Figured I'm hardly qualified for the "First Sculpts" thread any more and, tbh, I kinda like that being for first sculpts so I figured I might as well make my own sketchbook vanity thread like they seem to do everywhere else that 3d modelling and forums collide.
I'll post my crap in here. You guys can look at it and chuckle and hopefully start your own thread so's I don't feel like I'm the only attention whore in the place!
Found a new trick today - using custom stamps constrained to surface for profit and lulz
First off an explanation of how the stamps align to surface normals, crucial to understand. When you export a layer, worldspace-up is the way your stamp will be aligned, perpendicular to the surface you're spraying it on.
I start with a flattened disk, placed flat, like how I'd hold a pizza. Anything I sculpt on the top of the stamp is the surface texture I'm going to be adding to the mesh. Conversely, the profile of the bottom of this layer of mine will be what is carved away when I flip my tool to subtract mode.
Plan accordingly.
Now here's the thing, on a smooth surface, like the sphere in this example clip, the disk will behave itself and, as long as you don't let go of the trigger, you can fill your object with a reasonably uniform texture. or paint on areas (islands in this case) However, once you've roughed up the surface, you have to imagine all the normals are pointing here there and everywhere so, your second pass is going to behave a totally different way from the first, throwing a lot more edges up in the air Likewise when carving - different effect on flat or textured surface.
Plan accordingly.
This clip is recorded in realtime as a proof of concept. Spent literally two minutes beforehand, making the custom stamps. I'ma throw an hour or two at this now and see what I can come up with.
Update. It's not as simple as worldspace-up. Tried to do tower blocks for a city and they aligned sideways, no matter what I did. @MattHickman - any light you can shed on how the custom stamps align to surface?
Great sculpt with the little planet too, wish I though of that would of saved me a lot of time! 😛 Although wouldn't it be great if we could 'surface' sculpt on a new layer
Constrain to target layer? Very this! There's a workaround but it's clunky as hell and non-symmetrical.
Basically, you need to dupe your base layer, then move it to one side of the symmetry plane, with mirror on.
So you'll be scribbling on the mesh on one side of the plane but on the other the scribbles will just be appearing in the air. Once you're done delete the side you were working on then you have to manually align the new scribble layer with the original base layer.
Like I said - clunky but it'll give the effect you're working on. Used the mirror-mode-air-scribble trick on this one. Didn't line it back up with the original basemesh afterward but you should get the idea.
So in case (like me) anyone missed it, Upload VR featured my Karloff sculpt in a review of their favourite VR art and Jamie Feltham went and said some of the nicest things I think anyone has ever said about my stuff. Along with the Sketchfab staff pick from the other week, plus all the lovely smoke you guys keep blowing up my ass I'm beginning to feel like I have a shot at becoming an actual, bona-fide artist!
I will swear under oath that I would not be in this position if it wasn't for Oculus Medium. So thanks Medium Team. In my mind you guys have made as big a contribution to the world of art as the guy who invented the paintbrush!