Ep. 62 | Traditional vs Digital Sculpting - MiniTalk

Traditional or digital sculpting. Which path is right for you? There are benefits to both. The only bad choice is not to sculpt when you have the passion for creating miniatures.
In this MiniTalk, I share my thoughts on some of the most important factors when deciding which path is right for you.
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[@JuanHidalgoMiniatures]

YES! New Tom Mason video!! Best day of the month

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Thanks! I am very excited to share this one. It’s fun talking about topics.

[@JuanHidalgoMiniatures]

@@TomMasonSculptor it is indeed and it was a fantastic video. As someone that stopped sculpting profesionally before the advent of the digital era, I juts prefer the feel of putty, but it's obvious that if you want to work now as a sculptor you NEED to learn digital

[@infamousmaze6870]

As a hobbyist who already makes model kits and paints them, and other similar hobbies, I think I prefer physical because I like to work with my hands when not at work. I'm a full-time software developer and have devoted most of my life to computers. I used to want to make video games or mods and now I don't want to do that anymore. When I log off work, I want to detach from my PC, and I gravitate over to my little art table. If I got into 3d sculpting...I think I might go crazy from too much computer use. I may change my mind in the future, but right now, that's how I feel.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Hahah. Very good point!

[@timeguy441]

been on a binge of your sculpting tutorials I love your channel.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Thanks Cristian!

[@TalentHouseAd]

Awesome to see you posting!! Its always a good day when you upload!!

[@TomMasonSculptor]

I appreciate that.

[@Fertxunonimo]

The greatest difference between digital sculpting and the traditional one is CTRL+Z Great video. Regards F.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Amen! Have you ever gone back to something traditional after working in digital only to find yourself trying to hit undo? I have!

[@ignifero]

Don't forget about the zoom in XD

[@TomMasonSculptor]

@@ignifero Very good point.

[@rosthariton7930]

That's a very interesting video. I haven't started sculpting yet, though i have been thinking about it for sometime and only about the digital way. But this perspective of comparing phisical and digital was new and informative to me. Thank you for making this video and sharing your experience. As someone inexperienced as I am would hardly consider this.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

You're welcome. Good luck as you dive into sculpting!

[@vitorbulbovas7903]

Thanks for all the good content! Your channel has been my life saver these last couple of months

[@TomMasonSculptor]

You’re welcome!

[@isemko2056]

Great video. I do wonder about the market being flooded with digital sculptors eventually. I think there are more STL patreon's than I care to count and I wonder how long the bubble for it will last. It is hard to imagine folks actually printing and using 100s of minis a month. I also wonder if the gaming market can support the amount of people digitally sculpting, as from what I have seen it is much easier to get to a marketable level with digital vs traditional, lowering the barrier to entry. But still - very cool. I'd love to see a more involved video about how you develop a mini from start to finish with some of the more technical aspects of producing a printable piece.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

I couldn’t agree more. You are totally right that there are way more minis than we could hope to print let alone paint or play with. You’re spot on with the low barrier of entry as well. There are many fine digital sculptors out there making STL, but there are far more who just know how to push pixels and don’t know a thing about making a good mini that will print, let alone cast.

[@pbyfr]

Interesting comparison. The first figure I made was modeled in Blender, with a base from MakeHuman. But having some experience for modelling in low poly for games (before 2005, so that was very low poly!), I struggled to have something printable. I didn't use sculpting in Blender a lot, as I didn't have experience in real or 3D sculpting, and traditional 3D modeling is a very different beast. Currently, I made one 3D figure and sculpted 4 others for my O scale layout. Two points you missed in the video: -real sculpting make it easier to pose the figure in an existing place (like a locomotive engineer with hands on controls). In 3D, I would need to 3D scan or model the surrounding. -people working the whole day on PC like me don't want to pass hours on it for the hobby

[@bots2beasts]

Excellent video.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Thank you very much.

[@SuperSaiyanPhysique]

I downloaded blender and luckily my laptop was powerful enough and has a stylus so it was free for me. Pretty new to both, have done much better things digitally than traditional. Just being able to zoom in and get a consistent mark with the 'brush' was the difference for me.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Very cool to hear. It’s a great tool.

[@jeromevorndran2124]

Sculpting is just a hobby for me atm, so all the pros of digital - speed, scalability, cleanliness, etc. are all pretty irrelevant. There's a ton of charm in a hand-sculpted mini that I just don't think can be replicated, as well as the challenge of working really really small.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

You’re completely right. If I didn’t emphasize it enough, I think the main reason to sculpt digital is if you plan to make a career of it by working for others. But you can absolutely still do it all traditionally. And for hobbying traditional is definitely my recommendation.

[@funwithmadness]

I hate digital sculpting. I just cannot get into it. There's no tangible feedback to it. To me, it just doesn't feel like sculpting. However, my eyesight is so poor now that I cannot sculpt traditionally anymore, at least not comfortably for more than about two minutes. So, as a result, I do neither any more. :)

[@TomMasonSculptor]

That so sad to hear. I have noticed my eyesight makes sculpting traditionally more challenging as well. You bring up a good point about digital as well. One of my biggest gripes is that you have tend yo need to use a plethora of tools. With traditional, you can make so many distinct marks with the same tool just with what edge or side you use.

[@paidwitness797]

Have you tried a head mounted magnifier? I got one a few weeks ago and its now a lot more comfortable to paint/sculpt, cost about £20.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

@@paidwitness797 I used to use an optivisor. Decided to stop using it because I found I was getting in and putting too much detail on the mini. But now that you mention it, that's exactly what I need again these days. Might have to pick it up again.

[@DiegoVelascoVolkmann]

You can sculpt with a mouse, no need for an expensive tablet

[@TomMasonSculptor]

This is true! But it’s way more fun with a tablet.

[@julianmoreno6925]

No you don't, its a lie and the kind of lie only dumb people say to feel better about it, a simple 20 dollars tablet its enough to start though. So if you will sculpt a 1 inch head with you elbow and a hammer i can tell you it could be done but stupid unless you only have your elbow and the hammer if i can choose i will use may hands and a simple trusty tool.