Every site must have links, and this one is no exception. However, rather than try to get eight million links that point to every 3D site in existence, I'm only including a small set of useful links. These links are useful to the beginner, as well as to the experienced artist.
I haven't been able to check these links lately, but all of the links, except for the last section, are to big sites, so there shouldn't be a problem. If any of the links don't work, please e-mail me.
| www.povray.org | The home page for the POV-Ray raytracer. This rendering engine is hands down the best for the money (It's free). The only drawback to this tool is that you need to "program" your scenes, unless you use a third party modeler. |
| www.rhino3d.com | The Rhino3D modeler home page. The best 3D modeler that I've tried. It's no longer in free beta, and the free beta versions have all expired. As soon as I get that job I'm searching for, this will be one of the first programs I buy. |
| www.jasc.com | The home page for Paint Shop Pro. 3D graphics isn't all just rendering and raytracing, you'll need to convert the resulting images to usable formats, and even do some touch up work. I use it, along with some other cheap paint packages. |
| Links to Free 3D models.
The following are the large collections, try these first if you need a model. |
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| www.3dsource.bc.ca | This page has many 3D models available free for download, all in 3D Studio format. Definitely a place to go if your just starting out, or if you need an object and don't have time to create it yourself. |
| avalon1.viewpoint.com | Another site with many free resources for 3D graphics. They have models in many formats (including POV-Ray), textures, program downloads, and more. |
| More links to Free 3D models.
The following are the smaller collections, check them out if the above sites don't have what you are looking for. |
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| www.amazing3d.com/free/free.html | Amazing 3D Graphics' Free 3D Models. About 43 miscellaneous models in 3ds or MAX format. |
| home.wxs.nl/~nab00004/ | Some free models of World War 2 vehicles. If you need to use them commercialy he requests that you ask permission. He also requests credit if used on a web page. |
| www.yushy.com/rowell/ | Various free 3D models in 3ds, MAX and DXF format. The 3ds models do not have previews. |
| www.geo-metricks.com/... | A few free models in LWO format. The most useful is the open book, though the castle looks pretty neat. |
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