Which 3D program for a child?

[Lars Bunch]

HI,

I don’t know of any 3D programs that are quick and easy to learn and get usable results out of, but for someone who wants to experiment it’s hard to go wrong with Blender. (blender.org) The program is both open source and free and runs on the 3 major OSs.

It has some interface quirks that are a bit frustrating to deal with; save, for example is Crtl-W (for “write”) and there are some aspects of how you select points that really drive me nutty.

That said, it was the program I used to learn enough 3D so that I could understand Maya. The key for me was that because Maya’s learning edition watermarked anything I did and the files couldn’t be migrated to the real world version of Maya, I found it hard to get the enthusiasm to really plow into the program since I couldn’t create any “finished” work with it.

But since Blender allowed me to create finished work without taking the risk of buying a hugely expensive program that I might not be able to learn, I was able to work without feeling like it was a waste of time and money. I am strongly driven by what I think I can achieve as an end result and so I tend to learn better and do better work if I feel I am creating a usable product. Blender worked well for that, but for commercial work, I would rather work with Maya because its interface is better and it doesn’t crash so much.

I played with Lightwave many years ago and I liked it well enough, but I tend to favor Maya due to it’s highly modular structure. Like Shake, I like the idea of certain tasks and effects being stored as a node since this helps me to conceptualize what is happening in the program. But this means that Maya can also be a very difficult program to start out with.

I have played with the learning version of Cinema4D and felt that it was relatively easy to learn (although the key word here is “relatively”) The integration with AE is very appealing. That was, in fact, the reason why I was looking at it. The Maya camera can be imported to AE, but it’s not a perfect match and I have often found it frustrating to get the two programs to play nicely together.

Hope this helps,

Lars

[Kathlyn Lindeboom]

Under the circumstances, I would look at the free DAZ Studio at

https://www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/studio/-/?&_m=d

They also make Carrara and Bryce.

Kathlyn Lindeboom

[Tl Westgate]

[Kathlyn Lindeboom] “Under the circumstances, I would look at the free DAZ Studio at

https://www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/studio/-/?&_m=d

They also make Carrara and Bryce.”

That looks like it only does models, like Poser. Or can you create anything? My sons seems most jazzed about creating environments so far.

— TL

[Ron Lindeboom]

There is also another 3D program that would be one of the ones I’d look at for a kid and that is e-on VUE Esprit online on their website at

https://www.e-onsoftware.com/products/vue/vue_6_esprit/

It’s $200 and it is very powerful and I know of a few studios that use it for some very well known broadcast projects — though they’ll never tell you that. ;o)

Ron Lindeboom

[Kathlyn Lindeboom]

If I am not mistaken, it is the old Poser engine.

For landscapes, I would use Bryce. Look around their site, I know they usually sell a version that is a version or two old and costs very little. Then you can upgrade from there for far less than normal.

I think Ron bought Bryce 4 from them for about $39 and then upgraded to Bryce 6 for about $49 or so. It worked out way cheaper than buying Bryce 6 outright.

VUE Esprit is also very powerful with both models and landscapes, if my memory serves me well. It has been quite some time since I’ve seen it as the site keeps me so busy now that I never get to use 3D programs anymore.

Kathlyn Lindeboom
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[Rory Vavra]

I don’t know much about other 3D programs because I am strictly Maya, but I have a friend who loves to use SILO. He says it is very powerful and easy to use. I believe it is only a modeling software and it costs about 160 dollars. Check out the info on it at https://nevercenter.com/about/ I hope this helps. Good luck

[Travis Roop]

Its better for learning how to build structures easily and quickly rather than landscapes but I would recommend trying out “Sketchup” its pretty handy to know.

Travis Roop
Editor
bitMAX Hollywood
troop@bitmax.net

[Kim Segel]

There are two free ones they could try:

Anim8or which is a free program that includes modeling, textures, rigging and bones, lighting, animation & cameras. It’s a great way to learn the basics. It includes documentation too.
At:
https://anim8or.com/

or

Gmax; which is a free program from Autodesk which is basically a free version of 3D Max. The only limitation is that you can only use it to make models for games. The good news is – if you master Gmax, who will have a great understanding of 3D Max.
At: https://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ForumList/intGroupID/1004

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

–Emo Philips

[Trevan Whiting]

If you are interested in a 3d program that is easy to use and is compatible with AE, I would go for Carrara. I doesn’t take long to get used to the interface and if you have AE 6.5 (and I think 7) it can export camera data, lights and flat planes into AE if you buy the pro version.

[Johan Tornlund]

Hello Tom,

When I was around 8 years old, I found a free version of Bryce 3D on a computer magazine CD. I had never had any form of 3D experience prior to that except being very fascinated by CGI movies from video games. Fortunately Bryce was so user-friendly and fun to learn that I was up and running, making majestic 3D vistas and landscapes within minutes. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked on 3D modeling and animation.
I have also used the Far Cry editor you mentioned and I remember, when I first tried it I was immediately reminded of the old days of landscape sculpting in Bryce. I think for someone who’s young and coming from the Far Cry editor, Bryce is the perfect choice for an introduction into 3D modeling.

I hope this will help you and your son!

– Johan