Not a solution, but in 2.5a2 I couldn’t get the Sculpt tools to work right at all, ever. Check the bug tracker for current reports on the Sculpt tools.
Sculpting tools are only really elaborate proportionate editing tools. They can work on any mesh. Obviously you want an even grid to work with so your sculpting can be uniform at all resolutions. The multires modifier allows you to sculpt on different levels of density of that grid which based on the base mesh you start with.
When working on a human head for example you start with a clean quad object that is subdivided. You don’t start with a box necessarily, but an object that very closely resembles the final thing. So in sculpting, prepping an object for sculpting is half the battle. In otherwords, you could say, “what shape to I start with to sculpt a head character?” Well, the shape of a head character.
For an island, start with the shape of an island. Layout the outline (shoreline actually) and fill it in with quads to the center. Make sure the quads are as even as possible. Then take that basic object and sculpt the hills and valleys. It could be a flat mesh and you can do what you want with the edges depending on what you want to use it for.
My basic example of the concept is not very well subdivided. I just tossed it together quick to show proof of concept. I started out with the flat mesh and sculpted the hills. The center needs more subdivision but that would take more time, so I just left it as is. You get the idea.
Bear in mind that any 2.5x is a work in progress until a fully-blessed release has been announced. Back in 2.5a2 I had to switch to the earlier version to do the character sculpting for some Durian/Sintel extras I was designing, because the Sculpt tools in the alpha were broken for me (can’t say why). No shame there, just practicality.
I’ve found the Sculpt & Multi-res tools in 2.49b to be extremely reliable. And remember that you can sculpt in the earlier version & animate/render in the later if that works better for you.
I didn’t start with a shape. Yes, insert a plane or something. But go into edit mode and delete it then start creating the shape by hand. I created the shape with points and just starting extruding and subdividing it to create quads. Tools used where E and ctl r as well as f to make faces.
Since I’ve not yet used the 2.5x Sculpt tools successfully, I’ve no way to make a comparison. I was under the impression that reliability was the main question.
Even the most sensitive and nuanced tool is of little use to me if it only works half the time.
Once I finish up with Kata (the end-of-tunnel light is visible!) I’ll be turning more to 2.5x, and so may be able to comment more intelligently then.
OK…I believe that I know what you are describing, but can you point me to a tutorial that shows it?
I’m sort of experimenting here on what I think you mean…beginning with 1 square plane, and trying to extrude the eges to make an island shape…not sure if I’m going down the wrong road or not.
granted, however, v2.53 was touted as “the version used to make Sintel.”
that gives one hope, as you can’t imagine people being very happy with a bunch of tools that don’t work and application quitting on them while trying to make a movie.
I have what could be a passable Island mass here…began with a simple mesh, sub-d’d it to a level of 15 (prbly excessive) then pushed and pulled it into an island shape.
I am discovering how to use the various sculpt brushes in conjunction with textures loaded from my scene.
Still don’t know enough to predict with certainty what I’m doing, but the choo-choo is rolling at least.
PS…and used 2.53 only briefly bcs I was getting more the the normal number of “unexpected quits.” 2.54 seems quite sturdy.
ALSO: try using some of the Wilkins builds at graphicall.org…he apparently is focusing on the sculpting tools and they do behave better in Wilkins’ builds than in others.
I don’t know of any tutorials for making the shape I made. Just basic logic on poly flow. But it sounds like you are getting it sorted out. Did you look at that tutorial in the link above?
