iSculptor, a 3D modeling app from Lost Pencil Animation Studios, is now available from the app store. Sporting a rich feature set, iSculptor gives you the ability to work on 3D models no matter where you may be.
iSculptor Pros:
- Full-featured
- Easy to import/export images
- Helpful tutorial
- 3D modeling on-the-go
iSculptor Cons:
- Unimpressive interface
- Steep learning curve
iSculptor comes prepackaged with several models to get you started. These can be renamed or deleted as you see fit. The “+” button will create a new cube, from which you can create your new model. Selecting a model and tapping the Edit Model button will bring up the desired image, as well as a row of icons at the screen top. None of these icons are labeled, though, leaving you with a difficult guessing game until you become familiarized with each button. Fortunately, there is an extensive help section, giving you access to information related to the app, including what the buttons control and how to use them.
The first three buttons are Select, Move, and Edit. When each is selected, an additional row of icons appears below. Tapping any of these brings up a second row of icons specific to the main selected action. Rounding out the main icon row are the Undo button (with unlimited undos), the Convert Selection toggle (converting a vertex to polygons or vice versa), the Grow Selection button, and the 45 Degree button, which can be used to reorient the screen to its default view.
Navigating around the screen is simple and intuitive, too. The screen edges act as scrolling areas, allowing you to rotate the object up and down or left and right by swiping your finger vertically or horizontally. Panning is accomplished by dragging two fingers in the main area, and pinching zooms your view in or out. iSculptor utilizes a mashup of touch and cursor-based technology, giving you a somewhat inelegant, though surprisingly accurate, interface in which to work with your models. You can easily switch back and forth between shaded view and wireframe view, too.
There is a pretty significant learning curve, though the online tutorial videos go a long way toward flattening that curve. The chair-building video was especially helpful, showing how quickly and easily you can begin creating recognizable objects, as well as how simple it is to tweak them into more ornate creations. Models can be e-mailed and transferred between the iDevice and iSculptNet, a free Mac-based program. At this time, there is no Windows-based version of the application, so this can be a significant limitation. We found the app quite impressive for all that it can handle. Not owning a Mac, we were unable to test the transfer feature. At $4.99, iSculptor is a solid 4-Dimple value.
