Step-By-Step Graphics
“From Sky to Sea“... The appendix
As usually happens, I wasn’t able to include all the information I'd written for the article. So, rather than let that material fall by the wayside I have uploaded it here in the form of an appendix.
The material that follows starts off with an extensive list of applications currently available for 3D work. The information was current as of March 2001. I will not be updating it on a regular basis, so I am sure it will date quickly. Considering the size of some of the programs these descriptive paragraphs cover I am aware that the descriptions are woefully inadequate. They are intended to give you just a taste or an idea of what the program is about, something to differentiate it from the others. Some of the descriptions may be a bit brief but that may be because I stopped writing them when we decided to excise them from the article. I had yet to write them out fully. After that we have some of the “bits that never made it into the article” and then a bunch of hot links to resources I visited while I was researching the piece.
High end programs
Houdini from Side Effects Software runs on Windows NT, SGI, IRIX, Linux $17000
Billed as a high performance interactive animation engine its particular skill is in the extensive use of rules and procedures to generate models, textures and effects. Think of it as rule and math driven 3D creation tool. Naturally, it also has traditional modeling, animation, texture editing, character animation and a powerful renderer. The company offers a 30 day trial period. Well, for 17,000 beans, I’d want one too, and I’d maybe try to extend it to 35 days.
Maya Complete from Alias/Wavefront Runs on Windows NT, SGI, Mac OSX $7,500-$16,000. 30 day evaluation version on NT and Windows 2000
http://www.aliaswavefront.com/
Many consider this program to be the very pinnacle of 3D modeling and rendering. Indeed its list of movie credits is long and impressive. It has all the modeling, animation, texture editing, character animation and rendering features an artist could likely want. Even at a range that starts at $7500 for the basic installation up to $22,000 for all the fancy stuff such as fur and cloth, you are looking at significant money for annual upgrades and, with all its capabilities, a very long learning curve. One user said to me that if you used the program every day for a year you might just begin to get to know all its niches and corners.
(Note: predecessor was called Power Animator) Good review here at http://www.3dgate.com/tools/000417/0417maya.html
An interesting aside here is that I once consulted for Nigel McGrath, one of the three founders of Alias, back in the days they were just starting up. I showed him how he could use his Mac for desktop publishing applications... Rather ironic in retrospect.
Softimage |3D and Softimage |XSI from SoftImage (SoftImage XSI is the animation component) $7995 for Windows NT and SGI platforms
Another dense, rich application that is openly targeted at those who will spend all day, every day in the program. If you can imagine it, this program can probably do it. It has all the basic capabilities plus all the advanced sexy stuff too. If you are into physics and math you can go way beyond that too. Currently into version 1.0 but soon to release v1.5. Owing to various ownership changes this program has been a bit tardy in the upgrade stakes and has lost a lot of ground to Houdini and Maya. Still it is a pretty impressive contender though, and once again, that $8000 up there is just a base price. For professional film stuff you’re still going to shell out $16,000 beans I would expect.
Pixar’s PhotoRealistic RenderMan works on SGI, Sun, DEC Alpha OSF-1, Linux/Intel, Linux/Alpha, and Windows NT/Intel, all at US $5000 per CPU
http://www.pixar.com/products/
Here is the first exception. This isn’t really a 3D program, it’s a rendering application. A high end one. Very high end. At this level the modeling and scene description is done by other applications such as Maya, Softimage, Houdini and then passed over to RenderMan (often via a plugin) for rendering of frames in the animation. Naturally it is the renderer of choice in the Pixar/Disney movies “A Bug’s Life”, Toy Story.
Midrange programs ($3000-$1000)
3ds max(aka 3D Studio Max release 4 ) by Discreet Windows $3495
It is interesting that, like Lightwave, this program is often referred to as a high end application yet it has a solid group of home users. Perhaps it is because of its long history. Indeed this program boasts one of the largest user bases of any 3D program. Its parent company Discreet is part of the large Autodesk organisation. Discreet have folded the program into their (already strong) suite of applications in the post production and broadcast areas. Gaming animation and web content creation were already strong areas for this program. In terms of capabilities, 3ds max has much the same feature set as other applications in its class..... a four page feature list that covers all areas of the 3D gamut. Modeling, scene description, animation and rendering. Its strength lies in its vast number (over 300) of plugins. Their website has a great tour... but be persistent, you have to dig for it.
http://www2.discreet.com/docs/3dsmax4.pdf for 4 page feature list
Lightwave [6.5] by Newtek Windows and Mac $2495
This program has been around since 1990 and even in the early days it was tied into broadcast graphics through its operation on the Amiga video toaster. The application is broken into two main areas. The Modeler where you create items and the Layout for animation and rendering. With a card that accelerates OpenGL you can even see real time effects such as textures, fog, reflection and lens flares. Those capabilities can save an enormous amount of time. The program is known for its exquisite renderings and that can be seen in their implementation of radiosity. You’ll find this program used for a lot of FX shots in television programs.
Cinema 4D XL 6.0 by Maxon Computer, Windows and Macintosh $2195
This is a completely integrated 3D modeling, animation and raytracing program from Germany. Claims to have the world’s fastest renderer... it sure is fast. Modeling and rendering is all done in one set of windows. It has a fully object-oriented and multi-threaded architecture, spline, NURBS and subdivision modeling, procedural texture mapping, volumetric lights, inverse kinematics and bones, function curve, formulas, custom scripting, and more. All projects and resources are cross-platform.
Universe from Electric Image on Windows NT, Mac, Sun Solaris and SGI $1995
The successor to their Electric Image Animation System. It has much the same capabilities as Lightwave above. Electric Image stick pretty close to the standard in the terms they use to describe components of their application and users familiar with other 3D programs should find themselves quite at home here. Numerous interchange formats means this program fits in well with other applications. For example, entire Lightwave scenes can be imported. Modeler is included in Universe as a separate application. Equally at home doing stills and or animation though naturally, its strength is in animation. Cross platform network rendering is available. Claims to have the world’s fastest renderer... it’s not the only 3D program to make that claim. Vast number of tutorials on their website. As of the end of March, EI have begun shipping the product to those customers that pre-ordered the product.
Form-Z RenderZone 3.8 from autodessys on Mac, Windows, Windows NT $1495
There is a tremendous downloadable demo version available (download the mini manual too)
This is a robust solid and surface modeler. It is now quite advanced and can be used to generate an enormous array of objects, I lost count after a while. Recently, however, the program has expanded to include limited rendering capabilities. It might be some time before the texturing and rendering quality approaches the level of other apps in this class but no matter, any program that can effortlessly generate the geometry for a curly telephone cable is worth it just for that.
Low cost (less than $1000)
Truespace 5 by Calligari, Windows only $795
http://www.caligari.com/ there is a PC demo version.
Tremendous atmospheric effects and lighting controls. Here’s a low cost program that has really impressive rendering quality through an implementation of radiosity. The program features a lot of direct manipulation control of textures, NURBs and parametric primitives. Borrows several features from the big programs such as editing (and seeing a rendering of) a texture in context. To ease texture generation it also features a 3D paint component.
You can get earlier versions of this at much lower prices (Corel does this too and I have always found it to be most peculiar)
Rhinoceros 1.1 by Robert McNeel & Associates Windows only $795
http://www.rhino3d.com/home.htm there is an evaluation version
Powerful NURBs modeler. While its strength is in modeling it will also create renderings. Most people seem to use it as a powerful modeler for 3D Studio Max or Lightwave. It has a vast array of output formats so that too complements its use solely as a modeler.
Strata3D Pro from 3D.Com on Mac, Windows $595
http://www.strata3d.com/ free but stripped down version available from the website
General purpose modeling/rendering/animation program. Modeling capabilities can be quite limited to those familiar with higher-end applications but that is more than made up for by the vast array of plugins extending the programs capabilities beyond many others in its class. Standard set of primitives, bezier control for deformation of all primitives, boolean operations, extrusion on a path, skinning. Wide range of view controls and the ability to animate every model item, including textures. All modeling and rendering occurs in the same windows. The program produces exquisite renderings when using raytracing but the radiosity feature produces stunning results... Use a multi-processor equipped computer and you’ll see significant speed improvements.
Inspire 3D from Newtek, Mac, Windows $400
Also available for the same platforms but limited to 8000x8000 pix for stills and 640x480 for animation. Claims to have a fast easy modeler... I never thought modeling was fast or easy. Period. Still, that’s how most of these programs refer to their modeling components. The whole program is directed at the new user or those with limited 3D skills as indicated by the fact that it comes with a library of over 1600 models and textures. The program is essentially a hobbled version of Lightwave... which is a great way of inexpensively learning the Lightwave way of doing things before shelling out the big bucks for it.
Amapi 3D 6.0 from Template Graphics Software Mac and Windows $400
http://www.tgs.com/Amapi/index.html
You could think of this European offering as a modeler with some rendering and animation. All the main modeling elements are here: NURBs, skinning, polyhedral meshes, lattice deformations, boolean operations and several others all available in a unique modeling environment. It is not really aimed at creating 3D environments but it excels in the creation of individual models. An impressive list of import/export formats (14 in, 28 out) ensures its continued use as a fast, cheap modeling tool that will fit in any studio library.
Pixels 3D studio 3.7 $399 Mac only. Version 2.6 is now free
Kind of an underground program. “Power to the People” is the motto sprinkled all over their site’s home page. Even the writing on the site has a guerilla flavour to it. It’s the type of attitude that gets customers and keeps them... provided they listen to their customers needs an produce frequent updates. Strong modeling and scene assembly here as well as good ray-traced rendering but no radiosity renderers. Other features include a complete scripting language, procedural shader creation component, organic modeling, lattice deformation and inverse kinematics. Found some texture anomalies in some of the web sites sample images but that probably has less to do with the software than the artists using it.
Animation:Master by Hash, Inc. Mac and Windows $299
http://www.hash.com/products/am.asp featurelist
Spline based modeling animation and rendering. A curious program in that it is delivering animation capabilities at a level that sometimes exceeds software many times its cost. Modeling tools limited to a suite of spline and patch tools. Users report that it is buggy but that fixes are posted frequently and updates to the program come regularly. Hash have a reputation for treating their customers well with free support and frequent updates. For the illustrator there are some interesting benefits to using a 3D program optimised for animation; a remarkably flexible suite of texture mapping tools, for one. Additionally, you curve your object and the map deforms with it or use the IK bones structures to pose your model. This was the software used to create the spectacular killer bean video.
Cinema 4D GO by Maxon Computer, Windows and Macintosh $195
This is a stripped down version of the XL product from Maxon (mentioned in the Mid range applications section). Cross platform, high quality renderer, renders up to PAL resolution.
Amorphium Pro by Electric Image, Mac and Windows I think... $380
http://www.amorphium.com/ yup, there’s a demo and it is a lot of fun
This is not a stripped down version of EI’s flagship product but rather a completely different animal. You can have more fun in this program than a person has a right to in the 3D field. Consider it 3D sculpting-you can manipulate primitives as though they were lumps of clay using a host of different brushes The interface is not a shortcut to good modeling... it still takes time to learn good modeling techniques. As any potter will tell you working with clay is a developed skill. The only difference with this program is that you won’t get clay all over your apron and studio when the model you are working on caves in. Textures can be painted directly on your models as well. Keyframe based animation engine, raytracing renderer and even a form of radiosity is available, soft shadows, too. Also outputs vector based renderings to Flash format.
Bryce 4.0 by Corel Corporation, Mac and Windows $199
http://www3.corel.com their site doesn’t seem to work very well in Navigator. If you can stand it, use IE.
Here’s a wonderful environment creation program. It features modeling, scene creation, rendering and animation. You can create some astonishing environments but some of the controls are rather clumsy. The interface gets a little carried away with itself too. I love modeling and rendering freeform materials in this application. Try to do anything accurate and I find it unpredictable, particularly for the newbie. However I have seen the work of other people who are using it solely as their 3D program of choice for everything.
Poser by Curious Labs, Mac and Windows --Trial version $219
After a detour as a member of the MetaCreations suite of applications this program has gone back to the creators at Curious Labs - and it has never looked more healthy. It is hard to see just where this program is going in the future but for now it is one of the best human body modelers around. Recent additions to the application are animation, clothes and animals. All controlled with the same simple set of controls. There really is nothing quite like it and, no matter how it is is used, it is bound to see good service in any studio...even if only for figure reference.
There is an excellent
in depth review of the application here:
http://www.digitalmediadesigner.com/2001/05_may/reviews/poserpropack/poserpropack-full.htm
Swift3D by Electric Rain for Mac and Windows --No trial version $139.00 US
A vector 3D program that in addition to Adobe Illustrator format exports to the Macromedia Flash format! This is 3D modeling at a slightly higher level of complexity than Adobe’s Dimensions. For example, it allows for intersecting objects, up to 16 light sources but no textures, naturally. Imports Truetype fonts, 3D studio models, eps outlines. Renderings can be in outlines, flat shading, area shading and full polygon gradient shading for slightly larger files.
Adobe Dimensions 3.0 by Adobe Systems, Mac & Windows $122 Trial versions available
http://www.adobe.com/products/dimensions/main.html
Vector 3D program that in addition to mapping of vector artwork on objects it also allows you to apply bitmap textures. Easy to learn (one day or two) and rather limited in scope. Handy tool though, to have around the studio.
Strata 3D from 3D.Com, Windows, Mac free download
This is essentially Strata 3D Pro without all the advanced plugins for cool effects, Boolean modeling operations, shaders, Raydiosity rendering and a variety of animation capabilities. In spite of that you are left with a pretty cool 3D program with which you can create some stunning images. You can’t beat the price as it can be downloaded along with pdf manuals from the www.strata.com site for free. That’s right, I said FREE. CD’s and paper manuals you’ll have to pay for.
These are not really 3D programs but still worth noting....
Deep Paint 3D from Right Hemisphere PC only $795
http://www.deeppaint.com/company/products.htm
This is a plug-in for Maya, Studio Max and softimage|3D that allows you to paint directly on models and see the results build up.
BodyPaint 3D by Maxon Computer, Inc. Mac & Windows $595
http://www.maxoncomputer.com/product/products.asp
http://www.computercreative.com/article.asp?article_id=655&article_type=REVIEW for a review
Painting and texture generating program. Paint directly on the models with a variety of brushes that paint to multiple channels at once. Fully customizable environment and toolset. Realtime updates in multiple view mode.
zbrush 1.1.3 by pixologic $585
http://pixologic.com/ Mac and PC
This program is an absolute riot. Who amongst us has not booted up a new paint program and wallowed for an hour or two in all its new features producing what can only be described as an ugly mess. But it’s fun. Well, this one ups the ante. When it records the value of each pixel this program also assign a z value. Depth for each pixel. Imagine you are painting on a canvas that is a metre wide 500 cm high and also 1 metre deep. Initially your paint is placed in the middle of that environment. You can instruct your brushes to paint in front of or behind that which has been painted already. Add that to an astonishing array of liquid, metal, textured brushes and you’ve got a recipe for some pretty wild sessions. There’s layering, fog and depth f filed rendering, material generators environment and lighting effects. As usual it takes an awfully long to time to learn to produce anything you can sell or use on a real job for that you need to anticipate the result of your brushstrokes before you apply them and that takes a lot of practice. Anyone who can master this application aptly deserves the Pixel Wrangler designation.
Here are a few of applications I never even got around to investigating in any depth.
Organica by Impulse Inc. $150 on web or $299 in a box Mac & PC
Bend, taper and twist blobs to do your modeling. Saves objects in the most popular object formats like, Imagine, Lightwave, 3DS, DXF and 3DMF.
Microspot 3d World $500 (approx) Mac only (I think)
Modeler and renderer. Seems to be best at home doing architectural & interior stuff.
Visviva Authoring Studio $399 for Windows but I did see some sample screens of a Mac OSX version and one for NEXT, due out in the latter part of 2001
As far as I can tell this is an application that features 3D as only one part of a suite of multimedia tools that include object design animation, composition, image painting, vector drawing, hypertext editing. It is interesting... like one of those multi-component Office suite programs. I suspect that each component is about as elaborate too. Sorry, that was unsubstantiated speculation.
Okay, that’s it for all the programs.
NEWSFLASH
Now a few notes on accelerator boards and so on.
HARDWARE ACCELERATION
- Sidebar
If you are
looking to speed things up on the hardware front there are several things you
can do.
Multiprocessor boards. Some programs benefit considerably from multiple processors. If your computer is so equipped. You may not get a 2x speed increase on a dual processor machine but it will be at least 150%.
3D acceleration boards. Different boards accelerate different types of 3D standards. The ATI Nexus GA, for example, accelerates programs using Quick Draw 3D as the method of delivering the models to the screen while they are being edited. It won’t accelerate the final rendering but it will allow you to save considerable time building and lighting the model. If you are using a cross platform 3D program you are more likely to be looking at one which uses OpenGL. OpenGL, created by SGI in 1992, is defined as a cross platform standard for 3D rendering and 3D hardware acceleration. It contains hooks that 3D accelerator boards from a variety of manufacturers use to deliver the pixels and polygons to the screen more swiftly. Within 3D programs you will sometimes get a choice of what type of renderer you wish to use to deliver to your screen (ie QuickDraw 3D, or OpenGL on the Mac for example). That way you can tie it in with the capabilities of your accelerator board.
The accelerator board market is one that changes monthly. The current crop of 3D accelerator boards is dominated by nVidia. Their background is in the acceleration of 3D for gaming... which is a lot different to illustration. Recently, however, they have an offering tilted in the direction of 3D illustration programs with their Quadro 2 Pro model. Performance on this puppy is lower in comparison to both the Wildcat II 5110 from 3D Labs and Diamonds’s Fire GL. Both products are aimed squarely at the needs of the workstation market. That’s on Pentium boxes. On the Mac side the pickings are slimmer; the Radeon from ATI Technologies and the Proformace 3 Plus from Formac both offer OpenGL and QuickDraw 3D acceleration.
Reference information
section
Now a few links
that I used while researching this puppy. Generally you will see the topic,
followed by links to source material on that topic. Unfortunately, it is not
an exhaustive list... I didn’t start recording the URL’s of places
I had gone to until I was halfway through the research, and many of those I
did visit aren’t worth recording here.
OpenGL
http://www.opengl.org/
OpenGL as
it applies to the Mac
http://www.findarticles.com/m0HBJ/1999_Jan_25/53661877/p1/article.jhtml
Hardware acceleration
(PC boards mostly)
http://www4.tomshardware.com/graphic/00q4/001213/gl2-17.html
Quickdraw 3D
http://www.devworld.apple.com/techpubs/quicktime/qtdevdocs/QD3D/qd3d_book.htm
QuickDraw 3D
Rave
http://www.devworld.apple.com/techpubs/quicktime/qtdevdocs/QD3D/qd3dravedriver.2.htm#pgfId=4773
ATI Technologies
(for APG and PCI systems)
http://www.ati.com
You have to dig a bit
for the MAC products, but they are there. Look
for information on the Radeon Mac Edition
Formac Cards
http://www.formac.com
Look for the information on the
ProFormance3
General 3D stuff
http://www.mac3dny.org/home.html
these guys are great... if you are a Mac user!
http://www.cgchannel.com/ marvellous
resource, covers all sorts of apps... mostly mid-range to high end.
http://www.maxoncomputer.com/ Check
out the Support section... tremendous set of links
http://www.3dlinks.com/software_modcom.cfm
is pretty good
http://www.3dgate.com/ gallery is very
3D Studio Max centric
http://www.webreference.com/3d/glossary/
good explanations... but not enough items
http://www.webreference.com/3d/
good articles by Robert Polevoi but a little 3D studio Max centric, plus plenty
of plugs for his book on Shout3D
http://cgw.pennnet.com/home.cfm
CGW magazine. Some might say “The origin of the species”
http://wwug.com/forums/
all sorts of forums for
all your favourite software apps
That’s all folks. At some point in the distant future I will be writing an article for Step-by-Step on ways of speeding up your 3D program. If you would like to ask me a question or just want to talk, use my email address: simon@roboshop.com. Thanks for stopping by.
...Simon Tuckett
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