Hey all, just wondering if you guys have heard of or are familiar with this:

http://www.curvy3d.com/'

It's compatible with this:

[http://www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/

And both programs I'm looking to purchase to purchase once I get ahead and have the extra funds.

Dog waffle appears to be geared towards 2D animation but it works very well with my Genius Tablet and great for making some awesome textures.

Curvy though is simply amazing once you realize what you're doing with it.  I mentioned before about programs like Teddy Smooth and Shape Shop but Curvy impliments the idea into a professional package and it works quite well. 

I got the program free from a magazine but will probably upgrade when I'm able to do so. I think I'm mainly going to be using it for 3D painting because that it does quite well.

(Sorry about the link continuing on in the rest of my text, I don't know how to stop it.)
](http://www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/)

I like how you keep finding stuff.  But since you mention something about buying, how much money total have you added up to?  Because you may be able to buy a program you can do most of your work in and toss the rest.

 I haven't purchased any of my programs yet. I've been unemployed for the past half year and have only begun to start working again so when it comes to software, for the time being, I'm scrounging around for hand outs. LOL.

I was considering 

A liscence for Mod Tools (unless it costs as much as Softimage - then I'm out of luck)
Metasequoia (when a substantial version has been released)
Dog Waffle
and now Curvy.

Technically I bought Carrara 7 Standard because I shelled out the money for the magazine it was in specifically for the program and not the mag.

Realistically I could just get by with Blender, Mod Tools (un registered), Metasequoia (un registered) and Sculptris as I'm not doing this commercially but owning a license to Meta and Mod would help in case i ever did sell any work and it gives me access to more tools and export options and Dog Waffle and Curvy are just fun programs. =D

Oh yeah, one other, if Sculptris was ever sold - I'd get that too.....if it wasn't sold for a ridiculously high price and had a lot more new features than it does now. 

Carrara is a poor modeler.  I was going to suggest Silo if you need a polygon modeler.  There is a demo to try out first I believe, so you know if it works with your video adapter.

 I have the Silo trial - when it expires it turns into a personal learning edition. I'm going to have to play around with it some more to see all that it does. =D

Right now I have Houdini PLE which is always PLE. Vue PLE which is always PLE, LIghtwave that expires into a PLE and Silo that expires into a PLE. =)

 I've noticed something. With so many programs that I have installed and I'm trying out there is no one program that does entirely everything and does it well. 

Silo looks like a very polished and high quality poly modeler but that's it.

Carra 7 looks like it aces scripting and animation but everything else is done better in other software.

Lightwave looks like it does too much but layout is useless to me as I can't save and the interface for basic modeling doesn't agree with me.

Blender.....is a challenge, but damn grateful that it exists. =)

Houdini turns some features off to me because it doesn't agree with graphics card.

Metasequoia, great base modeler, love the interface but, like Silo, appears to be basic modeling specific and that's it.

Gmax would be perfect for base modeling if it could handle larger and more modern models and export to .OBJ (without the side script and grabber.).

Mod Tools does a lot of stuff pretty well but I have to keep reinstalling the entire program after doing a defrag and registry clean.

There hasn't been one program yet that does the hole the show and that I feel comfortable with so I'm trying to establish a pipeline of about, maybe, four different suites that are all compatible with one another. =)

Yes there is no Super program. This becomes more apparent when it comes to renderers. If I were you I would go with blender - and I mean sit down and learn it - It has pleanty of future

Quote -  I have the Silo trial - when it expires it turns into a personal learning edition. I'm going to have to play around with it some more to see all that it does. =D

Right now I have Houdini PLE which is always PLE. Vue PLE which is always PLE, LIghtwave that expires into a PLE and Silo that expires into a PLE. =)

Vue Pioneer is free I think, without water-marking its renders.  Just use Silo to make models for it.

 Hey, that's cool. Thanks for the info. =D

I take it back.  The HD rendering has logos in it. And no import.  I get confused with the Frontier version (which was free).

 I've got the PLE Infinite. I don't think it has watermarks and can import / export, it just can't be used commercially.

Have you tried Bryce yet, MidnightCarnival?  It is free sometimes.  Version 6 was sold for $6 - $9 at one point.  I'm sure it will be free again when 7 comes out.

I'd forgotten all about dogwaffle. D/L ed  but the cursor dissapears on most of the interface. Vista - turned of UAC but stiill no joy.
Any ideas?

Maybe run it in Win98 mode?

Thanks Shawn
95 98 xp all to no avail. Its weird - cloaking device only activates on pallettes and image though not on toolbar.

Something in DirectX 8 that Vista's DirectX 9(10) doesn't like?  Or is this OpenGL stuff?  Do you have some sort of animated desktop running?

Why not try Wings3D. It's free and one of the best at box modeling and very easy to use...

I purchased Curvy3D 1.5 and just got a free upgrade to Curvy3D 2.0. I like Curvy3D but not well versed in it... I also have 3DCoat which is more capable then Curvy and more like ZBrush....

Bryce 5.5 is still free...
Art of Illison (AOI) Is free and has some nice feaatures
Anim8or is free
SketchUp has a good free version
Wings is free (as mentioned)

Shawn, I have Bryce....I also have Wings. I use it as my 'to obj converter' for Mod Tools. =D

Airflame. Dogwaffle 1.2 works fine for me but I'm using XP.

I'm pretty sure it's a vista problem - I find it hard to believe vista got through quality control

I've heard of a lot of problems with Win 7 as well.

MS should've just stuck with perfecting XP for the next decade until they really had a sound and quality successor.

It might also be the ancient 1.2 working with a newer OS. You can write to these guys and ask if they have a demo or a newer freebee that you can preview in Vista.

http://www.thebest3d.com/

Quote - Why not try Wings3D. It's free and one of the best at box modeling and very easy to use...

I purchased Curvy3D 1.5 and just got a free upgrade to Curvy3D 2.0. I like Curvy3D but not well versed in it... I also have 3DCoat which is more capable then Curvy and more like ZBrush....

Kenmo, I tried Curvy, originally, three months back when I first started doing 3D again and thought that my video card wasn't compatible because I kept getting mesh soup.

Giving it more of a chance this time I realize it works perfect with my ancient setup but there is a strict system for the way  you draw your curves.

Curvy can use back drop references, making the model you're working on slightly transparent so you can see your back drop behind it. With a solid 2D reference to trace, Curvy became much more manageable.

The following are my practice runs in Curvy that all took under thirty mins

Attached Link: http://www.curvy3d.com/forum/

Simon - creator/owner of Curvy is an A-1 bloke...

http://www.curvy3d.com/forum/

 Yeah, Simon is pretty cool, I'm at the forums as well.

I know you mentioned that you're more relaxed in 2D apps so It might pay to look at what the newest installments of  what The Waffle can do.

Dogwaffle appears to be hellbent on 2D animation and there's some awesome demonstrations at Thebest's site that shows, what looks like time-lapse photography, animated clouds rolling over a professionally painted foreground.

But for those those only interested in 3D, the free Waffle 1.2 turns Curvy into a versatile 3D model painting application. And 3D model painting is why I originally downloaded Curvy three months back.

Quote - Thanks Shawn
95 98 xp all to no avail. Its weird - cloaking device only activates on pallettes and image though not on toolbar.

Hey, man.. Just installed and ran PD Artist and my cursor disappears when it's over a bump image because the image is gray and the cursor is gray.

I didn't notice previously because I was adding filters to bump and not actually trying to paint directly on it in PD. 

Going to ask around the Curvy and PD guys to see if there's a way to change the cursor color.

 For anyone starting out, I wrote a PDF based on my understanding of Curvy curves over the past few days that I've been playing with it. I wrote it for thebest3D but I'm sure they won't mind it getting outside circulation.

 Nevermind. Renderosity won't accept PDF attachments.

Attached Link: Getting Started Curvy Curves Tut

 Wow, man! That downloaded quick!

Here's some more recent Curvy adventures:

Nice work..!!!! Looks like you getting the handle on Curvy....

MC
Your link seems to be broken

 Thanks, Kenmo. =D

Airflames - the link should take you to a blank page and instantly download 'curvesandrefimage.pdf' to your system. In Chrome it doesn't even ask if you want to save first. 

So you might have the file in your downloads folder on your pc without realizing it. 

Sorry, didn't mean for the obnoxious high speed download without warning but didn't know how else to set up to the link - it goes to my msn image bank.