Resource Roundup for April 2024

In this months resource roundup there are some new 3D software developments, interesting addons for Blender and some random art related things I have found around the internet.

3D Art Tools and Software

Relief Maker

Relief Maker is a new software for making manufacturing-Ready 3D reliefs using 3D models by Alibre, LLC. I wrote about the program in a recent article.

They also have a handy free resource of free public domain 3D models on their website.

Maxon One Spring Update

Maxon introduces a particle effects system for Cinema 4D, an NPR toonshader system in Redshift and a new tool that lets users texture, light, and clone 3D objects in After Effects called Red Giant Geo. You can read more about the updates here.

In related news, E.J. Hassenfratz has made a new pack of Anime toon shaders for use in Cinema 4D Redshift. I thought I would mention that because I have tried his free pack of matcap shaders and thought they were very good.

Quad Remesher

Quad Remesher is an auto retopology algorithm available as a plugin for various 3D software. I’m mentioning it here because my sister Katherine has bought it for Blender and told me it was very good. Katherine is learning 3D art and I’ve been helping her a little.

The creator of Quad Remesher developed the DecimationMaster plugin for ZBrush and then later created the ZRemesher tool for ZBrush which I use frequently for my own projects.

Nomad Sculpt’s latest version (1.85) also has an option to intergrate with Quad Remesher as a paid addon in the iOS version of the app.

Sculpt Bridge Tool

Sculpt Bridge Tool is a free Blender addon that lets you create bridges or punch holes in a mesh.

Ragdoll Dynamics

Ragdoll Dynamics released a new addon for Blender this year. The tool adds ragdoll physics to rigged and non rigged models in Blender.

Felt Generator

Felt Generator is an addon for Blender for creating felt looks for 3D models in Blender with a Geo Node setup. I thought it looked cool so I wanted to mention it here.

Woolly

I’ve been waiting for Woolly version 2 to come out because the author is developing a cool needle felted look for the shader.

MagicaCSG

I was really intrigued by the developments of this experimental software for creating 3D models using signed distance fields so I joined the Patreon and tried it out this month.

Here are some images I’ve made so far to test the software. I don’t think my models are that good but it is easy and fun to use.

At present MagicaCSG only has an option to export scenes out as .ply objects at present. I would prefer if it was possible to export single objects or groups of objects out seperately as .obj format if I was going to use it in my workflow.

Gesture VR

I still do not have access to VR tools myself but I thought this new software / game called Gesture VR for doing virtual life drawing with 3D models was pretty interesting.

Interesting Things

Monster Garden

I wanted to mention this wonderful video a while ago but I must have forgotten. It is a YouTube called Monstergarden who has designed his original version of dwarves. I thought it was really cool.

Behind the Scenes of Neverhood

Some time ago I also came across a making of video for the behind the scenes of Neverhood which I thought was very educational. I never played the game (no pun intended) but I think the art style is really cool.

Posing Characters in ZBrush

I came across a great video by YouTuber Pablo Muñoz Gómez while I was doing some research for a personal project I was working on in ZBrush. He explains some handy tips for posing characters in ZBrush in this video.

How to use depthmaps in Photoshop

I found some cool tips and tricks for using depthmaps with Photoshop written on the LeiaPix website. There are some tricks in this article that were new to me although I have used depthmaps for some image editing tasks.

Watabou’s Procgen Arcana

Here is a set of free generation tools for making maps of fantasy lands, citys and even 3D models of randomised buildings.