The power of three

Posted on 28 Oct 2002 at 17:24

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Whether you're a fledgling designer or a professional outfit wanting to expand, there's a 3D package to suit you.

The toughest part about getting into 3D is knowing which 3D program is best suited to your needs. Not knowing what those needs might be can exacerbate the problem. It's a safe bet, though, that you will fall into one of three broad categories of user: infrequent, regular and full-time. We've divided the current crop of 3D packages available on the Mac into these divisions to help you make this tricky decision, and offer a bit of advice about what each application is best suited to and how difficult it is to learn and use.
Basic 3D
Getting into 3D can be a big step, but it doesn't have to be difficult or confusing. If all you need from a 3D program is the occasional bit of extruded text, or 3D garnish for a Web page then there are a number of choices, though the main feature that you'll probably be looking for is ease of use. You don't want a 3D program that is so bristling with features that you have to relearn it every time you need a 3D render, but likewise it's no good having a 3D program that limits you either. The selections below all cater for first-time users.

Bryce was originally designed as a landscape renderer, but it has a number of built-in 3D shapes (called primitives) that can be assembled to make simple 3D objects and designs. Modelling in Bryce is no more complicated than stacking wooden blocks. The only thing you need to understand is how to move, scale and rotate 3D objects. There are more complex modelling tools, such as Booleans and metaballs, which permit you to create more interesting shapes, but if you want the absolute basics, you probably don't need these features anyway. The added benefit with Bryce is that you can also create lovely scenic renders - plus it runs under Mac OS X.

Bryce's terrains allow you to utilise your existing 2D painting skills to create 3D objects by using a greyscale image as a height map. The results are generally good, but don't expect clean, crisp-edged text or logos using terrains. At least it's clear how terrain modelling works, though: black is low, white is high. Simple. Bryce is fairly easy to learn, but getting around the interface can be frustrating. There's no Illustrator import, however, it does output standard image formats (Photoshop, JPG, PICT and so on) including alpha channels, making it easy to integrate 3D objects in a Photoshop composition. The downside is that there is no 3D text creation.

A more modelling-oriented package is Amorphium Pro (Classic only). It's a 3D system that avoids the mental abstraction traditionally required when using 3D programs. It is based on the sculpting paradigm: ball of clay in one hand, tool in the other, then poke and prod until desired shape is achieved. It's a bit more advanced than that, but that's the basic principle and it's very easy for 2D artists to get used to since modelling is more akin to painting.

The render quality is a bit of a letdown, but it balances this by having far more modelling options than Bryce. Yet Amorphium Pro doesn't feel over-complex. It's simple to learn and great for creating more organic models than Bryce. If you move on to a professional 3D program in the future, Amorphium Pro can still be useful because, unlike Bryce, it can import as well as export 3D meshes. Surfaces can be painted by hand or texture mapped, so again 2D users will feel at home. Animation is not its strong point, and neither is assembling a scene from many objects: single organic objects are its forte.