Whats the best program for 3d that cost under $400? Is it Pixels3d, Animation:Master, etc. IS there any that is as easy to use as infini-D?

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Originally posted by bobblehat:
**Will it be really hard to export stuff to Coldstone? I don't want to have to keep downloading stuff 'cause it takes to long
boBobbleyHat

**

If you can drop something in a folder, you can import stuff into Coldstone.

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Can anyone please help me with my 2 question above? They're just before the Necromicon.

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Originally posted by kckx:
Whats the best program for 3d that cost under $400? Is it Pixels3d, Animation:Master, etc. IS there any that is as easy to use as infini-D?

well, for my money I'd get (url="http://"http://www.hash.com")A:M(/url) for $300. actually, for my money, I did get A:M, but that was back when it cost $200. You can do a whole lot more with A:M than you can with anything else with that price tag. it's tough to learn, but there are a lot of on-line help communities.

and yes, there is something as simple as Infini-D was. it's called (url="http://"http://www.cinema4d.com")Cinema 4D(/url) (if you just don't press any of the buttons that open up the advanced modeling and effects options...). However, that costs a wee bit more than you sound like you're willing to part with. about $1400 more than you're willing to part with, actually... I'm sure there are others out there, but I haven't used them yet. I suppose Amapi is fairly simple, though I don't personally like it.

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Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.
-Jedi

Cool ty! Now is their anyone that can help me with my pixel 3d problem above?

type 1 is a bus error. it's usualy caused (I think) by extension conflicts and memory problems. you'll have to ask apple about that to be sure though. there might be an error listing in your Mac OS manuals, or on apple.com. otherwise, just do a google search for it.

if type one is what I think it is, then you might be able to cure it by just allocating a lot more RAM to pixels3D. if you've got more than 128 megs in your machine, then I'd say give pixels something like 50 or 60.

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Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.
-Jedi

Ok so put me ram to the pixel install? When it double click on it I first press continue, then agree then it pops up the error on type 1! Thank you for your help!

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Originally posted by jmitchell:
**well, for my money I'd get A:M for $300. You can do a whole lot more with A:M than you can with anything else with that price tag. it's tough to learn, but there are a lot of on-line help communities.
**

If you've got $400 and want to go with A:M, you can spend some of the extra bread on the SIGGRAPH video sets. Reading about how to model something is completely different from watching how Billy Eggington can model a dog in four minutes flat, picking your jaw up off the floor, rewinding, and start taking notes.

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People who claim the sky is falling obviously aren't aware the earth is falling, too.

Lightwave is annoying. This is probably because my computer keeps choking, and I don't have an instruction manual so I'm having to just figure it out. I'm actually looking forward to using Bryce 5 instead of Lightwave, I'll probably keep using modeler though. It's actually comprehensible and my computer doesn't mind it very much. The two things I'm going to miss are good view controls and lens flares. Can you do lens flares with the new light lab in Bryce?

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Originally posted by sanehatter:
**If you've got $400 and want to go with A:M, you can spend some of the extra bread on the SIGGRAPH video sets.
**

yeah, those tapes are great. a friend of mine gives a demo on them -- Raf Anzovin.

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Originally posted by Catfish_Man:
I'm actually looking forward to using Bryce 5 instead of Lightwave

beh? what? you are livin' dangerously , my good man. er, catfish. er, um... ah, whatever the hell you are.

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Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.
-Jedi

is photoshop any good... and how easy to use is it?
See I think I have it.

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Evil

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Originally posted by Lorenoth:
**is photoshop any good... and how easy to use is it?
See I think I have it.
**

Photoshop is for -- get this -- editing photos. Not really for making 3d graphics. I use it as the last stage in the pipeline before sending textures into Lightwave, but if you're looking for a 3d program... Look elsewhere. (Also be aware that it costs in excess of $600)

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We shall accept payment in a large briefcase. American dollar good for this purpose. LARGE briefcase, remember. -- forge

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Originally posted by Catfish_Man:
Lightwave is annoying. This is probably because my computer keeps choking, and I don't have an instruction manual so I'm having to just figure it out.

In other words, you are using it illegally and couldn't find a copy of the manual where ever you got it from. To those of you attempting to use lightwave without a manual: don't. You'll miss everything. It wasn't designed to be an easy-to-use program, it was designed to have the maximum functionality you could find in a 3d package. Packages like Bryce certainly have enough features for entry-level 3d artists anyway. Just having Lightwave won't make your models better -- you might need to read through the 1000 page manual first.

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We shall accept payment in a large briefcase. American dollar good for this purpose. LARGE briefcase, remember. -- forge

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Originally posted by Gravitation:
**Just having Lightwave won't make your models better -- you might need to read through the 1000 page manual first.
**

nah, you can find 10 online tutorials for just about everything. I don't know of any sites for Lightwave specifically off the top of my head, but I'm sure they're as easy to find as for anything else.

and photoshop is not just for editing. photoshop is for just about any freaking thing you can think of (excepting the obvious things it was not designed to do). It is not hard to learn, but it's almost impossible to master -- much like Othello. there is so much in photoshop that you could spend years working with it and still not have seen it all. and then there are the upgrades... if you can get an educational discount on it, I'd go for it. if not, then find a friend who already has it. there is nothing wrong with pirating high-end graphics software while you're a student.

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Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.
-Jedi

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Originally posted by jmitchell:
there is nothing wrong with pirating high-end graphics software while you're a student.

:eek: :rolleyes: Are we really gonna go through this again? There is everything wrong with pirating high-end graphics software, regardless of your profession. If you're unwilling to purchase Photoshop, use GraphicConverter or GIMP. If you feel that $899 for an academic version of LightWave is not a worthwhile use of your money, get Animation: Master or Bryce. If those are still not worth the cost for you, use Amapi and Strata 3d.

Sheesh.

no, we don't have to go through this 'again.' (though I've not yet had this argument here). suffice it to say that I'll hold my opinion in the following paragraph, and you'll hold yours in the previous, and we can leave it at that if you'd like.

you can say whatsoever you'd like about the morality of students pirating high-end graphics software, but things just aren't as clear cut as right and wrong -- they never are. it comes down to a simple fact: there are few students in the entire world who can afford any of the worthwhile packages out there, and if they can then they shouldn't be complaining about the price anyway. should only the rich and the prosperous be allowed to learn proffesional computer animation? Bryce and Amapi are fine for your weekend user, but they're not pro-quality apps (I haven't checked out Bryce 5 yet though). Animation Master, though a wonderful tool and very reasonable in price is also very, very deviant from industry norms for animation and (especialy) modeling. If you think graphic apps pirating is wrong because it's taking money away from the companies that make the products, then I'll dissagree with you there as well. a good 90% of the students who pirate apps like lightwave and photoshop do so only because they have no other way to learn them, and when they finaly do have some money in their pockets' they'll gladly offer it up for the newest version of the app in order to appease their conscience. and if they don't pirate the software, chances are they will never learn it and take some other path in life. I've seen it time and time again. hell, in the end companies like New Tek and Alias/Wavefront probably aren't losing a cent just because of the repeat customers they get when students do finally turn professional.

NOTE: I'll post this just as a warning. I'm debating the phillisophical issues of pirating a very specific type of software here, for very specific reasons. I'm not suggesting that you go out and steal some software just because I said it's okay that you don't have the money. the intent of my post was to say that I personally believe that if you have the desire to become a professional graphic artist or animator, then there are certain circumstances that will be very difficult for you to avoid.

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Do not follow me for I may not lead. Do not lead for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.
-Jedi

(This message has been edited by jmitchell (edited 07-26-2001).)

The bulletin board for a media creation product that will be put out by a shareware company is not the place to talk about the morality of pirating software. Please stop.

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People who claim the sky is falling obviously aren't aware the earth is falling, too.

I have no experience with 3D software. I downloaded Pixels:3d, and besides the fact that it crashed OS X running in Classic (grey screen!) I had absolutely no idea where to begin. I'm a programmer, not an artist.

So I'm looking at other things. I saw a link to an app called Vue d'Esprit at MacNN a while back, and the renderings they've posted look pretty impressive. I'm willing to trade a sane learning curve for power or quality, because I simply cannot dedicate very much time to mastering a complex application. I'm also looking at Bryce 5, but I'm especially curious about Vue d'Esprit because it's a newcomer.

Does anyone have any experience with Vue d'Esprit? Worth it? Not worth it? If no-one's used it, maybe I'll buy it and post my own review after I've played with it for a while.

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James
dystopia, n.: A utopia, in practice.

I haven't seen either of these progamms come up so i geuss i will suggest them.PatchDance and Hexa Super.they are both availble from cnet.patchdance is free i think but hexa super is one of the programms they used to make Toy Story so expect big bucks.oh nad non of htem are somthing i would call "Easy".cheers

hexa super is freely distributed
at (url="http://"http://www.hexasuper.com")www.hexasuper.com(/url)