From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modeling in LightWave. This interface is fairly typical of 3D
packages.
3D computer graphics software refers to programs used to
create 3D computer-generated imagery.
There are typically many stages in the "pipeline" that studios use to
create 3D objects for film and games, and this article only covers
some of the software used. Note that most of the 3D packages have a
very plugin-oriented architecture, and high-end
plugins costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars are often
used by studios. Larger studios usually create enormous amounts of
proprietary software to run alongside these programs.
If you are just getting started out in 3D, one of the major
packages is usually sufficient to begin learning. Remember that 3D
animation can be very difficult, time-consuming, and unintuitive; a
teacher or a book will likely be necessary. Most of the high-end
packages have free versions designed for personal learning.
[edit] Major packages
A comprehensive comparison of significant 3D packages can be
found at CG Society Wiki.
Non-Commercial
Blender
(Blender Foundation) is a free 3D
studio for animation, modeling, rendering, and texturing offering a
feature set comparable to high end and mid range 3d animation
suites such as Maya, 3ds Max, or Cinema 4D. It includes advanced features such
as multiresolution sculpting; retopology painting; 3D view texture
painting; stack based modifier system; advanced particle system
with particle based hair; cloth/softbody dynamics, hardbody
dynamics and fluid simulation; node based texturing and node based
compositing; an integrated non linear video editor; and integrated
game engine. Blender is developed under the GPL and runs on all major
platforms including Windows, OS X, Linux, BSD, Sun, and Irix. It is
also the only 3D animation suite that is flexible enough to have
been scaled upwards to work on super computers but also scaled down
to work on handheld computers such as the Pocket PC (Pocket
Blender). Has a very unique interface which can make it hard to
start learning.
Commercial
3ds Max
(Autodesk), originally called 3D Studio MAX, is
the leading animation program in the video game industry. Experts
argue that it is very good at handling low-polygon animation, but
perhaps its greatest asset to the computer/video industry is its
entrenched support network and its many plugins. It is also a more
expensive high-end package, coming at US$3500, compared to about
US$2000 for the others. Because of its presence in the video game
industry, it is also a popular hobbyist package. 3ds Max is also
widely used in architectural visualizations because it goes
hand-in-hand very well with AutoCAD--also developed by Autodesk.
Cinema 4D
(MAXON) is a slightly lighter package
than the others in its basic configuration. Its main asset is its
artist-friendliness, avoiding the complicated technical nature of
the other packages and its low entry cost because of the modular
structure of its functions. For example, a popular module,
BodyPaint, allows artists to draw textures directly onto the
surface of models. It is also available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux OS.
form-Z
(autodessys, Inc.) is a
general purpose 3D modeler. Its primary usage is modeling, but also
has limited rendering and animation capabilities. Many of its users
are architects, but also include designers from many fields
including interior designers, illustrators, product designers, and
set designers. Its default renderer uses the LightWorks rendering
engine for raytracing and radiosity. formZ has been around since
1991, available for both the Macintosh and Windows operating
systems. The price is approximately $1495-$2390 depending on how
much photorealistic rendering power is desired.
Houdini
(Side Effects
Software) is a high-end package that is found often in studios.
Its most common use is in animating special effects, rather than
models. With a price tag of US$17,000, Houdini is the most expensive
high-end 3D computer graphics package available.
LightWave 3D
(NewTek) is a popular 3D package because of its
easy-to-learn and efficient interface; many artists prefer it to
the more technical Maya or 3DS Max. It has more powerful polygon
modeling capabilities than other programs, and Lightwave introduced
many concepts which have later been adopted in other packages. Its
animation features are less powerful than some of the larger
packages, but it is still used widely in film and broadcasting.
It's particularly well known for the outstanding quality of its
render engine. (US $795)
Massive
is the premier 3D
animation system for generating crowd-related visual effects for
film and television. Originally developed for controlling
large-scale CGI battles in the Lord of the Rings, Massive Software
has become an industry standard for digital crowd control in high
end animation. Recently, the software has been utilized for
blockbuster feature films including Happy Feet, King
Kong, and I, Robot.
Maya
(Autodesk) is currently the leading animation
program for cinema; nearly every studio uses it. It is known as
difficult to learn, but it is possibly the most powerful 3D
package. When studios use Maya, they typically replace parts of it
with proprietary software. Studios will also render using Pixar's
Renderman, rather than the default mentalray. Autodesk, makers of 3ds max, has recently acquired Alias--the original creator
of Maya. Maya comes in two versions: Maya
Complete (US$1999) and Maya Unlimited (US$6999)
Modo
(Luxology) is an advanced
subdivision modeling, texturing and rendering tool. It has seen
rapid adoption by 3D content creators in the movie and games
industry due to its extremely powerful polygon modeling toolset.
(895$)
Silo
(Nevercenter) is a
subdivision-surface modeler available for Mac OS X and Windows, with a Linux OS version in development. Silo does not
include a renderer and is priced accordingly ($109). Silo is the
current recommended modeler for the Electric Image Animation
System suite.
SketchUp Pro (Google) is a 3D modeling package that has an
innovative sketch based modeling approach (495$)
Softimage|XSI
(Avid) is often seen as head-to-head
competition with Maya, and is very feature-similar. Fans of the two
packages often will often argue the merits of each. The early
Softimage 3D was once the leader in animation, but lagged as Maya
surged ahead. The Newer Softimage XSI with more features and
integrated Mental Ray rendering is now trying to reclaim the top
spot.
TrueSpace
(Caligari Corporation)
is a feature-rich 3D package with modeling, animation, 3D-painting,
and rendering capabilities for an affordable price. (from $199 for
Version 5.2 to $595 for the latest Version 7)
ZBrush
(Pixologic) is a digital sculpting tool that
combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing and painting tool available
for Mac OS X and Windows. It is priced at 489$.
See also 3D modeler
[edit] Other packages
Commercial
AC3D
Animation:Master focuses on animation.
It might be quicker and easier to learn and to use than the major
packages.
Bryce (DAZ productions) is most famous
for landscapes.
Carrara (Eovia) is a 3D complete tool set package for 3D
modeling, texturing animation and rendering; and Amapi and Hexagon (Eovia) are 3D packages often used for high-end
abstract and organic modeling respectively.
Daz Studio a specialized tool
for adjusting parameters of preexisting models, posing and
rendering them. Similar to Poser, but more limited in
functionality.
DX Studio a complete integrated development
environment for creating interactive 3D graphics. The system
comprises both a real-time 3D engine and a suite of editing tools,
and is the first product to offer a complete range of tools in a
single IDE.
MilkShape 3D is a shareware/trialware
polygon 3D modelling program with extensive import/export
capabilities.
Poser (E-frontier) Poser is a 3D rendering and
animation software program optimized for models that depict the
human figure in three-dimensional form and is specialized for
adjusting features of preexisting character models via varying
parameters. It is also for posing and rendering of models and
characters. It includes some specialized tools for walk cycle
creation, cloth and hair.
Realsoft 3D
Vue (e-on) is landscape generation
software.
Non-Commercial
Anim8or is another free 3d rendering and
animation package.
Art of Illusion is another free
software package developed under the GPL.
DeleD 3D Editor is a fully
functional game-oriented 3D Editor. PRO version also available.
DIALux is light making software. It
also makes buildings / architectural modeling and a little more.
Used to cost thousands of dollars. It has renderers as well.
Equinox-3D
Landscape Studio is a Java-based heightmap
generator.
MeshLab is an open source Windows and Linux
application for visualizing, simplifying, processing and converting
three dimensional meshes to or from a variety of 3d file
formats.
ShapeShop is a free sketch-based 3D modeling tool
based on hierarchical implicit surfaces. Like Sketchup, it is very
easy to use, but can create a much wider range of smooth
surfaces.
SharpConstruct is a free 3d
modeling program that works like ZBrush.
Terragen and Terragen 2 are freeware scenery
generators.
Wings 3D is a BSD-licensed, minimal modeler.
K-3D is a GNU modeling, animation, and
rendering system available on Linux and Win32. It makes use of
RenderMan-compliant render engines. It features scene graph
procedural modelling similar to that found in Houdini.
[edit] Renderers
[edit] Commercial
Pixar's RenderMan is the premier renderer, used in many
studios. Animation packages such as 3DS Max and Maya can pipeline
to RenderMan to do all the rendering.
mental ray is another popular renderer, and
comes default with most of the high-end packages.
VRay is also a popular renderer--used primarily by
those working in the architectural visualization field--for
3ds max and 3ds viz.
RPS Ray Trace and AccuRender for SketchUp add
photorealistic rendering capabilities to SketchUp.
[edit] Non-Commercial
Pixie is an open source photorealistic
renderer.
POV-Ray (or The Persistence of Vision
Raytracer) is a freeware (with source) ray tracer written for
multiple platforms.
Sunflow is an open source,
photo-realistic renderer written in Java.
YafRay (or Yet Another Free Raytracer) is an
open source ray tracing program that utilizes XML for scene
description. Recently it has been integrated with Blender.
Indigo Renderer is a closed source (but
free for all uses) photorealistic renderer that utilizes XML for
scene description. Exporters available for Blender, Maya (Mti), Cinema4D, Rhino, 3ds Max.
[edit]
Related to 3D software
Swift3D is a package for transforming models in
Lightwave or 3DS Max into Flash animations. Match moving software is commonly used to
match live video with computer-generated video, keeping the two in
sync as the camera moves. Poser is the most popular program for modeling
people. After producing video, studios then edit or composite the video using programs such as
Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut at the low end, or Autodesk Combustion or
Apple Shake at the high end. MetaCreations Detailer and Painter 3D are
discontinued software applications specifically for painting
texture maps on 3-D Models. Any raster graphic editor software
may be used to touch up rendered 3D still images from any 3D
software application.