Best 3D software for designer who is not really interested in 3D modelling?

May 31, 2008 12:03 PM

I'm a graphic designer (InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects) who wants to be able to use 3D imagery in my work but I have little to no interest in modelling things myself. I'm very interested in animating in 3D space and playing with lights and cameras. No supercomplicated Pixar-like stuff (no characters), just moving around still (buildings etc) or almost still (flowers etc.) objects. For instance: right now I need to make an animation of some playing cards flying/falling away from the camera. I want to do this in 3D space and would like to be able to 'bend' the cards to exaggerate the movement. Is it possible for me to buy a stock 3D model of a playing card somewhere (where?) and add my own design to them? What 3D software would be most suitable for my purposes? I'm thinking it might be wise to pick the software that has the most enthusiastic modelsharing community...
posted by dinkyday to computers & internet (4 comments total)

You could try Google SketchUp, which is free and relatively easy to use... here's a search for 'playing card' models, to give you an idea what's out there.
posted by tomboko at 12:59 PM on May 31, 2008

the new version of Photoshop has a ton of stock 3D imagery that can be manipulated.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 2:12 PM on May 31, 2008

I'm not sure why you'd need to buy a model of something so simple. If you can create a cube in a 3D program and manipulate its vertexes, you can create a card. Unwrapping and texture would be extremely easy as well. But if you don't want to touch such a thing at all, look to Turbosquid for models.

Blender has a really helpful community due to the application's open-source nature, and if it's capable of Elephants Dream, it's capable of card animations :]
posted by Bakuun at 11:01 PM on May 31, 2008

On the basis that it is what I'm familiar with, I know that it can do what you want, and it is a standard in certain parts of the industry, I'd recommend Autodesk's 3D Studio Max. It has a very good, powerful, and relatively easy to use camera animation system (based, to a large degree, on real-world principles).

As for the card bending animation - that's easy enough to achieve by yourself, particularly if you have a scanner. Model the cards from a plane, add a texture to each side, attach the cards to a particle system, add a little dynamics, and away you go.

If you do go that route, feel free to contact me via MeMail if you have any followup questions.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 1:31 PM on June 1, 2008