Are 3d Paint Programs worth the money?

[diamondx]

I was introduced to Maya’s 3d Paint Tool with one of my tutorials. It was very exciting seeing what all it could do.

My question is: I have been making texture maps with Photoshop. Is there any advantage in buying one of these paint programs (BodyPaint 3D, Deep Paint 3D, Z Brush) and using it instead of Photoshop to make texture maps? Do they have other uses in 3d work?

They are all rather expensive, so I would like to be sure before I shell out that much cash.

I was mainly thinking of time saved in texture mapping during a project, be it a 3d still image, an animation or game.

Regards
Kori

[antiant]

I have pondered the same question myself. When i first started useing maya i was excited to learn that i could use programs like deep paint to be able to paint directly in 3d. But i found i could never really get the accuracy i wanted with the tools. Maybe i could have if i spent more time learning the program. Anyhow, i went back to makeing uv snapshots and just directly painting on them. This way i can get the accuracy and the detail i need.