Vikki Olds
November 2005
Curvy3D is a wonderful 3D modeling program that is different than most of the rest. The interface is intuitive and very easy to use. The drawing is quick and most of the tools you need to work with are open in the interface. More Panels can be viewed in the interface from the view menu.
In Curvy3D you use 3 main 3D drawing tools, lathe, line and loft which makes it really easy to create great 3D models quickly. You can also paint right on your models in real time and create Curvy Maps and bump maps that are applied in real time as you paint.
You can export your models to 3ds format. You can group objects and work on layers.
You have options for how you want your models rendered as you work on them.
The three screenshots below show some of the different tools you have to work with in creating, modifying and painting your objects.
You can work in one perspective or four. Zooming and moving around is very easy and intuitive. Everything you need is right in every quadrant of the workspace.
Below is a simple set of three objects; a lathe, loft and line. The deformation that you see is from painting directly on a curvy map and as I painted I was able to watch the deformation in real time. You can paint all the maps while working on your object and watch the changes as they happen. I really like that feature instead of having to map things in a separate program it all happens right here.
Below is a screenshot of the options used for the above objects. You can increase/decrease the resolution of your model by using a slider and you can smooth objects with the slider by the curvy map. Set the size of your paint brush and its opacity for more precise work.
Below is the curvy map for the lathe object that you see the deformation in. Painting in white raises areas on the object and painting in black indents the object. Using a combination of shades from white to black gives a smooth uniform surface.
All in all I like Curvy3D. It's very easy to use and to learn. Before I forget I'd like to mention using a tablet with Curvy3D. I have a Wacom tablet and I was very impressed with how Curvy3D responds to drawing with a tablet. Curvy3D is a great entry level product as well as for advanced users for creating intricate 3D models without a large learning curve and the overhead that is associated with some of the larger modeling applications. First to get on overview of Curvy3D you should check out The Best 3D. Then check out the Curvy3D Gallery and they Curvy3D forum. The forum has tutorials that show you some things that can be done with Curvy3D. Check it out today! There is an interactive demo located here and see for yourself how easy and fun it is to use.
Pricing: $84.95
Company Website or URL: (http://www.curvy3d.com/ )
Requirements:
Windows
Copyright (c) 2005, Vikki Olds, All Rights Reserved