Hexagon and Zbrush
Tsuzura
Posts: 119
I don't know much about these two products but I was wondering how do they compare to each other when it comes to making hair, custom models, skin textures, and wearables?
I would also like to hear form people who used them and how they like it, also having some pictures for demonstrations will be nice.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Hexagon is a vertex modelling program, Zbrush is primarily a sculpting program.
You can use Hexagon to model figures, clothing, hair etc. It has standard vertex modelling tools. For the price it's a pretty good deal. Though I will be the first to admit that Hexagon is far from perfect.
I've only used Zbrush for sculpting a mesh I've already created, but from what I understand you can also use it to create meshes. Zbrush is obviously much more expensive than Hexagon and there is definitely a reason for that. Their mesh creation tools and sculpting brushes are really powerful.
If you're just getting started I'd say try hexagon. You really can't beat the price. Plus it is important to learn the basics of vertex modelling. Once you're more experienced you will definitely want to learn sculpting techniques (either in Zbrush or another sculpting program).
Do you have an example of things that was made with Hexagon?
There are some examples in the promo imagery for hexagon: http://www.daz3d.com/catalog/product/view/id/4222
I think DZFire uses Hexagon for at least some of his store products.
all the non dynamic clothing and accessories in my store
I believe there are a few PA's that use Hexagon to model either exclusively or as part of their production pipeline.
Hexagon, if you're fortunate enough to have a computer it will run on (it doesn't do well on modern machines) is a very nice vertex modeller.
There are some things that vertex modelling is much better for and some things a sculpting modeller is better for. Things like my arcade machine ( http://www.sharecg.com/v/76367/view/21/DAZ-Studio/Ghastlys-Ghastly-Arcade-Machine. ) were modelled entirely in Hexagon where as things like my vacuumite system ( http://www.sharecg.com/v/76523/view/21/DAZ-Studio/Ghastlys-Vacuumite-System-Genesis-1 ) used a combination of 3D Coat (a Zbrush like sculptor) and Hexagon. I used 3D Coat to make the vacuumite part and and Hexagon to make the frame.
Even things like the Imp figure I am working on used a combination of Hexagon and 3D coat. I used Hexagon to build a rough figure for the imp using a MakeHuman figure as a starting mesh and a rough figure for the helmet using simple primitives and box modelling. Then I send those rough meshes to 3D Coat for sculpting the detail.
So if Hexagon will run on your machine I highly recommend getting it even if you are going to buy a sculpting program like Zbrush.
Hexagon is only $20. If Hexagon won't run on your machine then I hear good things about Modo.
I'm running win 7 64 and have no problems with it, but I know some people have.. but Daz has a 30 day money back guarantee if it doesn't for some reason. I've heard of more issues with Macs than PCs. that being said, even when it's working at its best it's a bit buggy.. if you like it you'll learn how to work around them, I find it's a fantastic program for the price, for people like me who can't wrap their head around Blender (free). Modo is great but super expensive. Silo is another very good dedicated vertex modeler with a much friendlier price tag (but not as friendly as $20.)
I use Hex for all my base models, I use zbrush for modeling in the wrinkles once I have the basic shape done (though sometimes I will use Hex for that too, it also has some 3D painting tools, they are not as advanced as zbrush but I find them easier to use) I use UV Layout for the UV mapping as Hex' built in mapping functionality is quite annoying to me.. usable, but annoying.
Yeah I'm running the same system and have very little problems with Hexagon. I've come to learn what I can and can't do with it while keeping it stable and I make sure to save my work often.
I so wish that Daz would come out with Hexagon 3. An improved, modernized stable Hexagon would be very much in demand. It really does have a nice interface and lets you get to work within minutes of first opening it.
yeah, I totally agree... and they wouldn't even have to change anything as far as bells and whistles, it's already a great balance of useful features without having too many and getting confusing to learn and use.. just fix the bugs and make it stable on most systems.
Yep, be sure and check out the Silo thread (see signature) as I did screenshots on some of the very first things you would try when you learn the basics. The latest posts had a link to a sale where you could buy Silo for $19 (thanks to Cypherfox) and that link is:
http://www.macheist.com/
Isn't Silo pretty much discontinued (in the same way Hexagon is discontinued)?
They have done some modest updates recently. A 64 bit version for Mac and Lynux, with Windows in the works.
Save money and headaches and check out Blender.
http://www.blender.org/
Saving headaches by using Blender?
Ugh! Just booting Blender gives me the biggest headache imaginable. The only reason I ever boot it is to convert a file from one format to another since it does have a pretty good array of import and export formats, but I find it the most frustratingly unfriendly UI of any software I've ever used. I wish they Blender community hadn't shot down Andrew Price when he suggested how the software could be saved.
I use Hexagon on pretty much all of my products. Not the pose sets of course. :) I particularly like having the bridge from Studio. Hexagon is known to crash a lot, but I have learned that when it crashes, in just about every instance, I've messed up my mesh and this is its way of stopping me before I waste a lot of time. :) It has incremental saving. I use that a lot, particularly before running one of the more advanced tool functions like thickness or champher. Hexagon has full per vertice control. This means you can precisely build a model.
I also use zBrush on pretty much everything I make. zBrush is better than Hexagon for things like smoothing and smooth moving. When doing morphs, for instance fitting something to another figure like V6 from G2F, zBrush can do this many times faster I could ever dream of doing it in Hexagon. zBrush however really doesn't have individual vertice selection. Close.... but not really. The GoZ bridge makes easy work of sending things out of and back into Studio.
Sometimes I work on a model in both Hexagon and zBrush back and forth and I use Studio just as a transfer tool instead of saving files, importing and exporting.
Having Hexagon to me is pretty much a no brainer as it is such a great deal. I also use Silo, especially for arranging UVs, but for clothing in particular, I couldn't live without zBrush. There is also Blender. To me, Blender has too many icons/tools in my face. Silo has too few and Hexagon is just right... for how I personally like to work. This is of course subjective.
Hope that helps!