I discovered Nomad for the iPad today, and I’m loving it! I’ve been using ZBrush as a hobbyist for years, but my aging hands don’t like using a stylus. With your excellent iPad app, I can sculpt using just my fingers (and maybe the occasional Apple Pencil for something super-detailed).
I spent an hour or so whipping up a male figure, and I was quite pleased with the results. But I have some newb questions:
Is there a way to snap the bottom of my figure’s feet to the floor grid? If I do this, will it mess up importing into ZBrush (for retopo) or Blender (for rigging/animation)?
I modeled by drawing primitives and then merging them together. (I found this easier than trying to sculpt from the beginning sphere, but that may just be my inexperience.) It worked fine but it took me a while until things started to look human. Which was, admittedly, a great review of anatomy. Still, I’m wondering if there are any free male/female human figure “starter models” to start work with, like ZBrush’s super-average man etc. If there are, can I use them freely as the basis for models to be used in a game for sale?
Finally, after I merged all my prims together, I realized I didn’t know how to isolate part of the mesh to sculpt on it with everything else invisible – i.e., like using polygroups in ZBrush. Is there a way to do this (other than masking)? I noticed the Solo button but wasn’t sure how to use it.
No snapping, as far as I know. Grid is relative as you can adjust the grid height in Nomad.
Search sketchfab for free, downloadable objects. I always use gITF to download. In Nomad choose import/onmyiPad/downloads and tap on the file.
Voila. No textures of course.
Solo only works with single objects. But choosing mask and short tap on one object, selects just this part. Holding smooth and tapping more extends the object selection. You can use the eye icon to make masked part invisible.
No Polygroups though
Thanks for your helpful replies. OK, I’ll check out sketchfab. And thanks for the tip on masking/tapping/hiding. That should work well enough. I appreciate the help!
Just to throw in, I find using Nomad works better for me when I think about how classic sculpture is achieved and implement more of those methods digitally. I physically place a plane beneath my characters for a platform to stand on; and they’re modelled pre-positioned first so the feet rest perfectly. Since it’s already pre-positioned, snapping isn’t needed because no adjustments to the posture is needed. I hope this gives some influence and advice towards how you approach your next creative piece in Nomad.
Thanks for your reply, @John_Mills . What do you mean when you say your models are “pre-positioned first”? I’m building my models from primitives, so I’m not sure how to do this.
Speaking of primitives, is this the right choice for building a human figure? I’ve discovered the joys of the Tube tool, and I’m wondering if I should use that next time.
This is example of what I mean in the latest piece I’m working on. Because of no armature, think of the pose you want your sculpt to be in first and design it that way from the ground up, instead of building generic standing figure and attempting to move the limbs after. This is just my own approach to 3d sculpting on Nomad, everyone is different but I find I get better results this way. Tubes are quintessential to my Nomad work, other than the melting face in Raiden’s hand and the Plane beneath his feet, it’s all Tubes. I hope again this provides an avenue for you to explore and inspiration (updated image to show better example from angle).![image|690x481]
@John_Mills Thanks for that terrific reply. What a wonderful sculpt! I wish you success with it.
I’m especially grateful for your comments on posing. I made my first model in a boring T-pose. I’d like to rig, pose and animate my characters in Blender, and I wasn’t sure if I needed a T pose for that purpose. I used to animate using Poser, and I recall having to put everything into a T pose for frame 1. But I don’t think that’s required by Blender, so I suppose I can make any pose I like? A T or A pose still does have the advantage of allowing me to use symmetry tools to speed things up. But your approach certainly makes for a more interesting sculpt!
What would you do if you were sculpting in order to rig, pose and animate a character, possibly for a game?
If the intention is to export the model out for use in software, it requires a different approach to building the model. Mine are for art and potentially 3d printing purposes. I’d honestly make quite a simplistic figure in a T-pose, basic mesh, low poly, spaghetti limbs for ease of animation and exploration, then export him out for all the heavy lifting in the planned software you intend to finish him off in. For that, you won’t need much Nomad use at all.
But also, the reason for my choice for that will also be down to the technical restrictions from my Mac and my lack of personal interest in exploring animation. For someone who’s already seasoned in it - like yourself - your approach may well be different and you may want to build something more complex. This is just my input. Good luck.
Thanks. I’d actually like to finish as much as the model as possible in Nomad, because it has one outstanding feature that no other modeling program has: it allows me to sculpt with my finger. My aging hands have arthritis, and using either a stylus or a mouse hurts my hand after a few minutes. But I can touch-sculpt on the iPad for hours, pain-free. I use Clip Studio Paint on the iPad for the same reason. Occasionally I’ll bust out my Apple Pencil for a fine detail, but I can do almost everything with my finger.
I wish you the best of luck, and look forward to seeing what you produce. I do understand arthritic pain - tell tale signs are there in a few of my joints already, but just have to persevere, manage it as best as can without aggravating the situation. Really do wish you all the best with your 3d work. Wonderful to talk
