CompuServe Messages

AndY; I've got both Animator Pro and 3DS and I can't imagine doing animation without both. Animator Pro is a good 2D animation program – think of it as a supercharged version of a paint program with animation features. It does very nice 2D and fake 3D animations and is great for creating both still and animated texture maps for use in 3DS. (using a texture map is kinda like pasting a poster on your wall, or projecting a slide onto something) 3DS is a true 3D animation program. It allows you to build a real 3D model of an object and then view it from any angle. For complex models it is definitely the way to go. the flick files generated by Animator Pro are designed for real-time recording – you start your recorder and play the flick into it using a VGA to Video converter card or box. THe best tape animation done with 3DS requires an editing VCR and animation controller. Neither are cheap – the VCR runs from about $5000 to over $25000 (I saw one for $120000) and the controller from about $2000. You get the best possible results this way. The best endorsement for these products that I can give is that, after using them at work, I bought copies for myself at home! 3DS is the **ONLY** program that I've seen so far that I've been willing to part with $2995 to get! Chris