If you thought sculpting in Artisan version 1 was fun, just wait until you try Version 2! The improvements to the sculpting tools have to be seen to be believed!
Let’s start with the new Auto-Add Detail feature. When enabled, new edges and faces will be added dynamically as you sculpt allowing you to zoom in and carve even the smallest detail.
Next, how about the new grab and inflate brushes? Grab can be used to tweak the position of a portion of the mesh or create elongated objects like tree branches, tentacles or hair. The inflate brush can expand or collapse a surface by shifting vertices along their normals.
We’ve made huge improvements to the symmetrical sculpting workflow. In Version 2, just click the Symmetry button and a symmetrical component will get created that is flipped along the current red axis. Any vertices on the symmetry plane will automatically stay locked on the plane. When you are finished using symmetry, simply explode the two components into one seamless mesh.
We all know of SketchUp’s limitations when it comes to shading and rendering. In Artisan 2, we’ve developed a novel solution that we call ‘Sculpt Shading’. When this mode is enabled, the shading dynamically adjusts as you orbit and move your view so that you can better judge depth and smoothness of the mesh down to the finest details. In this mode, edges are hidden and flat shaded polygons are used to improve frame rate and visibility of mesh issues.
Sculpting can increase the polycount of your mesh very quickly! Thankfully, Artisan 2 has a new Reducer Brush to optimize your model and reduce polygons while giving you precise control over the area to be reduced. This helps keep your model lighter and frame rates higher. No need to have millions of polygons for a flat surface!
Did you ever imagine that you could sculpt detailed creatures, landscapes, and organic objects in SketchUp like you can in other 3D sculpting and modeling applications? We can’t wait to see what YOU can create with the Artisan sculpting tools!