Open Source Makes It Into 3D Animation

Open Source software continues to make inroads across many vertical markets including 3D animation where Blender3D, an open source solution that works across all kinds of different platforms, is set to complement and/or replace some long established names such as Alias Maya. Blender3D version 2.33, released this week, is a fully integrated 3D graphics creation suite allowing modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, real-time interactive 3D, game creation and playback, with full cross-platform compatibility. It supports OS X, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Linux PPC, Solaris right out of the box. Included in the latest release are numerous filters and feature enhancements that bring Blender3D closer than ever to its proprietary "closed source" counterparts.

Robin Rowe, founder of Movie Editor.com and leader of the open source Cinepaint project, believes that open source software has had an impact on the movie industry, though animation so far has been dominated by proprietary products. "Linux is open source and is now the dominant operating system in animation and special effects at large motion picture studios, so it's definitely not a barrier," Robin Rowe told internetnews.com. "Alias Maya dominates motion picture animation. Maya, SoftImage, and Houdini are the top packages at Linux-based studios. All three are proprietary commercial packages."