ZBrush

Many programs in the past decade have tried to copy ZBrush in one way or another, but it remains the gold standard for sculpting high-definition character models. While it is perhaps not the easiest program to learn and use, with its unusual UI, artists can create just about any kind of character they can imagine with the software, and they can do so with brushes instead of the mechanical type of tools found in standard modeling packages. But what really makes ZBrush powerful is that no matter how detailed the model is, a map of it can be applied to a low-definition model with very little overhead, which is critical in certain environments, such as gaming. ZBrush also now contain tools for doing low-polygonal modeling as well. One drawback of the program is that it relatively expensive. Though, so far the company that makes it has never charged for an upgrade. Using ZBrush can also make a workflow a little more complicated, because models and maps typically needed to imported into packages such as Maya and 3D Max. Finally, because ZBrush has been around for so long and has so many users, it has a large community, which new users can draw upon when needing support.