"Best 3D sculpting software for miniature production?" Topic

I am a long time 3D cad draftsman and gamer. I've suddenly had the urge to combine my two worlds and try to sculpt up my own minis in 3D. What software is the best for this type of work? What advice do you have for an experienced drfatsman but novice sculptor?

I started with Sketchup, which is for complete beginners, I found it pretty intuitive, though its only really well suited to straight line stuff. If you have CAD experience its probably more simple than what you already know.
I will be moving on to Z-brush soon, as its better suited to organics. I've been told its a bit opaque for beginners in terms of interface. I've heard its good if you come from a physical sculpting background. Try Sculptris beforehand which is similar (I'm told), its kinda limited but good starting point.

For the most part as long as the model can be saved as an STL file (or whatever file type the company requires) you can use any software you are comfortable with.

It's not the software, it's skill of the sculptor. Sculpting for wargame miniatures isn't the same as sculpting for video games or designing a house or car.

Knowledge of the manufacturing process is helpful, like how to sculpt a model for metal/resin VS plastic manufacturing.

But, a lot of that is taken care of by the manufacturing staff, especially for plastic injection molding. It's their job to take a sculpt and get it to work for production purposes.

The most common software I've seen being used for organic work is Zbrush. For mechanical work I've seen anything from Solidworks, Freeform, Claytools, Autocad, Sketchup and Rhino being used. Freeform and Rhino being the most common that I've seen.

Many thanks! I've looked at most of these before. I'll see about getting my hands on one. I know Sculptris is free. That's a good starting point.

It's not the software, it's skill of the sculptor.

Well… yes and no. Some software is more limited than others. And some software is much more obtuse and difficult to use (I'm looking at you, Rhino!). Even something as simple as tool tips can make an enormous difference to the learning curve.