Hi all. I'm relatively new to Vue, adore it and am having the time of my life using it. Unfortunately I'm going to plague you with the usual boring question. I need a modeler because I simply want to make some things myself but bootleans just don't do it all. Have tried Zbrush but the app annoyed me no end. I'm looking at the Cinema 4 demo now, which seems okay but a bit expensive. Oh and I'm running on an old Windows 98 laptop, not too powerful and I can't afford a new computer for now. Are there any programs out there that are easy to understand, cheap and render fantastic objects (organic as well as technical) which can be inported into Vue and Poser? Any input would be VERY appreciated.

First of all have a look at our cool and groovy stuff and see the free software for use with Vue. You can find completely free modelers in there:-) Guitta

There are lot of modelers you can use ! It depend of what you want. If you want free modelers, I know these softs : - spatch : to make spline based models (very basic but powerful when you make the effort to learn how to use it) - Amapi 4.1 (this version is free) : largely most powerful than spatch, but there is only one main windows - Amorphium 1.0 : fantastic organic modeler, and very easy to use. There are also other free softs like anim8tor, metasequoia, but I don't know them (these softs are used by lot of people here). ;=) Yves

There is a million free modeling programs out there. I don't know of anyone that does what you want to do cheaply. Z-Brush is by far the most powerful but it does have a steep learning curve for sure, Check the cool and groovy stuff links first then you may need only a simpilar modeling program that you can purchase. Like the free ones will fill a lot of gaps then a good all around modeler to do the rest. They're all rude and hard to learn in my opinion. E-On needs to make one Vue friendly Ha Ha... They got the simplify down to a art.

If you want to go freeware, try Z-Brush. Good frontend and powerful. I opted for Amorphium 1.0, myself, for "organic" stuff, but use trueSpace 3.1 for more "controlled" stuff. trueSpace2 and 3.1 are very inexpensive, and also sometimes featured on magazine CDs so you can get them practically free. Vue imports both formats easily and without too much hazzle. Cinema4D is an excellent render application, but clearly overkill if you simply need a modeler. I am thinking about getting C4D R8 myself, right now, but certainly not for modeling purposes. ;) ta, -Sascha.rb

Zbrush 1.23 free doesn't have an export option!!! Guitta

I almost always use Metasequoia (freeware), but it can't render. Not that I can see why it should, since you are going to use the objects elsewhere. It's very easy to learn, except it's japanese :) You can make chandelers with it ;) YL: Where do I find amorphium1 free? I'm searcing like crazy but can't find it :.(

Hi Alex, well, I'm not YL, but Amorphium1.0 is not free AFAIK. I got my copy from a Computer Arts Magazine cover disk, myself. I'm sure it has been with other magazines as well, in the past. ta, -Sascha.rb

Oh wow, thanks all! I didn't even know there were any free modelers out there! I'll also check out True Space. So glad I asked. :-)

Wings3D is pretty nice, and also free. Nendo isn't free, but it's not expensive, assuming you can still get it... I can't remember the current name of the company formerly known as Nichimen Graphics, then Winged Edge Technologies, though.

Hi kissAble, regarding trueSpace, just one short caveat: the handling is completely different from Vue, and I mean COMPLETELY. The whole 3D-metaphor is different . . . I think there are download locations to trueSpace1, so better give that a shot first before thinking about getting one of the newer versions. ;) ta, -Sascha.rb

a full version of truespace 3 comes on this months cover disk of computer arts mag(uk)well worth spending 6 for this alone.

Thanks arry and Sascha, I have the Computer Arts UK CD and will give it a shot. Didn't notice it was a full version!

Attached Link: http://www.wings3d.com/

Thanks for the url Jon! Okay so now I have four new icons on my desktop. Wings, 3d draw, Amapi4.15 and Truespace3... and I didn't spend a penny! Now all I have to do is to figure out which one is the best (IE the easiest to understand) for me. Thanks all!

just do the tutorial for Wings .. I've used Maya and Max for a long time, but discovered in wings the speed I wanted in getting clean lowpoly results that work fine as 3ds or obj in Vue.

Follow up: You know what? I've been working with these programs for the last 24 hours, tearing my hair out because they're driving me nuts! And I have spent hours on end trying to find tuts for the modeling ignorant. Think they exist for most of the programs? Nah. Most of the people who write these things assume you know what you're doing in the first place. Is knowing what a vertice is or what happens when you "extrude" something supposed to be included in our artistic genes? Give me a break. -The Computer Arts True Space tut is enough to make any 3d newbie throw their puter out the window. Thay say it's easy to learn. I feel like an idiot. -Amapi starter tut at their web page says "Choose the polygon (and what the heck is a polygon???) tool and draw the face of a dragon". Uh huh. If I could draw anything, I'd be trying to figure out Painter right now. Next tut says draw a face. Chuck that. -Impossible to comprehend how the 3D Draw program works. I bagged that after the first hour. - The only really comprehensive tuts for the completely ignorant like me are indeed the ones found at the Wings web site. I managed to created a rather lopsided glass after some time... but at least it looked like something. Guess I'll stick with that program for now. I need a stiff drink and an Advil.

Attached Link: http://www1.sphere.ne.jp/mizno/main_e.html

I told ya there all rude and hard to learn. What are you trying to build? Building meshes is difficult really but it can be not too bad once you got some understanding how they all work. There all made out of polygons, (triangles) you get enough of them in some sort of order it starts to look like something.You got to look at them like a wire frame that you apply textures too, but most programs show them with no textures so you can see right threw them making it even more confusing of what your looking at. The best way almost to learn is the building block method where you take premade shapes and make something out of the blocks just like lego then as you gain experiance working and manipulating the blocks you advance to editing the blocks then finally to building the blocks. It's the easy way of doing it. If you look at really complex meshes (models) and pick them apart to see how they are assembled you realize there just a bunch of blocks stacked togeather. More advanced ones sure might include flat plains and complex curved surfaces but there all the same really. Some people stack em all up the Merge them into a single shape that is now pretty much impossible to edit to cut down on the complexity of the mesh so the file size is smaller. Don't worry about these kinds of meshes just realize they started as just a bunch of basic building block shapes at one time. You can actually build some pretty complex stuff right inside Vue with just basic building blocks. The primitives that come with the program, Boolean functions and extra shapes that you collect around the web and keep for spare parts. You just got to hang in there it takes years really to become profficient at building meshes. It's a complex topic. There is no easy way really. Trial and error and realize everyone that makes them went threw the same process as you are just starting. You have it made in a way because the tools now are a million times better than they where just a few sort years ago. Take it one step at a time. You can't build a dragon on your first attempt that might take months to learn how to make even after you know the program pretty well. I can't make a dragon and I've been making meshes for years and years. It would take me a month to make one and it would probibly suck. Now having said that I can build alost anything non organic no problem.

Attached Link: http://www.shapemagic.com/products.htm

If you are looking to build sort of simple items, you might want to take a look at Shape Magic Products. I inserted the link above. You can export .obj's with these that work great in Vue. A number of their products are free and Shape Magic is only $10. There's also tons of free .smg files you can download (the format Shape Magic uses to store the models definition). These can be used as templates. There are also some free .obj models made by the product at this link. There are tutorials and it really is pretty easy to use. It won't drive you crazy, I can pretty much guarantee that! Give it a look! Might get you going on some simpler things and help with learning some of the lingo. I actually made some nice looking stumps with the Tree Magic Stump maker and a few simple objects in Shape Magic....so far!! :)

Eventually I will also give Wings a try to see what it can do.

BTW: has anyone ever used Anim8or?

kissAble, LOL exactly my feeling when I started messing around with modelers. Albeit without the stiff drink, I was only 15 years old, then. ;) Modelers have become a lot more user-friendly over the bast 12 years or so, but nowadays, people request this and that and THIS feature and why doesn't it do THAT just like that other modeling app . . . hence: lots and lots of features that somehow need to be integrated in a GUI. Very difficult, and we guys have the additional problem that Vue's user interface is about as good (i.e. easy) as it gets. Hence: Lots of work to get used to a new modeling application, but it's well worth the effort. Good tuts are another problem. Most tuts are, as you have oserved correctly, written for people with at least a basic knowledge about 3D graphics. To understand these basic concepts, practically any 3D beginner's tutorial will do. Once you've understood what polygons, vertices, extrusion and so on are, it's easier to apply this information to tutorials aimed at the specific modeling application you're interested. Be sure to give real-time 3D tuts (for games or graphics cards) a shot, too--it may not be completely applicable to rendering, but the terminology is the same and should give you an idea what to expect. Should you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask them here--unless, of course, it's considered off-topic in the Vue renderosity.com forums. ;) ta, -Sascha.rb

Attached Link: http://pub33.ezboard.com/bnendowingsmirai

Thanks for mentioning it, Jon. I didn't know there was a users manuel... I'll definitely check that out as well as the forum. I appreciate everyone's suggestions and will certainly put them to use. Hopefully I'll publish my first decent newly modeled object (in a Vue setting of course) very soon. :-) ~kissable

Hey kissAble. I use Truespace (and some other higher end programs) and would be happy to help you through the learning process. Walk you through the basics and go along with you as you build your first object. Want to try it? Just tell me what you want to build, and we can do it together. forester

Kissable: Jon/jstro probably doesn't want to toot his own horn, so I'll do it for him. He (with some assistance) wrote the manual for Wings3D. I know him from the Writers forum. (sorry, Jon)