| Q&A |
 SculptMaster
3D,
Mika Kolehmainen,
August 2009 |
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“
It all started when I was doing my master's thesis
about voxel-based approach for dynamic environment in
games. One day when experimenting with my voxel engine
running on a PC I thought, "hey, wouldn't it be
cool if..." and the idea for SculptMaster 3D was
born.”
<
SculptMaster 3D in action |
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| Q1 |
Could
you please give a brief description of SculptMaster 3D? |
| A1 |
SculptMaster
3D is an experimental sculpting/modeling tool for iPhone and
iPod touch, where you paint and carve digital clay-like material
with fingers. A kind of ZBrush for your mobile device, albeit
much simpler and limited at least in this stage. |
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| Q2 |
Why
developing a 3D graphic on a so small screen? |
| A2 |
It
all started when I was doing my master's thesis about voxel-based
approach for dynamic environment in games. One day when experimenting
with my voxel engine running on a PC I thought, "hey, wouldn't
it be cool if..." and the idea for SculptMaster 3D was
born. iPhone is very capable for traditional 2D painting which
apps like Brushes have demonstrated, so 3D is not that different
if you think about it; only technically more challenging given
the device's resource constraints. |
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| Q3 |
SculptMaster
3D take advantage of the Multitouch capabilities : is it precise
enough to model 3D objects? |
| A3 |
Precision
is somewhat of a difficulty, but it comes more from the low
model resolution imposed by device limits than the touch interface.
You should be able to model fine details easily using the zoom
functionality, but currently the model resolution is not enough
to allow a comparable experience to desktop modeling applications. |
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| Q4 |
Do
you plan to add more brushes and more control for artists? |
| A4 |
Yes,
that is the plan eventually. Current version is more a proof
of concept than a real tool, but given the interest it has
got from the
modeling community, I will definitely be extending it based
on the feedback I have got. |
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| Q5 |
3D
graphics looks like voxels : are you using triangles or voxels? |
| A5 |
Internal
model representation is voxels, which is then converted to triangles
for displaying. This allows to take advantage of the
device's graphics acceleration among others. |
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| Q6 |
You
plan to add .obj support. Would it be possible to use ScluptMaster
with a DCC tool for modeling? |
| A6 |
Eventually
yes, at least for prototyping and concept work. Export to a
mesh in .obj format is already done and update is waiting Apple's
approval at the time of writing this. |
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| Q7 |
Is
SculptMaster 3D faster on the latest iPhone 3Gs, does it run
fast enough on the first iPhone? |
| A7 |
I
do not myself have a 3GS yet, but based on the reports it is
faster. It is also fast enough with previous generation devices;
speed was
always a concern when developing but there is still room for
more optimizations. It is possible that in the future, the app
will take
full advantage of the 3GS's extended capabilities to allow more
precise modeling and so on. |
| Q8 |
As
a developer, what do you think of Apple SDK and facilities for
iPhone publishing? |
| A8 |
Coming
from the Symbian world, Apple's SDK is a lot nicer to use than
anything I have ever developed on mobile devices previously;
other companies should definitely learn from it how to make
development a fun and engaging experience. As for the iPhone
publishing, my own experiences have been more on the positive
side, but there is still room for improvement. Looks like Apple
is now listening developers more and some recent changes have
been in the right direction. |
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