This is something interesting I read in the linux-magazine.com:

Not so long ago, professional quality 3D animation required expensive workstations. The software they ran, for example, Maya (Unlimited Vision), cost more than $15,000 early in 2002, and the software technology was hidden behind restictive licenses.

What's the 3D animation process?

The process starts with modeling the shape of the 3D object. The next stage is texturing, that is, adding a kind of skin. This step gives the model a natural looking surface with light reflexes and a surface structure. UV mapping projects 2D bitmaps (such as wood grains) onto the 3D surface; in its simplest form, this is like posting a bill on an advertising column.

The 3D model can then be animated. In the rigging process, joints are added to the figure. The joints allow the the artist to move a complex object like a puppetter moves a puppet. After completing the basic animation scene, the animator adds special effects, such as water, fire, or smoke. The scene is then lit by positioning light sources, just like in conventional movie making. The post production is concerned with optimizing the nearly-finished product, coming it with the movie or video scenes, and adding a soundtrack.

Also: Normally, many different programs are used to create a 3D animation. First of all, you need a program to create the 3D models. In most cases, animation and rendering (conversion of finished models to photo-realistic images) are handled by separate programs. Rendering is so vastly complext that it typically requires a specialized tool.

Some useful software:

Wings3D, simplifying complex shapes http://www.wings3d.com

Blender, the only FLOSS program that covers all steps in 3D production http://blender.org

[Blender's strengths is its speed, which is superior to commercial products. But Blender mainly uses subwindows that are full of buttons and slide controls. The itnerface design lacks logical consistency. Even such simple functions as cut and paste take some getting used to in Blender, as they use [Alt] + [C] or [Alt] + [V], rather than the more typical [Ctrl] keys. This is due to the fact that Blender was designed as an in-house solution for the NeoGeo animation studio.

K3D, one more recent developments in the 3D fields. K3D's major strength is it's a targeted new development based on current experience http://k3d.sourceforge.net

Yafray, currently the most powerful free rendering tool http://www.yafray.org

Toxic, a rendering tool based on physically exact computing http://www.toxicengine.org

Aqsis, provider most complete support for RenderMan standard syntax for 3D model definition http://www.aqsis.org

Povray (documentation, community) http://povray.org

Jahshaka, might close the gaps in the near future http://www.jahshaka.org

Cinelerra, another possible candidate to allow studios to handle whole prodocution cycle for computer-generated movie making with FLOSS software. http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3 ------------------------------------------------------------- ILUG-Goa meets next on December 17, 2005,3-5 pm Science Centre