What 3D Animation Package Should We Use?

R

redlinzus

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howdy folks,

my design firm is undertaking a new 3D animation project and it will be new type of project for us. We MAY use Flash but feel like it will be much easier in a 3D animation package.

This will be a new skill set we are learning so we want the EASIEST to use and learn 3D design package. Our client is not expecting PIXAR Finding Nemo quality but it has to be better than Atari's 1980 BattleZone. Capice?

We need just good quality and easy to use.

Thanks for input and recommendations!
 
This is a hard one for you, one false move and your client will start looking at you through squinty eyes. I had the same thing a couple of years ago - not much 3D experience or skills and four weeks to complete the job or some of the work would slide away.

After two days 'research' I settled on Strata 3D (I'd already played a little with their free version). I found Strata 3D to have the best price-to-learning curve and while I sweated buckets for the best part of a month, the job got done and led to more work from the client.

It's going to be a subjective choice and I'm not recommending Strata 3D, just relating my experience. There are more expensive packages like Lightwave that may be better suited to you. If you've got the time, the only thing to do is get hold of the demos of all 3D apps and try them out, a luxury I didn't have.

If it's a fairly simple animation, you may want to try Swift 3D which, I've been told, incorporates well with Flash and has a shallow learning curve, though I've never tried it.

Of course, it may be easier to outsource the project and swallow the charge in good grace as it's your first, there's bound to be a freelancer nearby. Really all I can do is wish you all the best of luck!
 
THANK YOU LAZZO!

We are going with Swift 3D, it is perfect for what we need AND we are pretty skilled at Flash and my research indicates Swift 3D is very flash like.

They don't need super high end, just nice and clean. Plus the file needs to be portable and FLASH is very portable (web and power point, etc.)

THANK YOU.... you made our lives MUCH easier.

-redlinzus
 
Depending on what you want to do, you may have good luck with this like I have in the past.

I wanted to make some simple 3-D elements for a flash movie, and I happened to have Adobe's venerable Dimensions laying around in disuse. The cool thing about Dimensions is you can create or import some relatively complex models, then export a series of frames in vector .eps format of a "tween" of motion, say like a 360-degree rotation... These eps files import nicely into flash as frames for a movie clip with hardly any cleanup. The result: 3-d widgets that make great accents.

Whatever you end up with, post a link!
 
I'd forgotten about Dimensions - it's cheap, too, only £75 over here.

Glad you got what you wanted, redlinzus - keep the clients happy!
 
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