Sculptris

Sculptris is one of the premier tools for 3D digital modeling on the market. It employs a very intuitive user interface along with tools that start at the fundamentals and let even the most basic users play around before moving on to more advanced options. A number of default shapes are already in place, making it particularly easy to figure out how to more easily manipulate objects in three-dimensional space.

But there's enough here for professionals to grow into and still continue to be satisfied as well. You can customize the navigational interface to better suit your workflow, and there's even the ability to optimize brushes for your ideal level of sensitivity. The target audience may be novices, but Sculptris isn't lacking in precision options. Assisted sculpting will automatically adjust the density of polygons in a model to suit the surface area - a necessity for many newbies but also a serious convenience for more advanced users.

That said, Sculptris lags behind some of its competition in terms of raw features. It doesn't offer the sort of customization that competitor ZBrush can boast, but the fact that it's available at zero cost is definitely a strong argument in its favor. Sculptris is a great way to learn the ins and outs of 3D modeling and design, and it can be a valuable tool for advanced modelers looking to sketch up a quick prototype. But if you're planning on doing 3D design professionally, you'll likely want to splurge for 3D modeling software that's a little heavier.