Originally posted by Jay Benny K: no probs dude, theres lots to be found over there as well, though I dont feel the community in the forums is as helpful as here. Jay I second that. I think Zbrush caught like a brush fire because it allowed people who couldn't or had a lot of difficulty modeling organics to really start pumping them out, especially in the online world where for some people a lot of 'views' is whats important, so I'm not surprised when I see the stereotypical "big veiny guy + big gun" or the general "look what I can do" stuff. As he said, its the lens flare effect, cool factor = imitation, and the fundamentals aren't cool and like most things its a big popularity contest. If anything Zbrush should be the icing and not the cake itself. I think GI and FG have their places, nice clean renders but for mood lighting, volumetric effects etc no, I say take a traditional approach, for control's sake. And I agree with gster, HDRI (just like physical sky) isn't a cure all (it has its place but I think its abused lol), personally I'm not a fan, I've seen many a cell phone renders that would've been better off with a studio setup use that same tired kitchen HDRI, you'd think for a technique so popular people would start making their own :s Wow ok thats a lot, shutting up now lol :blush: