The best 3D Painting alternative to ZBrush is 3D-Coat. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Clavicula or 123D Sculpt. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to ZBrush and 18 are 3D Painting Apps so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting 3D Painting App alternatives to ZBrush are Autodesk Mudbox, MARI, Paint 3D and Artist3D.
3D-Coat is the one application that has all the tools you need to take your 3D idea from a block of digital clay all the way to a production ready, fully textured organic or hard surface model.
3D Coat, along with Mudbox are the best alternatives because they are dedicated sculpting software much so than all the others which are basically 3D design software with a sculpting feature.
Autodesk Mudbox offers tools for creating detailed organic and inorganic 3D assets. It features an efficient layer workflow that allows blending, masking, and more, and has a familiar interface for sculpting and texture painting. Ideal for professional 3D modeling tasks.
Of all the programs i´ve tried, this one has the most similar way of sculpting to Zbrush. So it´s also perfect if you are looking for the closest thing to sculpture with real mud, clay.. It´s a bit inferior to zbrush in sculpting options but painting is way better because it is not mesh dependant, you don´t need a million polygon to paint smallest details.
Clavicula is a free 3D modeling software aimed at artists and users of all levels. It allows you to quickly give shape to your artistic, design, or engineering ideas, to create highly complex objects using a relatively simple toolkit.
MARI is a creative texture-painting tool that can handle extreme projects. MARI was developed at Weta Digital to handle the massively complex, highly detailed look development work demanded of the texture department by projects such as District 9, The Lovely Bones, and Avatar.
MARI doesn't have sculpting features at all. It's specifically a 3D painting application, as Substance Painter is.
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With Autodesk® 123D™ Sculpt you can sculpt and paint interesting and realistic 3D shapes.
It’s easy to get started. Choose a shape from the library of creatures, humans, vehicles, and more. Then push, pull and paint to make the sculpture your own.
Paint 3D is Microsoft's totally rebuilt and enhanced version of Microsoft Paint built for Windows 10 and with extensive 3D support as well as other helpful, long-needed additions like pen support and easier cropping feature.
It's not the same kind of program.
Zbrush is 3d modeling. Paint 3D is mainly 2d with limited brushes
Artist3D is an extraordinarily easy-to-use 3D polygon modeling tool. It works completely without forms, pull-down menus, pop-up menus and text input. Only one modeling window covers each operation function. Less than 30 operation elements control the active interaction options.
With an advanced clay engine and artist-tested tools, Sculptura is the most intuitive and powerful 3D sculpting app ever designed for your iPad. Sculpt engaging characters, ghastly monsters, or even intriguing abstract art anywhere you are.
Paint in 3d across texture seams with ease. Choose from clone & projection tools, paint from a photo resource, make seamless tiles, sculpt existing models with chisels or hammers or make new morphs,.
SCULPT ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
Putty is the best 3D sketchbook for artists and enthusiasts on the go. Whether you’re on holiday, on the train or just relaxing on the couch, Putty 3D is your perfect companion.
With ultimate simple user interface, you can create 3D model by using freehand sketch and directly apply painting to your 3D model without learning difficult texture mapping.
CrackArt is a free open source 3D paint and texturing application that includes Texture Painting, Texture Baking, Procedural Materials and Textures, and much more.
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3-D coat is like zbrush+substance painter (though you might consider getting SP too). Unlike zbrush it runs on Linux which is great for #indiedev! And yes, there are some graphics tablets that have Linux drivers written for them.