An up-to-date look at free software and its makers

PROJECTS ON THE MOVE

Article from Issue 92/2008
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Free software enjoys an excellent reputation in the field of 3D graphics. In addition to Blender, other projects stand out: MakeHuman creates realistic 3D humans, and Art of Illusion – with its intuitive interface – lets users enter the world of animated movies.

Although the free 3D program Blender enjoys an excellent reputation for its performance in the free software community, other programs can compete with Blender in some aspects of 3D rendering. Blender’s quirky interface has confused newcomers. The program assumes familiarity with fairly unintuitive icons and keyboard shortcuts; in fact, in terms of usability, Blender is very much a child of the 1990s.
Without doubt, learning Blender is worthwhile – as animated movies such as Elephant’s Dream and Plumíferos provide ample evidence. Peach is another major Blender project that will be released under a free license, just like Elephant’s Dream.

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