Getting Started in 3D
3D, wow, a huge subject, deep pool, lotsa places to go. Firstly, i am no expert, still learning as much as i possibly can. If you are a Pro and you are reading this, i doubt you will learn anything. But beginners may find it helpful.
Finding your Bend - Note the collosal differences in subject from the following tasks. Each of which is its own branch of science. Fence riders won't get as far as a team of collaborators each with their respective field.
Meshing - The pure artist. mostly a conceptual worker. Creator of characters and/or furniture in vector 3d format. Main tools might be AliasWavefront's Maya or Autodesk's StudioMax. These people are called meshers. They can turn a cube into just about any object you can think of. Tools allow them to edit points, lines and fills in 3d space.
Posing - The pure director. Mostly works with finished 3d actors and stages. Main tools include: Maya/Max, or Poser. Still life images are released in droves on several 3d gallery sites. Still images of characters in a pose in a world. Posers often collaborate on detailed worlds with other builders.
Landscapes - The pure painter. Coastlines, fields, space scenes, oceans and atmospheres. Main tool is typically Bryce but any 3d tool can make a landscape. Still life renders are very popular and have some amazing results.
Physics - The deepest programmers. Work mostly with bits and code. There job is to give life to a scene based off as many physical principles as we can come up with. Speed, movement, direction, collision detection. Destination prediction. Camera fly throughs. Environmental effects. Main tools are langauge specific but basically require a keyboard and a lot of typing. C++ mainly, but other languages work fine too.
Next up we will pick a 3d tool to get us started.
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