Good software for animating?

Hello folks, I've decided to skip on the crowd funding idea. Instead I want to give it a shot with what I already have (canon t3i, tripod, shengu shot gun mic, greenscreen (had it for 8 years, tried it today for the first time since I bought it, amazing difference vs the original hi8 camera that I tried it on 8 years ago). It's been a long time since I've animated anything in blender, and I really don't want to go back and work with it. I've always liked the models at sci fi 3D, I can see that most of them are either in LightWave of 3DS Max format.

What software would you recommend, and why, for creating animated shots with these models?

Thank you.

 

Well, if I may, I would like to start by redefining the question. From what I understand, you are not just going to need a 3D animation software package. You are going to need something that can animate CG elements, 2D and 3D track live action footage, render, and composite everything together. You need a whole VFX pipeline. With that in mind, Blender (surprise) is the best you are going to get on a $0 budget. Blender is now capable of being a complete VFX pipeline, and the Blender Foundation made a short film to showcase all of the new features. If you haven't already seen Tears of Steel, check it out.

If you are set against using Blender, you are going to have to spend some money. Provided you already have After Effects, I would recommend the Element3D plugin by Video Copilot. Just the plugin will run you about $150; more if you want any of the extra shaders, textures, and environment maps.

After that, the is the Autodesk collection of software, but that is probably way out of your price range...

 

I already have After Effects CS6, however I'm unfamiliar with the Element3D plugin. Can it be used to work with the 3D models on sci fi 3d? Not just animating ships, but also rigged models such as stormstroopers, AT AT's etc?

I think I may have a copy of an older version of 3DS Max somewhere around my house that I never used. I don't know if the 3D models on sci fi 3D will work with it. Would 3DS max be a good program to animate in?

As for the blender solution, it does seem pretty good. However, back when I used blender, sci fi 3d models rarely imported correctly to blender, and none of the rigged characters imported rigged or properly, making it a nightmare to work with them. Has this changed at all?

 

I think in general it is safe to say that there are always going to be some hiccups when downloading and converting models from other artists. If you already have 3ds Max and Blender, you should be able to import and convert 90% of the files on scifi3d. There will always be some tweaking and debugging to be done to get the model that you want to work in the program that you want. The only way around this is to make the models yourself, but that kind of defeats the purpose of downloading pre-made models.

It sounds like you have several options available to you without having to purchase any new software. You should try importing some models into the programs that you have, and play around with them. Do some simple test animations. Make a little test composite of an AT-ST walking across you lawn. Experiment. Making a fan film with a lot of VFX shots is a daunting challenge, and you are not going to be able to just jump in and come out with a polished finished product if you don't practice first. I developed my own process for rotoscoping and compositing lightsaber FX in Blender, and I can't tell you how many little videos of me waving a orange stick around I made to make sure that it would work.

 

That's exactly what I want to start doing right now, simple test animations and come up with a comprehensive list of all the different types of shots that can be produced with good quality and in a relatively short time. My idea is to be able to produce a fan film in a few months, compared to the few years that some behemoth projects take. I run a small video production business, so I intend to use these new skills to employ in my services. Ideally, 1-3 shots could be finished a day (main goal here), and have a fan film with a max of 150-200 shots that require that kind of editing.