Open Source 3D animation
VIRTUAL WORLDS
You need good software and plenty of CPU power to create virtual worlds. Luckily for today’s animators, powerful PCs are inexpensive, and some excellent animation tools are absolutely free.
Not so long ago, professional quality 3D animation required expensive workstations. The software they ran, for example Maya (Unlimited Version), cost more than US$ 15,000 early in 2002, and the software technology was hidden behind restrictive licenses. As hardware prices started to plummet, the software prices stayed too high for amateurs at first, and the tough licensing conditions looked like they were there to stay. For most people, 3D animation on home computers was just a distant dream. More recently, with the appearance of the first Open Source programs, this situation has changed dramatically, bringing affordable 3D graphics to the public, and opening up the underlying technologies to let developers produce a whole new collection of applications. The expression “7 degrees of freedom” was coined by the K3D project. It stands for the 6 degrees in 3D space and the additional freedom to distribute and modify source code. This article describes some of the best Open Source tools for 3D animation.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Armbian 23.05 is Now Available
Based on Debian 12, the latest version of the ARM/RISC-V distribution is now available to download and install.
-
Linux Mint Finally Receiving Support for Gestures
If you use the Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop, you'll be thrilled to know that 21.2 is getting support for gestures on touchscreen devices and touchpads.
-
An All-Snap Version of Ubuntu is In The Works
Along with the standard deb version of the open-source operating system, Canonical will release an-all snap version.
-
Mageia 9 Beta 2 Ready for Testing
The latest beta of the popular Mageia distribution now includes the latest kernel and plenty of updated applications.
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.