Which one is the best?

10 posts / 0 new

By Galt | Tuesday, August 8, 2006 at 11:26am

If you're familiar with these programs, can you tell me which one is the best? Here they are:
Blender (http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Home.2.0.html)
Anim8tor (http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html)
Art of Illusion (http://www.artofillusion.org/index)

I'm looking for something that'll let me create and animate people and make them talk and move around in little 2-minute movies.

Can you tell me which is the best? Especially for drawing and animating people?

Tue, 08/08/2006 - 1:09pm

(Reply to #1) #2

DSB

There is no "best" in software; there is only best for you.

Since all three are freeware, download them all and take each one for a test drive. Figure out which one works best for you and does what you need it to do. Then go with it.

A side note: 30 minutes is a loooong animated film to be making by yourself. Start out with something much shorter - 10 to 15 seconds or so. It's important to set attainable goals when you're starting out with a new piece of software.

Tue, 08/08/2006 - 2:20pm

(Reply to #2) #3

Galt

There is no "best" in software; there is only best for you.

Yeah, that's true; they all seem very similar, so it's just a matter of my own preferences.

Since all three are freeware, download them all and take each one for a test drive.

I think that's what I'll have to do; but it takes so very, very long to read the tutorials and try it out before I know if it's what I'm looking for...

30 minutes is a loooong animated film to be making by yourself.

Okay, thanks. Can you tell I'm not an experienced animator? :)

Tue, 08/08/2006 - 3:13pm

(Reply to #3) #4

Harvey Human

Blender seems like the obvious choice.

Tue, 08/08/2006 - 3:27pm

(Reply to #4) #5

DSB

Blender is the best known of the three, but has a reputation as difficult to learn. Hence, my hesitation at recommending it.

It's sorta like asking "what's better; Maya, Max, or Lightwave. There is no right answer; each one has it's strengths and weaknesses.

Tue, 08/08/2006 - 3:33pm

(Reply to #5) #6

Harvey Human

what's better; Maya, Max, or Lightwave

Maya

Blender appears (going by the galleries and screenshots) to be the most difficult of the freebies to learn because it's the most advanced, meaning one can do more with it. But maybe, Galt, you want to start out with a simpler program and work your way up to the more advanced ones.

Tue, 08/08/2006 - 5:44pm

(Reply to #6) #7

Galt

But maybe, Galt, you want to start out with a simpler program and work your way up to the more advanced ones.

No way; it would be better to jump right in and learn the most complex and useful one than to waste time on simpler programs.

Blender seems like the obvious choice.

Oh? I will use Blender, then.

Wed, 08/09/2006 - 1:55am

(Reply to #7) #8

Cobster

Blender

I can't recommend Blender highly enough but I haven't used the others though.

I am using Blender for modelling and texturing at work so I haven't tried animating with it yet. It is the best UV unwrapper in the world, I wish I'd found that out earlier. It looks like some of the Maya community agree and have incorporated it as an humourously-named plugin called Road Kill

Have a look at Elephant's Dream to see what Blender is capable of in animation.

Here's a hand that I have created using it.

—

Visit my website:

Claire O'Brien.com

Wed, 08/09/2006 - 9:51am

(Reply to #8) #9

Galt

I can't recommend Blender highly enough but I haven't used the others though.

Thanks for the recommendation. That hand you made is amazing! Very good. Yeah I dunno how good of an animator Blender is; I'm not too concerned about modeling and all that - I just wanna make characters and animate! Thanks also for the link; I don't have time to look at it yet - gotta go.