# FREE 3D Modeler Software



## KaiserVadin (Dec 12, 2008)

Does anyone know where I can get a program where I can make my character in 3D ?


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## Tycho (Dec 12, 2008)

Wrong forum.  Try Bits and Bytes.

Oh wait, it's YOU.  Maybe that's a bit much to hope for.


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## KaiserVadin (Dec 12, 2008)

Tycho The Itinerant said:


> Wrong forum.  Try Bits and Bytes.
> 
> Oh wait, it's YOU.  Maybe that's a bit much to hope for.


 Oh gwad you again anyway I am sorry I was so excited after seeing 3D Game Studio


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## Grimfang (Dec 12, 2008)

I don't know anything about it but I'm going to leave this here: http://www.blender.org/

I keep hearing graphic dudes going on about it. Supposedly, it rocks.

also: Moved thread to the bitty-bytes forum.


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## indrora (Dec 12, 2008)

Blender = awesome
no ifs ands or butts about it. I'd grab and play (the Sculpt feature ROCKS MY PANTS.)
Tutorials out the arse, it reads 99% of the worlds textures and more.
exports a shitload of formats (down to Quake3)


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## Raithah (Dec 12, 2008)

My recommendation is Blender. A couple other, popular (ish) alternatives are [anim8or] and [wings3d], the previous of which has a small memory footprint, so it's great for older PCs (I can vouch for it's good functioning, at least with simple models, on an old 800mhz P2 w/128 mb of RAM).


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## Kesteh (Dec 12, 2008)

Gmax.


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## KaiserVadin (Dec 12, 2008)

Friend recommend MilkShape never used it before but its apost to be free !


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## Runefox (Dec 12, 2008)

I second Blender or Gmax (Blender is cross-platform and open source, though).



KaiserVadin said:


> Friend recommend MilkShape never used it before but its apost to be free !



Then why did you ask?


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## lilEmber (Dec 12, 2008)

Gmax or blender
I like Gmax myself, I used it for a few years for animations and models.


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## Aden (Dec 12, 2008)

I've been using Blender for a few years, and it's great (and still getting better). I use it to do my modeling assignments and then .obj that shit into Maya.

I will now pimp my FA page.

\Fun fact: I should be a TA for a new Blender course next quarter at school. Hopefully they don't cut it.


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## Runefox (Dec 13, 2008)

Aden said:


> I will now pimp my FA page.


... O-KAY then. Yeah. I REALLY wish I could sit down and model something. >=|


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## StainMcGorver (Dec 13, 2008)

Blender.
EDIT: *BLENDER.
*EDIT2: *BLENDER.*


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## RailRide (Dec 13, 2008)

KaiserVadin said:


> Friend recommend MilkShape never used it before but its apost to be free !



FYI, MilkShape is shareware.

TrueSpace is now free, although I know nothing about its suitability to the task at hand (I just happened to get it on a computer-magazine CD, and discovered it had recently become freeware). I'm just now starting to fiddle with 3D (via Google Sketchup), so I expect to know little more than simplistic inorganic stuff for some time.

---PCJ


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## Kesteh (Dec 13, 2008)

3DsMax is what Gmax evolved into.
Gmax was supposed to be an ongoing free version, but you know autodesk's way of saying "FUCK THIS. MONEY NOW. TONS AT A TIME." Discreet now has it.
I dabble with Gmax simply because there's a plugin for it that works for Neverwinter Nights (NWMax).


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## Runefox (Dec 13, 2008)

Kesteh said:


> 3DsMax is what Gmax evolved into.
> Gmax was supposed to be an ongoing free version, but you know autodesk's way of saying "FUCK THIS. MONEY NOW. TONS AT A TIME." Discreet now has it.
> I dabble with Gmax simply because there's a plugin for it that works for Neverwinter Nights (NWMax).


Eh? Gmax was released after 3DS Max, and was designed to emulate it, not the other way around.


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## kevVral (Dec 13, 2008)

if you still want an opinion, I would say no to blender...the interface is hard to learn and it's much harder to figure out than professional modeler program...but then again you are going for free so go for blender but don't expect it to help you with Lightwave or Maya if you seek to model professionally...just an fyi.


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## Runefox (Dec 13, 2008)

Eh, from what I've seen of Maya (as of about 2004, mind you), I can't see a HUGE fundamental difference, but then, I couldn't model if I tried, and really, I have.  I have zero knowledge; I just know that Blender seems to be a pretty fully-featured 3D modeler.


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## kevVral (Dec 13, 2008)

I guess I haven't tried blender in a long time so I don't really know but my philosophy is usually you get what you pay for...


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## Aden (Dec 14, 2008)

kevVral said:


> I guess I haven't tried blender in a long time so I don't really know but my philosophy is usually you get what you pay for...



I'm experienced with both Maya Unlimited ($7k MSRP when I got it) and Blender. I can definitively say that you are wrong.


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## KaiserVadin (Dec 14, 2008)

Runefox said:


> I second Blender or Gmax (Blender is cross-platform and open source, though).
> 
> 
> 
> Then why did you ask?


 I need to know the wide arange of different programs so I can find the one right for me blender however is unuseable because the way they want you to get it to work is a pain


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## KaiserVadin (Dec 14, 2008)

Aden said:


> I'm experienced with both Maya Unlimited ($7k MSRP when I got it) and Blender. I can definitively say that you are wrong.


 Why is maya so freaking pricey $7000 wtfh !!!!


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## kevVral (Dec 14, 2008)

Aden said:


> I'm experienced with both Maya Unlimited ($7k MSRP when I got it) and Blender. I can definitively say that you are wrong.



with maya, you get a ton of extra niceties plus the knowledge that since there are so many users out there, there will be no problem finding a solution to your problem...also remember, maya is meant specifically for animation studios, that's why it's expensive...(down to around 3999 now)...I'd say, go for lightwave...it's much cheaper (iv'e seen 120 for a student version) and the tutorials are growing in number and the interface is so much more easily understood...

the question is, do you want something that is free and doesn't have as much support as maya or lightwave, do you want alot of documentation and support, or are you fine with figuring out how to use the program mostly by yourself and a growing amount of tutorials...

for the original purpose of this thread, I would say blender since you are only looking to do one model and not something you want to show to an animation studio...but if there is a chance of you going full out, maybe doing some 3d avatars for SL or something, try out lightwave and see what comes...you can also download the demo of these programs (lightwave is complete up to 200 or so polygons) which should be enough also for what you want...


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## Aden (Dec 14, 2008)

kevVral said:


> with maya, you get a ton of extra niceties plus the knowledge that since there are so many users out there, there will be no problem finding a solution to your problem...also remember, maya is meant specifically for animation studios, that's why it's expensive...(down to around 3999 now)



Oh, I wasn't saying Maya sucks (even though I don't like working with it all that much). I'm just arguing that price to quality is not always directly proportional.

By the way, Blender has a huge community behind it, too, but that should be obvious.


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## kevVral (Dec 14, 2008)

Aden said:


> By the way, Blender has a huge community behind it, too, but that should be obvious.



well it wasn't that obvious to me since every one I've ever talked with dislikes it (with the exception of those in here). with that said, maybe I've been acting off of peer review and not my own...but I still won't try it because I has lightwave and I likes it xD


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## Nanakisan (Dec 14, 2008)

i use several programs for my modeling

Wings3D
http://www.wings3D.com/

Blender
http://www.blender.org/

Albatross 3D & PPModeler
http://www.ppmodeler.com/download.php

Kerkythea Renderer
http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/index.php

all of which are totally free


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## Aden (Dec 14, 2008)

kevVral said:


> well it wasn't that obvious to me since every one I've ever talked with dislikes it (with the exception of those in here).



Wat. Tell them to get better at life.


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## kevVral (Dec 15, 2008)

Aden said:


> Wat. Tell them to get better at life.



lol i wish they would altho for other reasons...


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## Chroma102 (Dec 15, 2008)

A friend of mine uses Mod Tool. I dunno, I've yet to try it. Blender is win. :U


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## Zero_Point (Dec 15, 2008)

Blender's okay, though I've only used it for making SL sculpties, which compounded with Blender's confusing interface (at first) makes them a royal pain in the ass.


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## Wolf-Bone (Dec 15, 2008)

Kesteh said:
			
		

> you know autodesk's way of saying "FUCK THIS. MONEY NOW. TONS AT A TIME."



Yeah, I love how they did away with the free learning edition of Maya out of that mentality. Now they have a 30 day trial, then they expect you to buy it. I'd bet my left nut most aspiring 3D professionals who don't have money coming out their ass are responding to that with "FUCK YOU. PIRATE NOW. GIGS AT A TIME." I did. Or at least will once I put Windows on this machine since it seems it's impossible to crack/keygen on the Mac OS.

I gotta wonder some times what kind of drug habit(s) the heads of Autodesk are trying to fund with this one program alone, rushing it out the door in increments of .5 every few months to fix bugs that shouldn't have been there in the first place with what they're charging - and then charging you an additional few hundred dollars for said "update". My attitude is like "no asshole, you're asking an extra couple hundred dollars for people to get the program they should've got _the first time they paid out the ass_."



			
				Aden said:
			
		

> I use it to do my modeling assignments and then .obj that shit into Maya.



Care to elaborate? I wasn't aware it was possible to get a non-Autodesk file format (aside from Adobe's vectors and the like) into Maya in the first place. I'm asking because I want to learn Maya/3DSMax _eventually_, but right now I'm using Blender just to learn how to model/animate since as far as I can see, the principles are the same across platforms, the only difference being the tools/interface. I'd be great if I could master those principles in one program and then learn the others using objects I've already created.


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## Aden (Dec 15, 2008)

Wolf-Bone said:


> Care to elaborate? I wasn't aware it was possible to get a non-Autodesk file format (aside from Adobe's vectors and the like) into Maya in the first place. I'm asking because I want to learn Maya/3DSMax _eventually_, but right now I'm using Blender just to learn how to model/animate since as far as I can see, the principles are the same across platforms, the only difference being the tools/interface. I'd be great if I could master those principles in one program and then learn the others using objects I've already created.



Ja. You can easily import .obj libraries from File > Import. If you want to be able to export .obj files, you have to load the "objExport" plugin from Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager by checking the "Loaded" and "Auto-Load" checkboxes.

Blender also has the ability to import Autodesk DXF files and export DXF and FBX. Haven't used those much, though, so I can't guarantee quality of export. The obj exporter and importer in Blender works like a charm, though.

If you have any Blender questions, let me know. My friends refer to me as "The Blender Library". 

Edit:



Grimfang said:


> I don't know anything about it but I'm going to leave this here: http://www.blender.org/
> 
> I keep hearing graphic dudes going on about it. Supposedly, it rocks.



Holy crap grim actually listens to my crazy IRC Blender ravings.


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## indrora (Dec 18, 2008)

Honestly, since i use AutoCad for anything less than scratch, I'm *horriblynotbiasedtowardsblender* I mean I dont really care. Blender works for me. It pushes out qeradiant maps. it makes my dick hard I MEAN It makes life so much simpler 

Ask me about grim fandango!


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## Wolf-Bone (Dec 18, 2008)

Ok, thanks to my work schedule, in the past 2.5 weeks, I've had exactly two full days since downloading Blender to really work with it and mine tutorial sites. I've just gotta ask, straight up. Is there _anything_ Maya/Max can do that Blender can't? I'm seeing tutorials for fuckin' _normal maps_ and shit, particle/hair effects and everything.

From what I understand, Maya 2009 supposedly has a "realistic muscle simulator", but um, doesn't that already exist, and isn't it called lattices and deformers and all that shit?


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## kevVral (Dec 18, 2008)

Wolf-Bone said:


> Ok, thanks to my work schedule, in the past 2.5 weeks, I've had exactly two full days since downloading Blender to really work with it and mine tutorial sites. I've just gotta ask, straight up. Is there _anything_ Maya/Max can do that Blender can't? I'm seeing tutorials for fuckin' _normal maps_ and shit, particle/hair effects and everything.
> 
> From what I understand, Maya 2009 supposedly has a "realistic muscle simulator", but um, doesn't that already exist, and isn't it called lattices and deformers and all that shit?


 
well I won't be much of help...I don't know maya well enough (especially 2009) and I don't know blender at all...but if you need questions answered about lightwave, I can help (some...just learned it this semester :\ )


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## Aden (Dec 18, 2008)

Wolf-Bone said:


> Ok, thanks to my work schedule, in the past 2.5 weeks, I've had exactly two full days since downloading Blender to really work with it and mine tutorial sites. I've just gotta ask, straight up. Is there _anything_ Maya/Max can do that Blender can't? I'm seeing tutorials for fuckin' _normal maps_ and shit, particle/hair effects and everything.
> 
> From what I understand, Maya 2009 supposedly has a "realistic muscle simulator", but um, doesn't that already exist, and isn't it called lattices and deformers and all that shit?



I think that by muscles, they mean shapes under the surface of skin that move independently of the character animation. Which you can do in Blender with their new shrinkwrap modifier, just takes longer.

Yeah, Blender can do a lot. It's an incredibly mature program. Fluid sim, cloth/softbodies, dumb particles, flocking particles. Great stuff. I think the biggest advantages, just based on my own experience, that Maya has over Blender are:

â€¢ Node-based texturing. Blender only has node-based shading for now, but next version should have texture nodes.
â€¢ Paint Effects. Haven't played around with these much, but they're supposedly very powerful.
â€¢ Unified baking/caching system for dynamics and particles. Blender's biggest disadvantages here are:
---Having to dip into the game engine for rigid body sim
---Everything isn't integrated. For example, cloth can interact with softbodies, but nothing except for pre-animated meshes can interact with fluids.
â€¢ NParticles in Maya 2009.
â€¢ mental ray integration. Blender has some good integration with some nice raytracers, but mental ray is a professional standard.
â€¢ History
â€¢ MEL, custom shaders, all that scripting stuff that the studios love. To be fair, you can script with Python in Blender, but it's not as tightly integrated.
â€¢ As stupid as it sounds, everybody's using it. If you're going to get a job in the CG business, you're going to need to know Maya.

Now we can also balance it out with things Blender has over Maya:

â€¢ (Obvious) Open-source! Anyone can submit code for review to be committed. You don't have to go through Autodesk's hoops to make registered plugins. Bugfix builds arrive within weeks instead of having to wait for next year's version.
â€¢ Hotkey transforms. Oh god how I hate transform manipulators.
â€¢ Completely customizeable interface.
â€¢ Better ambient occlusion options.
â€¢ Quicker access to modeling tools (and, IMO, better-implemented modeling tools)
â€¢ The UV mapping tools are reviewed as some of the best in the industry.
â€¢ GLSL materials in viewport.
â€¢ Unified shader model.
â€¢ Simulated SSS in the internal renderer.
â€¢ Subdivision at rendertime. If Maya has this, please let me know. Maya pisses me off to no end with not having this on their "smooth" thing.
â€¢ Node-based compositing system. Very powerful, wonderfully integrated.
â€¢ Video editor.
â€¢ Surprisingly, more stable than Maya.
â€¢ Grease Pencil
â€¢ Basically, a slew of little things that _just make sense_.

There are a ton of other things that I could put into either category, but I'm not going to bother. They are, in essence, very similar programs. _Which means_ you're getting probably... over 80% of what Maya can do...for free.


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