necessary, to get the best results quickly and easily.

*Topology Brush
provides manual control over topology creation for those times when you wish to re-topologize your work with precision. It uses ZBrush 4R4's optimized curve engine to let you draw new polygons on the fly, after which a simple click on the support surface instantly generates the new polygons -- with or without thickness. Build form-fitting props complete with thickness or redesign a partial surface, ready to replace part of your existing mesh.

*Mesh Fusion
swaps part of your model's surface with another piece of topology, automatically bridging the polygons to maintain a seamless mesh. Simply define PolyGroups on your model and then replace those areas with a new mesh! ZBrush merges the new element into the support mesh by bridging the polygons at the insertion boundary.

*Grid System
Reference Images can now be applied to the ZBrush Grids. Load your images for the front, side and top views to more easily create artwork based on references. This even works with Shadow Box. Different images may even be assigned to opposite sides of each plane, giving you the effect of a reference cube surrounding your sculpt. Additionally, your model or even a simple plan with a texture applied on it can be snapshot to the Background image so that if follows your camera rotations.

*UndoHistory
With over 10,000 available steps gives you virtually unlimited Undo capabilities. This History is saved as part of the ZBrush Project format, meaning that your steps will be maintained even across multiple sessions. A History slider makes it easy to scrub through your Undo History, you can play through the steps like a movie. In fact, you can even make a movie out of your History, complete with special controls to optimize (or replace) camera movement, object centering and more. The result is a far more enjoyable playback than if you had simply recorded your sculpting session using traditional video capture.

*TransPose Enhancements
provide a world axis selector so that you can switch to any working plane orientation with a single click, or snap the Action Line to your surface normal anywhere on the model. In addition, there are new Inflate and Flatten functions which are especially useful for hard surface sculpting.

*DynaMesh Enhancements
provide increased resolution (up to 2048) and the capability to combine SubTools using DynaMesh -- even defining specific SubTools as negative volumes. You can accomplish amazing things simply by combining basic shapes in original ways.

These new features are only but some of the enhancements that ZBrush 4R4 brings to the table. Here is a list of more features that have been designed to open up new avenues for creativity:

More Features:

Brushes
New preset brushes provide examples of how to take advantage of ZBrush 4R4's key features: Curve Strap, Curve Track, Insert types and more.
Create Insert and Multi Mesh Insert brushes with a single click.
Insert Brushes now use the brush Imbed setting to define the depth of the insertion.
Insert Brushes now use the Z Intensity setting to apply a squash factor along the insertion normal.
Projection Strength function conforms the inserted mesh to the underlying surface.
Be recognized for your contributions! You can now provide your name and website info to a brush before exporting and sharing it with the community.


Tool and Geometry
Maximum DynaMesh resolution has been increased to 2048.
Mask Peaks and Valleys function detects portions of the mesh with the greatest detail density. This function is used internally by QRemesher but is also available for general use via the AutoMasking options.
Quickly create a PolyGroup from a mask. This is especially useful with the new topology replacement features.
New Cluster option for the Group Visible function controls the way its randomization will act.
Grow All visibility function makes all the current mesh's polygons visible.
Mesh to Brush function converts the mesh of an Insert Mesh brush to a new Tool.
New topology cleaning tools: Merge Triangles and Weld Points.
Mesh Extract gains two new controls: Corner Quad to Triangle and Thin Border.

FiberMesh
Merging different SubTools which are FiberMesh aware preserves the designation if they have the same number of vertices per fiber.
The Group Visible function is now FiberMesh aware and uses the Coverage value to regroup the fibers.
The Split Hidden and Group Split functions are now fiber aware.
The Inflate deformer now has a reduced effect when used on a FiberMesh.

Render and Materials
New Vibrant Shadows and AO setting generates more strongly color-saturated shadows.
The Background image can now be tilted.
The Background image may now be synchronized with your model's rotation.

Import/Export
Vector Displacement map export quality has been improved.
UV Offset has been added in the Preferences palette's Export options for use with Vector Displacement.
.EXR File format has been added for Vector Displacement maps.
GoZ now supports Maya 2013 and Luxology modo 601. (Note: modo 601 on OSX requires a manual update when importing a model.)

Miscellaneous
XPose now displays the SubTools as a contact sheet.
Improved notification when saving large projects. (2Gb to 4Gb)
New SubTool commands Delete All and Delete Other help to quickly clean your projects.
Improved overall Projection speed.
ZBrush preferences settings are now stored in a Public folder for improved permissions compatibility with Windows and Mac.
The location of the ZBrush virtual memory/cache files can now be changed, providing performance improvements on systems where the system drive is not the computer's fastest drive or is running low on disk space.
New ZScript commands have been added, mainly to manage the SubTools.

How to Upgrade

ZBrush 4R4 is a free-off-charge update for all registered ZBrush users. More information here!

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