Also, Maya comes at 185 USD/month – so unless you already own a Maya license you might want to consider other programs first or try their 30 days free trial. While it does a decent job, many users complain that the workflow is still too buggy and sluggish. Maya also extended its 3D sculpting capabilities and added a new set of brushes in 2016. Price: from 599USD/year to 1,799USD perpetual license.MODO comes at around 1,799 USD ( 30 days free trial here) The so called “Painting and Sculpting” function is designed to be simple to use while providing users with a powerful and intuitive toolset that empowers artists to realize their vision with the least amount of strain. MODO has an integrated sculpting mode since 2007. However, if you are not already an owner of this software, it comes with a price of roughly 3,500 USD ( 42 days free trial here). It features multi-resolution sculpting, advanced symmetry options and a big range of brushes, stencils and stamps. Cinema 4DĬinema 4D received a sculpting module back in 2012. This monster was sculpted in Blender by BlenderMania 7. Additional bonuses are the sheer number of tutorials and plugins out there as well as the fact that Blender is completely free! However, users continuously complain about the interface and the very steep learning curve! It has been equipped with a sculpting tool set since 2007, and its workflow is pretty similar to that of ZBrush and Mudbox. Blenderīlender is a very powerful 3D modeling program and a popular choice within the 3D printing community. Keep in mind that the sculpting functionality of these programs are inferior to those of Mudbox and ZBrush, but it’s enough to get a basic job done.

So if you already have experience with one of the following programs, you might want to check out their sculpting modules first. However, several traditional 3D modeling programs also offer sculpting features. The programs that we looked at so far are nearly exclusively about sculpting an object. The 3D printed Serpents Buckle by Michael Mueller was created in Sculptris Further 3D Modeling Programs with Sculpting Capabilities Since both ZBrush and Mudbox come as free trial versions, you might want to check them both out first and then choose the program you like most.

Mudbox costs 10 USD/month, whereas ZBrush costs 795 USD for a single user license.

ZBrush is often considered to be superior to Mudbox when it comes to painting the model.

However, ZBrush beats Mudbox in terms of functionality.

Overall, ZBrush and Mudbox feature similar sets of tools and brushes.

With Mudbox, you need to use integrations with Maya or 3ds Max to generate a base geometry more easily.

The main difference between both programs is that ZBrush is much better at generating a base geometry to start modeling with than Mudbox.

Mudbox’s sculpting style differs somewhat to that of ZBrush and can be considered as more beginner-friendly.

It’s hard to say which of these two programs (ZBrush or Mudbox) is really better, but here are some points to consider: Mudbox digital painting and sculpting software provides 3D artists with an intuitive and tactile toolset for creating and modifying 3D geometry and textures. ZBrush’s biggest competitor is Mudbox, which was developed in 2007 and acquired by Autodesk. Jody Garrett’s goat skull was designed with ZBrush 2. You should also check out our tutorial about how to prepare your ZBrush models for 3D printing here. To get a feel for the software without taking any risks you can start ZBrush’s 45-day-trial version here. Heads up though: ZBrush comes with a rather steep learning curve and a price of 795 USD. Jody Garrett, who printed the goat skull that you can see below with ZBrush, calls the software a “hands-down tour-de-force of digital tools.” Launched in 1999 as 2.5D modeling software, it is now the go-to solution for 3D sculptors and painters. It offers the world’s most advanced tools for everyone from art enthusiasts to major film and games studios. Without any doubt, ZBrush is the most popular and most powerful digital sculpting program out there. Later on, we will also mention traditional 3D modeling programs that offer basic sculpting modules. Here, sculpting is the sole purpose of the software and not just a bonus feature.

In the first part of this blog post, we will focus on sculpting programs. This article will show you the 10 best 3D sculpting programs to get the job done!

While many 3D modeling programs focus on precision, 3D sculpting apps are all about turning a piece of visual clay into a stunning 3D print. 3D sculpting is a fascinating way to bring characters, monsters, and all kinds of organic shapes to life.

Sculptris 3d modeling