#More 3ds stuff
11 messages in this thread
Alec's reply pretty much says it. However, these are two _very_
different packages. I've seen a number of beta sites start out with
Composer thinking along the lines of Photoshop (Photostyler). They're
confused at first because it's such a different animal. Once they
"get it," they're off and running. Basically, imagine working in an
environment consisting of _many_ floating images, rather than
processing parts of a single image. That's a "composition" and it
might look like a single picture, but everything in it can be a
separate image. For example, you might have airbrushed highlights and
shadows on a bottle, along with some text and a label. The bottle,
its highlights and shadows, the text and the label are all separate
image/objects. The bottle might be semi-transparent against another
image for the background. Each of the images has its own "home"
position, so you can move it, and restore its position. You can apply
any of the usual set of image processing tools (sharpen, soften,
transformations, coloring, transparency, etc.) to any image/object at
any time.
And so it goes… Does that give you some idea of the power behind Composer?
– Jack
Jack,
Composer sounds like the environment I'm looking for. Thanks for the
explanation.
Bob
You're welcome. Hope you enjoy it as much as I am.
– J
You can also get the same "floating" features of Composer and more in Fractal
Design Painter 2.0 with the X2 extension. Moreover, the bundle is cheaper than
Composer and the working methods are beyond any other painting/retouching
program I know. The painting simulation capabilities and the unique support for
pressure sensitive stylus are far ahead any of its competitors. In fact, I
think that there is no other program for the Windows enviroment as solid and
advanced than Painter 2.0 plus the extensions. This program is really OUT of
this WORLD.
One more thing, the X3 extension will add to the program 3D Painting
capabilities, giving you the ability to paint over real 3d surfaces. It will
also be the last part (I hope) to any 2d animation interested artist, adding
all the features of a professional classic 2d animation studio to the program.
The 3ds/Painter combo will be unbeatable (unless Autodesk jumps with an
equivalent version of Animator Pro).
In my opinion, Painter is an artwork itself 🙂
ana /krazy images
I agree, Fractal is the most incredible paint and image package ever created.
I've only seen a bit of Altamira Composer, but I don't think it is as
sophisticated an image creation tool as Fractal. X3 sounds like incredible.
Any idea when it'll be ready?
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
According to Mark, they are working hard to get it as soon as possible. They
have so many new features and ideas to add, that I think they should split it
between X3 and X4 🙂
ana /krazy images
Can't wait till X3 comes out. Will there be a special upgrade price, or will
X2 owners have to pay full price?
jt
Ana,
Thanks for you insight on Painter + X2. Do you know if X3 is shipping or when
it will ship?
Bob
No date yet. But according to Mr.Zimmer, it could be soon. I just hope that
they could put all the new features and ideas in X3 🙂 They even are playing
with the idea of a Sketcher (the $99 greyscale version of painter -charcoal,
pencil, etc…) running on a Newton-based machine (not the Message Pad). Mark
says that all people in the team use one, and that if the Apple people add
pressure sensitiviness and grayscale to future Newton models, it could be a
good sketching tool. This guys are crazy about the defininitive natural paint
sim 🙂
ana /krazy images
Ana, have you used Composer?
– J
As a matter of fact, we have been using it for one and a half week now (for an
article) Sincerely, it is a great program, but having the Painter professional
extensions plus Photoshop and Photostyler 2.0, it doesn't have any sense for
us. To be honest, Painter is becoming, day by day, our primary bitmap tool.
Have you used Painter? This program has neverending posibilities. Each day is
learning a new thing… like with Lumena in the pre-windows days. And you can
start to produce great works since the first day of use (even if you are not an
skilled artist) Without a doubt, a master piece.
ana /krazy images