Today, I downloaded Sculptris 1.01 and gave it a try. What is Sculptris ? It is a free 3D sculpting application somewhat similar to digital clay modeling. Besides sculpting, it is also able to perform digital painting and exporting of the various maps as UV textures.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised by the power of this 3D tool. Sculptris proved to be extremely intuitive to use ! I did not even bother reading up the manual. The interface is self-explanatory.

When you first start the application, you will be greeted by a sphere in the middle of the screen. Using the tools presented on the top left hand corner of the interface, you can proceed to craft the sphere into the desired shape.

Once you are satisfied with the shape, you can proceed to the Painting mode to add colours and bump attributes to the 3D form.

I managed to create a stylised alien within the first 2 hours of trying the program. It is as shown below. It would have taken me a longer time to create the 3d form and its corresponding textures, if another 3D program had being used.

For a free sculpting and painting program, Sculptris is incredibly impressive. For making geometric shapes, Sculptris will be a less-than-ideal choice. However, when it comes to organic freeform sculpting, this program will be in its elements.

Dear Reader, I highly recommend that you give this free 3D program a try.