Guide to 2D/3D Contribution

[fken]

just a post to tell to ArcaneFalcon that a guy said yesterday on the IRC channel that there is a mod for gimp which can give the interface of photoshop to the gimp. ArcaneFalcon can you verify? and change your first post if its true?
the guy was new and called Cheslon or something like that.

[ArcaneFalcon]

I actually saw that conversation and began checking it out.  It can be done with a gimp hack called GIMPshop which can be found here.  I\'m going to test it ASAP, I\'ll let you know what I find.

Edit: I\'m pleased to report that GIMPshop is pretty sweet.  I could probably almost actually switch over to it, except that it lacks some features that PS (photoshop, not PlaneShift) has.  For instance, the edit menu is missing things like define brush and define pattern.  Another thing, I think PS\'s brushes are better.  Not only is there more variety by default, but the options for changing them are much more in-depth.  Still, I highly recommend this as an excellent PS alternative for those who like things free.

*guide updated*

:emerald:

[Chicane]

Well, I will try but it takes time and I was hoping someone else has already tested them, which is why I asked.

However, if the improvements are being made, as you said, then either way, Maya is becoming a viable option as well and shouldn\'t be automatically discounted.

[Neryam]

Heres a description to replace the part

Maya
I don\'t have any URL\'s for this one yet (I need more than just a lunch break to find them) but Maya is an excellent (if not expensive) 3d app. It is a viable option and has CS exporters, though I\'m not 100% sure they work (probably do). I\'m still checking out whether it has a cal3d exporter as well. I\'d imagine it does. Basically, if you already use Maya then continuing to use it for PS shouldn\'t be a problem. If you aren\'t familiar with Maya then don\'t worry about it.

Maya
<http://www.alias.com/>
An extremely powerful commercial-grade new 3D program which was used in many famous movies and games, such as Shrek 2. However, it is quite complex and has a steep learning curve, although it comes with a number of tutorials. Finally, it is incredibly expensive, although alias lowered the price from $7500 (Maya Complete) and $16000 (Maya Unlimited) to $2000 and $7500.
Pros:
- Incredibly Powerful
- Well Known with a number of tutorials
- The more advanced versions come with a slew of features like Maya Skin and Maya Fur
- Strongly supports animation
Cons:
- Incredible Expensive
- Difficult, Sharp learning curve
Exporters:
No Idea ?(

[ArcaneFalcon]

Thank you.  I\'ll update it in the near future.

:emerald:

[XpYtZ]

Ok, I\'m just about ready to start trying out Cal3d just a couple short qustions for anyone that knows.
A: Where can I pick up a good compiler for putting this thing together. I\'m to lazy and tired this hour in the morning to search and besides that I usually find something that doesn\'t work.
B: Is there anything I need to know before I get started doing things in Cal3d like, \"When you try [this] it will re-write every sector on your hard drive to read (yay eggs).\" )

[XanWing]

hi I downloaded blender and started do to some tutorial but I ran into a problem I don\'t know how to say it but heres a pic


as you can see some od the things aren\'t white, so I select the faces and then hit TAB then Ctrl+N, click yes then hit TAB again but there still not white, it worked for some pieces but not for all why?

Ok so I said f**k that and continiud with the tutorial but at near the end I get this

[Cherppow]

Hi everyone.

To XanWing: Seems lik the transparent faces are pointing to the opposite direction. Recalculate normals outside (ctrl+N) in edit mode should fix the problem. It only recalculates the selected face though, so be sure you\'ve all faces selected when recalculating. If that doesn\'t help, you can go flip the normals by hand: Select only the wanted faces in edit mode and choose W->Flip normals.

For the second problem it\'s harder to say what\'s wrong without knowing what the console says. You could try going into object mode and checking that the object ,whose UV map you want to export, is selected and then try exporting again.

[Induane]

To fix the faces that are having problems go into edit mode, select face select and then look for a button that says show normals or draw normals.  If when it is depressed your picture doesn\'t get all kinds of blue lines - one for each face, then increase the normal size with the slider.  Then, you select each face that doesn\'t have the normal (blue line) facing outward, hit W and then select flip normal. do this for every face necessary. I don\'t recommend CTRL-N because it aways flips a few incorrectly for me anyways. Good luck,.

[Neryam]

WAIT!! I have a new Maya description, plus links.
Maya
<http://www.alias.com/glb/eng/products-services/family_details.jsp?familyId=3900009>
When the alias says \"world\'s most powerfully integrated 3D modeling, animation, effects, and rendering solution\", they aren\'t lying. Maya is the most powerful 3D program you can get, and the industry knows it - Movies made with Maya include, but are not closely limited to: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, George of the Jungle, The Fifth Element, Final Fantasy, The Hollow Man, The X-Man, Anaconda, Stuart Little, Shrek, Sindbad, Pandavas, Starship Trooper, Lake Placid, The Phantom Menace, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park 3, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Ice Age, and Shrek 2. The world\'s most advanced digital character, Gollum from Lord of the Rings, is made with Maya.
Of course, all this power comes with a price. A very large price. Although Alias lowered the price considerably, Maya still is in the range of thousands of dollars. Obviously you will not need all that power for Planeshift, and you will have to be very skilled if you can use that power at all, so don\'t go running off to the store to buy it unless you have big plans!
Pros:
- Incredibly Powerful
- Well Known with a number of tutorials
- The more advanced versions come with a slew of features like Maya Skin, Maya Hair and Maya Fur
- Huge Animation support
- Well organized interface is easy to use for even raw beginners, and yet handily holds hundreds of commands and tools.
- Has exporters for both CrystalSpace and cal3D
Cons:
- Costs more than a good computer (Unlimited version costs FAR more than a good computer)

Exporters:
CS and Cal3D exporters can be found here.

Tutorials:
http://www.simplymaya.com/
http://www.learning-maya.com/index.php
http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Maya/1
http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/Maya_3D/All/


How do you insert the text wihtout the BB code converting?

[ArcaneFalcon]

Hehe, is someone a maya fan?  I really should get around to adding Maya, but I think your description is just a tad biased.

I\'ll get it up there...today I hope.  Who knows, maybe I\'ll even go through and *gasp* update it.

:emerald:

[Neryam]

Hahah yeah you got it..
Although no exxageration about the movies it was used in.. and Gollum  

Mabye I should write a description thats short and to the point, and unbiased as possible hehe..


Maya is the most commonly used 3D programs in major movies today. It is the industry standard, and is most often used in movies (3DSmax is more used for stills). Therefore, it has enourmous animation support. Lord of the Rings (Including Gollum, the world\'s most advanced digital character), and Shrek 2 are two famous movies made with Maya.
However, do not go to the store and buy it only for Planeshift as you will use about 15 of its hundreds of commands and tools. If you already have it, are going to buy it for your job, or can get it from work or something, Maya will do a splendid job of everything you put to work for. But at its price tag of 2500 USD (Cheapest version), you may want to look into cheaper alternatives until you are going to USE it.
The amazing thing is that with a program this advanced, it\'s suprisingly easy to use, and astoundingly easy on beginners. Even if you have never done 3D before, if you KNOW you are going to really USE it later, you can buy it. The learning curve is very gentle, one or two good tutorials will get you rolling.




Wait. It\'S longer. ;( The more I try to be unbiased, the longer it gets. I guess I just can\'T be simple and t the point  with maya.. Or I just like to rant. See, here I go again, even with the Post-Script... Rambling on and on..  

[Rolf Blacksmith]

There is a Maya fan around here ... :-)

But still not skilled enough to prduce something worth contributing ...

[Maade]

Hi I think you forgot a well known 3D Programm called Cinema 4d.
A very good 3D Program that costs less than 3d Studio Max but is a little bit expensive too.
It is very easy to use for startups how to make a PS file from a c4d File? I don\'t know but perhaps someone else does.
 
bye

[ArcaneFalcon]

I didn\'t include programs like cinema 4d or softimage because they pretty much aren\'t used in the gaming industry.  3ds max and maya are used in the *vast* majority of gaming houses, with lightwave possibly coming in a very, very distant 3rd.  There is virtually no free source support for them, and are therefore about as useful as any other 3d app I didn\'t mention.  You\'d simply have to model and export to an intermediary format (.3ds, .obj) and get them into software that has the correct exporters (namely 3ds max, blender, and maya).

:emerald: