Rhino is great, but it only runs on Windows on x86 processor family architecture. Avoid Google Sketchup like the plague, its file formats do not export into anything unless you pay for the over priced pro version, and even at that it is far behind the thinking and evolution of other 3d programs such as Maya, or Blender. From the work and file formats I've seen supported by Blender I'd recommend that for a free open source program above many commercial products.
Generally speaking though doing seriously 3D modeling work such as is done in film and other industries requires having a pipeline of various tools, and they work together depending on the task that you are doing, and the hardware requirements are generally fairly extensive such as having higher level 3d OpenGL graphics cards. I would say the software toolkit can easily run upwards of $750,000, and hardware in the 50k-150k range depending on the pipelines being created. (again all of this is way outside of the scope of what you are looking for), but I figured I'd give things context from my perspective. -Simon. On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 1:26 AM, siddharth <sidh...@gmail.com> wrote: > Rhino is pretty standard nowadays - http://www.rhino3d.com / > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_3D > Stable, powerful, versatile, some great plug-ins...(nope, not an ad!) > Worth a shot.. It used to be free intially, you could still download the > Evaluation version and muck around... > > (What 3D-modeling needs are you specifically looking at?) > > > On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 8:34 AM, Owen Densmore <o...@backspaces.net>wrote: > >> I'm looking at 3D modeling software, and would like help deciding on which >> system to use. >> >> A few requirements: >> - Not too expensive .. $150 fine, but certainly not the pro tools at >> $1000+ >> - Has a book or two at least that make it easy to learn >> - Can import/export standard files so can be used with other programs. >> - Reasonable feature set: easy to create meshes, texture maps, rendering >> (Animation/Game Engine not required .. export/import can help there) >> - Run on both Mac/Windows >> >> As usual, wikipedia has some pointers to jog your memory if need be: >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics_software >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_3D_computer_graphics_software >> >> Are any of you experienced with a 3D modeling system that you could give a >> brief review of? >> >> -- Owen >> >> >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
