ZBrushCentral

Free or Ultra Cheap 3D Animation rigging & boning Software Wanted

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#1

3D modeling, ok, got Z-Brush for that and am overwhelmingly happy with it. But for rigging & animating that’s a different matter. Other related tools on my hard drive:

Bryce Pro 7
Daz Studio Pro 4
Hexagon 2.5
Blender

…I can never make heads or tails with how to use Blender. Daz Studio has the controls basically hidden and the company doesn’t want imported content truly understood about how to rig & bone it. Bryce … if you’ve ever used it, you know it can’t do either trick (rigging & boning).

But I can’t afford some big title like, Maya or 3D Studio Max. I did recently own and then removed Poser Debut. It’s a joke and I can’t afford it’s big brother versions. How I have Z-Brush is because the company did me a very kind favor, one I doubt other companies would. So this being the likely case. What free 3D software will let me import .obj files for animation with use of rigging & boning?

#2

Learn to user Blender. It really is a great piece of software and it’s been pretty active for open source.

Find more tutorials and check their forums. Most if not all software (especially 3d) is very complex and confusing at first. You just need to learn it step by step. Sometimes people want to just jump right in but you’ll learn a lot faster from starting tutorials and moving your way up.

#3

Daz Studio Pro has rigging tools in it, and many poser/ds content creators use it to rig their figures for animation. its not hidden anywhere… you just have to invest the time to learn to use it.

Keep in mind you are taking on a HUGE task. What you see animated in games, tv and movies is done by a huge number of people working together for years in some cases. And you are trying to do that by yourself.

#4

MentalFrog: Blender has been on the computer for over a year. A few times I’ve poked at it minus instructions and a few times with instructions. Not once has any thing been accomplished, even the smallest things worth doing.

Gareee: With no explanation how to use them. YouTube, the official forum for Daz, talking with the company on the phone. I’m not new to animation, far from it. For one example to this, I made a 3:31 cartoon back in '02 that took 3 months to make. It was a submission piece for an internship with Disney. Animation software I’ve found usable: Anime Studio, PAP, and Bryce. But none of those work for the wanted tasks.

#5

Funny… with no documentation at all, I managed to rig the Android robot in the daz3d marketplace.

(Though granted, I also used poser as well, since I mostly usually rig and finalize in poser.)

The lack of a manual REALLY hurts them, and they were told that months before DS4 was released.

Yeah you have to dig for the answers in Daz’s forums and on youtube, but they ARE there.

Of course you might need to have already learned the basics before using it. I’ve been creating poser rigged content now for many years.

My point in posting was that is does take a LOT of time and learning. It took me 8 months to learn to rig and release my first poser figure product. I’ve been force relearning zbrush again since Jan, and I’ve yet to complete one new product with it.

The real bottom line, is that good animation applications cost money. The free stuff is less documented, less stable, has showstopping bugs, and generally harder to learn to use.

So you either spend and produce quicker, or save money and spend more time developing.

Considiering pro stuff like C4D, Maya or Max or costs thousands of dollars, a few hundered for poser or even for lightwave is pretty cheap. (And note if you use poser, you still need to have a good modelling application.)

The cheapest solutions I can really think of is hexagon or blender, and Daz Studio 4. And time.

#6

Download the latest version. Start going through tutorials.

It took me less than a week to get comfortable with blender. It’s not as difficult as people keep making it out to be. I find that most of the time users want to get in and do it without really learning the software. There isn’t much software where that is possible. There are too many tools and options and the interfaces are usually busy and complex but make much more sense after a bit of getting used to. This is true of most software. It’d be nice if software could be deep like Maya but simple ui like Sculptris.

A good set of tutorials will save hours. You don’t have to go through the tutorials to learn every little detail. Just watch them to learn the workflow and setup of the program. You’ll always have to go back sometime when you actually need to do a specific task for a job.

#7

I’ve asked about getting help in the Daz forum more than once and unfortunately the people that say they do know the answers refuse to share them. I don’t like taking stabs in the dark over learning software like Daz Studio and that’s all I’ve been doing since I got it. Sure I’ve been given a couple pointers, use the Transfer Utility & Weight Map Brush. Ok use them but don’t be told how to get them to yield any results. What commands to use so on.

I can’t afford the versions of Poser that actually are useful. And will never have the money for the better titles. Daz Studio was luck, but until an experienced user decides they wish to share step by step knowledge, many people like me just stay in the dark.

Also Blender I’ve asked for help in user groups and searched YouTube. Out of date tutorials and clipped instructions meant for people that some what are used to the software.

#8

Then in that case, since you choose to not take the advise given to you here, I believe you are just out of luck and will have to use what little animation capability zbrush has to offer.

(BTW, there is over an hour and a half of DS4 content creation tutorials on youtube, and over 2 hours of general DS4 tutorials as well… and thats only whats been posted by DAZ.)

#9

Look at lightwave.
It may have an interface that you can get into.
Or, look at Messiah: it’s whole purpose is rigging and boning.

#10

He wants Cheap. Even a old lightwave license will run him over $400, and there’s for 9.6, released 3 or 4 years ago.

And Messiah will still run him $500 or more, and he couldn’t afford poser or poser pro which are half that cost.

#11

http://www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/
http://gryllus.net/Blender/3D.html

More than enough to get you started.

http://www.blender.org/community/user-community/

More than enough to answer your questions.

Don’t tell me the tutorials and instructions are meant for people that are used to the software. I never used it before and the tutorials brought me up to speed reasonably. Blender is free and very powerful and comparable to high end packages, but like all good things you have to take the time to learn it.

#12

If you look on AMAZON, you can find copies of Poser 8 for around $45 USD, it will do what you want.

http://www.amazon.com/Smith-Micro-Software-Inc-PSR8HBX2/dp/B002KMQ8WU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332330724&sr=8-1

Forum member cannedmushroom has a tutorial series on Youtube for BLENDER

http://www.youtube.com/user/cannedmushrooms/videos

#13

Have a try with Cascadeur, iClone or Clara.io, if blender is too complicated to you.
https://pctechtest.com/best-3d-animation-software

#14

Among your options, Blender remains the best free choice for rigging and animating OBJ files, despite its initial learning curve. It offers powerful features and a large, supportive community.

Here’s why:

  • Rigging & Boning: While Blender’s interface might seem overwhelming, it provides robust rigging tools and a dedicated bone system for character animation.
  • OBJ Import: Blender seamlessly imports OBJ files, allowing you to directly work on your ZBrush models.
  • Free & Open-Source: Unlike the subscription-based Maya and 3DS Max, Blender is completely free and offers continuous updates and development.

Learning Resources:

  • Online Tutorials: Numerous free tutorials and online courses can help you navigate Blender’s interface and master rigging and animation techniques. Search for a 3D animation course to find options.
  • Blender Community: The active Blender community provides forums and Q&A platforms where you can seek help and learn from other users.