2d to 3d?

Maybe I can help? But I need to know what software you have been using. I am a commercial animator and Designer for the Aircraft industry. I have used Autocad for my 3D models and 3D Studio max for other models. I do use that photo program that makes 3D models from photos. It works pretty good, and I get great texture maps. Its Called Photo Modeler. But I really enjoy AutoCad the best for Modeling. If I can help let me know? :)

Photo Modeler seems very powerful! There are cheaper tools like Real2Virtual or ArBa3d but I don't know more... :rolleyes:

you really think that's possible?

you can of course make a bumpmap or cutout like thing and try to work with it.

actually, there's some really interesting software being used here at the mouse house that was developed for Glen Keane that does something similar to what you're wanting. However, that's pretty proprietary and not available for average joes. I do know there was a software that boasted being able to take photos and make 3d objects from images, though I doubt that it was really what they said it was. Can't remember the name of that one.

Honestly, if you just want to animate there's tons of models built and rigged online for download if you want to practice just animating.

My suggestion would be to learn to model. Even if you don't plan on being a modeler, the skill is good to know.

Uuuh-- proprietary means it ain't leavin' the mouse house...

If you're new to 3D (and on a budget), a good way to introduce yourself to 3D modeling might be to try one of several available **free** programs, like Anim8or or Blender. There are several others that come in pretty cheap. It depends on how complex you want to work--I've found Anim8or able to cover most of the stuff I want to do, and it's intuitive enough that I can stay in the creative side of my brain once I've done the basic planning and model evaluation.

Also, consider your eventual output form. If you want to keep colors flat, you may want to check out a 3D program that outputs .swf, like Swift 3D. You can do this with a regular 3D program, but it takes a bit of experimenting and tweaking.

Hehe...count on the English teacher to keep us all in vocabulary check...

That's the second time on this board I've heard about that software. I'd be interested in just some -clarity- on what it is.

I didn't mess around much with Swift, but I still have the demo on my computer. I found Blender pretty technical, and I'm sure it's easier after a bit of practice, but... I'm kind of a cheap guy, so I enjoy using **free** Anim8or as much as I find a use for. I may well pay for Swift at some point, however.

As far as how it gets to vector, I'm not too clear on that myself, but it's part of the rendering stage. Where Maya and all the other 3D programs render out a 3D bitmap movie in .avi or .mov or some other format, Swift kicks out a .swf file, which is a flash compatible vector movie. Vector files tend to be smaller since the shapes are mathematical rather than based on a grid map of the play area. Thus, when you increase the size of a vector image, the file doesn't get any bigger, where the bitmap does since you increase the number of grid squares taken up.

actually maya can render vector (with contour edges if you like!) files that import nicely to Flash or .swf files. It was a new feature in version 6 I believe. I've used it a couple of times on a few shorts I've done.

As far as the name of that software I honestly can't recall it's name off the top of my head, sorry, it's been a while. And as far as the program that Glen is using, it's a custom made program that interfaces with Maya.

You're better off just going to alias.com and downloading the **free** learning edition from them and just learn how to model. It's not so difficult once you get the jist of the principles.