For this project, I focused on sculpting a rock in Mudbox to build foundational skills in digital sculpting and texture painting. Rocks are often overlooked, and are more challenging to create than one may think so this was perfect practice to build my skills.

I studied some reference images and then began just pulling and morphing my beginning cube mesh to understand the various tools. One of the biggest challenges was sculpting the emerald up from the surrounding matrix without heavily stretching or distorting the geometry. Through trial and error (and many subdivision levels later), I gained a much better understanding of how to maintain clean forms while adding detail. I also learned firsthand how important it is to plan ahead when sculpting, and how powerful the right tools can be in preserving shape and definition.

This project gave me a great introduction to sculpting workflows and the importance of balancing detail with clean geometry. While it was definitely a challenge in the beginning, I'm proud of the final piece!