Hello, I’m running ZBrush 2025.1.2 using Wine 10.0 Stable on Kubuntu 24.04, with a Huion Kamvas Pro 24 (2K) using the official proprietary Huion drivers.
For those trying to get this working for the first time and feeling the frustration of not making it run properly, I want to point out that it’s actually quite easy to get everything working — but it’s not perfect.
There are two main ways to get everything functioning under Linux with Wine 9 or 10. I didn’t try using Wine Staging or Developer; those versions gave me no pen pressure with the tablet — or at least, that’s what happened to me.
The same issue occurred with Wine-GE: no pressure. Wine Stable is your friend here.
Step-by-step installation:
- Install Wine
Install Wine via the terminal or through your graphical package manager (in my case, Discover, since I’m on Kubuntu).
Run winecfg in the terminal — this will create your Wine prefix and install Mono.
2. Install Winetricks
Just like step 1 — install it via terminal or GUI.
From here, there are two paths you can follow, both of which gave me similar performance:
Method A (Using Winetricks)
A1. Run winetricks in the terminal.
Select default wineprefix → Install a Windows DLL or component, and then install the following three packages:
vcrun2008
vcrun2010
vcrun2017
A GUI will pop up to install them.
A2. Install ZBrush. Open a terminal, type wine, then drag your installer .exe into the terminal window and press Enter.
Install ZBrush normally as you would on Windows.
This will create a shortcut in your Linux app menu.
Run ZBrush from there.
A3. Depending on your version of Wine, make sure it’s set to emulate Windows 10 or 11:
Run winecfg again, and in the “Windows Version” dropdown, select Windows 10 or 11, then click OK.
Now launch ZBrush from the app menu icon.
Method B (Without Winetricks)
B1. After installing ZBrush, run winecfg, click Add Application, and find ZBrush.exe inside the typical Program Files folder.
Set that application to emulate Windows 10 or 11.
Then, under the Libraries tab, add and configure the following:
Set these to native,builtin:
api-ms-win-downlevel-normaliz-l1-1-0
api-ms-win-downlevel-shlwapi-l1-1-0
api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0
atl120
gdiplus
msvcp120
msvcr100
msvcr120
msvcr90
normaliz
ole32
rpcrt4
shlwapi
vcomp
vcomp120
vcomp140
vcomp90
Set these to builtin,native:
msvcrt
comctl32
Set these to native:
mfc42
mfc42u
Click Apply, then OK.
Now launch ZBrush from your Linux app menu.
Observations:
All ZBrush features work for me — but a few quirks exist:
Issue 1 – Pen pressure lost when using file dialogs
If you use the pen to click Save, or load an image into Spotlight from the Windows file dialog, pressure gets lost when returning to ZBrush.
You’ll need to restart ZBrush.
Workaround:
Use keyboard shortcuts like Alt+S to save (instead of Ctrl+S) or use the mouse instead of the pen in the file dialogs.
Issue 2 – Pressure issue at highest subdivision levels
When you’re at the maximum subdivision level (where ZBrush won’t allow further subdivisions), the first pen stroke has no pressure, but works fine after that — until you drop back to a lower level and return again.
Fix:
Tap Ctrl + Alt and drag briefly over the mesh — pressure works again instantly.
Issue 3 – ZRemesher crashes randomly
Sometimes, ZRemesh crashes ZBrush entirely. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s annoying and forces a restart.
On the bright side:
Sculpting performance is perfect. In fact, ZRemesh and Dynamesh feel faster on Linux than Windows.
Final thoughts:
I’ve seen a lot of forum posts and videos claiming that ZBrush runs perfectly on Linux.
Well… that’s not entirely true.
Sometimes Linux users are so enthusiastic that they claim Linux is better under any circumstance — but I don’t think that’s the case here.
You can use ZBrush well — yes.
Is it perfect? No.
Wine has done an incredible job — but Pixologic / Maxon have done absolutely nothing to improve or support ZBrush on Linux, despite years passing with no native version in sight.
Correct me if I’m wrong, Maxon, but I doubt we’ll ever see ZBrush officially on Linux.
Bonus Tip – Blender “Go To ZBrush” alternative:
If you’re a Blender user and the “Go to Blender” Blender addon feature doesn’t work on Linux, I found a workaround:
Use this Maya plugin:
👉 GN ZBrush-Maya Import/Export Tool
Replace the Maya part with this Blender addon:
👉 Blender Super Batch Export
You’ll need to tweak a few things, but it works well.
Cheers! Enjoy 
Step-by-step installation:
Method A (Using Winetricks)
Method B (Without Winetricks)
Observations:
All ZBrush features work for me — but a few quirks exist:
On the bright side:
Final thoughts:
Bonus Tip – Blender “Go To ZBrush” alternative:
