Professional Documents
Culture Documents
com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Volunteer translated pages are linked in blue, Google translated pages are linked in black. Learn how to provide volunteer translations.
Help Portal: Avatar | Bug Fixes | Communication | Community | Glossary | Land & Sim | Multimedia | Navigation | Object |
Video Tutorials | Viewer | Wiki | Misc
(Want to help out with this page? Check out the To-do list.)
Contents
About 3D Modeling Software
1 About 3D Modeling Software
This page offers a list of 3D modeling software for use with Sculpt Maps 2 Adding Programs to This List
for Sculpted Prims, along with a short explanation of popular 3D file
3 Special Purpose Sculpted Prim Tools
formats. Each entry lists the software package's web site, operating
system support, cost and trial versions if applicable, and the licence. 4 Free 3D Modeling Software
4.1 Art of Illusion
Note: Resident-made sculpt map tools and offline previewers now have 4.2 Blender
their own page.
4.3 Plopp
4.4 Wings 3D
4.5 POV-Ray
What Features are important for making Sculpted Prims?
4.6 XSI Mod Tool
Each software entry includes a rundown of features that are particularly 5 Commercial 3D Suites
useful for creating sculpt maps. Although support for these features isn't 5.1 Under $200
necessary in order to create sculpt maps, it can make the process a 5.1.1 Archipelis Designer (Archipelis)
whole lot easier.
5.1.2 Amorphium (Electric Image)
5.1.3 AC3D (invis)
5.1.4 Hexagon 2.5 (DAZ Productions)
User Scripting: A script interface is one of the easiest and
5.1.5 Moment of Inspiration
fastest ways to add functionality to a program or to automate
5.1.6 Silo (Nevercenter)
tasks the program is already capable of. Plugins and SDKs can do
5.1.7 Shade10 (e frontier)
the same thing but may not be available.
5.2 $200 - $999
Built-in texture baking/generation: This term describes the
5.2.1 Zbrush (Pixologic)
ability to create/"render" textures and export them to image
5.2.2 Lightwave (Newtek)
files. If this functionality is built into the software, it is available to
5.2.3 Rhinoceros (McNeel)
user-generated scripts. For example, it allows manual export of
5.2.4 trueSpace (Caligari)
sculpt maps with Blender and Lightwave. It can also make it
5.2.5 Softimage XSI (Autodesk)
easier to create regular textures for your model; you can apply
5.2.6 Modo 302 (Luxology)
colours, patterns or just a template guide to your model and
5.2.7 Mudbox (Autodesk)
bake it out for upload or further detailing in a paint program.
5.2.8 Carrara (Daz)
Modeling Methods: Over the years a variety of different 3d
5.2.9 Cinema 4D
modeling techniques have emerged, each having various
5.3 $1000 and Up
strengths and weaknesses. They include:
5.3.1 Maya (Autodesk/Wavefront)
Polygon Modelling: The most mature method and the
5.3.2 3d Studio Max (Autodesk)
choice output for most games and realtime rendering in
6 Other 3d Programs
which you directly manipulate the faces, edges and
6.1 MilkShape 3D
vertices of an object.
6.2 Google SketchUp
NURBS: NURBS modelling uses series of curved splines to
6.3 Ayam
define the shape of an object and are excellent for
7 3D File Formats
smooth, organic shapes. The methodology behind
sculpted prims is very largely based on them.
1 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Which you use will ultimately come down to personal preference and what your exporter will handle best.
For most Second Life users, this shouldn't be a major issue. If your computer is capable of running the Second Life client, you should have
no trouble running most of these programs. Some programs will run fine on something as old as a Pentium III. A few professional programs
(like Maya) say they'll only support high-end workstation graphics cards but it will still run ok on a regular setup. Check the system
requirements on the software vendor's webpage for specific details.
There's no easy answer to that question. It depends on a number of factors which will vary from user to user:
How much money can you (or are you willing to) spend? The cost of 3d software ranges from "free" to thousands of dollars.
Programs like Maya and 3ds Max are powerful, but if you're not already seriously into 3d modelling, they're probably overkill.
Lightwave, zBrush and programs in their price range are powerful professional tools while still being within reach of a reasonably
well-to-do person who's dedicated to their SL design work, but these are probably still overkill for pure sculptie creation as most of
the features you pay for go beyond the general tools to create sculpt maps for Second Life. Programs such as Amorphium,
trueSpace and Milkshape are aimed at professionals and casual hobbyists, but not all of them are going to have the full 3D studio
capabilities of some more expensive programs. Free programs run the gamut between the pro and hobby levels and you'll have to
consider other factors when choosing between them. Blender is a nice alternative to professional suites like Maya and max due to
its flexibility and price (it's free), yet the overwhelmingly complex GUI creates a steep learning curve for many.
How much time are you willing to invest? If you want to just make a few sculpted objects, a simple standalone utility like
Rokuro might suit you best. If you're a serious content creator though, you'll want to put the time and effort into learning a more
complex program.
How much prior experience do you have? If you've been working with 3d software for a while already, you probably already
know what you like, or will have an easier time picking up a different and/or more complicated program. If you're brand new to
modeling, it's probably a mistake to jump right into a program like Blender or Maya because of their steep learning curves. The
availability of general modelling tutorials, product support, user forums and other resources (not just SL-related ones) will probably
affect your choice as well.
Probably not with anything expensive...unless you're a university student at a school with a good computer art program where you can
take advantage of their resources. If you're very serious about learning the tools the pros use, you might also want to seek out such a
program, either online or in a classroom.
If you just want to dive straight into making sculpties then there are a couple of front-runners for your attention. (Please note that these
are opinions and may not reflect everyone's.) If you have to go the free route, Wings 3d is probably your best bet: the exporter has some
hard limitations and the interface isn't necessarily friendly but it's much easier to use than the other main free option, Blender. Once you get
the hang of it you can make sculpties fairly quickly.
If you want free and simple, try out the Rokuro and Tokoroten sculpt-making tools. You'll be limited in the shapes you can produce, but they
require no 3d experience and you can turn out some good sculpties in a little as ten minutes. The Wings plugin can also import these sculpt
maps where you can tweak them further.
If you're willing to spend some money (under USD$100), AC3D is a good place to start. The interface is nicer than that of Wings, and Zora
Spoonhamer's exporter allows you to take good advantage of program features which the Wings exporter doesn't; full subdivision
capabilities, cutting and extrusion of faces, etc.
That said, the best way to decide which program you should use is to start downloading their demos and trying them for size and feel.
Popularity: This may seem contrary to the "discovering new programs" bit above, but it's impossible to ignore the impact popularity
has on a program: it means there's a community of users that can offer support to newbies and it increases the likelihood that
someone will develop sculpt map support for it.
2 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Features: If it doesn't already have sculpt map support, does it have the features that will make it likely able to support sculpt
maps? Certain well known programs like Sketchup and Milkshape have been put in the "Other" category because people will ask
about them but the chance of sculpt map support being developed for them seems slim because of their feature sets. If that turns
out to be an incorrect assumption then they'll certainly be moved up. A file converter like 3dm2sculpt or one of various object to
sculpty programs is better than nothing but as such programs are in varying stages of being beta and/or experimental (and often
may not work), being able to save to a convertible file format shouldn't be the only thing to consider. Other things to keep in mind:
is the interface usable? Does the program run without frequently crashing?
With those in mind, if you're adding a program, follow the format used in the rest of the entries (they differ slightly between the free and
commercial packages) and be sure to fill in as much information as you can; this will usually take a little research. If you've used the
program, you're encouraged to include your insights and experiences in the short description blurb (you don't need more than a short
paragraph). Tutorials, documentation and the like should be linked separately under the Resources section.
A number of Residents have recommended this program. If you're familiar with it, please give the rest of us a summary!
Warning: I have a reported Malware/Virus that came from Art Of Illusion. It infected a few of my files! -Caboose Enfield
[NOTE: chances are it was either downloaded from a shady site or was a false positive. More details are needed!]
Resources
Blender
Website: blender.org (http://www.blender.org)
License: GPL (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)
Operating Systems: Cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, Irix, Solaris, FreeBSD and others)
User Scripting? Yes, Python
Modeling Methods: Polygon, NURBS, Subdivision, Basic Brush Sculpting
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes. Documented here (http://amandalevitsky.googlepages.com/sculptedprims) , here
(http://www.bentha.net/sculpted2/Blender-to-sculpted.html) , and here (http://dominodesigns.info/second_life
/blender_scripts.html)
Formerly a company's in-house tool, Blender is the current king of the open source modeling programs. With all the features of the
expensive programs, an active development community and even some existing SL-based tools made by Residents, this is going to be the
default choice for many people. Downsides: Blender's interface is not newbie-friendly. That combined with spotty documentation can make
for a slow learning curve.
Resources
Blender Sculptie Import & Export scripts (http://dominodesigns.info/second_life/blender_scripts.html) SL Forums Support Thread
(http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=203571)
Blender.org Documentation and Tutorials (http://www.blender.org/tutorials-help/)
Blender 3D: Noob to Pro (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro) - on Wikibooks (http://en.wikibooks.org
/wiki/Main_Page) , It's a great step-by-step tutorial that contains substantial content, is well-formatted, and has screen shots.
How to Make Sculpted Prims with Blender (http://amandalevitsky.googlepages.com/sculptedprims)
Video/Text tutorials covering creation/texturizing/LOD/... (http://blog.machinimatrix.org) - uses "Import & Export scripts" (see
above)
A template file to start with and export easy (http://www.bentha.net/sculpted-tuto/Blender-export-template-tut.html)
Oven Baked Pretzels @ BlenderNewbies.com (http://blendernewbies.blogspot.com/2007/04/video-oven-baked-pretzels-
in-blender-3d.html) - A video tutorial that covers the basics of Blender's new sculpt mode, useful if you're creating sculpties using
the above manual method.
An almost complete method (http://www.bentha.net/sculpted2/Blender-to-sculpted.html) to export almost anything from blender
Another great tutorial (http://iramblesorry.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love_28.html) on using
3 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Plopp
Website: Plopp Second Life (http://www.secondplopp.com/)
License: Donationware/Commercial
Operating Systems:Windows, Mac, Linux
User Scripting? No (N/A)
Modeling Methods: 2d painting
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes
Plopp is a cute 3D modeling tool designed for little kids. The makers of Plopp have
now put out a free version for SL users (the full program can be bought for
US$19.50).
Imagine one of those new mylar balloons. You paint the one side with an image, and
then paint the other side with an image represetning the other side. Plopp then blows
up the balloon and shades it. You can also import graphics from other tools
(Photoshop, a scanned drawing, etc.), make a "cutout" with the eraser and inflate
that. You can play a little with the lighting and with rotations. The Plopp drawing tools
are very basic but keep in mind, this is for little children. Then it bakes the texture and
exports the texture and the sculpt map (128x128).
Even if you don't use this for Second Life, you might like to get it for your kids...or
inner child. It just looks like a lot of fun. A SLork sculpted in Plopp
Resources
Plopp Tips (http://www.planet-plopp.com/biggerkids/tips.html) - Video tutorials and neat tricks from the Plopp website
Plopp SL Video Tutorial (http://www.shiny-life.com/2007/10/06/tutorial-create-sculpted-prims-with-ploppsl/) at Shiny Life
Wings 3D
Website: Wings 3D (http://www.wings3d.com)
License:BSD license (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.html)
Get Started:Second Life Wings 3D guide
Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (binaries), other Unixes (source only)
User Scripting? Plugin interface using a language called Erlang
Modeling Methods: Polygon, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? Not sure
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes.
Wings3D is a subdivision modeler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivision_surface) that is easy to learn and is well suited to making
sculpted prims. The sculpt import and export for Wings is easy to use. There are also numerous tutorials that are specific to making
sculpties.
Resources
*) The SL servers seem to be having trouble sending the zip files from the forums. Use the alternative s
http://pkpounceworks.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=28&func=fileinfo&id=119 for now.
POV-Ray
Website: http://povray.org
Cost: FREE
Operating Systems: Windows/Linux/Mac
Trial version available?
User Scripting?
Modeling Methods: N/A
4 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
POV-Ray is a renderer - you have to do all your modeling in another application, or by describing in plain text the mathematical shapes which
make up the model. It may seem an odd inclusion in this part of the list but merits mentioning up here instead of burried at the bottom with
the "Other" section because it actualy can produce sculpt maps. Some other programs like AC3D (below) can also call on POV-Ray for
texture baking.
The Autodesk® Softimage® Mod Tool software is a free version of Softimage for non- commercial game creation. It was designed for use
by anyone needing a powerful 3D application to make and mod games. Most of the features and functionality of the commercial version of
SOFTIMAGE|XSI 6 are enabled in Mod Tool, without the hassle of licensing.
Commercial 3D Suites
It has to be said: most professional 3D software is (understandably) expensive, anywhere from hundreds to many thousands of dollars for
a single copy. They're marketed at big professional studios with thousands or millions of dollars to budget for this stuff. There are ways to
reduce this expense so that it's within the reach of an average person: some legal, some not.
Under $200
Archipelis Designer (Archipelis)
Website: [1] (http://www.archipelis.com)
Cost: around 38 euros
Operating Systems: Windows and Mac
Trial version available?: Yes
User Scripting?
Modeling Methods: by drawing on photo
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes
With Archipelis Designer you just draw an outline from a background image(s) to make it a 3D textured model. Or you can use a blank view
and just draw the shapes you want from scratch. it's an intuitive approach to sketch the shapes out that can then be enhanced with
textures and photographs and then exported to a set of sculted prims.
Resources
[2] (http://www.archipelis.com/second_life.php)
5 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Sculpting is what Amorphium is all about. If you have a pen tablet (even a tablet PC), the pressure sensitivity will control the pressure applied
to the current brush to morph the sculpture. It gives a very natural feel to being able to sculpt 3d models easily and intuitively. Amorphium
has won 14 awards including "Best Graphics Software" from magazines like Computer Graphics World, PC World, and Macworld for its
breakthrough real-time approach to creating 3D graphics.
Resources
AC3D (invis)
Website: www.invis.com - AC3D (http://www.inivis.com/)
Cost: US$75
Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OSX 10.4 or later, Linux (x86 only)
Trial version available?: Yes - 14 day trial
User Scripting? Plugin Interface available, plus TCL-based scripting
Modeling Methods: Polygon, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? No (But can be accomplished via 3rd party plug-ins or POV-Ray)
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes: As of 6.4 (released July 2008) the Second Life plugins now ship with AC3D. For older
versions, visit these links: Export plug-in for Windows, Mac and Linux (http://www.inivis.com/secondlife.html) , developed by Zora
Spoonhammer (http://www.ccccybernetics.com/)
AC3D is an inexpensive polygon modeler with SubD support designed to be easy for novice users. The sculpt map plug-in will export any
model that has a perfect uv space. Several pre-mapped starter shapes are included with the plug-in, including a cube that can be used as
basis for complex objects by artists familiar with the popular box modeling method using sub-division surfaces. Invis recently gave their
official blessing (as well as hosting) to the plugin, making them the first vendor of this kind of software to put their backing into sculpy
development.
Resources
Hexagon 2.5.0.5 rolls out official support for sculpted prims which shoots it from the "other" section into the main list. By itself it appears to
be a very capable program - the full range of expected modeling tools plus 3D painting, ambient occlusion baking - in short, all most sculpt
makers will need for not too much money. The program was originally developed by eovia and was purchased by DAZ.
Resources
Moment of Inspiration
Website: Moment of Inspiration (http://moi3d.com/)
Cost: US$195
Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
User Scripting? ?
Modeling Methods: NURBS, Polygon (Import/Export Only)
Built-in Texture Baking? ?
6 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
This program has some cool things going for it. It's the work of a former Rhino developer and has an interface that pretty much lets you
draw shapes with the mouse or a pen tablet. Original text: MoI’s sleek intuitive UI blends a fluid easy workflow with powerful tools, making it
the perfect choice for someone who has been frustrated with the complexity of existing CAD tools.
Resources
Silo (Nevercenter)
Website: Nevercenter - Silo (http://www.nevercenter.com/)
Cost: US$159, US$59 (upgrade), edu licensing on request
Operating Systems: Windows 2000 or later, Mac OSX 10.3 or later
Trial version available?: Yes - 30 day trial
User Scripting? -?-
Modeling Methods: Polygon, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? -?-
Current Sculpt Map Support?: -?-
Resources
Shade10 (e frontier)
Website: 3DCG : Shade online (http://shade.e-frontier.co.jp/)
Cost: US$130/Yen12,800(Shade 10 Basic)
Operating Systems: Windows XP/ XP Professional x64 Edition/Vista /Vista 64bit, Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later
Trial version available?: Yes - 30 day trial (http://shade.e-frontier.co.jp/download/try.html)
User Scripting? Python
Modeling Methods: Polygon Mesh, Boolean, Meta Mesh
Built-in Texture Baking? -?-
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes
Comments Not recommended if you do not live in Japan. E-frontier's web site is not English friendly or have an English language option. I
had to locate their email form for customer service and use a web translator to fill out an email request for english documentation and a
purchase page in english. Their response was that Shade 10 does not have English documentation and is for sale in Japan. They added that I
should get Shade 8. I looked through the Shade 8 documentation, Shade 8 does not have any sculpted prim support.
Resources
$200 - $999
Zbrush (Pixologic)
Website: Pixologic :: Zbrush (http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/products/products.php)
Cost: US$595 (V3.1)
Operating Systems: Windows 98/2000/ZP, Mac OS X
Trial version available?: Yes (30 day trial) (http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/trial/)
User Scripting? Yes, Zscripting
Modeling Methods: Brush Sculpting, "ZSphere" modeling, Polygon (Import/Export)
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: No, future support is planned by Linden Lab (but note to resident developers: this one is in high
demand). There is a resident created tool called Sculpty Maker that allows you to convert objects created in zBrush. Download/Info
(http://www.shiny-life.com/sculpty-maker/)
Zbrush is a 3d painting and sculpting tool; instead of manipulating polys or curves, you select a brush and literally paint and chisel and
mold...the best way to grasp it is to download the demo and play with it. It's pretty sweet: a ton of studios such as Epic Games
(http://www.epicgames.com/) use it to create the details for their normal maps and some SL designers are already using it for the 3d
painting capabilities.
V3.1 adds many new features, such as Displacement Maps (and and Exporter) and the ZMapper.
(I may be incorrect, but I believe that the Displacement Maps and Exporter may be Pixologic's rendition of sculpture maps. Some with more
7 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Resources
Lightwave (Newtek)
Website: Lightwave (http://www.newtek.com/lightwave/)
Cost: US$895, US$495 as a companion upgrade for Photoshop
Operating Systems: Windows XP, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
Trial version available?: Yes, 30 day time limit, currently only available with a couple books
User Scripting? Yes, LScript
Modeling Methods: Polygon, NURBS with LWCAD 2.1 add-on (costs extra)
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes, manual method instructions here: User:Patchouli_Woollahra/Lightwave_Sculptie_Rendering
(works with any version of Lightwave of at least version 6) or use the DStorm plugin provided [[3] (http://www.dstorm.co.jp
/english/plugin/secondlife.htm) ] at DStorm (LW9+ only)
Some high-profile Second Life designers have been using Lightwave for quite a while to burn realistic highlights and shadows onto their skins
and clothing textures. Therefore it's not a big surprise that after Blender, this was the second program that community members figured out
a sculpt export method for.
Resources
Rhinoceros (McNeel)
Website: Rhino 3D (http://www.rhino3d.com)
Cost: US$995 ($300 student)
Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/Vista (Vista not recommended due to OpenGL issues) OS X (beta, free)
Trial version available?: Yes, save count limited
User Scripting? Yes, VBScript
Modeling Methods: NURBS, Polygon (limited)
Built-in Texture Baking? No
Current Sculpt Map Support?: please try 3dm2sculpt (not tested with Rhino yet)
Rhino is built from the ground up for NURBS modeling; thus if you intend to use NURBS, this isn't such a bad option. From this author's brief
trial with it, it handles certain operations (like joining 2 or more objects) somewhat more intelligently than 3ds Max. A couple UI tricks make
it easier to learn than the sea of buttons you're initially presented with: a help window to one side explains each operation as you select it
and the command line at the top effectively lets you search for a function by typing in its name, without having to know where the button or
menu option is.
Resources
Using Rhino in SL (http://starling.us/rhino) by Ĝan Ŭesli Starling, a.k.a. SL's Aplonis Ember (https://wiki.secondlife.com
/wiki/User:Aplonis_Ember) .
trueSpace (Caligari)
Website: Caligari (http://www.caligari.com)
Cost: As of late July, 2008, Caligari, recently acquired by Microsoft, is giving away the latest version of trueSpace (7.6) for free,
with all documentation as well as all formerly extra-cost video training.
Operating Systems: Windows XP/Vista
Trial version available?: No longer necessary
User Scripting? Yes
Modeling Methods: Polygon, NURBS, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: No
trueSpace and its companion products appear to be aimed more at the independent developer and hobby market, resulting in a fully
featured program at a much more affordable price. Of interest to Second Life users: trueSpace 7 and up offers a collaborative work
environment; the benefit of working together like in SL but without the guy shooting off guns at you in the sandbox.
Resources
8 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Billing itself as "the most advanced 3D animation and character creation software for next generation games & film", it does that, modeling,
baking, film compositing, and it makes toast! All kidding aside, they seem to be going after the largest slice of the market they can and their
client list includes everything from Half-Life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2) to Howl's Moving Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Howl's_Moving_Castle_(film)) . Pluses? It's one of the few commercial programs that uses non-proprietary languages for their
scripting...yes, I said languages, because apparently you have a choice between several. However it's unlikely that it has a significant user
base within the SL community at the moment.
Softimage XSI was bought out by Autodesk in November 2008. Expect a new product website and probably price changes to follow.
Resources
Luxology Modo is a premier modeling and UV system built to maximize the workflow of professional modelers. It has both a rich modeling
and painting toolset, ideal for creating models for Second Life.
Resources
Mudbox (Autodesk)
Website: Mudbox (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=10707763)
Cost: US$745 (Autodesk Mudbox 2009) US$450 (upgrade from older "Basic" version) - US$375 (upgrade from old "Professional"
version)
Operating Systems: Windows XP SP2, Atm untested on x64 or Vista
Trial version available?: Yes, 30 day trial fully functional.
User Scripting? No
Modeling Methods: Brush Sculpting, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: No
With ZBrush one of the most powerful organic modelers out there, really easy to use and artist friendly. Its modeling is based on brushes
like ZBrush but aims more to 3D like Maya or 3D Studio Max. It contains a high quality texture renderer for baking normal maps and is used
be many 3D professionals and studios like WETA Digital and some artists at Raven Software and id Software.
Resources
Carrara (Daz)
Website: Daz (http://www.daz3d.com/)
9 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Like Hexagon, Carrara was an Eovia product that is now owned by Daz. Carrara is full-featured 3D application, supporting polygon modeling,
spline modeling, "metaballs", and terrain modeling (it is sometimes compared to Vue). This app seems fly under the radar consistently, but
Daz does seem to be serious about maintaining it as they have recently released a Mac Universal Binary version, free to registered users.
Carrara also provides animation and particles.
Resources
Cinema 4D
Website: Maxon (http://www.maxon.net)
Cost: CINEMA 4D R10 Win PC £586.33, additional modules available.
Operating Systems: Windows XP/Vista, Mac
Trial version available?: Yes, Demo
User Scripting? Yes, COFFEE
Modeling Methods: Polygon, NURBS, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes, via Shader.
One of the more affordable 3D applications, excellent learning curve. Uses COFFEE script for plugins.
Resources
Nice tutorial (http://www.ks-3d.de/KS-3D_SCULPTIES_(SCULPTED_PRIMS).htm) to create a Shader and modeling (by KS-3D Klaus
Strifler - german only)
How to create Sculpted Prims (sculpties) & surface textures with MAXON’s CINEMA 4D R10 & BodyPaint 3D (http://derek-
lerner.com/blog/?p=923) Derek Lerner 13:51, 27 July 2008 (PDT)
Sculpt map tutorial part 1 for Cinema 4D (http://kraphik3d.com/wordpress/?page_id=46) Loosely translated from Klaus Strifler´s original
german KS-3D sculpt map tutorial into english by a finnish 3d artist Kraphik 3D.
$1000 and Up
Maya (Autodesk/Wavefront)
Website: Autodesk Maya (http://www.autodesk.com/maya)
Cost: US$3000 ("Complete") - US$7000 ("Unlimited"). ("Complete" version sufficient for creating sculpted prims.) Educational
license: US$300
Operating Systems: Windows XP SP2, Mac OS X 10.4, Linux (SUSE, RedHat and Fedora supported)
Trial version available?: 30 day trial.
"Personal Learning Edition", no time limit but not usable for creating sculpted prims (sculpt textures ruined by watermark) -
Discontuned by Autodesk in November 2008. Older versions of the PLE can probably be found by searching.
User Scripting? Yes, MEL Script
Modeling Methods: Polygon, NURBS, Subdivision
Built-in Texture Baking? Yes
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Yes, script by Qarl Linden available on their wiki here, instructions here.
Qarl has released a new export script that can handle assemblies of prims and can also bake the surface textures for you.
Available Here
Why was Maya the first to receive sculpted prim support from Linden Lab? Because it was what Qarl Linden (http://www.qarl.com/) , the
main developer on the project, learned to use while creating kick-ass movie SFX like these (http://www.qarl.com/menu/resume/matrix-
demo.mov) and the tech for sculpted prims was adapted from tricks he learned in the process. Maya has been a growing force in the movie
industry for some years and a strong presence in the video game industry as well.
Resources
10 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
Formerly Maya's main competitor, especially in the game industry. Then Autodesk (the makers of Max) bought out Alias (the makers of
Maya) a couple years ago. So far the company is developing both products separately, marketing Maya at the movie industry and Max at
the game developers, but they have long had comparable feature sets, and in the future it's likely that there will be tighter integration
between the two. A choice between Maya and Max generally comes down to user preference and (particularly in our case) plugin support.
Some users have said that Max is easier for a newbie to learn than Maya and certain basic controls share similarities with SL's build tools
(such as shift-drag to copy).
Resources
SL Prims to 3ds Max (http://www.windyweather.net/smf/index.php?topic=141) - A prim building plugin and export system for Max. Open
source.
Prim Composer for 3ds Max (http://liferain.com/downloads/primcomposer/) - Prim Composer is based on SL Prims and SculptGenMax. 3ds
Max offline building plugin for both prims and sculpties. Open Source.
Other 3d Programs
These programs may be free or cheap, but they won't have nearly as expansive feature sets as those above.
MilkShape 3D
Website: www.milkshape3d.com (http://www.milkshape3d.com/)
Cost: US$25 / €25
Operating Systems: Windows
Trial version available? 30-day unrestricted trial, save disabled thereafter until registered
User Scripting? Plug-in SDK available (Does that count?)
Modeling Methods: Polygons
Built-in Texture Baking/generation? No
Current Sculpt Map Support: Import/Export plugin under development
Resources
See the Tutorials and Links sections on the MilkShape website (http://www.milkshape3d.com/)
Google SketchUp
Website: Google SketchUp (http://sketchup.google.com/)
Cost: Free (Google SketchUp 6); $495 (Google SketchUp 6 Pro)/$45 (full-feature academic license for Google SketchUp 6 Pro)
Operating Systems: Windows XP/2000, Windows Vista (with OpenGL 1.5 or higher), Mac OS X (10.3.9 or higher)
Trial version available?: 8 hour trial available for Sketchup Pro
User Scripting? Yes, Ruby
Modeling Methods: Polygon
Built-in Texture Baking? No
Current Sculpt Map Support?: Indirectly (through OBJ export; Pro version only)
SketchUp is a 3D drafting program popular among architects for its conceptual similarity to manual drafting and physical model-building. It
has a very low learning curve, but is rather foreign to most established suites other than AutoCAD.
Hypothetically, SketchUp could be used to reduce the number of prims used in structures already possible with Second Life's built-in tools, as
its use of edges and faces allows the creation of efficient compound geometric forms.
11 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
On the other hand, SketchUp's "bring your own geometry" approach makes it not particularly suited to the creation of mesh-based organic
shapes.
Sketchup's surface modeling paradigm currently makes it difficult to translate SketchUp models into Sculpted Prims. The paid "Pro" version
of SketchUp does, however, allow export to OBJ which, via obj2sculpt (or, of course, Maya), may allow sculpt-map export. It also exports
to 3DS, Collada, XSI and VRML, et cetera, but these formats may well require software more expensive than SketchUp.
SketchUp uses image textures about as basic as those found in the Second Life build tools. Its texture capabilities would therefore likely not
be useful to Second Life designers other than for previewing existing textures.
Resources
Ayam
Website: Ayam (http://ayam.sourceforge.net/)
License: BSD license (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.html)
Operating Systems: Unix/Linux (native), Windows 98, 2000 and XP, Mac OS X (with X11)
User Scripting? Yes, tcl
Modeling Methods: NURBS, Polygon (Import/Export Only)
Built-in Texture Baking? No
Current Sculpt Map Support?: No
Resources
3D File Formats
If you're using software that cannot export to sculpt directly, you might still be able to succeed. You can always give the file to someone
with access to the appropriate software, or you could export your model into another 3D modeler. To do that, you'll need to export the
model into a format the other program can handle. Here's a brief rundown of the file formats that SL developers will generally find the most
useful.
.OBJ: Probably the most common cross-platform export format for polygon models; it's fairly open and any 3D program
worth its bits supports it. It's also well-documented and easily hackable.
.3DS: The default polygon export format supported by 3D Studio Max. Because of this, it is widely supported. However, it
doesn't have as many export options as OBJ.
.FBX: Another Autodesk format that is good if you need to export whole scenes: objects, animation, lights, cameras, etc.
More importantly for our purposes, it preserves NURBS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NURBS) objects in some programs.
Especially useful if you're trading files between 3DS Max and Maya; it's also supported in some other programs but Blender
isn't among them ...yet.
.3DM: a.k.a OpenNURBS (http://www.opennurbs.com) . This is the native format of Rhino3D and MoI and, as the name
suggests, is a NURBS export format. It's gaining some popularity; unfortunately, it's not currently supported by the big three
(Maya, Max and Blender). However the format documentation and code libraries are open-source, tempting those brave
enough to try and write tools for it, such as 3dm2sculpt.
Other Resources
Useful places for anyone interested in 3d modeling:
3d Buzz (http://www.3dbuzz.com) — Forums, video tutorials and even classes covering everything from 3d programs to 3d
programing and even Photoshop.
An Interactive Introduction to Splines (http://ibiblio.org/e-notes/Splines/Intro.htm) — a technical introduction to NURBs.
See also
Sculpted Prims
Sculpted Prims: FAQ
Sculpt Textures in Paint Programs
Sculpted Prims: Under the Hood
Sculpted Prims: Sharing Sculpt Maps and Textures
Sculpted Prims Beta Discussion
12 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13
Sculpted Prims: 3d Software Guide - Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims:_3d_Software_Guide
This page was last modified on 11 March 2009, at 17:58. This page has been accessed 252,988 times.
Copyright © 2007-2008 Linden Research, Inc. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. Privacy policy
About Second Life Wiki Terms of Use
13 de 13 25/03/2009 18:13