Samuel Watts Unit 68 - 3D environments : HA7 Task 5

There is multiple 3D development software that users can use all over the internet, each software offers a completely different way to model and has their own advantages and disadvantages. Some will be more advanced than others, some will be easier and more flexible to use than others. For some 3D software they have become outdated and not used as much as they used to, this is because companies will have found better 3D software to use that is more updated and offers a wider array of tools at their disposal.

3D studio max

3D studio max is now referred to as Autodesk 3Ds max, this is a 3D modelling software created by the Yost group, and it was released in 1990. In this software you can create animations, games, images and more by using the 3D tools. Not only do video game developers use it but many TV commercial studios, architectural visualisation studios and movie companies for special effects. It was later purchased by Autodesk media and entertainment who now update and improve the software. There is a whole bunch of features within 3D studio max such as Maxscript, this a programming language which allows the user to program into their models and games. A few more features are character studio, scene explorer, DWG import and a whole lot more. In terms of modelling the software uses polygonal, NURBS and surface tool/editable patch object as its features.

Maya

Maya is another 3D software created by Alias systems Corporation and released in 1998, it is now owned by Autodesk inc. and goes by the name Autodesk Maya. Maya has been used to make multiple aspects in media such as video games, animated films, TV series or even visual effects. Maya has a scripting language known as Maya Embedded Language this scripting can be used to customise the core functionality of the software and can also be used to engineer modifications, plug-ins or be injected into runtime. Some of the components part of Maya are fluid effects, this allows for water, mud, fire, smoke and other fluid type effects to be made. Fur is another component that allows large area coverage of materials with hair like substances to be used. There components are classic cloth, nHair, Biföst and more.

This is a triple A game developed by CD project red using Maya

lightwave

Lightwave is another 3D modelling software developed by NewTek and was released in 1990. Many films, television shows, video games, music videos, advertisements and more have used this software to develop their own products and creations.Lightwave is composed of separate programs, mainly Modeler and layout and uses a program called Hub to synchronise the two together. The features that Lightwave has are Lscript which is its scripting program, hypervoxels which renders different particle animation effects, material shaders and a lot more.

Blender

Blender is a 3D modelling software developed by Neo Geo and was released in 2002. It has been used to create animated films, visual effects, 3D printed models, video games and more. It includes a huge amount of features like UV unwrapping, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning and more. It also features an integrated game engine. Due to blenders open source nature other programs have tried to take advantage of it by reselling modified versions of it such as illusionMage, 3DMofun and Fluid Designer. The features included on the software are modifiers to apply non-destructive events, basic nonlinear video/audio editing, python scripting and more. I have personally used blender and felt like it is a good software to use for 3D modelling, although it takes some time to get used to it is quite free and flexible within how you create objects.

This is a revolver I created using blender.

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is a 3D modelling, animation and rendering software that is developed by MAXON computer GmbH it was released in 1991. There are four variants that can be used for cinema 4D they are a prime application, broadcast version, visualise and studio and each one adds something different than the other. A fifth variant was released in 2014 called lite which comes with adobe after effects. A few projects which used cinema 4D include Van Helsing (2004), spider man 3 (2007), Surf's up (2007) and more.

Zbrush

Zbrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D and 2.5D modelling, texturing and painting. What makes Zbrush different to traditional modelling packages is the fact Zbrush is more akin to sculpting. Zbrush is used for creating high resolution models, its models are able to reach over 40 million polygons making it great for models which need to be modelled precisely. The tool has been used for video games, movies and animations by a vast amount of companies. Zbrush was developed by Pixologic Inc and it was released in 1999. Zbrush comes with many features such as 3D brushes, in this there are a total of 30 included 3D brushes and more that can be downloaded, they each have a different effect on the sculpting such as different stroke types, the hardness of the brush and more. Transpose is another feature which allows a user to isolate a part of the body of the model and move it without have to use a skeletal rig. There are also more features such as polypaint, illustration, Zspheres, Fibemesh and more.

sketchup

Sketchup is a 3D modelling program used for multiple media and physical building jobs such as architectural, interior design, video games design, film and more. Its original creators were Last software who released the program in 2000. The developers of it now are Trimble Navigation. Sketchup has a 3D warehouse, this is a huge database filled with models that people have created and uploaded. This warehouse allows other users to download the uploaded models and use them to their own creations either by manipulating the object, using it as inspiration or just using it in general. Since 2014 Trimble has made it so creators can have their own sites where they can showcase off the models they have created. There are two versions of sketchup, you have sketchup make which is free for everyone (but it limits you to the tools and what you can do on the program) or there is sketchup pro which is paid for but allows you to use everything the program can offer.

Each software offers some sort of new creative way to build models and it is a good idea to have experience with each of these softwares and tools. Each software will be similar when you create objects but each one differs in the method to how you create them, they also offer users different techniques or tools that other softwares don't have.

Here is a table that shows various 3D software and the file types they use:

Type	Association	Remarks
.3ds	Autodesk 3DS Max	Retains geometry, texture and lighting data. Can also contain extra information to allow a scene to be completely saved/loaded.
.mb	Autodesk Maya	It is a binary scene file for maya. Contains three dimensional models, textures, and lighting and animation data.
.lwo	Lightwave	Contains objects stored as meshes and include polygons, points and surfaces.
.C4d	Cinema 4D	A three dimensional model created in cinema 4D. It is a scene that contains one or more objects with position, rotation, pivot points, meshes and animation information.
.dxf	AutoCAD	It is an extension for a graphic image format.
.obj	Most 3D software e.g. Unity, blender etc.	This is a file format that can be opened by most 3D software. It is a file that is used to describe a fully rendered 3D object.

Samuel Watts Unit 68 - 3D environments

Tuesday 6 December 2016

HA7 Task 5 - 3D Development Software

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