When I first got involved with 3d art I couldn't understand why there were so many products, both characters and clothing, that were so slutty looking.  You know - lots of bare skin and/or skintight clothing.

Don't get me wrong - i like the slutty look as much as the next person (I really appreciate it!), and there's definitely a place for it in art, but it's a big world full of different types of characters, and artists with different needs.

But now, after trying out different 3d modelling programs, I understand why.

It is extraordinarily difficult to "drape fabric" in 3d.  Consumer priced modelling programs just aren't flexible or intuitive enough (yet) to allow an artist to dress a charcter in "fabric" clothing that has anything other than a very basic shape.

So what you get are lots and lots of 3d garments which follow the body shape of the figures mesh.

And there is only an extremely limited variety of characters that can wear this look, which results in 3d merchants having to produce slutty looking 3d characters - you know, those dozens and dozens of sultry Lolita wannabes with the little girl faces and the huge pouty lips on pornstar worthy bodies, or the heroic he-man males with the bulging muscles - male characters who can usually only be used in "fantasy" art, dressed in capes and leather harnesses etc. with a lot of flesh showing through, or skin tight uniforms of one sort or another.

I'm not putting sexy or fantasy art down.  Some of my very favorite art is of this type (and I've purchased my share of characters and clothes here and elsewhere that are of this type).  And there are many 3d artists and merchants who do it extremely well, and are no lesser artists because it's what they do.

So I thought I'd create some alternitives.  Then I discovered that it's not easy to create something different - clothing with volumn and shape.  Clothing from historical periods.  High fashion.  Hollywood style costume.  Or just even a suit that hangs properly.

I feel paralyzed using the 3d modelling products that I've tried.  They obviously are created by computer programmers and mathematicians and not artists because they are so very counter-intuitive and anti-creative to use.

I am very interested to hear other artists opinions on this subject, who can maybe open my eyes to something I'm missing.

You can do a lot with bump or displacement maps , and cloth folding is mainly an exercise in modelling of tesious detail and in Poser keeping all the polygons facing the right way. In Lightwave you just make them double sided and carry on. 

What modellers have you used ?

There is a learning curve for modelling the complex folds in clothing.

Fauvist,
I think if you played with dynamic cloth, you might get more interesting results.

DL Wings3D its free app that is mainly modeler. Start with basics and ask questions here in forum, you`ll get answers from skilled users. Play with simple mopdeling, learn different techniques, though Wings is strictly box modeler but thats a good starting point and there is allot to learn. Later you can learn P2P, Splines, SubD ways of modeling. You also need to learn the tools, so you dont think of them at all but you focus strictly on model. Learn why are tris and N-gons good in some situations and bad in other. My point is its not app that make art but artist, you need to learn solid basics before you go on intermediate stuff.

Tihomir