3d modeling program

[goldsaberwarrior]

Hey what's up guys, it's been awhile since I've been on here. The last time I was on here the EJ was on the fritz from a wire coming loose. Anyways I'll get to my point now. I was poking through the desk drawers in my computer room and stumbled onto some old plans I had made for some double bladed lightsabers a couple years ago. Now that I have some cash I've decided to build them. I've been out of touch with the saber building world for awhile and was wondering if someone could recommend a good 3d modeling program to put them into before I build them? I apologize if this has been posted some place else and I didn't see it. I'm asking if anyone knows of a good program as my info is about 3 years out of date and the last time I tried to use one it was on an old barely functioning computer. Any and all help would be appreciated guys. Thanks.

[Rafalema]

What I and few others use is the 3Ds Max 2010/2011.

There's a trial of it available for free on Autodesk.com.

[Shadar Al'Niende]

I use 3ds max as well, full version is a bit pricey... Blender is another option and *sudders* sketchup.... *shudders again for good measure* :lol:

[Tom Starkiller]

Blender is good (When you get used to it.) and free.

[Matt Thorn]

I think Blender is good...if you're an expert who already knows how to navigate its bizarre, counter-intuitive interface. :shock:

I use Cheetah 3D (for the Mac OS), which is pretty easy to learn, and has an extremely reasonable price.

I love Sketchup (the whole push and pull thing is so elegant and easy), but unfortunately it's not a true "solid" CAD program, so you can't make watertight models with it. Still, if you just want to visualize your builds, you can't beat the learning curve and price (free) of Sketchup.

[Silver Serpent]

I need to play around with sketchup or blender more. I'm trying to use one or the other to create models of shrouds. It's gonna take a bit to get used to the software.

Right now, I'm drawing with inkscape, printing, cutting out the paper, and wrapping it in a tube. It works, but I'd rather be able to do all the modeling on the computer.

[Equality 7-2521]

Rhino3D is what I moved to a few years back. The UI is intuitive, and If you ever get into any CNC endeavors, there's good integration support. The educational version is very affordable if you qualify.

http://www.rhino3d.com/eduproducts.htm

[Tarragon Rill]

3DSmax for me, and a bit of lightwave. and assorted others. I have dabbled with many and usualy always come back to 3DS or lightwave. and if i am not mistaken, you can get both 3ds and lightwave for free if you go to thier web pages and select the older versions for download.

[Zero Unit]

For your purposes, Google Sketchup would suffice. Using a fully-fledged modelling program like Max, Maya, XSI, or Blender would be complete overkill unless you intend to use them for cinematic or video-game content creation as well. Having used all of the ones I mentioned except Blender, I can tell you that you don't want to put yourself through the hell of learning the big ones for only just fleshing out saber ideas.

[Matt Thorn]

For your purposes, Google Sketchup would suffice. Using a fully-fledged modelling program like Max, Maya, XSI, or Blender would be complete overkill unless you intend to use them for cinematic or video-game content creation as well. Having used all of the ones I mentioned except Blender, I can tell you that you don't want to put yourself through the hell of learning the big ones for only just fleshing out saber ideas.
I agree. I tried Blender, and literally laughed out loud at the insane user interface. It's the quintessential open-source application designed by and for experts, with zero consideration for user-friendliness. Sketchup, on the other hand, is extremely intuitive and simple to use. It's also a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it.