3D Art and Graphics

Modelling- a WIP

Used to be, 3D modelling was autoCAD, stuff for engineers and movie professionals only. But several things have happened over the years that have changed all this: as hardware and software advanced the programs became easier and more accessable- now the standard home pc can easily run these, whereas before you had to have a workstation at a serious computer. Also, as in the case of 2D, several companies have released older versions of their software. Finally, the explosion of home video game development has greatly increased the usage and awareness of models and modelling. I've been aware and interested in this field for awhile, and a personal dreamjob of mine would be to land a spot working in a special-effects spot like Lucasarts or smething similar. Recently I've taken up 3D much more seriously, in the half-baked idea that oone day I might just do that; in any event it's a fun hobby. On this page I'll detail some of the more significant software I have, although this list, just like the 2D pages, is in no way comprehensive- there are tons of free resources available out there.

Truespace

Amapi

Daz Studio

Daz Bryce 5.5

Truespace

Update: Microsoft acquired Caligari in February of 2008, and as of July 24 trueSpace 7.6 (full edition) is now free! The reason is to be an incentive to use Microsoft's VirtualEarth. This is the latest version of the suite, not some older, outdated version; and in addition all the training and tutorials are also free- an unbelievable bargain!

I'll post updated screenshots shortly

Download your copy here.

Truespace was the first 3D program I downloaded, back in the 90's sometime (I think at the time version 1 was what I had). I had seen some 3D art online, and thought to check it out- after all, I had mastered Gimp and was churning out photomanip's left and right, and wanted to increase my repertoire. I quickly found the technology was vastly different, and after playing around I determined that this would take a ton of work to do what I envisioned. So I shelved it for years, but now I have a new appreciation for it, and a regret that I didn't spend more time learning and fiddling back then. Despite being a dated program, Truespace 3.2 still is quite a capable suite for all but the serious professional. The download is close to 30 mefgs, and back in '97 that was for only super-top end machines!

Amapi

Amapi is similar to Truespace in that it is a full suite, with modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities, but is based on a different type of modeling technique. Also, this suite is 4 years newer and the download is twice as large. Still, the program blazes on modern machines. Originally developed in France, so you can install it in English, or French for all you francophiles out there. The site link is to the forum which supports it, join the forum and make 1 post (like "I'd like to try Amapi!") and you will be able to download the program, they don't spam. I believe the website belongs to the developer of the software.

Daz Studio

A truly interesting program. Daz Studio is an animation and posing software which can open and use Poser files and figures, hooked to an excellent rendering engine. What's all that mean? Well, you can create and adjust a scene involving rigged characters, just like a movie director or photographer, only it's all 3D. And it's free! Best of all, there are literally gigabytes of resources available for free for the Poser format, so without spending a penny you can have tha ablity to create any type of scene you like. Almost all of the sci-fi and fantasy art on the web nowadays is created like this, and even a beginner can quickly get started, although there are also many advanced options available too. In addition, you can import objects created by the above modellers, and apply textures made by the image editors I described on the previous pages. Rendering can be within Studio with it's own excellent renderer 3Delight, or everything can be brought into Bryce (see below). This program is quite literally limited only by your imagination, and is the tool of choice for most of my image creation.

Bryce 5 and 5.5

Been neglecting this site, and in my time time away Bryce 5.5 has become available. These are pseudo-free; they are available at download.com for free. I honestly don't know if there is any problem registering the software at Daz3d.com, the parent company, you'll have to check this yourself- but all reports I hear is that there is no holdup. Bryce is a well-known and respected software for making 3D landscapes. Fiddle around and you'll see that you can adjust skies, sculpt ground formation, play with water, and move the sun around to make it day or night (there's a lot more features there too, a LOT more!). It's also a fair render device, so people have imported objects, like poser figures, into their Bryce scenes and created realistic outdoor images with people in them. The fantastic thing with the latest free version, 5.5, is that's when it started integrating ith Daz Studio (see above). Once (like in Bryce 5), you'd import the figure, like a statue, and that was what you got. Now in 5.5, you can go back and forth between the 2 programs. So, make your Grand Canyon scene in Bryce, then start populating it with people from Studio. I highly recommend you get this combination. There are better, more powerful means of doing this- but not for under quite a few hundreds of dollars. If you absolutely have to use the best software for work, spend a grand or more on the others. Otherwise, save a few bucks for those trips to Taco Bell. Really, I don't know any other way to put this- if you have any potential desire to learn 3d art, this is a can't-miss.

Blender

I've been asked about Blender, and rightfully so. Any discussion of free 3D software is incomplete without a mention of this program.

Blender is the premier opensource 3D suite available. It has by far the most features available of any of these programs- a useful comparison would be to GIMP for photo-editing or OpenOffice for office suites. It is a dynamic and widely supported program that continues to grow, and includes the latest features found in top-end commercial programs.

That said, it is a very unique program along the lines of user-interface. I must confess to being stupefied by it, being unable to do practically the most simple of actions. There are people who swear by Blender, and I have seen examples of fantastic artwork, no doubt. I simply say this: all art software is good or bad, based on the user's preference. I'm a simple hobbyist, and like my programs to be straightforward enough to use to some extent as soon as I open it. I don't intend on spending months to learn something I can do already in another program. Try Blender out, and you may find it's for you. I wanted to like it, and just couldn't get anything done.