any 3dgraphics man/women out there ?

[MaximB]

I love 3dgraphics and art in general
I've tried many 3dgraphic programs like :
max3d 3.1 , max3d 4, max3d 8 - the best I know of
lightwave3d (if I remmember it's name correctly)
rhino
and some more I can't recall...
there are some free linux programs that I briefly tried
like wings3d and blender3d

so tell us what programs do YOU use/like
for what do you use them ? (work,fun,home,learning)
any project you are working on ? (if it isn't a secret :) )
share your thoughts about it !

[hizaguchi]

Does CAD count? I've used Inventor, SolidWorks, and CATIA for work/school purposes. CATIA is unquestionably my favorite. Has several features missing from others and handles alot of things that confuse most 3D CAD programs. Runs on Linux, too. :cool:

Otherwise, Blender is very nice once you get a grasp on the interface.

[MaximB]

Does CAD count? I've used Inventor, SolidWorks, and CATIA for work/school purposes. CATIA is unquestionably my favorite. Has several features missing from others and handles alot of things that confuse most 3D CAD programs. Runs on Linux, too. :cool:

Otherwise, Blender is very nice once you get a grasp on the interface.

what is CAD ? or do you mean autocad for skaches ?
and what is CATIA ?
show me the links :D:D:D

[BuffaloX]

CAD is Computer Assisted Design. Used mostly by engineers.
Today CAD can do amazing stuff, like tell you which parts go into a design.
Compute structural stress/strength and so on.

The 3D design environment is not unlike the ones used for the more artistic
3D programs, which are for movies, games and visual modeling.

AutoCAD is an example of a CAD program.

[mech7]

I like Z-Brush, Maya and Silo.. Zbrush is really my favourite though :)

[MaximB]

I like Z-Brush, Maya and Silo.. Zbrush is really my favourite though :)

silo and z-brush are 3dprograms ?
are they free ?
do u have links for them ?

[hizaguchi]

what is CAD ? or do you mean autocad for skaches ?
and what is CATIA ?
show me the links :D:D:D
Computer aided design, like was said above. Same general idea, but less artistic and more precise. Instead of sculpting your shape out of a solid (like you would in Blender), you draw a 2D sketch and constrain its shape and size, then extend it to 3D. So it's more suited for mechanical parts where other 3D software is better for organic freeform things.

CATIA link (http://www.3ds.com/products-solutions/plm-solutions/catia/overview/)

[DirtDawg]

Blender 3D. Technical, but amazing.

[MaximB]

Computer aided design, like was said above. Same general idea, but less artistic and more precise. Instead of sculpting your shape out of a solid (like you would in Blender), you draw a 2D sketch and constrain its shape and size, then extend it to 3D. So it's more suited for mechanical parts where other 3D software is better for organic freeform things.

CATIA link (http://www.3ds.com/products-solutions/plm-solutions/catia/overview/)

I know 3dmax can do it...draw a few lines then make it 3d...
I think 3dmax is the best program I ever saw...the best part of it is that it easier then many others and you can ALWAYS go back and correct what you want.

[mech7]

No not free :) the demo is free ^_^

http://nevercenter.com
Silo 2 beta should be out soon.. it will rock :)

http://www.pixologic.com

And the excellent zbrush community.. also worth a look just browsing through the galler ;)
http://pixolator.com



silo and z-brush are 3dprograms ?
are they free ?
do u have links for them ?

[MaximB]

No not free :) the demo is free ^_^

you are indeed a rich man to afford thouse 500$ programs...
but it cheaper then maya and max...I asume...

my theory is that you can make anything with any 3dprogram.
like in blender3d you can make characters like in 3dmax
but it would take you more time and it will be much harder...what do u think about it ?

[BuffaloX]

I know 3dmax can do it...draw a few lines then make it 3d...
I think 3dmax is the best program I ever saw...the best part of it is that it easier then many others and you can ALWAYS go back and correct what you want.

Yeah, well if you think Microsoft is bad, it's nothing compared to Autodesk. I imported some Autodesk products in the 90's, They postulated it was illegal, which it clearly was not. They just wanted to control the markets. And charge 50% extra in Denmark compared to US.

[mech7]

Well it does not matter what you use for traditional modelling.. Maya, Max, Lightwave, Blender, XSI, Modo.. currently XSI is giving pretty much most bang for the buck..

But the way Zbrush works is not pulling those vertices and extruding faces.. You can use z-spheres or import your base mesh and use it in your pipeline togheter with blender, maya, xsi etc.. But zbrush is a 2.5 / 3d painter.. it is less technical and comes closer to sculpting.. especially if you buy a wacom with it. It is the closet thing to digital clay you can get.. Also texturing with Z is great...

Look at some of the movies and try the demo and you will be sold ;)

http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/education/education-zclassroom.html

Currently there is no competitor to zbrush.. but soon there will be mudbox which is designed especially to fit in a pipline and is not a painter but only for sculpting :)

Anyway
Though it is just a tool.. and eventually all that matters is the end result not so much what you use to get there..

Something that also applies to some of the MS haters on this forum i think :rolleyes:


you are indeed a rich man to afford thouse 500$ programs...
but it cheaper then maya and max...I asume...

my theory is that you can make anything with any 3dprogram.
like in blender3d you can make characters like in 3dmax
but it would take you more time and it will be much harder...what do u think about it ?

[mech7]

Btw to add.. yes with blender you can make great things.. which the elephant dream recently proved ;)

http://orange.blender.org

The first opensource movie created with opensource software :D

Though for me personally the interface is a bit weird of blender, it would really be a struggle to get comfortable with it.. but every app has its learning curve :)


you are indeed a rich man to afford thouse 500$ programs...
but it cheaper then maya and max...I asume...

my theory is that you can make anything with any 3dprogram.
like in blender3d you can make characters like in 3dmax
but it would take you more time and it will be much harder...what do u think about it ?

[MaximB]

what is better program wings3d or blender ? (just took a look at them - never really tried them out)
and what other free 3dprograms are there ?

[mech7]

Haven't played with wings yet but from what i have heard its a bit like silo.. just a plain polygon (subdivision) modeller..

Blender is an entire package which can also do rendering, , rigging, animation etc..

There probably is no best as to each there own.. but you can probably model a bit quicker in wings as it is specialised on it i assume it has optimized tools for it.. Usually you can import / export models through most programs though with obj files or the likes :p


what is better program wings3d or blender ? (just took a look at them - never really tried them out)
and what other free 3dprograms are there ?

[Jucato]

Ever since I discovered Blender (and consequently open source and Linux) I've resigned myself to just use free/libre(freeware)/open-source 3D modelling programs, rather than buying pirated copies of the "big" apps like Lightwave (my personal favorite), 3D Studio Max, Maya, etc. Basically that means just sticking to Blender and Wings 3D. I haven't gotten around to using either in-depth, though, because of my sudden interest in Linux. :D

Wings 3D is a dedicated 3D modeler, and it just stops there.
Blender is a complete modelling and animation program. It doesn't have compositing, though (AFAIK).

Not sure if ZBrush is FOSS? I'm sure there might be other alternatives out there, but Blender is more famous right now, meaning it has better support (for now).

Btw, there's a K3D project in GNOME and an upcoming Kreative 3D project in KDE. Both are 3D modellers, I think.

[hizaguchi]

I know 3dmax can do it...draw a few lines then make it 3d...
I think 3dmax is the best program I ever saw...the best part of it is that it easier then many others and you can ALWAYS go back and correct what you want.
Yeah, but actual CAD programs take it much further. You constrain the exact dimensions of every feature, and sometimes not just as a constant but with relations to other features. Then along with the actual 3D model there are some other features. Most packages will allow you to model a sheet metal part and then "unfold" it to make a flat pattern, for example. And since everything is perfectly constrained, you can translate the 3D model to 2D drawings from multiple angles and display dimensions that update themselves when the model changes. Or split the model in half to display the internal workings. Mostly though, it's just a 3D graphics program geared toward a specific use.

[MaximB]

Btw, there's a K3D project in GNOME and an upcoming Kreative 3D project in KDE. Both are 3D modellers, I think.

I've downloaded K3D and took a pick at it
has anyone used it ?

[GarethMB]

I've used blender3d, but I'm not very good. It's a good program though, runs best on linux which is nice. Anyone who wants to see what it is capable of should check out elephants dream.

[Engnome]

I've had a course in maya in my school, it was on windows with maya 7, two more courses to go next year :D Hopefully now that I've converted to Linux I'll be able to use maya 7 for linux. Saw some howto for installing it from rpm's in ubuntu.

Anyone here used maya in Linux?

[mech7]

I installed it under Ubuntu but it really runs like crap.. it might have something to do with videocard drivers or open gl though..

If you are really serious about running it under linux use redhat. It's only supportedfor it.


I've had a course in maya in my school, it was on windows with maya 7, two more courses to go next year :D Hopefully now that I've converted to Linux I'll be able to use maya 7 for linux. Saw some howto for installing it from rpm's in ubuntu.

Anyone here used maya in Linux?

[Engnome]

I installed it under Ubuntu but it really runs like crap.. it might have something to do with videocard drivers or open gl though..

If you are really serious about running it under linux use redhat. It's only supportedfor it.

Crap! how bout Fedora?

[mech7]

I would stay with either suse or red hat... but it could be you have more luck. with me it seems to be an open gl issue ithink which can be cau
se of my ati videocard.. perhaps if you nvidia you have more luck. But it runs smooth and fast on windows though :)


Autodesk® Maya® software requires one of the following operating systems:

* Windows® XP Professional or Windows ® 2000 Professional (service pack 2 or higher)
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 WS
* SUSE Linux 9.3
* Apple® Mac® OS X 10.3.9 or higher


Crap! how bout Fedora?

[MistaED]

Hey can't go past maya, I use it on my ubuntu dapper system and it works quite well (few issues here and there but most are solved). One thing though, compiz and maya do NOT go together, at all. :P

I'm doing a 3D course atm and use it everyday, the "supported distros" thing is only if you want no hassles to install the rpm, as with ubuntu you need to convert it to .deb and tinker around with some symbollic links and things.

Compared to the windows machines at my college, I find it more reliabe to work with and MUCH MORE stable to render and multitask at the same time. Athough with the windows version, the win32 interface seems better than the clunky motif interface, and stuff like drag your scene file into the viewport to open it doesn't work compared to windows.

Other than that, I very much prefer it.

[MaximB]

try blender3d
I use it and I heared it's similar to Maya
and best of all it's free and very good !
you should visit there site www.blender3d.org (http://www.blender3d.org)
it works under linux and windows !l

[Kindred]

I use Maya and Wings 3D under Linux, used to use Silo and Max under Windows (but those days are gone..).

Blender is nice, but i'm primarily into modeling and it doesn't really cut it there (not that Maya is all that great at that either though). I do follow its progress closely though.

[MaximB]

I use Maya and Wings 3D under Linux, used to use Silo and Max under Windows (but those days are gone..).

Blender is nice, but i'm primarily into modeling and it doesn't really cut it there (not that Maya is all that great at that either though). I do follow its progress closely though.

tell me somthing about blender3d
I have some models I've downloaded from earlier versions and they are not working under the current version...why ?

[atrus123]

I use and love Maya 7.0. It runs very well on my SLED tower.