Author Topic: More Free Software I found  (Read 17746 times)

ricky

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« on: March 18, 2009, 12:00:42 pm »
http://www.caligari.com/

True Space, an extensive animation program that is pretty advanced, intense and free.

http://mocap.cs.cmu.edu/

a huge database of free motion capture files for public use. ( need to convert the files to the respective program you choose )

http://www.daz3d.com/

Daz 3D is a free 3D art program that has a very large community of people that share work with each other.

http://www.sidefx.com/

Houdini,  has a free learning version of their 7,0000.00 program!! 0.0

http://video4coach.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=45

skillspector,  is a free program for designing mocap data.


http://www.blender.org/
Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.

BVHacker

http://davedub.co.uk/bvhacker/

is a special program for editing mocap data from bvh files,  to make them compatible with different programs.

http://www.wings3d.com/
Wings 3D is a subdivision modeler inspired by Nendo and Mirai from Izware.


http://www.naturalmotion.com/endorphin.htm
endorphin is the industry's first Dynamic Motion Synthesis software.


Iclone has a free version as well
www.reallusion.com
"i crack iself up" - Virgil

freddy888

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« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009, 12:38:49 pm »
Nice list, I use/have used a few of those.  Quite interested in Skillspector...not just because it sounds a lot like 'Phil Spector'..

ricky

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« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2009, 01:48:05 pm »
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/60-excellent-free-3d-model-websites/
60 free 3D model websites, good collective list of what always pops up on google searches when looking for free content heh.

http://jahshaka.org/
Video editing and effects at the post production stage allows me to  hide and cover up my production mistakes in a professional way, when in doubt blurr it out I say!!

http://www.prodad.de/gb/download.html

Video Effects,  the trial package offers an extensive selection of effects and transitions to add to your movie clips.  

If anyone knows any other cool links to free resources / programs,  please feel free to share.  :D
« Last Edit: March 19, 2009, 01:49:22 pm by ricky »
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ricky

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« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2009, 02:00:27 am »
http://www.youtube.com/truespacefree

a youtube tutorial for the http://www.caligari.com/ ,  the guys at true space / truebones are friendly and supportive.
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freddy888

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« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2009, 08:55:48 am »
You'll need something to do textures in as well - I came across this the other day :

http://photoscape.en.softonic.com/

Haven't tried it, I like what I am using already - Photo Impact.

Or maybe GIMP :

http://www.gimp.org/

That's one I do want to try out at some point.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2009, 08:56:53 am by freddy888 »

Duskrider

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« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2009, 11:34:03 am »

When I got Vista laptop in December it had Photoscape already on it.
However, I'm use to Photo Express, Photosuite3, and Irfanview and therefore haven't got into Photoscape.  But looking at it, it seems impressive and able to do lot of things.  [8D]

Carl2

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« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2009, 08:52:04 am »
I'd tried putting Gimp into a computer some time ago, couldn't get the install to work.  I'd be interested to know if anyone can get the download to work.  
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Cefwyn

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« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2009, 08:58:50 am »
I've been using The Gimp for about 6 years no problems. It's really a lot better on linux, as the Windows binary does tend to have issues. If you have trouble installing it, try a different version. The version I currently use in Vista for photo editing is version 2.6.4. I think it's the latest version, but it's a bit slow on Vista compared to running it in linux. It works just fine, but it takes a lot longer starting up then I remember any version ever doing. The Gimp is made cross-platform using the GTK+ library, which while originally created just for The Gimp, has evolved to become the basis for the Gnome desktop manager. Due to some of the bloat that GTK+ has obtained over the years the developers of Gimp don't really support Windows and it's mostly up to third-parties to compile GTK+ and The Gimp for Windows and so depending on what has been changed in The Gimp between versions it can lead to it not working on certain configurations. Latest versions of The Gimp have begun to include support for GEGL which is some sort of render-farm type parallel processing system so don't be surprised when the latest version doesn't install in Windows and just keep trying different versions and stick with a version that works.

EDIT: Also on the first list I see Blender. That's a great program. I've been using it for 3D modeling ever since Maya stopped releasing Linux versions. I'll be using it to model for hal once the Ogre based render engine is finalized as Blender has supported the Ogre engine's formats for quite a while now.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2009, 09:10:47 am by Cefwyn »
"I've just decided to lobotomist my hal..."

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Jake

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« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2009, 07:15:42 pm »
Cefwyn... have you ever used DAZ?  I'm miserably failing at talking myself out of getting into 3D modeling, so I would like to get some feedback from people that have been doing the 3D thing for a while on the best packages in the low-cost\no-cost category.

So... Cefwyn and any other 3D veterans... what's best, DAZ or Blender or other?

I've already downloaded and installed DAZ... but I have lots of room left to install Blender or other!

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Art

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« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2009, 05:35:22 am »
TrueSpace is now free and I've seen a lot of really great renderings done with it. It's GUI is not the best IMO and takes some time to find and get used to all the widgets.

Bryce3D is Free (or at least a free version is available).

Wings3D is Free and not bad for what it can do.

Rhino is great and much lower cost for NURBS modeling

With all, especially the higher end (price) applications, always check to see if they offer an academic / student version of the program as they are much cheaper!
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freddy888

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« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2009, 08:13:57 am »
I've recently got back into 3D modelling again and have some previous  experience, I'm not a pro or anything, this is just a hobby for me and I am learning every day.  But from my point of view...

Personally I don't think it's a case of Blender OR something else, for me it's Blender AND something else.  But generally I find it's good to have a selection of programs because they all have different qualities and compatibilities.

Blender is the best Modeller you can get I reckon, I've played with GMAX which is a slimmed down version of 3dS Max and I really hated it.  I've also tried plenty of other 3D modelling programs too and Blender is by far the best and these days very reliable.

Blender is just a pleasure to model with, but it comes with a steep learning curve.  Once you figure it out you probably won't bother looking for a similar program again though.

Daz Studio is fun to use and a great entry point with a host of pre-made models; I have used it a lot in the past and would recommend the newest version to anyone.  I also use Poser 6 and Carrara (from Daz) which is the best piece of software I have bought in ages - but it's not cheap for the full version.  You can get an 'express' version though.  You probably won't want it until you have at least given Daz Studio a good long try and find you are hooked on 3D stuff and want to do more.

For free though, Daz Studio and Blender are the best you are probably going to get.  It's worth knowing that Daz is aimed at people who don't necessarily want to get into the modelling side but are more into making scenes and final renderings.  So when you get to the point of thinking 'I want to make stuff too', then that is the time to try something like Blender.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2009, 09:01:09 am by freddy888 »

freddy888

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« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2009, 08:25:45 am »
P.S. Another free bit of kit is Terragen, it makes terrains and is pretty cool :

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/

Here's a link to some Gmax information if anyone feels they want to look at that; some people might like it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmax
« Last Edit: March 25, 2009, 09:13:09 am by freddy888 »

Cefwyn

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« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2009, 10:28:47 am »
Well, it's general agreement that the interface for Blender3D was designed by aliens for aliens, so the learning curve is pretty steep to figure out how to do anything really amazing. Regardless of the bizarre interface, blender has one of the best, if not the best, shader plugin systems which can allow you to chain up some pretty interesting effects node by node. It was a group of Blender artists messing about with the shader system who came up with the fast screenspace ambient occlusion method which formed the basis for the method used in all the latest video games (Don't worry if that doesn't mean anything to you). I've not used daz, but the list of programs I've used to create content for games I've worked on includes 3DS Max 6,7 and 8, Maya 5,6 and 7, Softimage XSI, Mudbox, Milkshape 3D, Rhinoceros 3D, and of course Blender3D. Most of the programs I listed are or were high-end industry standard programs at one time and yet there isn't a single feature I can think of that Blender3D doesn't have for free. Blender3D even has a hair creation system and I think a cloths system (available on their site or related sites as a plugin) both of which are similar to what 3DS Max uses. If your looking for something more simple, I've heard wings3D is pretty good though I wouldn't use it as I think it's all done through subdivision and I find edge loop modeling much more efficient for game meshes.

Blender3D used to be even more awkward to use, but for the last few years I've found that using The Gimp and Blender3D I can make anything from movie grade CGI to game models. If you do pre-rendered stuff though you will need a 3rd party renderer supported by Blender3D as the default raytracer has many issues with antialiasing, but I've seen images using the default raytracer were you can't tell so there are obviously tricks to get it to do things I don't know about.
"I've just decided to lobotomist my hal..."

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Jake

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« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2009, 09:16:26 pm »
Thanks for all the info guys... I have TOO many interests and only 28 hours in a day, (24 normal hours + the 4 hours of sleep that I normally due without = 28 hour days...right?), SO... if I CAN NOT talk myself out of this 3D modeling thing, (that is obviously a major time consuming monster), then I would at least like to save the time of trying several different programs with several different learning curve periods.  If I do this, I know I will want to master it and create my own content and with that in mind and from what I hear here, it sounds like BLENDER is the way to go... does anyone want to dispute that?  I may still keep DAZ to play with.  One major question... things created with BLENDER... are they compatible with the up coming OGRE interface for HAL?  Seem like I remember reading that it is compatible.
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freddy888

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« Reply #14 on: March 26, 2009, 07:17:56 am »
Yes, Blender exports to the Ogre 'mesh' format - if I remember correctly it's a plug-in feature.  There's a little more to it than that though, we're still waiting for Rob to publish details.  But before long we should all be able to make things for Hal [:)]

Here's the exporter documentation (got to go out now, but I  will find the actual download later) :

http://www.cs.ucr.edu/~macchiea/cs134/lab1/ogrehelp/ogremeshesexporter.html

We also have a thread running on AiDreams regarding the Ogre developments if anyone is interested, bit thin on details at the moment though.

http://aidreams.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1579.0
« Last Edit: March 26, 2009, 07:22:37 am by freddy888 »