We often wonder how scenes of films or television episodes are presented with such dexterity and perfection. These images are as close to reality that one could wish for—this is because the animation industry has moved ahead and come of age from producing screen-by-screen shot prints and has progressed towards producing real-life like characters. All this has been possible because of 3D Computer Animation Softwares. Though the 3D effect has made its presence felt since 1976, the quality work has been revolutionized recently through the advancements made in Computer Animation Softwares. There are number of 3D Computer Animation Softwares capable of performing multipurpose tasks. Here are some of the most popular 3D softwares and their main functionalities:

3D Studio Max

create by 3D Studio MaxThis software is also called 3DS Max—a software capable of creating apt controls of realistic lighting, dynamics and shading. It has also has scene management tools and texturing features. For these reasons, this software is the preferred choice for formatting gaming portals. At the same time, it is being used for many film productions as well. Some of the most popular games like Halo, Grand Theft Auto 3, Metal Gear Solid 2 and others have been animated with the help of this software.





Daz Bryce 5.0

valleyofclouds2bmThis software helps to create superb 3D landscapes and animations. It is used to create animation for multimedia, printing, web pages and videos. This software enables to create website animations and preview them frame-by-frame. The software is used to produce realistic images, figures and landscapes.







Autodesk Maya 8.5

autodesk maya 8.5This software is also called Maya 8.5 Unlimited. This software is an authoritative 3D animation software suite that runs on Linux-based, Windows and Macintosh systems. The software has industry-customized applications. Maya can create graphics and special effects for broadcast videos, feature films, web multimedia, print and design visualization. The software package has all the tools for modeling, rendering, morphing and animation that allows an animator create designs in an integrated workflow. There are other tools like Maya Hair, Maya Nucleus Unified and the Simulation Framework that gives an animator the chance to create astonishing digital characters and scenes.



LightWave 3D

Kerry_-_Dancer_LightwaveThis software is from NewTek and is gaining popularity because it is easy-to-learn and has an extremely easy-to-use interface. For these reasons, many animators prefer this software to other 3D computer animation softwares. The strength of this software lies in its capability to make polygonal modeling of images or figures. This software is widely used in film animation. Newer versions of this software can be used by basic PC users to create beautiful, high-resolution 3D images for games, movies or define personal images. This software is globally regarded as one of the easiest 3D softwares and the detailed tutorials by its creators has ensured greater popularity of LightWave among students and amateur animators.