Blender from Top 10 Free Alternatives to Expensive Software
Comments
How are you liking the editor in Blender? A few weeks ago I asked around for some free video editors and was recommended KdenLive, OpenShot and Blender.
KdenLive only just recently launched their version for Windows. So far, I really like it but it still needs work for the Windows environment. Also, a lot of the community created plugins and rendering profiles are unavailable :(
I only just installed OpenShot earlier this week and haven’t really had a chance to play with it much. From what I’m seeing so far... I’m not loving it. I’m still at first impressions stage, so I’ll get a better idea in the coming weeks.
Blender and, now, DaVinci Resolve are on my list. Your thoughts so far?
1
Blender has buckets of utility. A learning curve like a 20 mile tall 89% grade sheet of teflon, but once you dig just a bit it is without a doubt one of the best 3-d programs out there and is easily on a par with Maya for modeling and Zbrush for sculpting. (Although nothing beats sculptris which got gobbled up by Pixologic and then promptly turfed)
Again, the learning curve is something awful, though. But I like the modeling environment better than Maya and recent versions have really upped the ante on utility. They’re going through a redesign now to make it more modern. Combine it with some other tools like Substance Painter/designer and a professional renderer (or import your objects into UE4/Unity/Lumberyard) you can get some really good results without having to pay the obscene corporate prices of Autodesk or blind your bank account for a copy of Z-brush.
There are paid addons too that offer some amazing geometry utilities. Believe me, There’s a lot in Blender’s favor including the vast array of tools it contains. Its got that nightmare learning curve for a reason.
1
Yes. I generally don’t need all the features and functions of Adobe Photoshop or GIMP, but I need more than Paint. Paint.NET is just about right. Not too hard to learn, either. (For Linux, I use Pinta)
0
Absolutely. Paint.net is definitely my go-to for image editing and has been since it first released. It has the most necessary tools and they work well, is fully capable yet lightweight, and is dead simple to use with clear and non-intrusive instructions for each tool. I’ve tried and retried GIMP many times over the years but the UI is just flat out atrocious, or just plain counter-intuitive at best. Can’t get it to do what I want, ever.
0
+1 for Pinta on Linux. Just used it this morning to clean up some photos taken outdoors on a cloudy day (too dark).
Comments
How are you liking the editor in Blender? A few weeks ago I asked around for some free video editors and was recommended KdenLive, OpenShot and Blender. KdenLive only just recently launched their version for Windows. So far, I really like it but it still needs work for the Windows environment. Also, a lot of the community created plugins and rendering profiles are unavailable :( I only just installed OpenShot earlier this week and haven’t really had a chance to play with it much. From what I’m seeing so far... I’m not loving it. I’m still at first impressions stage, so I’ll get a better idea in the coming weeks. Blender and, now, DaVinci Resolve are on my list. Your thoughts so far?
Blender has buckets of utility. A learning curve like a 20 mile tall 89% grade sheet of teflon, but once you dig just a bit it is without a doubt one of the best 3-d programs out there and is easily on a par with Maya for modeling and Zbrush for sculpting. (Although nothing beats sculptris which got gobbled up by Pixologic and then promptly turfed) Again, the learning curve is something awful, though. But I like the modeling environment better than Maya and recent versions have really upped the ante on utility. They’re going through a redesign now to make it more modern. Combine it with some other tools like Substance Painter/designer and a professional renderer (or import your objects into UE4/Unity/Lumberyard) you can get some really good results without having to pay the obscene corporate prices of Autodesk or blind your bank account for a copy of Z-brush. There are paid addons too that offer some amazing geometry utilities. Believe me, There’s a lot in Blender’s favor including the vast array of tools it contains. Its got that nightmare learning curve for a reason.
Yes. I generally don’t need all the features and functions of Adobe Photoshop or GIMP, but I need more than Paint. Paint.NET is just about right. Not too hard to learn, either. (For Linux, I use Pinta)
Absolutely. Paint.net is definitely my go-to for image editing and has been since it first released. It has the most necessary tools and they work well, is fully capable yet lightweight, and is dead simple to use with clear and non-intrusive instructions for each tool. I’ve tried and retried GIMP many times over the years but the UI is just flat out atrocious, or just plain counter-intuitive at best. Can’t get it to do what I want, ever.
+1 for Pinta on Linux. Just used it this morning to clean up some photos taken outdoors on a cloudy day (too dark).