What's Inside?: Animation Software

3D Studio Max, Alice, Art of Illusion, Blender, Bryce, Maya, Poser, Lightwave, TrueSpace, SoftImage XSI, and Adobe Flash (2D) are just some of the most popular computer animation software available on the market. They are all capable of creating complex animations.

Which animation software should you choose? It entirely depends on you, your budget, and what kind of animation you want produced. Here are some tips to help you decide which software to choose:

3D Studio Max is one of the most widely-used off-the-shelf 3D animation software packages. It is capable of creating impressive 3D models, plug-in capability, and is suitable on the Microsoft Windows platform. It is mostly used in video game developing, TV ad studios, architecture, and movie effects.

Alice is an open-source, educational programming language software. It uses a drag and drop environment to create computer animations. Alice is designed to teach programming objectively with less computation.

Art of Illusion is an open-source program used for 3D modeling, texturing, ray tracing, and rendering CGI - both stills and animation. It is simple yet high-end graphic software with an online repository and a built-in downloading tool.

Blender can be used for many interactive 3D applications, contains advanced simulations, and is available for several operating systems, including palmtops.

Bryce is a texture-based rendering and ray tracing software for creating 3D environments such as space scenes, buildings and more.

Maya is an award-wining 3D graphics and modeling software used in film and TV production, as well as computer and video games.

Poser is a 3D rendering and animation software used for 3D models that depict the human figure in three-dimensional form.

Lightwave is a program for 3D modeling, animating, and is long known for its excellent rendering abilities and unusual interface.

TrueSpace packages modeling, animation, and rendering abilities. It features plug-in and is great for beginners for its unusual interface.

SoftImage XSI boasts a feature in making polygons and surface. It also has animation and rendering abilities.