For those who don’t know the tool: ByHand is an early-alpha Windows application for focused digital sculpting, form studies and character or creature practice. Built with the Godot Engine, it is a lightweight standalone tool rather than an all-purpose DCC.
Free, focused, and early
ByHand is a free digital-sculpting application (early Alpha version!) from Truong CG Artist, aimed at form studies, figurative work, characters, creatures and busts. It places itself firmly in the 3D modeling corner of the toolset: digital clay and little else.
The developer offers the application free of charge for personal and commercial work, with no per-seat fees, activation keys or royalties listed. That makes it a potentially useful low-friction option for CGI artists who want a dedicated sketching environment rather than another licence to keep alive.
Windows-only alpha
The current build is Windows-only, requiring Windows 10 or 11 64-bit, a discrete GPU, 4GB of RAM and about 250MB of disk space. macOS and Linux builds are planned, but no release timing is specified. Artists considering it for VFX or game asset work should note that the software is still in early alpha.
ByHand includes Universal, Canvas and Studio navigation styles, intended to accommodate different sculpting muscle memory. The first launch may trigger a Windows protection warning because the build is not code-signed. Test it thoroughly before using it in production work.
A hands-on test also exposed unfinished controls and intermittent smoothing slowdowns as mesh density increased. Those observations are useful signals, not benchmarks, and need wider testing across hardware. // Not independently verified at press time.
