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You don't have to own a movie studio to create professional-looking 3D effects. Here are five programs you can use right out of the box to create multidimensional people, characters, landscapes, logos and more.
many recent Hollywood films have made it painfully clear that elaborate computer-generated special effects do not make bad films any better. But Hollywood has also shown us how powerful the impact of computer-generated imagery can be in such well-crafted films as Titanic, Jurassic Park and Toy Story.
The same holds true for professional presenters. Fancy 3D graphics and animation can't salvage weak content or an unclear message, but when everything else is in place, adding a third dimension to your visuals can have an immense impact.
It can take months or years of studying complex and expensive software applications to master the tools used to create 3D animations in films and on television. Fortunately for those who don't have that kind of time, a number of excellent software packages on the market have dramatically reduced both the learning curve and the price-tag required to add 3D graphics, special effects and animation to the presentations you create. Inexpensive, but different The five packages covered here are all relatively inexpensive and any one of them can be learned within a few days (or less) of study. But be aware that this article is not a comparative review of these products, because they are dramatically different packages with different specialties and strengths. CrystalGraphics 3D Impact Pro and Ulead Cool 3D are geared toward creating simple animated titles and effects. Electric Image Amorphium Pro has a much wider range of creative tools for creating 3D animation and imagery, and Curious Lab Poser and Corel Bryce are specialized programs for creating 3D character animations and environments, respectively.
It would be both affordable and practical to add more than one of these programs to your arsenal of tools if you want to use 3D animations to enhance your work. Any one of these programs is capable of creating media that can add dazzle to your presentations and Web sites, and maybe even convince your clients and colleagues that you are a genius.
CrystalGraphics 3D Impact Pro, PowerPlugs
3D Impact Pro is about as easy to use...