any good 3d modeling programs? not really aware of any at all.
good 3d modeling?
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Zbrush will help you out. Poser is another crowd favorite. (difficult to use though)
Oh god...that's like asking if there's any good operating system out there.
Plus, is not a thing of grabbing a 3D modelling program and start making transformers out of thin air.
First of all, this kind of software goes well into the thousands for commercial licenses. And you need quite a machine to run them on. Plus, tutorials are ok, but you will need courses (online or classes) that will add up.
Free alternatives are there. Blender is the favorite free modeler, and there are quite a few tutorials and free training around. Sketchup is not so good for animation or effects (I'm guessing you are aiming for that, since you are asking in a movie making form) it's basic modelling stuff, aimed at architecture.
Paid software is provided mostly by Autodesk. Maya and 3DSMax are both industry standard and popular among users. They have a steep learning curve, but there are many free tutorials and courses, along with paid ones. You can cover both modelling and animation, particle systems, and more. You can also add several plugins and features, from fluid simulation, to rendering systems.
Houdini is another good piece of software, but to be honest, I don't know much about it.
Zbrush and Mudbox are okay, but they are sculpting tools. They can be used to model, and it might be easier at first, but it's highly recommended to learn about conventional modelling first, to get afirm grasp on several concepts that serve as a base.
Poser is more of a, well, posing tool, and it's not recommended unless you want to get stuck with it. The whole concept of poser is to take pre-made models and pose/render them.
There is much to be learn about the subject. I would recommend you to watch a few tutorials on youtube, and a free trial for Max, Blender, Maya, or the like, and see which one fits you better.
Plus, is not a thing of grabbing a 3D modelling program and start making transformers out of thin air.
First of all, this kind of software goes well into the thousands for commercial licenses. And you need quite a machine to run them on. Plus, tutorials are ok, but you will need courses (online or classes) that will add up.
Free alternatives are there. Blender is the favorite free modeler, and there are quite a few tutorials and free training around. Sketchup is not so good for animation or effects (I'm guessing you are aiming for that, since you are asking in a movie making form) it's basic modelling stuff, aimed at architecture.
Paid software is provided mostly by Autodesk. Maya and 3DSMax are both industry standard and popular among users. They have a steep learning curve, but there are many free tutorials and courses, along with paid ones. You can cover both modelling and animation, particle systems, and more. You can also add several plugins and features, from fluid simulation, to rendering systems.
Houdini is another good piece of software, but to be honest, I don't know much about it.
Zbrush and Mudbox are okay, but they are sculpting tools. They can be used to model, and it might be easier at first, but it's highly recommended to learn about conventional modelling first, to get afirm grasp on several concepts that serve as a base.
Poser is more of a, well, posing tool, and it's not recommended unless you want to get stuck with it. The whole concept of poser is to take pre-made models and pose/render them.
There is much to be learn about the subject. I would recommend you to watch a few tutorials on youtube, and a free trial for Max, Blender, Maya, or the like, and see which one fits you better.
If you're looking for a free app, I'd say to try and learn Blender, as suggested above. It's got a lot of community support, which means you should be able to find plenty of tutorials and pick up handy plugins/add-ons in the future.
I personally try to learn it every couple years or so but eventually give up. Not necessarily a fault of Blender... it's just that I've used another program (trueSpace 3D) since 1998 or so, and have become very comfortable with it.
(After trueSpace was bought up by Microsoft and abandoned, it became free. You can get it here: http://www.caligari.com/downloads.html)
There's no company support, though a trueSpace community still exists:
http://www.united3dartists.com/forum/index.php
Hope this helps, one way or another.
I personally try to learn it every couple years or so but eventually give up. Not necessarily a fault of Blender... it's just that I've used another program (trueSpace 3D) since 1998 or so, and have become very comfortable with it.
(After trueSpace was bought up by Microsoft and abandoned, it became free. You can get it here: http://www.caligari.com/downloads.html)
There's no company support, though a trueSpace community still exists:
http://www.united3dartists.com/forum/index.php
Hope this helps, one way or another.
No one is recommending 3D Max and 3D Studio?
I thought they would be on top of the list.
I thought they would be on top of the list.
I didn't mention Max because I thought it was too obvious. It's like asking what tools you need to make a building, and someone saying "concrete"
Read my post.
My bad! I stand corrected.
While we are on the subject, what is recommended these days to create 3D backgrounds?
Bryce used to be a good choice.
Max can do it!
If you are talking about matte paintings, wouldn't it be fairly easy to create a background in photoshop layers, and organize them in AE 3D mode?
I'm looking for something like I saw demos of what Bryce could do, creating a virtual world with topography and land masses where you can go in and out of caves, around mountains, fly from the heavens and land upon the grounds in a field or grass or a desert. Bryce was tailored for that.
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Wouldn't it be easier to find someone local who is interested in making 3D objects/art and seeing if they would be willing to work with you (for free)?
If you just need a static (not animated) object if you can get your hands on one (paid or free) Aftereffects should be able to import it and they you can manipulated there (rotate, size, location). Thats what I do with Google Sketch-up and it works okayish.
If you just need a static (not animated) object if you can get your hands on one (paid or free) Aftereffects should be able to import it and they you can manipulated there (rotate, size, location). Thats what I do with Google Sketch-up and it works okayish.
so im really going to love you guys
i was going for a special effect type of form, like transforming my watch to an ultimate long distance scope shooting lasers or something (first random thing that came to my head) but things like that. i know you can mess with them a little more when inserting into after effects but from what i know thats just inserting over the location i want used and motion tracking.
And only 3d modeling programs ive ever messed with was autocad, pretty good at it for a beginners class, and ive heard of blender but dont no much about it, but ive been in a technical school so w.e. an architect or computer engineer would mess with is the little i know about modeling.
i was going for a special effect type of form, like transforming my watch to an ultimate long distance scope shooting lasers or something (first random thing that came to my head) but things like that. i know you can mess with them a little more when inserting into after effects but from what i know thats just inserting over the location i want used and motion tracking.
And only 3d modeling programs ive ever messed with was autocad, pretty good at it for a beginners class, and ive heard of blender but dont no much about it, but ive been in a technical school so w.e. an architect or computer engineer would mess with is the little i know about modeling.
Thanks for the 411. I'll look into it and add it to my wish list.
Making a sci-fi production can be addictive. I'm having fun with the post and so is my DP. The world we're creating is lots of fun. I'm looking to make IC2 all that it can be. I will get a 3D animator later, when the rough cut is fully assembled. But, I'd like to learn software that can create alien landscapes for the future..
Free learning version at E-on's site. just a heads up.
