Free Software that Makes Life Easier

Headwax

The old forum used to have a similar thread - really handy stuff.
It would be good to start a new thread here

Here's an oldie but a goody
P3dO explorer

http://www.senosoft.com/index.php

great for viewing image files but can also help you organise poser runtime and add thumbnails to car files...
so I am told

Headwax

never one not to flog a dead horse - and oldie buit goodie too
http://www.dualheights.se/caustics

caustics generator to use as gels on your lights

Roygee

Heck, most of what I have is free - I'll submit a list of my HD - start with Hexagon, Bryce, DS. Lol

Headwax

Roygee said:

Heck, most of what I have is free - I'll submit a list of my HD - start with Hexagon, Bryce, DS. Lol

:)

you posted some good links on that last thread towards the end actually,

following link is for me Nasa models low calorie http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/3d_resources/models.html

Roygee

Well, maybe someone starting out on a small budget can benefit. First there are the essentials that every free-bie junkie should have; Gimp, Sculptris, Poser Debut (is it still free?), Blender, - these are easily found by Googling.

Then there are a bunch of single-use specialist apps that I occasionally use, keep handy and only install as required - some don't need installing

Inkscape for vector drawing http://inkscape.org/
Uniconverter for converting Inkscape SVG to AIhttp://sourceforge.net/projects/uniconvertor/
Audacity for sound editing http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Wax for compositing video http://www.debugmode.com/wax/
VirtualDub for compiling sequential stills renders into video http://www.winportal.com/virtualdub?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=ZA-EN_JaviGoogle_VirtualDub
hme height map editor for designing custom terrains http://www.google.co.za/url?sa=f&rct=j&url=http://hme.sourceforge.net/&q=hme+height+map+editor&ei=pGo3UJuxL4qWhQfz8oD4Dg&usg=AFQjCNE5u_M4-m8y6v1gQ7fOrMRZaa3aTw
Picturenaught for making HDR http://www.winportal.com/picturenaut?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=ZA-EN_JaviGoogle_Picturenaut
Mapzone for generating procedural and normal maps http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/
NGPlant for generating custom plants http://ngplant.sourceforge.net/
Meshlab for great decimation and other mesh fixing operations that totally defy my understanding http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/

That should be enough to be getting on with :-)

Cheers mate

Jetbird D2

Hello!

In the free to use tools set people should also add giants:

Editshare Lightworks ( www.lwks.com)

And most widely used color grading software

DaVinci Resolve Lite (www.blackmagicdesign.com)

Those are extremely powerful tools used in pro league and now is accessible to everyone in Lite versions while Lightworks pro version is a true bargain.

3dcal

[url=http://www.mindgems.com/products/Folder-Size/Folder-Size.html]Folder Size .....easy to use, great visuals, very helpful. ;)

fixmypcmike

megacal said:

[url=http://www.mindgems.com/products/Folder-Size/Folder-Size.html]Folder Size .....easy to use, great visuals, very helpful. ;)

I loved FolderSize, pity it doesn't work in Win7.

3dcal

pity it doesn’t work in Win7.

Don't believe it......works fine. Took about 15min to go through 530gb. ;)

Screenshot

fixmypcmike

megacal said:

pity it doesn’t work in Win7.

Don't believe it......works fine. Took about 15min to go through 530gb. ;)

Screenshot

Ah, different FolderSize. The one I meant integrates with Explorer and lets you replace the Size column with Folder Size.

3dcal

Ah-ha. :)

No, didn't know about that one.

Headwax

hey everyone :)

thanks for all the goodstuff :)

you know - most of the stuff I buy I never use - most of the free stuff I get I use a lot - go figure eh? :)
I'm really looking forward to sorting through this stuff

Roygee - you posted a link sometime ago for software that let you embed a road displacement on a terrain mesh - you recall what it was by chance - was k ind of handy

EDIt: Jetbird that Lightworks looks a charm http://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=182

Sockratease

And don't forget about good old http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ !

Free licensed software daily. Got some real gems there.

Gotta check every day! It's mostly useless garbage - but they do graphics software periodically. Worth the time to look daily.

3dcal

Topmod.........may not make life easier, but sure is interesting!

On my "to do" list. ;)

Chohole

Do you count the free version of UVMapper http://www.uvmapper.com/

and

UV Viewer http://d3d.sesseler.de/index.php?software=other&product=uv_viewer

As software ?

Roygee

Ah yes, how could I forget that one :red:

http://www.shapemagic.com/roadmaker/

Milo

WinDirStat Similar to Folder listed above and I have used it for years - http://windirstat.info/
VisiPics - Finds Duplicates (beyond Just duplicates, similar pictures even duplicates of different sizes and formats) and other functions - http://www.visipics.info/index.php?title=Main_Page
Feed Reader - RSS reader. I started using Carrara Cafe and since it supports RSS I use that to see if there are any new posts. http://www.feedreader.com/

I use Total Commander (which isn't free, its like the old norton commander but on Steroids) I don't know if anyone has seen a 'good' replacement that I can recommend to people. Again this isn't free but in case someone has a recommended alternative the link is here http://www.ghisler.com/

3dcal

WinDirStat looks interesting......very colorful, almost 3D....more info at a glance.

Thanks, will check it out. ;)

Headwax

Roygee said:

Ah yes, how could I forget that one :red:

http://www.shapemagic.com/roadmaker/

thanks Roy gee!

here's some 3d knot makers

http://www.stevenabbott.co.uk/Knots/knottyer3d.html

cdordoni

Utility:
BBFlashBack Express http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/ screen capture, great for demos
Stickies http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/index.html sticky notes for Windows desktop, stop writing stuff on scap paper

DEM utilities for 3d terrains:
Micodem http://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/microdem/microdem.htm
VTBuilder http://vterrain.org/Doc/VTBuilder/overview.html
3DEM http://freegeographytools.com/2009/3dem-website-is-gone-but-3dem-still-available-here
Wilbur http://www.ridgenet.net/~jslayton/wilbur.html

Roygee

Wilbur used in conjunction with the free version of Terragen 2 http://www.planetside.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=170
is fantastic for terrains

3dcal

cdordoni,

thanks for the DEMs apps links.........still trying to get a realistic Martian landscape.

Hope to find some Martians......before they find me! :ahhh:

Chohole

cdordoni I know this is a thread in the Carrara forum, but do any of those DEM apps also work with Bryce, do you know. Pretty please.

cdordoni

chohole said:

cdordoni I know this is a thread in the Carrara forum, but do any of those DEM apps also work with Bryce, do you know. Pretty please.

They should work with Bryce as well. I think to find out which formats work the best is a matter of trial and error, so be prepared to have some patience.

Chohole

Thanks for thei nformation.

Roygee

I don't believe DEM works directly in Bryce, certainly not in Carrara. Use Wilbur to convert DEM to height-map and it'll work in any 3d app that does height-maps.

Headwax

Freemind
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

this is great mind mapping software.
Great for writing, planning a big project or even linking to images.

You can use it to help eg study an art movement because each thread of the mapping software can linkto an image, a web page, a word doc etc,
So you could use it to eg map out links to a bunch of threads on posing, rendering

It's main advantage is that ideas are mapped out in an image format., as opposed to a linear, down the page approach.

cdordoni

head wax said:

Freemind
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

this is great mind mapping software.
Great for writing, planning a big project or even linking to images.

You can use it to help eg study an art movement because each thread of the mapping software can linkto an image, a web page, a word doc etc,
So you could use it to eg map out links to a bunch of threads on posing, rendering

It's main advantage is that ideas are mapped out in an image format., as opposed to a linear, down the page approach.

FreePlane (a Freemind derivative with additional features), http://freeplane.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Dia, a flowcharting tool https://live.gnome.org/Dia

cdordoni

Roygee said:

I don't believe DEM works directly in Bryce, certainly not in Carrara. Use Wilbur to convert DEM to height-map and it'll work in any 3d app that does height-maps.

Good point.

There are so many terrain or DEM formats its hard to keep them all straight, and remember which apps can use a specific format.

The 8-bit heightmap is supported in almost all 3d apps. To reduce the stairstep effect, 16-bit heightmaps are better, if the application can read and use the 16-bit data.

SickleYield

Probably everyone already has this, but just in case!

For content creation, cleaning up clumsily executed free files, batching mats out of one shader, or absolutely any other text editing function, Notepad++.

I can't count the number of times this has saved my bum when it came to fixing incorrect references in an entire tree of subfoldered files - for basic or advanced text editing this thing is incredible.

Milo

Another good Editor I have been using is http://www.editpadlite.com/ free for personal use