3D articles

I feel very strongly about everything I have written in this article. Some of these are my own opinions while others are fundamental truths that transcend the barriers of 3D packages and fanboys. They are true to art in general, no matter what medium or computer software you use. These are things that I have learned from accomplished artists, designers, other Blender users and my own personal experience.

A fairly significant portion of your artistic success as a 3D artist depends on how well you know the software, like Blender, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Lightwave 3D, and so on. However, that doesn't even compare to the importance of knowing the principles and elements of design and having a good process. That is what truly makes your art good

Since I'd like to become a great artist, I'm writing this for people that have the same ambition. Since most people that I know in the Blender community are those who are struggling to learn the software, I'll talk about that first, then I'll talk about those things that separate a Blender savvy person from a great 3D artist....GO

3D Modeling Basics
By Mark Giambruno

As our hapless student just discovered, it isn't enough to know how to use a tool. You have to be able to see the project as a whole and plan a strategy for accomplishing it. Through theory and then tutorials, this chapter not only introduces you to the basic modeling tools, with tips on when to use them, but also offers suggestions for planning out the best modeling approach and developing good work habits...GO

3D design, modeling and animation software
By designtalkboard.com

The following is a selection of some of the more popular 3D design packages, for both the Mac and Windows operating systems. Most of these programs are very complicated for the beginner and also very expensive (although nowhere near as much as they used to be) and we don't advise anyone to base a purchasing decision purely on our brief summaries. The aim is give a general outline of each program...GO

3D Motion Controllers – A MUST for Solid Modelers
by Daniel Brown, Avatech Mechanical Applications Engineer

Do you use a 3D modeling package on a regular basis? Do you find yourself spinning or rotating your 3D parts and assemblies frequently? Do you get frustrated because it’s hard to orient your part so you can better visualize it? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are a good candidate for a 3D Motion Controller, sometimes better known as a SpaceBall or SpaceMouse...GO

Digging for Details: Painstaking Research results in Brilliant 3D re-creation of Mayan Ruins
By Rachael Taggart

Being offered the chance to record, reconstruct and then create a documentary about a 1,000 year old Maya city is not something that many of us get. Clement Valla, an architectural designer by profession and a 3D freelance modeler by choice, was offered the opportunity in 2005, and has spent the last year planning, traveling, and working on the project. The ultimate result will be a series of video documentaries that reconstruct the city while trying to provide resolution to a number of theories about city planning in at these ancient sites...GO

What is Google SketchUp ?

Google SketchUp is a deceptively simple, amazingly powerful tool for creating, viewing, and modifying 3D ideas quickly and easily. Google SketchUp was developed to combine the elegance and spontaneity of pencil sketching with the speed and flexibility of today's digital media.
Developed for the conceptual stages of design, this powerful yet easy-to-learn software allows for quick and easy 3D form creation, the result is an interface that supports a dynamic, creative exploration of 3D form, material and light.
Google SketchUp combines a compact yet robust tool-set with an intelligent guidance system that streamlines the 3D drawing process...GO

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The 3D Glossary

(0-9) - A - B - C - D - E- F - G - H - I - J - K - L -
M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X -Y - Z

(0-9)

3D computer graphics software refers to programs used to create 3D computer-generated imagery. There are typically many stages in the "pipeline" that studios use to create 3D objects for film and games. Note that most of the 3D packages have a very plugin-oriented architecture, and high-end plugins costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars are often used by studios. Larger studios usually create enormous amounts of proprietary software to run alongside these programs. (Wikipedia) Index

3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical, wireframe representation of any three-dimensional object (either inanimate or living) via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model (or 3D object). It can be displayed as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering or used in a computer simulation of physical phenomena. Models may be created automatically or manually. The manual modeling process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer graphics is similar to plastic arts such as sculpting. (Wikipedia) Index

(A)

Antialiasing
Any technique for reducing the visual impact of aliasing, or the "jaggies," on a computer graphics system. (nvidia.com)Index

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
An industry-standard expansion bus found in most modern PCs, specifically designed for graphics cards. It is a faster alternative to the PCI bus and allows graphics programs to store large amounts of data temporarily in the computer's system memory. The speed at which a GPU can access and use the information across the AGP bus has a large impact on graphics performance. (nvidia.com) Index

Alpha Blending
A graphics processing technique that simulates transparency or translucency for objects in a 3D scene to create visual effects like smoke, glass or water. Pixels in the frame buffer of a graphics system include three color components (red, green and blue) and sometimes an alpha channel component as well. The alpha channel data stores the degree of transparency, ranging from opaque to completely clear.(nvidia.com) Index

(P)

Plugin : Software module that "plugs in" an application in order to give it a specific additional functionality. (Virtuosa™ Glossary) Index

(T)

Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974. A texture map is applied (mapped) to the surface of a shape, or polygon. This process is akin to applying patterned paper to a plain white box. (Wikipedia) Index

(V)

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one. Most current virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special or stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. Some advanced, haptic systems now include tactile information, generally known as force feedback, in medical and gaming applications. Users can interact with a virtual environment or a virtual artifact (VA) either through the use of standard input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, or through multimodal devices such as a wired glove, the Polhemus boom arm, and omnidirectional treadmill. The simulated environment can be similar to the real world, for example, simulations for pilot or combat training, or it can differ significantly from reality, as in VR games. In practice, it is currently very difficult to create a high-fidelity virtual reality experience, due largely to technical limitations on processing power, image resolution and communication bandwidth. However, those limitations are expected to eventually be overcome as processor, imaging and data communication technologies become more powerful and cost-effective over time.(Wikipedia) Index

3D forums

3D documentation

3D Studio Max documentation

Maya documentation

Bryce documentation

Rhino documentation

CINEMA 4D documentation

Blender documentation

LightWave documentation

Various 3D documentation

3D programming

Programming Games from euclideanspace.com

If you are interested in starting games programming here are some ideas and tutorials. Do you know which computer language you want to use? If so here are some tutorials for the following languages:

If you have not decided which language to use here are some ideas:

Other pages on this site which are relavent:

options - types of simulation and choices.
data structure - how do we model the data.
scenegraph - an example of a simulation data structure.
examples - some examples about when to choose simulation types.
- car racing games
- snooker games

Car Racing Game

How to we apply the principles explained on this site?

On These pages we look at how we might use these ideas to build a car racing game.

Snooker Game

How to we apply the principles explaind on this site?

On These pages we look at how we might use these ideas to build a snooker game.

3D tools (1)

3D-Tool from 3d-tool-usa.com

3D-Tool is a viewer for 3D and 2D CAD files; importing many common 3D and 2D CAD File Formats.

3D-Tool gives you the ability to visualize, analyze, and mark-up your CAD projects.
With 3D-Tool you produce zipped self-viewing executable files of your CAD projects, which can be e-mailed and displayed on any PC without installation or additional licensing.
The simple user interface allows anybody, without special CAD knowledge, to view your models, zoom in on details or simply look inside your models using dynamic cross sections. Views from any angle can be easily printed or saved as pictures.
Various analysis functions help the mechanical designer analyze complex geometry problems and develop solutions.
Dimensions and 3D-Notes can be attached to any geometry item to fully convey your thoughts and requirements. Read more

3D plugins

3D Studio Max plugins

Maya plugins

Bryce plugins

Rhino plugins

CINEMA 4D plugins

Blender plugins

LightWave plugins

3D textures

GLASS TEXTURES
White Textured Glass Seamless, Glass Texture Multicolored, Glass Raised Structure Seamless, Stained Glass Blue White, Stained Glass Green White, Stained Glass Neo Confetti...

BARK TEXTURES
All kinds of tree bark textures including cactus, pine, oak, maple, palm, etc. There are even some textures of really old trees with ivy vines on them.

BRICK TEXTURES
This set of textures includes mossy brick, dirty brick, colonial brick, Burger King floor tile, cinder blocks, and more.

CEMENT TEXTURES
Here you'll find dirty cement, grimy cement, walls of cement, etc.

CLOUD AND SKY TEXTURES
These cloud textures are useful for creating sky boxes or reflection maps.

DOORS AND WINDOWS TEXTURES
So far I just have 1 door and a couple of windows in this section from Colonial Williamsburg. Now that I have a category for them, maybe I'll take more images of doors and windows.

FOLIAGE TEXTURES
This section includes leaves, grass, bushes, vines, and lots of green stuff. I've used the grass textures here to make some really cool game art, but painting the alpha channel is a big job!

GROUND TEXTURES
Here you'll find ground textures containing dirt, clover, grass, dead leaves, moss, pebbles, and wood chips. All of the types of things that you'd expect to see on the ground outside.

LEAVES TEXTURES
This category contains pictures of individual leaves. I've got maple leaves, oak leaves, aspen leaves, and some that I don't know.

METAL TEXTURES
Manhole covers, rusty metal, sheet metal, riveted metal, painted metal, brushed metal - all kinds of metal in this section of the texture archive.

SKIN TEXTURES

SNOW TEXTURES
Here you'll find images of snow on the ground, snow on bushes, snow on rocks, snow on bark, footprint in the snow, all kinds of snow.

STONE TEXTURES
This collection contains all kinds of rock and stone images. Rock walls, granite, marble, stone sidewalks, etc.

STUCCO TEXTURES
Just a few images of stucco walls in here.

WATER TEXTURES

WOOD TEXTURES
All kinds of wood in this section - ply wood, wood planks, old weathered wood, wooden benches, wood floors, wood siding, wooden fences, etc.

EXTRA TEXTURES
Everything that's not a texture photograph goes here. This page has high dynamic range light probe images, textures created from high detail 3d models, normal maps, and other textures that are already processed and ready to be plopped right into your project.

MISCELLANEOUS
Everything that doesn't fit in the other categories goes in here.

You can also visit this websites for more textures :

Mayang Textures

bencloward.com