newbie - realistic texture mapping

[_nameless]

First of all - thanks to everybody for responding.
I solved the problem in Xara X - all I had to do to get the mould tool to work was to convert everything to editable shapes.
I downloaded Blender and kinda caught my ears in it - I'll have to get a 3 button mouse for it [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]. Strata will be checked out this weekend.

Live healthy, exercise more, still die.

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Glad it's working out for you _nameless, wtg.

Brett... hey don't worry about my plea for C4D bud. I'm not a hardcore advocate of ANY comp app. Not to the point of flaming about 'em. hehee

I only wanted to mention it for _nameless's sake. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

"The lessons to be learned, are found along the path of your journey, not at your final destination. That is only where you will rest, between lessons"

[gidgit]

Q) How would Soft Image rate in the top # apps?

Then there is always the ever popular True Space, though perhaps not in the same leauge as the others it does offer quite a bit for the dollar spent. ( have seen a ton of great worx put out with this app. )

Strata Base? pretty durn good for free... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

But...I havta admit, Cinema 4D is one real cool app... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] ( super renderer )

Well that's it for this kids opinions... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[bmh216]

gidgit,
SoftImage XSI is up there with Maya in both capabilities and (unfortunately) cost. SoftImage has some pretty hefty system requirements, as does Maya. Both have been used extensively in cinematography. Not really "hobbyist" apps, but full-fledged professional stuff. Both SoftImage and Maya don't seem to be intended to use their internal renderers for final output, but are usually "connected" to an external renderer such as RenderMan or Final Render (a RenderMan license is close to $10,000 by itself). The final output is rendered by a "render farm", which is as many as several dozen workstations hard-wired together to produce the final product.

Truespace, while it puts out some terrific renders for the price, is very difficult to get a grasp of (at least in my opinion) due to its' use of icons for literally everything. Finding that icon you need in three nested menus of icons just frustrated me! But, some people seem to like it, and there's no arguing with the quality of the renders. If you're into animating, Truespace really will limit your options, especially if you animate characters.

Brett

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Yes, and i too agree with Brett about TrueSpace. I couldn't get a quick grasp of it's very "Linux" styled GUI design/layout. I also found Blender to be styled along the same thought processes -- quite early Linux looking/feeling in it's functionality.

And that's why i never much picked up with either of those when i tested them.

"The lessons to be learned, are found along the path of your journey, not at your final destination. That is only where you will rest, between lessons"

[Bob C.]

Brett:
Thanks for the post about Strata 3D. I just downloaded but not opened it, been spending some time looking over the on-line manual they offer.

gidgit:
Thanks for asking the "True Space" question. I have been considering a 3D app. for a while now and have been slowly circling True Space.

Brett (again):
I am interested in animation but didn't see that as an option in Strata 3D and was surprised to read "Truespace really will limit your options..." implying Strada 3D has animation and it is very good!

Look forward to firing up this app - thanks again peeps for the info.

Bob C.

PS. YIKES!! I just went to the Blender page and found this dated March 12th:

"The shareholders and directors of NaN Holding BV, owners of Blender, have decided to terminate all activities of NaN Technologies BV and apply for its bankruptcy at the Amsterdam court. It means that effective today, all technology development and website activities around Blender will be frozen."

[gidgit]

Hi All, What a very interesting thread... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Rhino is another app that would allow the mapping you are looking for ...though it comes with a learning curve attached...durn curves [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Sorry to continue slightly OT here...

Brett, thanks for the information regarding Soft Image, I have always wondered why a buddy of mine speaks so highly of this app and why I don't hear much about it for the home user as compared with the other apps mentioned here... ( he uses Soft Image at a campus setting and now I know why this probably is...)

Bob, your welcome re True Space topic, I have always been entralled with this app mainly because I have seen so many nice worx put out with this app, though I agree with Mark here in that it poses a steep learning curve by virtue of it's unique interface...I personally have not been able to create much with it, though I still can't help but to marvel at it's most evident power...

Speaking of power, on a per byte basis...I have also marveled at that spoke about app - Blender
Bummer that it has come to at least what appears to be a temporary halt...Wow, to think of all the things this little program can do for the size of the app...thats programming in it's finest form no doubt...though once again I have to agree with Mark in that personally, I have tried this app but found that the interface was not intuitive enough for this ludite to manage to create a single thing...uggggg...I too was on the verge to download it once again and have another go...

Sooooo, if ya have some money to kick around, my choice for 3D and animation of, would be C4D, and if the budget comes into play, ya can't miss with Strata even if ya have ta upgrade to Pro... I found the interface was the most intuitive of the bunch, the manipulation handles are good, and animating is pretty straight forward...

Have fun Bob [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by gidgit on March 15, 2002 at 18:12.]

[bmh216]

Strata 3Dbase is popular mainly because it is easy to learn, has a very nice renderer and, best of all, it's free! Strata 3Dbase does not do animation. It is simply a stepping stone on your way to navigating 3D space if you eventually wish to animate. Their commercial products are also considered excellent, although you might find difficulty finding many "pro" animation houses using them.

Truespace, in my opinion, is aimed at "hobbyists". It has all the bells and whistles as far as modelling, lighting, surfacing, radiosity, etc. Where it lacks is in character animation. IK is relatively new to Truespace, and from what I understand, its' implementation is far from that of "the Big 3". Facial morphs (or endomorphs, or whatever a particular app calls them) are basically brand new in Truespace 5, which kind of lets you know that they just recently added a necessary feature for character animation (I mean, c'mon, morphs and IK are absolutely the most important things you need to animate characters!)

So, if you're considering Truespace, it would definitely benefit you to download the demo, see what it can and cannot do, and see if you can get a grasp of the unusual interface. They have alot of good things in the app, and many people evidently become very comfortable with it. I personally could not, and as character animation is important to my needs, I moved on to Lightwave (Maya and SoftImage are a bit beyond my means).

Hope this helps,
Brett

[Bob C.]

gidgit:
I think I understand the attraction to trueSpace. I’m an old Amiga head and actually owned a copy for that platform when it was just called Caligari! It has been (Ahem) several years since I have even seen the GUI for it and have no idea what the trueSpace interface (GUI) is like.

I’m impressed at the experience you seem to have with so many 3D apps. I have always been hesitant to load then unload one app after another on windows (98) because of all the “debris� it leaves behind. It crashes enough as it is. I am considering Windows2000, but NOT interested in XP and .net at all.

Brett:
That’s very helpful information and very well presented. Thanks for clearing up the Strada 3Dbase animation issue too.

I mentioned above about being an old Amiga head so I am very familiar with Lightwave/Toaster. Have been to many demo’s etc. It would be my program of choice but I have been out of the “artist� loop for awhile and am just beginning to get back into it. I have been using XaraX for nearly a year now and having a ball with it! The Xara forum is great!

It looks like Strada 3Dbase will get me to look at 3D apps and the “vote� seems to be in about the user friendly GUI and that helps a great deal.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Bob C.

[gidgit]

Hey Hey Bob,

Ya give me too much credit here regarding 3D stuff, I truly am more of a trial and error dabbler in this area, sort of a software junkie that has to try them all...in the quest of finding all the little tools that will assist me in my quest to create art while being non artistic... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I have tried so many apps that in all reality I have spent more time trying apps than I have in creating art...but, hey it's a ton of fun... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I sort of figure that if an app in intuitive enough for me to be able to create with it, then most anybody else will have a great experience with said app... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

There are a lot of people who visit this forum who have more artistic talents in one digit than I have period...I also love to view their worx... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Amiga?....I still have my 1200, though it does not see much work other than collecting dust in the closet...I waited for ever hoping things would change before finally accepting the enevitable and moving over to the MS world of PCing...

Brilliance, Digi Paint, DPaint were my mainstays on that platform though I often dreamed of owning the "toaster" and a copy of Lightwave...

several 500's, a 2000, a 3000, and finally the 1200 tower...it was so much fun, and to think that the programs all had such a small footprint size wise compared to what is these days...man oh man, I remember having 2 megs of ram was soooo cool, hehe buddy only had 1 meg...hahaha,

thanx for the trip down nostalgia lane [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by gidgit on March 15, 2002 at 19:40.]