OT/General do you prefer sculpting with your hands or with a program?

I love the feel of clay — any kind of clay — too much to ever give up physical sculpting. I've attempted to use ZBrush a couple of times, but never really got serious about it. Is it art? It's an expression of someone's imagination, so I guess it's art... >shrug<

 

Some things are easier in a program, for sure. Symmetry is the obvious one. Perfect spheres, and cups, since we're talking about BJDs. Undo.

One thing I absolutely love in zBrush is the 'morph target' tool. Basically, you can save your sculpt in a particular state, do some more sculpting, and then use a slider to transition between the two states. Often I find that what I want is halfway between what I had originally, and the changes I'd made.

Still... I think the hardest part of sculpting is the sculpting itself. And digital sculpting is still sculpting... I still spend hours and hours fiddling with things, trying to get them to look right.

Is it faster? Probably. After all, if I manage to sculpt one good leg, I can mirror it in a second and have two. But to even find out if it really works, I have to wait two weeks for Shapeways to send me my parts. So in that sense, it's slower... possibly a lot slower, if I have to make many revisions. *crosses fingers*

Is it art? Eh. It could be... I'm not sure what I'm doing is, but that has nothing to do with the medium.

Edit to add: I do still sculpt in physical media -- I have an Etsy shop of little polymer clay critters here, and for the fairy doll I'm working on, I'm considering doing the hands and feet in either polymer clay or Apoxie. Then again, I just discovered Sculptris, so maybe not...

 

I know how to use a computer program, but personally prefer the feel of clay. It relaxes me to work with my hands, whereas sitting behind the computer all day (I'm a writer, so this is my day job) only makes me stressed.

Still, I don't think there's a difference in a computer generated sculpt or a physical sculpt. Both are equally artistic and both methods equally hard to master. It's not like the computer is going to do all the work for you. Even if you have the option to mirror, you can't keep boths sides identical, because your doll will be lifeless. Regardless of what method you use, it's your own talent and skill that will determine if the sculpt you're working on will be a stunner, or just 'meh'.

As for computer programs making it easier: I think it's harder. You can't check how your sculpt feels, you can't be certain the joints will work like you want them to, until you have made a physical copy. A doll is more than a pretty picture, you can touch it, hold it and it has to feel good, not just look good. With the computer, you are - in a sense - working blind for the most time.
On the other hand, you are able to save different versions, or use the undo button if something doesn't go well. I wish this was possible with handsculpting .

 

I'm actually in a grad school that's all about computer animation and special effects so I live most of my life in a computer and I would still rather sit down and use real clay to make something. But I love the tangibility of holding something and our 3D printer at school is lousy. Now I'll probably have to use the computer to do some sculpting for my thesis so I can connect it to the computer more, so I suppose I'll have to deal with working in that output.

The computer is both easier and harder- you have a lot of learning curve at the start and there is a great deal of frustrating nitpicking things about number of sides and holes and sometimes the computer just does not want to do what you want to try and make it do. But it also has great tools with mirror and undo- you aren't spending any cost or money while you're in the computer- just time. I think both are valid creations and I don't think anyone should assume the computer is innately easier or harder- it's just apples and oranges and comes down to what a person likes. But digital art being valid is a thick and heavily debated topic as a whole. Now I will say I know some people who dislike computer sculpting because it's too perfect- things are too symmetrical for example- and that I can understand. Even in the computer animation/effects industry they purposefully go back in and ruin the symmetry of the sculpt a little before they send it down the pipeline.