Nomad Sculpt is a sculpting app available for both iPad and Android. If you have an iPad, you’ll have to purchase it to download it. On Android, however, you can download it for free and unlock the tools via in-app purchases. (The free version is very limited.)

The full set of features includes several brushes, some polygon cutting tools, and loops; the tools are also sensitive to pencil pressure. You can separate your modifications into different layers to easily go back and forth, and avoid damaging certain areas.

• Platform: Android, iPad
• Price: ~$15
• Standout features: Different brush types, pencil sensitivity, vertex painting, working by layers, rendering, voxel remeshing, exporting
• Ease of use: Easy to learn, both iPad and Android versions recommended

Forger is only available for iPad, and its distinguishing factor is the capability for multi-touch sculpting. It has different brush types and can import and export created products as OBJ files. High-quality tools for sculpting allow you to modify the mesh to improve the quality further.

However, Forger doesn’t have rendering capabilities and is thus only used for modeling. That said, users emphasize how it has really powerful modeling tools that are comparable to computer-based modeling software.

• Platforms: iPad
• Price: Free (limit of three active files) or ~$15/year (interacts with Cinema4D)
• Standout features: Many brush types, polygonal modeling engine from Cinema4D, detailed and precise brush settings, masks to isolate certain parts of the model, multi-resolution meshes
• Ease of use: Simple to use for both professionals and amateurs

Sculptura is another great sculpting app available for iPad. It has 10 different brush types to pull, flatten, push, move, and add material. Its engine is centered around ensuring high-quality and detailed meshing. There’s also a long editing history, so you can go back to a certain stage if necessary.

The app is focused solely on modeling, so it doesn’t have functions for rendering or painting, but you do have the option of adding one color or material to your model. Additionally, it can be easily synchronized with other Apple devices via iCloud, allowing files to be opened and viewed on other devices.

• Platform: iPad
• Price: ~$10
• Standout features: GPU processing, 10 different brush types, rendering, detailed mesh, exporting
• Ease of use: Very intuitive and easy to get started

Putty is available for iPad and other Apple products, and it supports Apple Pen. You can also export STL and OBJ files. It’s intended for smooth modeling without many hard edges, but it can also be used for more angular projects like dishes or towers. It supports simple painting and materials to make your model look glossy, transparent, opaque, or even shiny.

People like Putty because the modeling process is fast and simple, and there are fantastic lighting tools. However, a common criticism is that the icons and language used in the app are different from other modeling tools that you might be familiar with. As such, new users might be a bit confused at first.

• Platform: iPad
• Price: ~$5
• Standout features: Different brush types, compatible with Apple Pen, exporting for other uses such as 3D printing, optional camera effects
• Ease of use: Easy workflow but different UI from other apps, takes some time to get used to

The feature-rich 3D Modeling App makes it easy to create 3D content using gestures. You can choose from 10 preset shapes to modify, or you can sketch, model, sculpt, and paint directly onto models created from scratch.

Specifically for sculpting, there are five different brushes in various sizes for moving, pushing, pulling, and smoothing the model. You can show or hide shadows and lights, plus there’s vertex color painting and 20 available materials. While it may not be the easiest app to get started with, a video tutorial is included for every tool.

• Platform: Android, iPad
• Price: Free
• Standout features: 20 different materials available, face tools, large brush selection for sculpting, vertex painting, importing and exporting OBJ files
• Ease of use: Beginners should expect a steep learning curve

D3D Sculptor is a free app that combines modeling and sculpting tools like extruding, pushing, and pulling. Additionally, you can do vertex painting and texturing. Although it can’t make very detailed models, D3D can be helpful for concept creation when you need to visualize an idea.

With this app, there’s the option to export your created models as OBJ so you can further edit your model in more complex software. Initially, D3D received mixed reviews because of some incomplete features, but in later updates, they’ve completed and fixed many features, making them and the app overall more reliable. Additionally, the support team seems to respond to user feedback and integrates improvements into the app.

• Platform: Android, iPad
• Price: Free
• Standout features: Painting and texturing, working with masks, different but limited number of brush types, box modeling template, importing and exporting OBJ and STL files
• Ease of use: Very beginner-friendly

SDF 3D is a modeling app available for Android that also has integrated tools for sculpting. It can be used to model furniture and ergonomic items, but it can also be used in concept work, characters, and toys. The letters SDF stands for SubDivFormer because its main focus is high-resolution mesh for soft edge modeling. It can export (but not import) STL files.

The app is free, but you can access premium features by buying them in-app. Some premium capabilities include symmetry, OBJ file exporting, different colors for painting, and tools to improve precision. It has some mixed reviews, mostly due to the fact that it’s a bit complex to figure out at first. Still, people who learn to use it say it’s complete and easy once you get familiar with it.

• Platform: Android
• Price: Free
• Standout features: Modeling, painting, and sculpting features, default start objects such as cones, spheres, and cylinders
• Ease of use: Complex for beginners but easy once you have it down

Closing out our list is Sketch 3D, a sculpting app for iPad. It can be used to sculpt from default shapes like blobs, spheres, or human shapes, and as a fun bonus, models can be animated.

You can share created designs with the community by posting them in the public sharing space available in the app. Sketch 3D also supports iCloud sharing, as well as AirDrop, so you can quickly import and export models from other Apple devices.

Many file types are supported, including 3DS, OBJ, and STL. The app includes tools such as vertex smoothing, UV texture maps, brushes to add material or stretch it, and also simple features for extruding when working in big chunks of material. According to users, it responds to Apple Pen, but it’s designed to work with just touch.

• Platform: iPad
• Price: ~$3.99
• Standout features: Vertex smoothing, crease stretching, mesh subdivision, interaction of models with the whole scene instead of as single objects
• Ease of use: Complex to learn at first but ultimately great for the initial stages of sculpting