Description: Looxis Faceworx is a free 3D modeling program that can construct a textured 3D model of a person’s head out of two 2D photos (one from the front, "mugshot" style, and the other profile style from the side).

With this program you can create a modeled 3D head and then export it as an .OBJ file for use in other 3D modeling software such as Sketchup or Blender. As a starting point you will need two well light photographs of the subject whose head you want to model, and, once imported into Looxis Faceworx, the process will require a degree of manual intervention on your part to best map your subject’s phase/features onto the 3D model. Here are more notes on this program:

• The learning curve: is very shallow. Just go to help then video tutorial and you will know everything that you need to know within 5 minutes. The program is very easy to use and come to grips with.
• How it works: once you have the images, you will have to manipulate a line/point structure manually in order to best fit it around the face in the photographs.What you need to know here is that there are different levels of detail that you can work with: you can tell the program to give you more points or less points to manipulate.
• More tips: make it simple by deactivating the line/points structures that you are not working with instead of having them be displayed on screens. Zoom into the images when working with them for best accuracy (with the mouse wheel). Start with as little points as possible then make it more detailed afterwards; the better you "fit" these points around the head, the better the result will be. Deactivate the "blend zone" to begin with and deal with it at the very end.
• The user interface: is very straightforward. Three different windows display your subject’s frontal image, profile image, and 3D model of the head. What is nice about this program is that since it only does one thing - maps images to a 3D head - there is a limited set of tools that you need to use and come to grips with.
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Description: Kerkythea is a free multiplatform standalone rendering software that can be used to create photorealistic image renderings using physically accurate materials and lighting when integrated with Blender, SketchUp, Wings3D, 3ds Max, Silo and any program that exports files in OBJ and 3DS formats.

A few months ago I reviewed SketchUp from Google, a great, easy to learn, yet powerful modeling program, and although Kerkythea can be used with most 3D modeling programs for the purposes of this interview I will write about using it with SketchUp.

SketchUp allows you to you make great models in nice graphic formats, but it stops short when it comes to photo-realistically rendered finished images: you cannot show reflections or shiny surfaces using SketchUp only, or, say, highlight an area with a spot-light to create a theatrical feeling. The good news is that now on you can, with the powerful and free Kerkythea Rendering System that adds all that is missing from SketchUp. Here are more notes on Kerkythea:

• How it works: install into your SketchUp plugin folder. It will add new functions (e.g. many lights which you can use in the SketchUp components) that will become active once you export the model to Kerkythea. You can also open the files you have created with SketchUp straight into Kerkythea (the files will employ an XML internal format).
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 2.2.0

Description: View3Dscene can open and view VRML 1.0, VRML 2.0 (aka VRML 97), 3DS, OBJ (Wavefront) and MD3 scenesfiles created with 3D modeling programs without the need for having a 3D modeling program installed on your machine. This free program offers a number of features including flexible navigation/viewing of objects, playing animations, raytracing, collision detection, as well as a command line operations.

View3Dscene provides a number of interesting navigation/viewing options. It is particularly useful if you want to view a 3D file that you downloaded or somebody sent you without installing a full-fledged 3D modeling program such as Blender, Sketchup, or 3D Wings. Here are some notes on what this program has to offer:

• Navigation: the ability to move in and around the object using a variety of mouse and keyboard controls.
• Viewing options: a rich variety here: the ability to change colors, including the color of the object and the background; also gives you the ability to switch a number of options on or off, including vector (vs. solid), smooth shading, fog, blending, texture, point size, etc.
• Raytracing: if your file includes at least one source of light, you can perform raytracing on the object from View3Dscene (and I must say it seemed rather efficient at this in terms of performance).
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Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 2.44

[Note: this review was written by my friend Ala Diab from Amman, Jordran. Ala is primarily a musician but also does website design and has an avid interest in 3D graphics. He has performed his brand of computer-driven electronic music (and contemporary experimental Arabic/electronic music) in multiple venues across the Middle East and Europe.]

Description: Blender is an all-in-one 3d modeling, animation and special effects package, sporting a plethora of features comparable to packages roughly 3,000 times more expensive. It has a growing fan base estimated around 800,000 users (from download statistics). It has been used in the first full-feature 10 min 3d film made with free software featured here on Freewaregenius (Elephant’s Dream). Also, it has been used internally amongst the team working on Spiderman 2 as a pre-vis and cinematography aid tool. Not bad for a software package that is free!

Ok, here’s the thing: I kinda promised to review this for Samer (a.k.a the Freewaregenius) two scores and a fortnight ago (in any case a long time ago). I justified the delay as wanting to delve into the thing in order to "unearth the treasure trove of features". Sometimes I entertain self-aggrandizing visions of being a 3d pro user, but having since realized my illusions, I decided to cover only my humble journey and leave the readers to check out the resources listed below for further investigation.

First Things First: Blender is tiny. I downloaded the 8MB file and installed it. It’s also recommended to download and install the latest version of Python - the programming engine that blender runs on - to make use of some of the advanced plug-ins and built-in functions.

Breaking the ice: What I first noticed starting Blender was the interface. Coming from an engineering-style layout programs (four view ports corresponding to top, side, front, 3d) it was jarring, trying to find my way around the application. Three days and a couple of tutorials away, I learned that blender purports the UI philosophy of non-collapsing windows and vast customizability. Non of the panels are fixed or hard-wired into the interface. Almost everything can be combined with everything else according to functions and personal preferences. It’s also really fun once you get the hang of it.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 0.98.32a

[Note: this review was written by my friend Ala Diab from Amman, Jodran. Ala is primarily a musician but also does website design and has an avid interest in 3D graphics. He has performed his brand of computer-driven electronic music (and contemporary experimental Arabic/electronic music) in multiple venues across the Middle East and Europe.]

Description: Wings3d is a subdivision-modeling program that specializes in box/organic modeling. What it lacks in features it compensates for in simple, readily-accessible tool set for shaping and fine-tuning a model.

I have a confession to make: I’m a 3d graphics junkie. I’ve always wanted to get into 3d modeling even on a very basic level. To be able to visualize ideas in a clear, straightforward fashion. Lacking the attention span and the deep pocket to learn, I was on a quest to find a tool that was relatively simple, intuitive, low-cost and light on computer resources.

In my search I avoided trying demos of feature-rich, three-digit priced monoliths like Maya and Max, I googled with keywords like: free, 3d, model …etc. Until my search lead me to a little gem, Wings3d.

You start with a 3d, single-view window devoid of anything but a couple of icons at the top bar to decide which part of your model you want to manipulate: vertex, edge, face and body. Each of those levels has its own ’contextual’ menu of parameters to change that’s accessible by clicking on the right-mouse-button. To begin, you right click anywhere on the screen to reveal a set of ’primitive’ 3d objects. Your choice depends on your final product but for most applications a cube should be a good starting point. After that, you use a set of modifiers to change the shape of the box: copying, scaling, extruding, beveling to name just a few.
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Rating: 5 pick

Version tested:  5.0.305

[Note: this review was written by my friend Khader Humeid of Metaform Studios in New York; see his website at http://www.metaformstudio.com - The Freewaregenius]

Description: SketchUp is a powerful and yet easy to use 3D modeling software. It allows any user to build an accurate model of any idea whatsoever, from dog house to dream house. The program is so intuitive it sometimes feels too good to be true.

I discovered this software 2 years ago and it’s been getting better and better with every new version. As an architect and designer, I can’t imagine living without it.  The nice thing about the software is its simplicity and speed. A great feature is that any user can watch the free video tutorials. I found them to be the best learning tutorials I ever used. They allow you to master this program in 2-3 weekends. Read more »