The Blender sculpting tool is like the Spore Creature Creator on crack

[Occulus]

I just recently discovered that the open-source 3D modeling package Blender has a 3D sculpt tool similar to (but with less functionality than) the commercial package ZBrush. This is an amazing mode to play with- it's like sculpting clay in 3D. You can imagine my surprise when I found it, as I've been using Blender for some time (I used it to make the DUzy Award image), and I had no clue it was even there!

In this image, I'm trying to make a demon head. What do you think?

(The head alone has over 100,000 faces- far too many for animation on this PC- but I think it looks nice.)



I put this in the gaming forum because Blender also has a built-in game engine, which the people at the Apricot Project are using to make a tie-in game for the Blender open film, Big Buck Bunny. Blender has already been used in television commercials in other countries, and it's only a matter of time before Hollywood notices it- when combined with the (totally free) Yafray, Yafaray, or Kerkythea rendering engines, Blender can produce production-quality results.

Additionally, Blender has the ability to export to multiple formats used in game design, as well as formats used in film and television. If you have any interest at all in 3D modeling/texturing/animation/compositing, Blender is a great way to get your feet wet for free, and there are lots and lots of tutorials available online. Neil Hirsig, of Tufts University, has an extensive collection of tutorial videos available at this site.

Happy Blending!

[BelgianMadCow]

1. Hey if you can do it...

I will at least give it a try :-)

I sculpt in stone but ben thinking about 3D-modeling for a while. This seems just the ticket as the commercial packages are waay to costly for me.

Bookmarked
regards
bmc