Re: [GD-General] software for artwork

[Bob <ma...@mb...>]

...

GMax is useless to developers (unless you are using 3DS Max and want to
provide a free editor for your users, for a hefty licensing fee).

TrueSpace is not well geared to game development tasks; not sure how
that option even came up.

Blender3D... if you can find a use for it, feel free. I didn't have the
patience.

MilkShape3D <http://www.milkshape3d.com> is not going to win any awards
for it's 'intuitive' UI I will grant you, but it is geared to game
development tasks with support for a large number of formats (and a
plugin architecture to allow custom formats and expansion of it's
modeling/animation functions). For $20 you won't find better options.

To compliment MilkShape there are two other programs that are very good:
Untimate Unwrap 3D <http://www.unwrap3d.com> is possibly the best UV
mapping tool available for less that $500 (UUW3D is only $30), and
CharacterFX <http://www.insanesoftware.de/CharacterFX> is a quite good
skeletal animation tool, though the rendering engine uses some quirky
OGL methods.

Another low-end 3d modeling tool I really like is Nendo, but it has been
impossible to get for some while. However, a clone of the Nendo modeler,
Wings 3D <http://www.wings3d.com> is available free. The downside of
this alternative is that it relies on some hefty libraries and suffers
from a few quirks and bugs that Nendo does not.

To me, the ultimate in high end 3d game development software packages is
Mirai <http://www.izware.com>, but it is not as well recognized as Maya
and is far from the least expensive option. Plus, with the state
izware/nichimen is in, support is nonexistent and there is little hope
that the package has a future. So you are probably best going for Maya
these days, if you are going to make that large an investment.


On paint programs... Ulead??? Not a name I associate with "useful tools"
so much as quick solutions for web designers who aren't artistically
inclined. You can blame them for most of the gaudy eyesores on the 'net.

PhotoShop is quite decent, but as stated previously, it is primarily
geared to print art. There are many pixel artists who swear by it, but I
personally would recommend Corel PhotoPaint or Paint Shop Pro for most
of the tasks people use PhotoShop for in game development. A free
alternative that is very quirky but quite capable is The Gimp
<http://www.gimp.org>.

Here I could list also a lot of the "old school" paint programs I use,
but unless you are a serious 'graphician' I doubt the features would
impress. Most good digital artists will already know about the likes of
Deluxe Paint II or GrafX2, which can be found floating around in the
public domain if you are interested.


Ultimately, I look at the initial question, posted on a game development
list, and wonder: am I just sending out yet another programmer to try
solving the need for an artist with a piece of software? Maybe the link
that is most needed is something like this: <http://www.ice.org>.


--Bob