Can I use Nomad for professional work?

Before purchasing one of these great little sketching programs, consider your creative process and the best possibilities.

Apps and software available in the digital art market nowadays, for example, may surprise you.

These include forger and nomad sculpt, which are both popular.

Nomad, in my opinion, is a wonderful place to start if you’re looking to get into the professional world. The method is similar to sculpting in Blender or Zbrush, but (in my opinion) far more user-friendly.

To retopologize, unwrap, and texture your model, just export it from Nomad and import it into Blender or Maya.

It is possible to use vertex paint inside Nomad and export the model to Blender, where the vertex paint may then be moved into uv maps when the model is unwrapped.

In this essay, we’ll examine the Limitations of Nomad Sculpt as a Professional Tool and also Figure out if you can use it for your professional work.

What is Nomad Sculpt

Nomad Sculpt is an Android and iOS software for 3D modeling, texturing and rendering.

As if modeling clay, you may create models with as many as millions of polygons in Nomad.

It uses a PBR-based texturing approach and can render in real-time.

The Former Sketchfab developer Stéphane Ginier has developed and released Nomad, a highly promising new digital sculpting app for iPads and Android tablets.

This $13.99 app enables artists to sculpt and paint organic characters on the move, then export the results in OBJ or glTF format to refine in other Digital Sculpting Apps/software around.

Zbrush Vs Nomad Sculpt which will you use :A Beginners Guide

Nomad Sculpt has a comprehensive set of digital sculpting, 3D printing, and re-meshing tools.

Nomad comes with a comprehensive set of sculpting tools that can be used on a touchscreen or with the iPad’s Apple Pencil stylus.

This includes a basic set of brushes such as Clay, Crease, Move, Flatten, and Smooth, as well as falloff, standard control parameters, alphas, and masking, as well as line and curve cutting tools( Souce)

Forger 3d vs Nomad sculpt- which App should You use

The app employs a dynamic tessellation system similar to that of desktop tools such as ZBrush or Mudbox, which automatically changes the resolution of the part of the mesh being sculpted to accommodate new details.

Limitations of using Nomad Sculpt Professionally

Nomad Sculpt: Nomad is a sculpting & painting mobile app, available on Android and iOS. Costs around $13.99

Glen S notes in the comments that it is ” it is kind of early to the verdict which is best, I must say that both apps are robust and  Awesome for Sculpting work”( Source)

However, Nomad has one advantage over Forger in that it is not limited to the iPad: it also works on Android tablets such as Samsung’s Galaxy line.

So what are the Limitations of the Nomad App:

Nomad Sculpt is Tablet Only App:

Nomad Sculpt is available on the App Store. This software is only accessible for iPhone and iPad users through the App Store.If you on the Go artist this suits you best

Pricing and system specifications

Nomad is compatible with iOS 9.1 and Android 4.4. It is $13.99 in price.

While Nomad is an excellent starting point for learning 3D sculpting, you’ll want to upgrade to ZBrush or Blender after you’ve mastered Nomad.

You’ll be able to focus on how to sculpt in Nomad while you save up for the next set of tools and software. You’re on a quest to learn how to sculpt, and you’ll gradually acquire more software and gear as you progress.

Future software will benefit from the sculpting techniques you learn in Nomad.

Computer art necessitates constant switching between programs and computers, which is a terrible fact of life.

Immediately after the purchase of an app and computer, you begin saving for the next purchase.

I like Nomad, but there are things that ZBrush can do that Nomad can’t…yet. The learning curve for ZBrush is equally steep.

The ZBrush learning curve will be reduced if you learn to sculpt in Nomad first.  I have been using it since it was released and just getting into sculpting.

Nomad Sculpt is a nice surprise for me and seems robust and fully baked out of the gate.

What is the point of digital sculpting-Things you should know

Biggest Limitations to using it for professional work

Nomad Sculpt -NO retopologizing Feature

So what is retopologizing : As a result, retopologizing is the process of reconstructing an existing mesh with the same volume and form but a new mesh layout.

Although the latest version of Nomad has UV unwrapping- it is not adequate for animations.

For Instance, If the character you created needs to be rigged ( Skeletons) for animation, say move limbs or smile it won’t work as desired.

During Animation, characters deform and it will appear natural if mesh flow (UVs) are done appropriately.

Whether it is Nomad or Forger UV issue is the same.

Biggest Advantage – Provide a basic platform for beginners to enter the world of digital sculpting.

If you wish to learn & create 3D models and Sculpts. Start with Nomad Sculpt and get to know digital Sculpting areas. Practice and make some good digital sculptures using Nomad sculpt.

Then Move on to the industrial level software – ZBrush for more advanced Features.

By Learning Nomad, the Zbrush Learning curve will be less steep as Zbrush is a complex tool to learn and has intimidating interphase.

By learning to sculpt in Nomad you’ll reduce your ZBrush learning curve because you’ll already know how to sculpt and can concentrate on just the new software.

Get to know more about Digital Sculpting: click here >>Digital Sculpting

Is Nomad Sculpt good enough to be used professionally compared to Blender/ZBrush?

This Depends on what is one expecting from a sculpting app. Let’s Unwrap it…

Creating and sculpting 3D objects?
Yes, Nomad’s easy UI lets you achieve this.

Painting?
Yes, you have Basic vertex painting tools in Nomad, letting you achieve already amazingly results.

UVs for texturing?
Yes in 1.6.2 version

Rendering?
Almost yes. The results are breathtaking for a real-time output on tiny devices. But Subsurface scattering Just to mention one missing thing, is leveling up other renders.

Adding easily fine detail objects, like hair, fabric, fur?

No, Nomad is on its way but not there. Although some hacks can get you a little close to it.

Posing?
Possible, but far away from optimal.

3d Print?

Also Read: How to Start a 3D printing Business from Home [Tabletop Miniature printing with Nomad sculpt]

Yes. I recently made a 3d printable bust for one of my clients.

As an Illustrator Nomad is maybe all you need – combined with painting and vector apps, for 3D, no.

Yes, for demonstration purposes, Nomad Sculpt is sufficient. Nomad is fine for printing, too (a decimation pass could be welcomed though to reduce file size).

Exclusively to make a game asset?

Not at all, and it’s not the purpose of Nomad.

In fact, Nomad is not designed for that purpose.

Even ZBrush isn’t adequate since it lacks motion, rigging, and good PBR texturing capabilities. Blender can handle it well, but when it comes to PBR texturing, substance is just plain better and industrial standard.

Blender is close to everything under one roof but it will take time obviously as it is full-on 3d software packed with features for desktop computers.

Zbrush Vs Nomad Sculpt which will you use :A Beginners Guide

Can I use Nomad for Professional work?

After reading above you have guessed yes and  No!

I have been using Nomad for a lot of things for 3 years. I’ve started learning and sculpting with Nomad Sculpt and am very impressed.

I do a bunch of sculpts on Nomad – Check out my work on Instagram and Pinterest @artmellows.

Well, as a matter of fact, Nomad is not as good as desktop alternatives like Zbrush or Blender, but it’s a really solid, capable program that goes far beyond what I thought was possible.

It’s buttery smooth, intuitive, and simple to learn. It has enough features to be useful, such as a subdivision workflow, dynamic topology sculpting (similar to Zbrush’s Sculptris), alphas, and so on.

Great for concept art and also depending on the model’s purpose, you may need to send the outputs to other programs for processes like retopology or UVing.

Best of all, it is constantly being updated with new features.

I highly recommend watching the video below from  Q Quantillion & Glen S GLX on YouTube, where he creates some really cool sculptures using only Nomad.

The Future of Tablet-Based 3D Modeling

Mobile applications receive a great deal of investment and attention. In 2021, Maxon, the creator of Cinema 4d, acquired Forger, one of the most popular iOS applications.

To my mind, with technological advancements and the attention of large companies, it’s only a matter of time before 3d art on mobile devices becomes more mainstream.

What are some alternatives to Nomad Sculpt:

When comparing forger and Nomad Sculpt, you can also consider the following products

ZBrush – ZBrush is a digital sculpting and painting software solution.

Blender – Blender is an open-source, cross-platform suite of tools for 3D creation.

meshmixer – meshmixer is an experimental 3D modeling tool for making 3D mashups without too much hassle.

Sculptura – 3D sculpting for everyone

Nomad List – Find the best place to  live,  work, and  play

Putty3D – SCULPT ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

Final Thoughts

I hope this article has convinced you of the value of mobile modeling and sculpting with Nomad Sculpt. It’s a lot of fun and a dream come true for 3d artists (or at least me).

I strongly encourage you to give it a try, regardless of your level of experience, as I believe it will only grow in popularity in the coming years. It’s even good for professional work on the go as Nomad is an Ipad pro App, cant is used on desktops.