Linux • 3D Graphics
TopoGun is a stand-alone resurfacing, and maps baking application. The resurfacing functions in TopoGun will help you modify and/or recreate the edgeflow of your digital 3D models. The maps baking functions, will help you bake various types of texture maps from your high resolution 3D models and then allow you to apply them to your newly created optimized meshes. These texture maps contain information that will help you recover the appearance and features of the original high resolution mesh.
In todays 3D graphics, high quality 3D models, due to their nature, usually have millions of polygons. This is because most of todays 3d models are created from real world scanned models, or they are digital sculptures, created using brush based 3D sculpting applications. In order to better serve their purposes, 3D models should have a much lower polycount and must provide for a deserved ease of handling. Even more than this, they need to have specific edgeflow in order to be more easily animated, or further detailed.
A lot of artists nowadays create their concepts as 3D models, using brush based sculpting applications. They usually start from basic primitive objects, such as cubes. At a certain point, they need to rework the topology of their models. There are several reasons for doing this: to make the 3D models more animation friendly, to create lowpoly versions for gaming or further sculpting and detailing, or as a way to change the highres topology in order to improve the models capability of handling the highres information at a lower polygon budget. A tool like TopoGun is needed for this purpose.
Furthermore, you can use TopoGun to bake multiple maps out of the original highres meshes. These maps can be used by texture artists when texturing the models. They can also be used by 3D engines in order to preserve the original mesh features, (i.e., small details that couldnt be recovered after retopologizing due to the limited polycount an engine can render in realtime).
Dust3D is a cross-platform open-source modeling software. It helps you create a 3D watertight model in seconds. Use it to speed up your character modeling in game making, 3D printing, and so on.
FEATURES
- Auto UV unwrapping
- Auto rigging with PBR Material support
- Pose and motion authoring all in one
- No experience needed, just good reference photos
Packages
Main 3D Software Packages
Autodesk Maya software is a powerful, integrated 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, and rendering solution.
Maya addresses the challenges faced by everyone from artists handling an entire project alone or with a small team to chief technology officers managing a complex production pipeline. From previsualizing feature films before a single frame is shot to producing spectacular, Oscar®-winning finished effects or stereoscopic projects, Autodesk Maya helps studios and artists increase the quality and efficiency of their film pipeline.Maya using also 2D & 3D gaming modeling designing purpose.
Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.
It can be used for modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, water simulations, skinning, animating, rendering, particle and other simulations, non-linear editing, compositing, and creating interactive 3D applications, rigid body, fluid, cloth and softbody dynamics, modifier based modeling tools, powerful character animation tools, a node based material and compositing system and Python for embedded scripting.
Blender is Free Software. Free to use for any purpose. Forever.
K-3D is free-as-in-freedom 3D modeling and animation software. It features a plugin-oriented procedural engine for all of its content, making K-3D a very versatile and powerful package. K-3D excels at polygonal modeling, and includes basic tools for NURBS, patches, curves and animation.
- With fast direct modeling, flexible procedural modeling, the award-winning MeshFusion Boolean toolset and built-in sculpting tools all working together, Modo’s modeling moxie is unmatched.
- Free yourself from creativity-killing constraints, with Modo’s intuitive, artist-friendly toolset. From roughing out volumes to creating highly detailed forms, Modo lets you focus on creation, not construction.
- With its advanced photorealistic viewport and progressive renderer, and WYSIWYG look-dev for Unity and Unreal, Modo lets you visualize your designs as you develop them, so you can discover their ultimate potential in less time.
Wings 3D is a subdivision modeler inspired by Nendo and Mirai from Izware.
It is possible to assign materials, vertex color, UV coordinates and textures, but there will be improvements in those features before Wings goes 1.0.
There is no support in Wings for doing animations.
Modeling
Main 3D Modeling Softwares
Silo Professional is the main version of Silo, which gives users access to everything Silo has to offer. This includes Silo's core modeling toolset, as well as advanced features for UV editing, displacement painting, re-topologization, and more. Read on for a feature breakdown and comparison.
About Silo Core
Silo Core is a focused version of Silo which offers robust modeling features at a reduced price. It is ideal for students, hobbyists, graphic designers, and anyone who doesn't need the additional features offered in Silo Professional. Silo Core and Professional share the same source code, design, and workflow, and are updated simultaneously. Features available in both Core and Professional can be seen in the left section below, while those available only in Silo Professional are described on the right.
Animation
Sculpting
3D-Coat is a commercial digital sculpting program from Pilgway designed to create free-form organic and hard surfaced 3D models from scratch, with tools which enable users to sculpt, add polygonal topology (automatically or manually), create UV maps (automatically or manually), texture the resulting models with natural painting tools, and render static images or animated "turntable" movies.
The program can also be used to modify imported 3D models from a number of commercial 3D software products by means of plugins called Applinks. Imported models can be converted into voxel objects for further refinement and for adding high resolution detail, complete UV unwrapping and mapping, as well as adding textures for displacement, bump maps, specular and diffuse color maps. A live connection to a chosen external 3D application can be established through the Applink pipeline, allowing for the transfer of model and texture information.
3D-Coat specializes in voxel sculpting and polygonal sculpting using dynamic patch tessellation technology and polygonal sculpting tools. It includes "auto-retopology", a proprietary skinning algorithm. With minimal input from the user, this technology generates an accurate and functional polygonal mesh skin over any voxel sculpture, (composed primarily of quadrangles), which is the standard that is widely used in 3D production studios. Normally, this kind of polygonal topology must be painstakingly produced by hand
Autodesk Mudbox digital sculpting and texture painting software offers 3D modeling professionals the ability to quickly and easily create highly detailed organic and inorganic 3D assets.
3D Layers Store different detail passes, libraries of morph targets, and more on multiple layers using the efficient Mudbox layer workflow. 3D layers can be blended, masked, erased, mirrored, and merged, just like layers in a 2D image-editing package. An intelligent, familiar layer user interface helps you quickly duplicate, merge, flatten, group, and reorder layers.
Decimation
Main mesh optimization softwares
MeshLab is made for processing 3D scans. Point clouds can be trianglulated into triangle meshes using various techniques. Models can be smoothed, cleaned and repaired.
MeshLab is also a great 3D model viewer and converter. It can convert between many 3D file formats:
import:PLY, STL, OFF, OBJ, 3DS, COLLADA, PTX, V3D, PTS, APTS, XYZ, GTS, TRI, ASC, X3D, X3DV, VRML, ALN
export:PLY, STL, OFF, OBJ, 3DS, COLLADA, VRML, DXF, GTS, U3D, IDTF, X3D
Re-Topology
Painting
MARI is a creative texture-painting tool that can handle extreme projects. MARI was developed at Weta Digital to handle the massively complex, highly detailed look development work demanded of the texture department by projects such as District 9, The Lovely Bones, and Avatar.
MARI has a creative toolset which puts many stand-alone 2D paint systems to shame, allowing artists to concentrate on painting. The user interface is responsive and fluid. You can paint directly on to models and view the results immediately. Save time and take texturing way beyond what was previously possible.
MARI's unrivalled ability to deal with colossal textures in vast numbers allows their development in intense detail.
Substance 3D Painter is the industry standard for physically based 3D painting.
Normal Maps
Main tools for baking maps for 3d meshes
Mightybake is fast hybrid GPU / CPU accelerated baker maximizes your hardware to bake textures ultra fast. The more cores you have, the faster your bakes.
Big Data Mightybake is a 64-bit bakerBake millions of polygons using MightyBake’s powerful 64-bit renderer, while capturing every detail with maps up to 8192 x 8192, 16-bits per channel.
Built for Games Mightybake is efficientHave MightyBake output your maps, error free, in the right tangent space for any of the major game engines without a need for a second application.
Substance 3D Sampler is at the heart of your 3D workflow. Easily transform a real-life picture into a photorealistic surface or HDR environment. Easily import a reference photo and transform it into a high-quality 3D material with features powered by Adobe Sensei. Closely match the original real-life surface and create seamless tileable materials from your captures. Combine multiple materials and parametric filters to create more advanced surfaces. Access thousands of materials on Substance 3D Assets and Substance 3D Community Assets. The possibilities are endless. Drag and drop your image, add a couple of prebuilt filters, and voila — a library of one-click generators, filters, and effects lets you quickly experiment and get results in just a few clicks.
Substance Designer is a node-based non-destructive application for material authoring. Edit complete texture sets fast with the non-linear workflow and see your changes apply simultaneously to all your outputs.
Emulate natural effects with a range of noises and filters for authentic-looking materials that complement your powers of expression and creativity. Thousands of materials, filters and procedureal tools are already freely available.
Export-Ready for Game Engines and Renderers via plugins for such editors like 3DSmax, Houdini, Maya and game engines like Unreal Engine or Unity. Bake AO, normal, ID, height, curvature, position, polypaint and any other map you may need quickly and easily within Substance Designer by yourself or via batch tools and scripts.
Texture Coordination
Coordinate Your UV Textures with these packages
Special Effects
MotionBuilder is professional 3D character animation software. It is used for Motion capture and traditional keyframe animation. MotionBuilder is produced by Autodesk in Montreal.
It is used in the production of games, films, and other multimedia projects. MotionBuilder is widely used, for example in mainstream products like Assassins Creed, Killzone 2, and Avatar.
