ZBrush and Blender both are advanced modelling and animation software used for creating different styles of animation. They are used by individuals as well as organisations for the commercial production of animation works. They are used in designing assets for games and movies. Both come with robust sculpting features along with texturing and visual effects. It comes packed with enhanced features which allow material sculpting like stone, wood, clay etc. There is always been confusion in choosing software for the work which would be best suited for them so let’s understand the key differences between these softwares.
ZBrush is computer software for digital sculpting and it is an advanced tool which is used in creating high-quality models. Its best feature is that it can combine 2.5 and 3D modelling and texture. Initially, it was released in 1999. It is available for Windows and Mac operating systems.
Advantages of ZBrush
- It allows sculpting with millions of polygons with very little impact on computer speed.
- It comes with automatic reTopolizing features along with a manual which saves a lot of time.
- It allows material modelling like textile, stone, clay etc.
- It allows to paint and UV unwrap models easily.
Disadvantages of ZBrush
- The user interface of ZBrush is difficult to understand.
- The rendering process is slow.
Blender is also an animation software developed by Blender Foundation. It is free and open-source software and it was initially released in 1994. It is written in different programming languages like C, C++, Python etc. It comes with tons of features like modelling, sculpting, UV unwrapping, rigging etc.
Advantages of Blender
- One of the main advantages of a blender is that it is completely free for everybody.
- It allows importing files from other 3D animation software like Maya, 3ds Max etc.
- It has one of the largest communities to provide support at all times.
- It supports nearly all types of operating systems like Windows, Linux, MacOS etc.
- It allows third-party plugins for enhancing its capabilities.
Disadvantages of Blender
- It requires graphic drivers above OpenGL 3.0 to run the software.
- It is not of industry standard.
Following is a table of differences between ZBrush and Blender:
|
ZBrush |
Blender |
|
| 1. | It can be understood as an advanced tool designed especially for texturing and sculpting purposes. | It is an animation tool used for creating different types of animations, visual effects, motion graphics etc |
| 2. | It is not open-source software. | It is open-source software. |
| 3. | It is not suitable for 2d animations. | It supports 2D animation along with 3D animation. |
| 4. | It is a paid software so users need to buy it for using it. | It is free software for everybody. |
| 5. | It is the best choice for large organizations and animation industries. | It is the best choice for individuals or small companies. |
| 6. | It supports a large number of polygons around 40 million for creating models. | It supports less number of polygons while creating models. |
| 7. | It was developed by Pixologic. | It was developed by the blender foundation. |
| 8. | It is available only for Windows and Mac operating systems only. | It is available for Linux operating system also along with Windows and Mac OS. |