Free 3D Sculpting Software

[srwtlc]

Haven't tried it myself, but it looks interesting. Exports files to .obj so they could be opened in PartWorks 3D or Cut3D.

http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/

[mikeacg]

This looks pretty interesting! It doesn't say if it is a limited time trial but I will download it and try it out. I do a lot of work with clay so this 'feels' like a good fit for me.
Thanks for the info Scott!

[cowboy1296]

I have just found out where the on/off switch is located on the shopbot and you throw this at me. i watched 2 videos and learned basically nothing but it does look interesting.

Correct me if I am wrong, but should you be able to make your own 3d images utilizing this software from a jpeg file??????????? if that is correct then this is extremely interesting or am i missing what it does all together?

Well I did do the download and the following is cut and paste from an email that i received "We are excited to be able to provide this innovative program to you at no charge and expect that you will soon lose yourself in your imagination!" My gut says that it is a basic program to get you into it and then pay for a superior one. However i downloaded it, tried to open it and it failed, rebooted, again failed to open. So i removed the program. Let me know how yall fare with it.

[dubliner]

On/Off switch? Theres a switch?

[myxpykalix]

it installed and opened and worked ok for me. It basically is a sculpting tool much like playing with clay. You can add, subtract, smooth, ect much like artcam or other programs. I have tried it just once and here is what i got below.
I do like where if you are creating one eye it automatically creates another one just like it in the appropriate spot, same with ears, horns, ect.
If you could import architectural obj files and/or make them it might be useful but not sure how useful it is to make monster heads.

For those of you who like 3d sculpting its worth trying out. You can manipulate fully, save completely, there are no restrictions.
From what i see you cannt import a jpg and make a 3d object out of it. You can paint on the object, give it textures, ect. There is a button for "mask" it may mean you can use a jpg to cover the object thereby maybe accomplishing the same thing in a roundabout way (it may mean something else though.)

I don't know if you can import a obj file you made in another pgm and manipulate it in this pgm, i didn't have a file to try. It looks kind of like smiley here...:D

[CNYDWW]

I can tell i'm going to have fun with this. After about an hr this is the mess i have.

[Brady Watson]

I can tell i'm going to have fun with this. After about an hr this is the mess i have.

What is that? The Terminator duck? :D

I pulled this down a few weeks ago. It is fun to play with, but lacks the cookies to do real hi-res stuff.

-B

[mikeacg]

I took a few minutes this morning and I think it shows real promise. I threw together a quick penguin and added multiples (tweaking them to look different). I wasn't sure if Aspire would let me import it but, viola! You can see a little bit of the triangle texture on screen but I don't know how it will affect the cut piece. Plus, you can add a little smoothing in Aspire...
I'm giving it a thumbs up!

Jack, I tried importing a OBJ file but it didn't like it due to the complexity (as Brady has noted).

Mike

[burchbot]

Here is one more interesting program. http://www.photosculpt.net/ (http://www.photosculpt.net/)
Dan

[CNYDWW]

What is that? The Terminator duck? :D

I pulled this down a few weeks ago. It is fun to play with, but lacks the cookies to do real hi-res stuff.

-B

Well this project has no bill so it's not a duck. Just been a long long time since i've modeled anything organic.

[myxpykalix]

Randy,
I started out in Lightwave and 3D Studio when it was DOS based and the modeling has come a long way but based on your experience with this do you see being able to use it for anything other then organic modeling of monsters, ect?

It would be nice to be able to do some type of architectural modeling, ect.

btw...your monster head was scarier then mine!:eek:

[jeffreymcgrew]

3D sculpting software is fun, but you do run into the fact that it's best suited for certain kinds of models.

While the learning curve is a little steep at times, I like Blender for sculpting. It's free, it's open source, and it does more than just sculpting. The new version 2.5 is way easier to learn & use than before. It's got a wonderful sculpting toolset. Check it out: http://blender.org

For those that are more adventurous, another free app, called MeshMixer is a lot of fun to play with. It's like Mudbox/Z-brush on acid: http://www.meshmixer.com/

However, with that said, 80% of the time I need to do something more 3D I'll just do it in Aspire, for we're making most of our stuff via our 3-axis shopbot with 2.5D / 3D carving and it's faster to do it that way... rarely are we making 2 or 4-sided 3D carvings!