# Off-Topic Discussion > Artists' Corner > Art Design >  >  Which Software Do You Use For 3D or 2D Graphics ?

## ^R^ed-$py

Im a bit new to computer graphic stuff  ::reading::  . I wanted to know that what softwares do you guys use . As a beginer , im using FLASH 8 and CS3 PHOTOSHOP . What about you ?  ::content::

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## Oneironaut Zero

Photoshop CS2 for 2D art and photo manipulation.
Blender 3D for 3D art and (in the future) animation.

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## Adam

Adobe CS2 and Flash 8

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## Adrenaline Junkie

I use Photoshop CS3 for general 2D graphics and photo and i have just started using Maya for 3D animation/graphics, its hard to use but i'm still learning but luckily my brother is really good with it since he took a course.

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## Goldney

Is there any good free software for 2d graphics out there?

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## ~Anthriel.Sai/Tsuyko//.

> Im a bit new to computer graphic stuff  . I wanted to know that what softwares do you guys use . As a beginer , im using FLASH and PHOTOSHOP . What about you ?



I use Adobe CS2 Illustrator and Photoshop.
Milkshape 3D is good for low polygon game modeling and its easy to use.
Softimage Xsi Mod Tool is also a great program. You can download both of on free trials at their websites.

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## ^R^ed-$py

> I use Photoshop CS3 for general 2D graphics and photo and i have just started using Maya for 3D animation/graphics, its hard to use but i'm still learning but luckily my brother is really good with it since he took a course.



Ive heard that Pixar uses MAYA . And its very difficult to use . XSI is in the competition too .

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## ^R^ed-$py

Does anybody use 3D Studio MAX ?

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## nina

Cinema 4D for 3D stuff. I've used 3D Studio Max, Daz & Poser, Strata, Maya

Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects...etc. etc. etc.

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## Ravenfire

I mostly use CS2.  Occasionally I'll use PSPX or Painter.  I don't do any 3D work.

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## montrealhorizons

3D :

Terragen, Softimage XSI, Alias Maya, Some 3dMax, though that's for more low-res stuff and on my end of the industry it's all hi-resolution so we stick with XSI or Maya.

2.5D :

Zbrush    ::D: 

2D:

Apophysis ( I forget if that's how it's spelt, it's for fractals ), Adobe Photoshop CS3 ( I get all the CS' free  ::D:  ), Animated Gif 4.0 Producer ( for making GIF animations, usefull for forums and websites  :smiley:  )

Then of course I have all my programs for composition such as Combustion, Flame, Inferno; my programs for video editing ( mostly Avid, Sony Vegas 7.0 ), and my audio programs for music. But you didn't ask for those, I just like to show that I'm knowledgeable and skilled in many media domains, if you need any help feel free to ask.

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## Bonsay

May I ask what is the industry you work in? I'm quite interested in this sort of stuff, so I'd like to see what options there are.
Thanks for any answers!  :smiley:

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## montrealhorizons

The industry is none other than Multi-Media Interaction, ranging from Movie Production to Video Game Developpement, it's a very big pipeline and a very friendly industry!

I'm currently working on my new demo reel for a Character Animator position at any of the local companies, such as to list a few:

Ubisoft
EA Games
Meteor Studios
BigBang Studios
Cine Groupe
Pop 6

Montreal has alot of places and this field specifically is blooming; and it's only going to get bigger. I love it.

There are many many options in this domain; it all depends where you want to start, games, movies, television, advertisement?

For games; you have multiple positions:

Concept Artist,
Environement Artist // Level Designer,
Character Modeler ( & often Texturer, though sometimes companies have their own departement for that, rarely though, usualy the modelers end up texturing as well ),
Programmer,
Lighter,
Rigger,
Animator,
Simulation department ( usualy involving physics or particles ),
Special FX,
And others.

Those positions often come back in the other areas of the multimedia industry; for example you'll find concept artists EVERYWHERE, as well as Animators and Modelers ( wich are the two most common, or rather most needed groups ).

Personally I'm just working and getting all the experience I can so that in a few years I can apply at Dreamworks or Pixar studios, wich would be truly a dream come true.

It all depends on what you prefer doing, I like it all; so I'm comfortable anywhere really.

What's your preference // what are you more familiar with ?

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## Bonsay

Well, I could say the same, that I like it all. But first I'd better get more educated, since you are dealing with a complete 16 year old "newbie" here. I'm definitely aiming in that direction though. After high school I'll continue my study in design and after that, who knows. I don't know how much choice I have here in eastern Europe, hopefully I'll be on my way somewhere else by that time. At the moment I'm slowly learning Maya as I was suggested.

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## DeadDollKitty

how much better is CS3 photoshop then CS2? cuz i got two and blender, and i want something absolutley spectacular. I've also got blender, but its kind of screwed up. 
  Whats the best animation software out there?

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## montrealhorizons

I'd strongly suggest either Maya or XSI for animation, as they are the two most used, professionally, and for good reasons;
Animation is simple and very fun, I could elaborate but I'm quite busy right now...

I'll re-post later.

Frank

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## Hungry

well it matter i gave u cs2 cause u wanted to do grafixs design not animation i can get u one or both of the software that he said if u want

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## DeadDollKitty

i want them both

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## little nemo

Can anyone in this thread direct me to some good STARTER tutorials for *Blender*? When I say starter I mean starter. All of the tutorials I've delved into online have gaps in them; the writers assume that the users have _some_ basic experience with the program.

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## MindDaguerreotype

> Is there any good free software for 2d graphics out there?



I use The Gimp on Linux, also available for Windows and MacOSX.

And for 3D, Blender 3D.

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## slayer

The XSI Mod tool is also free and is fun to use! I'm still trying to learn some stuff from it...

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## Oneironaut Zero

> Can anyone in this thread direct me to some good STARTER tutorials for *Blender*? When I say starter I mean starter. All of the tutorials I've delved into online have gaps in them; the writers assume that the users have _some_ basic experience with the program.



This is the best one I've seen, so far. 
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro

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## Illusi0n

At the moment i´m using Photoshop cs3 and Flash 8. In the future i want to learn using Cinema 4d or Blender 3d, what is the best?

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## lag

As far as print / web / interactive goes. Adobe CS3 Premium Suite, QuarkXPress 7 (for backwards capability), VueScan, Linotype FontExplorer X and 3dxMax8. Of course I have lots of stuff I use for my music as well.





> Is there any good free software for 2d graphics out there?



I also recommend the gimp, it can't fill your professional needs but for digital artist it does the trick  :smiley: 





> Does anybody use 3D Studio MAX ?



I do, but only because I do 3D as a hobby, professionals use MAYA as far as I understand. It's over my head.





> how much better is CS3 photoshop then CS2? cuz i got two and blender, and i want something absolutley spectacular.



I always tell people  Anything Else < Photoshop 7 < CS1 < CS2. All the steps between or not mentioned aren't worth an upgrade. If you have CS2, stick with it until they come out with CS4, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle. CS3 just didn't add enough to make it worth the upgrade. It was like the "Look we bought Macromedia! Nyah Nyah!" release.

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## ^R^ed-$py

Isnt Adobe Photoshop CS3 difficult to use than CS2 and CS ?

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## montrealhorizons

> I do, but only because I do 3D as a hobby, professionals use MAYA as far as I understand. It's over my head.



Depends on the studio, I know that ILM used XSI on Transformers, but most big studios have their own programs ( pixar, dreamworks, etc ). However you are correct in understanding that Maya is used professionally, it's pretty much the industry standart, along with 3DMax for gaming and XSI for movies as well.

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## lag

> Isnt Adobe Photoshop CS3 difficult to use than CS2 and CS ?



No, same thing just slightly different interface and a few added features. I actually like the interface change, but there aren't enough new features  ::?: 





> Depends on the studio, I know that ILM used XSI on Transformers, but most big studios have their own programs ( pixar, dreamworks, etc ). However you are correct in understanding that Maya is used professionally, it's pretty much the industry standart, along with 3DMax for gaming and XSI for movies as well.



Ah yes, I forgot about 3dxMax for gaming. I thought pixar and dreamworks used Industrial Light & Magic though...

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## catron

I currently use The Gimp for 2d and Blender3d for 3d  :smiley:

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## TamiDoll

I'm not a newbie to PS (CS2), but that's the only thing I know how to use, lol. 2D stuff for me babeh~

I should really expand and go into 3D stuff. Hmm...

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## King K

- Photoshop CS2 for 2D graphics.
- CorelDRAW X3 for 2D vectorial graphics. (CorelDRAW + Photoshop CS2 = t3h pwnsome)
- ImageReady CS2 and GIF movie gear for GIF animations.
- Flash 8 for 2D animations.
- 3D Studio MAX for 3D graphics.
- MilkShape 3D for 3D animations.

My aunt is a graphics designer, she lent me many of these programs.

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## Evoloth

Hmmm, for:
3d: Anim8or (Free) Blender(Free) and I'm working on getting 3ds MAX or Cinema 4d...or Maya as I've seen many good things about all.
2d: MS Paint and also trying to learn some Photoshop CS3.

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## Aphius

For 2D stuff I use Photoshop CS pretty much exclusively, for the 3D stuff I do a lot of low-poly modelling for fun so I use 3D GameStudio for that, 
I've been learning 3D Studio Max and Maya for higher poly stuff and for animation purposes (Trying to decide which I like more, so far Maya wins with it's sexy interface)
I have used Milkshape in the past, but it was mainly for the huge list of import and export formats.  :tongue2:

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## brightinfinity

all i use is flash for drawing and animation. i think it's 8 but i can't check because it isn't working right now >.<

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## 12g951ad

If you are a beginner at 3d modelling then deffineatly blender becouse it is the simplest off them all. And it's free besides blender has hundreds tutorials
And I personnally use and recommend blender

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## ninja9578

> If you are a beginner at 3d modelling then deffineatly blender becouse it is the simplest off them all. And it's free besides blender has hundreds tutorials
> And I personnally use and recommend blender



 ::shock::   Actually, Blender has the biggest learning curve of any 3D software.  People use it because it's powerful and easy (once you get to know it) and free.

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## 12g951ad

depends

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## Dairyman

I use Blender 3D. Although I wasn't able to pick it up for about 5 months, I FINALLY got it, and was even thinking of using it to recreate my dreams.

My face was like this when I saw the interface for the first time >  :Eek: 

*Disclaimer:* The author of this comment shall take no responsibility what-so-ever for any damage to your computer because the dang thing is so hard to learn for the first time!!

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## 12g951ad

yeah hey keep at it and on day you can recreate your dreams.

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## Niddiboy

i use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and In Design (all CS4) for 2D

and since i rarely use 3D i tend to use the 3D tools available in the new CS4 editions of photoshop and illustrator

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## Stephen304

I use photoline 32, it says 30 day trial, but you can still use it after.

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## Nihao

I use similar stuff: 
3DMax / VRay
Photoshop CS2 
ArtRage 2  - v.good for imitating real art tools - crayons, brushes etc.
Poser 7 - for human modelling 
see my latest 3D model - to be taken to 3DMax for further renderings:
ATTENTION - contains nudity
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1451/angel39.jpg
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/3685/angel40.jpg

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## Stephen304

> ATTENTION - contains nudity
> http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1451/angel39.jpg
> http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/3685/angel40.jpg



Wow, those are pretty good.
lol, my email didn't show your warning there. But still pretty good, it would be nice if all video games were at that quality.

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## ProLuko

> ...it would be nice if all video games were at that quality.



Try Crisis // FarCry 2 perhaps!

I use:
Adobe Flash & Photoshop CS4 for 2D
As well as an WaCom tablet for drawing in these programs which I thoroughly enjoy.

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## reci

FireWorks anybody?

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## Orphic

I use Photoshop CS3, but I have no use for 3D programs, so I can't recommend any. I tried 3D Studio Max when I was still in game design, but it is a right pain in the backside to learn and understand. It was for me anyway.

There doesn't seem to be any huge differences between CS2 and CS3, or even CS4. The biggest change I noticed in CS4 is opening new files as tabs rather than separate windows.

I also use:

Illustrator for vector graphics/illustration
InDesign for multi-page documents (easier than Quark)
Dreamweaver for web design
Flash for web design and animation

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## musicaljelly

For me, I've been using Blender for about three years, doing a mix of stills, animations, and game design. I've never tried any commercial 3d software, mostly because I'm still 16 and can't exactly afford it. And I'm too lazy to download the trial versions. Blender has worked perfectly for me so far, being a hobbyist.

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## PuppyCat

You could use Dream Weaver for some awesome 3d graphics.

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## musicaljelly

> You could use Dream Weaver for some awesome 3d graphics.



Isn't Dreamweaver for web design?

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## PuppyCat

I don't think so...

Oh yeah. It is.

I'm thinking of something else.....

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## Oneironaut Zero

Still using Blender and Photoshop, but I just got Poser 7, two days ago. Got some learning to do...

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## slayer

I'm still trying to get used to Milkshape 3D...I'm having lots of issues connecting the arms to the body...

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## Nihao

> Still using Blender and Photoshop, but I just got Poser 7, two days ago. Got some learning to do...



I recommend nice Tutorial for modelling faces. 



```
http://www.board4all.cz/showthread.php?t=137125
```

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## Oneironaut Zero

> I recommend nice Tutorial for modelling faces. 
> 
> 
> 
> ```
> http://www.board4all.cz/showthread.php?t=137125
> ```



I gotta register to see it?  ::?:

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## Nihao

> I gotta register to see it?



Sorry I didn't realize it...
Here is another link for the same tut. 
http://www.alizea3d.fr/posertutorials.html
Not to boast much I have made it. They are some details that need to be revised as after some time and serious work on AJ character my approach has changed slightly. Any questions you can send PM me.

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## guitarboy

PhotoShop CS4
GIMP
Flash CS4

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## Oneironaut Zero

> Sorry I didn't realize it...
> Here is another link for the same tut. 
> http://www.alizea3d.fr/posertutorials.html
> Not to boast much I have made it. They are some details that need to be revised as after some time and serious work on AJ character my approach has changed slightly. Any questions you can send PM me.



Thanks! Much appreciated.  :vicious:

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