Review: Autodesk Mudbox
Autodesk Mudbox
As many 3D animation programs tend to specialize in a particular kind of modeling or scene building, so Mudbox is build around providing a highly intuitive interface for organic sculpting. I wouldn't recommend Mudbox as a stand alone 3D animation software that can handle all your needs and requirements, but the simple fact is that as an editor and builder for organic shapes, Mudbox rules.
Highly original texturing tools:
And it's not just sculpting that's great in Mudbox – this 3D animation software also incorporates some incredibly innovative texture painting tools that many 3D animation specialists will find invaluable. One such tool is the Dry Brush, a tool so innovative that every 3D animation program should incorporate it. To put things shortly, the dry brush is a texturing tool that allows you to paint on the high areas of a model, while ignoring the low areas and cracks. This, as you can imagine, is a highly useful tool, and can help you achieve subtle effects that can greatly add to the realism of your model. There's also a simpler Clone Brush tool that allows you to borrow a texture from another part of the model, or from another model, and then to paint with it.
Advanced inter-program capabilities:
A special feature of this 3D animation program is that it allows you to shift operations between Photoshop and Mudbox, putting all the incredible texturing capabilities of Photoshop right at your disposal. There's a new import and export option that uses the industry-standard FBX format that is really invaluable, especially as (the way I see it) you'll be doing a lot of importing and exporting models if you use Mudbox. Mudbox really is just basically an organic sculpturing and texturing program, and it shines at this, which means you'll really have to have another, more complete 3D animation program of your choice in your software palette if you use Mudbox.
Modeling in Max, uv’s it in Maya and texturing in mudbox and rendering in octane
A resource grabber:
If there is one major deficiency to Mudbox, I'd say that it's the fact that this 3D animation software needs a powerful professional card to run properly. So if you don't own state of the art hardware, I'd advise you to be careful about purchasing Mudbox. Just check the system requirements before you purchase it, and make sure your machine can handle it.
That said, Mudbox is highly recommended as the most sophisticated 3D organic model editor on the markets, with capabilities far superior (in this area) to many other 3D animation programs.
