Today's sculptors may have an advantage over Michelangelo.

CAD technology can provide a hidden tool in the production of art. The result is an art object with no hint of its machine-assisted background. The artist benefits from the ability to make virtual mistakes without wasting precious materials.

But will this process be widely adapted?

Three years ago, California-based software company Autodesk enlisted noted artists Bruce Beasley, Jon Isherwood, Robert Michael Smith, and Kenneth Snelson to apply 3D design tools in the process of making stone sculptures.

The artists conceptualized the sculptures and developed them in the virtual space of software. A  prototype was generated by the computer, but the actual carving of stone is still the work of human hands rather than machine tools.

"The primary value of using Autodesk's design software...is the fantastic ability to try ideas spontaneously without using expensive materials and time-consuming mechanical processes," concluded sculptor Bruce Beasley.

A sign of the times may be that the Autodesk-sponsored sculptors sent their prototypes to China for the works to be enlarged and handcarved in granite by Chinese sculptors.

The final sculptures went on view in 2008 and 2009 as part of the Digital Stone Exhibition held at various locations in China.

Autodesk exhibits sculpture and designs created with software assistance at its gallery in San Francisco.