I am extremely new to this and am looking for some advice. I found the site while surfing and am now addicted to the possibilities. I have a dilema though, I don't know what is necessary to start. I have the ability to draw but do not know what the most recommended software would be. I do not want to spend money on junk and am open to any information anyone can offer. Also what hardware may be necessary to create and then ultimately animate. If anyone can help I would appreciate it.

Hi Tolou, and welcome to the community! I think my first recommendation to you would be to go through all the galleries and see what work interests you. Then I would suggest, if you are looking for software, that you download demo's, which are free trial versions, to see how you like each respective program. Visit our forums also! Good luck and please let me know how you are doing. -Trev Moderator, PSP Forum

Welcome Tolou! I agree with Trevor...demos are wonderful! With them you can install and try out a program and see what you think about it before spending money for something you might not ever use. Of course, what programs you might want to try out will depend on what it is you're interested in doing. Most of Renderosity is dedicated to 3D, but there is a little bit of something for nearly everyone. So have fun checking it all out! :) Varian co-moderater, Vue d'Esprit forum moderator, 2D Graphics forum hanger-outer, pretty much everywhere else! grin

Adding to what has already been said.. I would suggest a stop in the 3D Applications and 3D Links Forums here. In addition to those, as suggested, visit the Galleries and see some of what can be done. Lastly, take a look at your local Magazine rack. There are a large number of mags out there covering Animation, 3D, Multimedia, etc. which will give you some pointers to direction and possible focus. :) Above all else.. enjoy it. It's a vast and fun world :) - James Moderator, trueSpace forum.

Thanks everyone. I have already looked into the galleries. That is what made me so interested. I think of all the different styles/programs used I prefer Poser or Bryce. Can't decide which. I presume but you may want to respond here, that I can animate any 3d after? I currently have a version of A:M but it is not allowing me to freehand at all. I think I need to make the models first in another program and then use it to cause the animation. Once again, appreciate any feedback. ToLou :)

Hi ToLou, If you want to make your own models, Poser isn't a modeling program. Some nice stuff can be made in Bryce, but that isn't really a modeling program either. For modeling, you'll want to look to Ray Dream/Carrara, Strata 3D, Truespace, Lightwave, Cinema 4D, Amorphium, Amapi, 3ds Max, Maya... There are also some freeware modelers around, like Blender, Anim8or and others. Check the 3D Applications forum for more specifics. Most of the upper modeling programs also contain animation elements, so it's possible you'll be able to find one program to do it all for you. Or you might make models in one, then animate them in A:M. Lots of possibilities. :) Varian

hello; What is this A:M.You are talking about????any imfro will be apprecciated thank you

Animation Master - By Hash ...

Maybe this will make it a bit easier for you: Manipulating Human/animal figures: Poser. Image editing: Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop. Landscape/Scene building: Bryce, Vue d'Esprit, World Builder, TrueSpace, 3D Studio Max, Maya, Lightwave. (Poser can accept backgrounds, but it is easier to build it in another program, in my opinion.) Modelling: Rhino 3D, Amorphium, Strata3D, TrueSpace, 3D Studio Max, Maya, Lightwave. Supports animation: Poser, Bryce, Vue, World Builder, Strata3D(?), TrueSpace, 3DStudio Max, Maya. Cross-platform animation: Poser - Vue (may require 3d party software), Poser-Bryce (requires 3d party software), Poser-3D Studio Max (requires 3d party software), Poser-Lightwave (requires 3d party software). Many of the pictures that are in the Poser forum use Poser characters but are actually rendered in a different program. Poser is the most viewed gallery, so people post their pictures there even if that technically isn't the program that rendered the picture. Every few months, we get a debate on exactly how to determine which gallery a picture should be posted, but we're usually pretty laid back about it.

And this is by no means a complete list. ;) There are many more packages out there which Crescent didn't mention.. He (?) has presented a very good list of abilities and packages here though :) WTG Crescent. d:)

Yeah, wow! Nicely done, Crescent! :)

Thanks all, just wanting to know where to start. I have one other question which no one addressed. Do I need special hardware, i.e. draw pad instead of mouse. I really don't thing the mouse has the ability. What would anyone recommend? What manufacturer is the most popular? If you can answer me this one then I think I may be ready to get into it. You have all been really great and I appreciate you patience with someone so green. Tks again :)

I've found that the mouse is not a replaceable item if you're into modeling. While the Tablets do allow you to do texturing and some things.. there is a learning curve with using a tablet to the full abilities. So both is a better bet. Now, industry standard is Wacom. (their site seems to have trouble this morning, but I believe that's the correct URL). There are a number of clones which seem to be pretty good, but already having a Wacom, it seems kind of silly for me to go testing the others. ;) As for any other special hardware, each of these packages come with their own list of Minimum system requirements. Normally if you have a PIII 500+ with around 128megs of RAM and at least 10gigs (for textures, images, etc.) of HD space, you should be fine.. not fast.. but workable. Anything above this would be great. Some programs, like Maya, Lightwave, etc., work a WHOLE lot better under NT (NT4, Win2k, XP). Then you have to deal with the system requirements for the OS. Hope that helps. :) - James

Yup, what James said. Having a pen/tablet is indispensible if you're going to be working with 2D -- painting, post-render, original textures -- but for the modeling part, the mouse works great. :)

Thanks alot guys, you've been a great help. Now if only Santa can bring me all these new toys I can be posting some of my inspired creations on Renderosity as well. Who knows, I have been a very good girl this year!! Guess I will just have to wait and see. Thanks again, Tolou