i was looking at 3d graphics programs and came across kinemac for 299. has any one tried it if not what are some good 3d programs that wont break a budget?

hash's animation master is really nice - same price

kinemac is brilliant. We demoed it at lafcpug a couple months back. Drop dead simple for us non 3D folks. Makes quick logos and such. Great product.

I bought Cinema 4D CE+ 6 from Maxon's website (http://www.maxon.net/) a while back. Since it was an older version (I think they are up to 9.5 now) I only paid $100 - the current version is over $1k. It is a pretty complex 3D application and suites my needs (I make boxes with simple image mapping and lighting - but I am trying to increase my 3D skills and I know Cinema 4D is a well known 3D application). I think the only difference from version 6 to 9 are more of the complex 3D things I don't deal with - render/shadding/plug-ins/and scripting.

I just checked and it doesn't seem like they offer this anymore online, but you could call them and ask. They were very friendly over the phone.

Again - if you are looking for a robust 3D program to get your feet wet, but not break the bank - this seemed to work great for me.

hey mike does Kinemac allow me to map video to objects and spin them while they are playing ( for lack of a better way of saying it). thats what i need to do.

If I understand you , yes, all in Real time too. On a Powerbook, no less. They have examples on their web site of what you can do.

i downloaded kinemac this afternoon, and i think that for the same price - hash animation master is a WAY more powerful package.

it might take a half day longer to learn the app, but there is SOOOO much more to the hash program...

Cinema 4D R9.5 is only $695 for the base full version and you can order it from the Maxon website:

[www.maxon.net] ...just click "Order"/ select your country / click on the R9.5 graphic / select CINEMA 4D R9.5 in the upper left corner / choose Mac or PC (I know what you're gonna pick )

I am about 8 months into teaching myself this program (I have the R9.1 Studio Bundle - which is a little more $$ than the base version because of all the modules included - see the Maxon website for details). It makes super-gorgeous text & logos easily from imported Illustrator splines that are photo-realistic when rendered. Here's a little something I'm working on in version 9.1 for my 3D Gallery (old timers...give it a guess):



Here's a link to the W.I.P. forum on the 3D ATTACK C4D website where I started the whole project from a simple cube (BTW... I'm a Moderator known as "silversurfer" over there). It's not finished, which is why it's still in a W.I.P. (Work In Progress) forum:

[www.3dattack.net]

I've had NO FORMAL TRAINING in this program. It's probably the best Mac 3D program out there (IMHO). I have some more work if you are interested.

- Joey



Post Edited (02-15-06 21:45)

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

not bad work joey!

ive been around 3d since the early 1990's (anyone remember when strata3d was 1grand cool?) and here is my ranking of mac 3d apps. and interestingly enough they rank from 1 to 4 equally (or inversely) in price, power and learning curve:

1 maya
2 cinema4d
3 lightwave
4 hash animation master
5 kinemac

for the "video crowd" here anything in the top 3 might be a bit ambitous from a learning curve/reality of use standpoint

one last thing would it be a total waste of 99. to get Carrara 3D Basics 2?
i have the demo and it is kinda wierd ta use ( i count create anything with it). the kinemac demo was pretty good ( made a logo in like 20 min.) i am wondering it i should sacrifice learning curb for price or capablity. meaning if it take an extra day to learn but gives me more future flexability. or in the case of carrara take that at the cheap price and worry about upgrading later.

by the way cinema 3d was the first 3d program i ever messed with it seemed kinda easy but i didnt have the time to get into it much maybe 6hrs total.

this is great info folks xtra thanks

Carrera? Do they still develop that? Didn't MetaCreations develop that a while back? Well... ultimately you have to decide what's best for you - balancing cost & features. Obviously cost is of the utmost importance to you, so go with the cheapest software.



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.