Digital sculpting, also known as sculpt modeling or 3D sculpting, is the use of software that offers tools to push, pull, smooth, grab, pinch or otherwise manipulate a digital object as if it were made of a real-life substance such as clay.” ~ wikipedia.com
This is a megalist of video tutorials to help get you started using free and paid software to create good looking sculpts. We start with software that is available for free and online tools so that anyone can start learning to sculpt.
Featured model Sculpt january day #19 – Lovecraftian by Noss, made with Blender.
Jump to software:
SculptGL / Sculptfab
Free / Online / SculptGL – Sculptfab / About / Keyboard Shortcuts
SculptGL is a very cool and completely online 3D sculpting tool by Stéphane Ginier – get sculpting right now in your browser or on your smartphone or tablet and download the results as an .obj, .stl or .ply. Even better, there is a version of this tool – Sculptfab – that exports directly to your Sketchfab profile!
SculptGL Sculpting by Thomas Flynn on Sketchfab
SculptGL Beginner Videos
Intro to Sculptfab, Pt. 2 by School of Game Design, 11min each
How to 3D Sculpt in your Web Browser by Chaitanya Krishnan, 40min
SculptGl Tutorial by KyraS, 3min
Using SculptGL – Pt.1 Basic Controls, Pt.2 -transform basics by manojknanda, 12min
Blender
MAC / WIN / LINUX / Free / Open Source / Download / Official Documentation / Community Forums
Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
Blender is cross-platform and runs equally well on Linux, Windows, and Macintosh computers.” ~ blender.org/about
Blender Sculpting by Thomas Flynn on Sketchfab
Blender Beginner Videos
Introduction: Sculpting in Blender (Tutorial EN) by AgenZasBrothers, 40min
Sculpting In Blender For Beginners – Tutorial by YanSculpts, 30min
Blender Tutorial – Sculpting in Blender Part 1 of 2 by BlenderMania, 25min
Blender Tutorial – Sculpting in Blender Part 2 of 2 by BlenderMania, 15min
Introduction to Dynamic Topology Sculpting in Blender by CGCookie, 30min
Sculpting Basics in Blender 3D by Nathanael Powell, 12min
Blender Beginner Tutorial – How to Sculpt Details by BlenderGuru, 37min
Blender Advanced Videos
Advanced Sculpting in Blender – Blender – 1hr
Blender 3d: How To Improve Your Sculpts / Sculpt Rant – masterxeon1001 – 50mins
Top 10 Sculpting Tips And Tricks In Blender – YanSculpts – 15mins
Blender Paid Videos
$ Mastering Sculpting / blendermarket.com link – zachariasreinhardt.com – €59 – 12 hours
$ Art of Sculpting – cgcookie.com – $29/monthly / $279/yearly – 8hrs
$ Sculpting Workflows in Blender – pluralsight.com – $35/monthly / $299/yearly – 1hr
$ Sculpting in Blender – lynda.com – $29.99/month / $299.99/yearly – 7hr
Meshmixer
MAC / WIN / Free / Download / Documentation
Meshmixer is state-of-the-art software for working with triangle meshes. Do you need to clean up a 3D scan, do some 3D printing, or design an object that fits something else? Meshmixer can help. Think of it as a sort of “Swiss Army Knife” for 3D meshes.” ~ meshmixer.com
Meshmixer Sculpting by Thomas Flynn on Sketchfab
Beginner Meshmixer Videos
Autodesk Meshmixer 101 Playlist by Autodesk123D, ~30min
Meshmixer Sculpt Intro by Kevin Wixson, 5min
Meshmixer Paid Videos
$ Meshmixer: Sculpting and Shaping by lynda.com, $29.99/month / $299.99/year, 1.5hrs
$ Sculpting in Meshmixer by solidprofessor.com, $49/month / $490/year, ~3hrs
ZBrush
MAC / WIN / From $895 USD / Official Docs / Official Forums
ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing and painting. It uses a proprietary “pixol” technology which stores lighting, color, material, and depth information for all objects on the screen.” ~ wikipedia.org/wiki/ZBrush
zBrush Sculpting by Thomas Flynn on Sketchfab
ZBrush Beginner Videos
Official Tutorials: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Essentials to get Started with Sculpting HD by edgecgi.com, 50min
ZBrush Basics – Lesson 1 of 10 – Introduction To ZBrush by Gamestar Arts, 1hr
000 Part One Intro by Michael Pavlovich, ~300min
Getting Started with Sculpting by FlippedNormals, 1hr
ZBrush Lesson : Intro to sculpting with Zbrush by North Pixel, 1hr
ZBrush Basics: Getting Started by ZFever35, min
ZBrush Paid Videos
Mudbox
MAC / WIN / $80 per year, free trial available / Official tutorials, forums, documentation
Mudbox digital painting and sculpting software provides 3D artists with an intuitive and tactile toolset for creating highly detailed 3D geometry and textures for beautiful characters and environments.” ~ autodesk.com
Mudbox Sculpting by Thomas Flynn on Sketchfab
Mudbox Beginner Videos
Official Tutorials: Beginner
Mudbox BASIC HEAD SCULPTING tutorial by James Taylor, 10min
Mudbox Advanced Videos
Official tutorials: Intermediate
Official tutorials: Advanced
Mudbox Paid Videos
$ Introduction to Mudbox 2015 by pluralsight.com, 3.5hrs
$ Beginner’s Guide to Mudbox by lynda.com, $29.99/month / $299.99/year, 4.5 hours
$ 3D Modeling In Mudbox – A Definitive Mudbox Tutorial by udemy.com, $49.99, 9.5hrs
$ The Complete Intro to Mudbox for Games and Film by udemy.com, $19.99, 3.5hrs
Oculus Medium (VR)
WIN / $29.99 / Official tutorials, forums, documentation
Oculus Medium is an immersive VR experience that lets you sculpt, model, paint, and create tangible objects in a VR environment. Medium lets you create expressive works of art, whether you’re a total beginner, an aspiring creative, or a professional artist.” ~ oculus.com/medium
Oculus Medium Sculpting by Thomas Flynn on Sketchfab
Oculus Medium Beginner Videos
Official Tutorials by oculus.com/medium, ~2hrs
Oculus Medium – Golem Tutorial by Rob Jenkins 16min
VR Prototyping Series: Sculpting a Character in Oculus Medium by How To Create VR ~40min
About the author
Thomas Flynn
Community & Cultural Heritage Lead at Sketchfab.
Expert in 3D scanning, photogrammetry, online publishing & dissemination.
