I'm a noobie, and I dont know what to buy first. I dont have a lot of money, so I need some thing cheap but effective. Any recomendations?

Ummmm...we gotta know what you are asking about before we can recommend something.... Are you talking about software, Poser items, models....?

Buy Poser Artist - it's a good entry-level 3D app.

If you are talking Poser Poser Artist is the place to start there is also DazStudio which is free as of right now. If you are talking landscapes then Bryce is one of the cheapest. SndCastie

I really dont know. :( I jus need something to get me started that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I would go fore Vue Easel (www.e-onsoftware.com) From what I hear, it's not as powerful as Vue 5, but for a starter, a good intro. I also think that Bryce is a good choice, though Vue Easel is cheaper. Those are both more landscapes and objects rather than people, so it depends what you want. For people, you can't beat Poser.

What you need to get really depends on what you want to do.
If your interest is landscapes then Terragen/Bryce/Vue are all good.
If it's the human figure then Daz or Poser.
If its 3D modelling then there are lots of options from Blender (free) to 3DS Max/Maya/XSI (lots of money).

Probably the only essential is a good "photo editing" program i.e. Gimp/Paint Shop Pro/Photoshop.

I'd suggest looking at the galleries here, if there something similar to what you want to do then try the demo for that program, though it's worth remembering that the talent of the artist is as important as the program used in most cases. Edited to add: Some programs (i.e. Terragen) have free versions for non comercial use or are free open source (i.e. Blender). There are also often older (full) versions of programs on magazine cover disks which are a good route into graphic art.

Message edited on: 09/17/2005 16:01

Thanks a lot!
You guys have been a lot of help. :)
If you get any new ideas feel free to send 'em.

Awww come on jumps, cut the noobie some slack, they can't help it they assumed we all know they mean 3d applications and not baking. LOL

As a relative newbie myself (two years) I started with Photoshop Elements, which hasnt got so may whistles and bells and full photoshop, but is very user friendly (and cheap!) In fact I still havent upgraded cause it does most of what I need in 2D. I only originally was planning to do montage/clipart work, but soon realised 3D was the way to go for me. I quickly added Poser 5 to my toolbox, which is invaluable, and Bryce for landscapes. Id recommend the above as a starter kit, maybe pay the extra for Vue5 if you can, but youll probably find poser will do most to start with. I still dont feel the need to upgrade to anything as expensive as Maya, free download programs like Anima8tor and UV maper can do most of the extra tweaks and simple models you might want to start with. Better to start with less software so you can explore it and build up from there than blow a fortune and find you work better with something else. Many of the programs have free trial downloads you can download to try before you buy, and Id really recommend that! Nothing worse than spending money on something you cant work with. Mostly it takes time to play with all this software, and to make some mistakes, the software will do a lot, but its no substitute for time learning however much or little you spend on software.

** Awww come on jumps, cut the noobie some slack** Heh, heh, I 'was' cutting some slack >:D Everyone knows Jumpy is EVIL Bwwhhhahahaha Seriously tho, demo's are the way to go to begin with FoxSpirit. As was stated before, why pay for something you can't get your head around..test stuff out, see what works for you, and go from there ;)

As far as 2D graphics, the programs GIMP and Pixia are both free. There are also a lot of free 3D programs available like Wings3D and others. Pixia http://park18.wakwak.com/~pixia/ GIMP http://www.gimp.org/ Aeliom http://www.iluac.com/aeliom/index.html Art Rage http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html Oriens http://www.oriens-solution.com/enhancer/ PP Modeler http://www.ppmodeler.com/ Wings http://www.wings3d.com/ Sourceforge has many many free programs http://sourceforge.net/

If it's digital painting you want, I'd suggest the Gimp - it's free. If it's 3D modeling you want, there are several free modeling programs around. If it's compositing existing (human) 3D models into a scene and rendering those to still images, start with DAZ|Studio - free. If it's 3D outdoor scenery, mountains and forests, optionally with people included, try Terragen and the Vue 5 demos. In short, figure out what it is what you want to do using free programs and demos, and then decide what you want to spend your money on!

Terragen has a totally free version out, fully functional..and not a demo. Its only for non-commercial output tho...if you wish to sell anything you make with it, you must buy the program. {last I heard it was only $79.00 usd} Excellent program ;)

Bone do you by any chance know what os ppmodler will run on? I cant seem to find the sys req's on thier site anywhere.

I know it works on windows and linux. I dunno about Mac

Attached Link: http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/tgd/tgd.shtml

Well, after a lot of trail and error I think I found my foundation. I seem to get along better with Anim8tor than the others I've tried. But I'm still open to suggestions.

try combining anim8tor with wings 3D for subdivision modeling and GIMP for textures and post, you'll almost have a full package

bonestructure said "try combining anim8tor with wings 3D for subdivision modeling and GIMP for textures and post..." How do I do that?

Well, I don't mean you actually combine all 3 programs. just that you get and use all 3.

Alright, I'll try 'em and get back tomorrow.