How easily accessible are CG effects?

I'm curious to find this out, because about 80% of the fan films on this site have CG. So, I'm wondering if they're easy to do/get access to, or if there are just a lot of devoted fans willing to dish out that much money.

 

What do you mean? We make the effects ourselves. If you're asking about programs, most of them are thousands of dollars but they offer student discounts. I got Lightwave 3d 7.5 for $400 dollars due to student discount. Also, there is a free 3d program called Blender which a few people on here use. If you don't have the patience to learn 3d yourself and need help, then it's suggested you complete your fanfilm first, then ask for CG help. 3d artists don't want to do work on a fanfilm unless they are sure it will be finished so the best way to prove that is to actually film most of it before asking for help.

Edit: The most used programs are Lightwave, 3ds Max, Maya, Bryce, and Blender. Bryce is the most affordable pay program and Blender is free. Most of them have demos so you can download them and try it out before you decide to buy.

Edit 2: And then there's Electric Image which is affordable and has lots of tutorials available for it. Duality used Electric Image.

 

How good is blender?

 

I am going to brag here, because I use Blender.

Go to Blenderwars.com and go to the Gallery section. I have a couple of animations I did in Blender. (in Jedi Cougar's Gallery) Check out all the other Gallery's too though. That is just a small group of people interested in Blender and Starwars(most of them starting out I think with the exception of a few)

There are some other things there to show you what you can do.

I don't model yet so I am at a huge disadvantage, but I learned how to use the program well enough to use available models to make some basic CG. I still have a host of things to learn.

Blender is a lesser known resource that is a good starting point for CG/3D beginners looking to see if they want to pursue 3D/CG enough to spend real money and time on it. Blender just takes time, no money. It was originally created for Linux I believe and perhaps looks a little ghetto, but the results most certainly do not have to be.

Thats all. Check it out. (Terragen too! )

 

Blender is somewhat difficult to learn, but then again, most 3D software is. I find its interface extremely intuitive, and anything else I've tried (3DSMax, LW) has proven extremely clunky by comparison. Because it doesn't have as many native functions as its better developed pay peers, a bit of creative thinking may be required to achieve certain effects, but if you're willing to put in the time to learn it and learn it well, it will give you effects every bit as good as anything else at no cost, and you can't beat that. And yes, BlenderWars would definitely be a valuable resource for you.

-Paul

 

A very easy to use 3d modeling and animation program is available for download at www.anim8or.com This is the easiest to use 3d modeler I've ever used. The learning curve isn't very steep and you can export models to .3ds, .lwo, and .obj formats or make your animation right in anim8or. Everyone should check this one out. It's all I use for my CG. And the best part is it's all free!

 

Maya has a free personal learning addition.

The one thing I like about Lightwave and Max is that they are industry standards, and there are a lot of good books (and some bad ones) to help you learn the program. I remember when I first started to learn LW. I was extremely intimidated, and I had done 3D with Imagine for years. The books provided good tutors as I'm in the military and there are no good schools near me that teach these programs.

Good luck, but remember, CGI is hard and you have to be willing to dig in to learn it.