This is topic Blender--3D graphics software in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=049708

Posted by 777 (Member # 9506) on :
 
Is this worth downloading? I've always been interested in 3D art, but 3DStudio MAX is way too expensive. A free program sounds appealing.

How effective is it? How easy is it to use? Could it be used as a hobby, or do you need professional training in order to use it?

If anyone has had past experience with this program, please help me understand its strengths and weaknesses. It looks fascinating.
 
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
Blender is very effective, but it is not so easy to use. This is improving considerably since it became open source, though, and there are several good tutorials. Check out the various resources on the blender site, including the community page.

Many people use it as a hobby, but it is quite capable of producing professional output.
 
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
 
I'm actually looking into learning Blender as well -- adding it to my collection of free dev software. [Smile]

There are video tutorials on the Blender website. I haven't looked at them, but I used the same method to learn NX4.0. Certainly looks better than working through the wikibook (which throws a lot at you rather quickly).

I'm looking into getting a second monitor, though. Blender is the type of program that likes to run maximized, so it's harder to use if you have to keep switching to the backgroud to watch a video, or page through the helpfile.

--j_k
 
Posted by DavidR (Member # 7473) on :
 
I would like to get some inexpensive or free 3D software so that I can build up my portfolio, but using Blender was just way to frustrating

I learned 3D modeling and animation with Maya. I've played around with 3D Studio Max and Blender. Maya and 3D Studio Max are prohibitively expensive for the hobbiest who is just playing around, but learning how to use them can be invaluable if you decide to try to get work in the field. Maya used to have a learning edition which was free but crippled. A decent way to learn the interface but other that that a waste. I don't know if 3D studio Max has a similar version available or not. Blender creates some great output, but it's like pulling your own teeth to work with. I may download it and try it again to see if that has improved at all.

I was recently made aware of DAZ3D which is comparably inexpensive, around $100 I think, and I may look into trying that out, but I am trying to find others who have used it to see if it is worth the money or not.
 
Posted by NotMe (Member # 10470) on :
 
If you don't already have a lot of experience with 3d modeling apps, blender's non-traditional UI shouldn't matter much to you. Just make sure that you have things set up so that you can comfortably keep one hand on the mouse and one hand on the keyboard at all times. The keyboard-heavy UI will take a while to get used to (especially if you haven't used many apps centered around a keyboard), but once you are "over the hump" it is a very efficient UI.

As for the feature set and overall quality, it it very good. The screenshots on the web site should be enough to convince you that it is powerful enough to compete with 3ds Max.
 
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
It has improved, but it probably hasn't changed in many of the ways you have problems with. There's already considerably lock-in from people used to using blender, and the way the interface is designed does work better than a 'more intuitive' interface once you have enough experience. If you keep working through the tutorials step by step, at the same time doing small projects you can do with what you already know, you will be able to pick it up.

Depending on how your brain works, you might find POV-Ray (also open source) makes sense to you. You describe the scene using a descriptive language, then render it, instead of manipulating the scene in a GUI (though blender can export to POV-Ray format).

For another powerful, but less featureful, open source modeller, check out http://www.wings3d.com/ .
 
Posted by DavidR (Member # 7473) on :
 
I've never actually used POV-Ray. Is the descriptive language in any way like that of Pixar's Renderman? Once upon a time I wrote some code to convert 3D graphics from Mathematica into a Renderman description. I wonder if I still have that around anywhere.
 
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
I've never used Renderman, but I don't think so. It only would if Pixar thought in a similar way to the creators of POV-Ray, because POV-Ray greatly predates Renderman, and I suspect they had their own way of doing things.
 
Posted by DavidR (Member # 7473) on :
 
Well I would certainly expect them to have a very different syntax from one another, I was just wondering if the underlying concepts were at all similar or not. Now I have probably just defined a new project for myself. I can resist for a while, but I just know that I will be playing with POV-ray within the next few weeks just to see. See I've already found and bookmarked www.povray.org so it is just a matter of time now.
 


Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2