Mudbox
Encyclopedia
Mudbox is a computer-based 3D sculpting
and painting tool. developed by Autodesk
, Mudbox was created by Skymatter, founded by former artists of Weta Digital
, where it was first used to produce the 2005 Peter Jackson remake of King Kong. With a very simplified interface to allow for a more intuitive experience, Mudbox's primary application is high-res digital sculpting, texture painting, and displacement and normal map creation, though it's also used as a design tool. The current version is Mudbox 2012.
Mudbox requires ATI or NVIDIA graphics.
- inactive link
Digital sculpting
Digital sculpting, also known as Sculpt Modeling or 3D Sculpting, is the use of software that offers tools to push, pull, smooth, grab, pinch or otherwise manipulate a digital object as if it were made of a real-life substance such as clay....
and painting tool. developed by Autodesk
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...
, Mudbox was created by Skymatter, founded by former artists of Weta Digital
Weta Digital
Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. In 2007 Weta Digital’s Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Joe Letteri, was...
, where it was first used to produce the 2005 Peter Jackson remake of King Kong. With a very simplified interface to allow for a more intuitive experience, Mudbox's primary application is high-res digital sculpting, texture painting, and displacement and normal map creation, though it's also used as a design tool. The current version is Mudbox 2012.
Features
- The Mudbox user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
is a 3D environment that allows the creation of movable cameraCameraA camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s that can be bookmarked. Models created within the program typically start as a simple polygon meshPolygon meshA polygon mesh or unstructured grid is a collection of vertices, edges and faces that defines the shape of a polyhedral object in 3D computer graphics and solid modeling...
that can be manipulated with a variety of different tools. A model can be subdividedSubdivision surfaceA subdivision surface, in the field of 3D computer graphics, is a method of representing a smooth surface via the specification of a coarser piecewise linear polygon mesh...
to increase its resolution and the number of polygonPolygonIn geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
s available to sculpt with. 3D layers allow the user to store different detail passes, blending them with multiplier sliders and layer masks. Using layers the user is able to sculpt and mould their 3D model without making permanent changes.
- As a detailing app, Mudbox can import and export .obj, .fbx, and .bio files, as well as its own .mud format. A standard workflow is to import a low-resolution mesh with good edge flow then subdivide and sculpt until finally exporting a displacement or normal map for use within a rendering package. Subdivision of models occurs using the Catmull-Clark subdivision algorithm.
- The sculpting tool set contains an assortment of brushes with adjustable falloffs.
- The use of 3D layers allows for rapid design visualization, non-destructive sculpting, and high polygon counts. Since the layers combine additively, their ordering is unimportant for the final model and may be created arbitrarily. Curves can be created and projected on a mesh for use as precise masking. All of the standard transform and selection tools are here as well. Paint layers were added in Mudbox 2009.
- As stated above, design visualization plays an important role in Mudbox's production value. Simple poly primitives can be created from within Mudbox, facilitating the creation of busts, props, terrain, etc. The typical workflow is to create a relatively simple (low polygon count) model in a 3D modeling application and then import it to Mudbox for sculpting.
- Other features include stamps and stencils. Stencils work by overlaying a grayscale, or "alpha channel" image, such as a bump map, over the mesh. The artist can then project part or all of the image's detail onto the mesh through brush strokes, providing a method to quickly sculpt surface detail.
- The underlying architecture of Mudbox was updated in Mudbox 2009 to allow the sculpting of models with larger polygon counts compared to earlier versions. In Mudbox 2009 3D painting and texturing features were introduced to allow artists to paint directly on their models in 3D. In addition, features to display the model with depth of field, and ambient occlusion were added for the release.
- In Mudbox 2010, an Application Programming Interface (API) was introduced via a Software Development Kit (SDK). In addition, functionality to improve file interoperability with other 3D applications (Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max etc.) was added via the FBX file format.
Interface
- Mudbox's interface includes menus, tabbed windows, and tool trays
- Mudbox's interface can be customized to a limited extent.
- Mudbox provides keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys).
- Navigation in the 3D View uses similar keys as sibling application Autodesk Maya.
- Product documentation is provided online only.
Platforms
- Currently, Mudbox operates on Windows XP (32 and 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit), Windows 7 Professional (32 and 64 bit), Linux 64 bit and Mac OS X.
Mudbox requires ATI or NVIDIA graphics.
- inactive link
Buyout
On August 6, 2007, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Skymatter, Inc., the developer of Mudbox 3D modeling software.Releases
- October 2007, Autodesk released version 1.07 of Mudbox.
- October 2008, Autodesk released Mudbox 2009 (v2) of Mudbox.
- August 2009, Autodesk released Mudbox 2010 (v3) of Mudbox.
- March 2010, Autodesk released Mudbox 2011 (v4) of Mudbox.
- September 2010, Autodesk released Mudbox 2011 SAP (v4.5) of Mudbox.
- April 2011, Autodesk released Mudbox 2012 (v5) of Mudbox.