Looking for a good low-poly modelling tool...

commodorejohn

I'm dabbling with a Nintendo DS homebrew project, and I'm wanting to take a stab at some concept art, in 3D model format. I'm trying to find a decent modelling program; the problem is that basically every guide I come across on the Internet is geared towards professional all-purpose 3D software like Maya or Blender. This is major overkill for my purposes, and Blender was pretty overwhelming last time I tried it (though that was quite a while ago;) never tried Maya. I'm not looking for something that does every single thing a professional 3D artist could ever want, I'm just looking for a simple mesh editor/model-building tool that I can use to get some ideas down quick and easy.

Milkshape would be perfect, if it supported quads, but it doesn't (the DS supports 'em in hardware, may as well take advantage of that.) I'd prefer something Windows-native, or that at least has a decent UI, and ideally something free (though I'd be willing to drop a moderate shareware fee on a good program.) Animation tools would also be nice, but aren't strictly necessary.

Does anyone have any recommendations for such a program?

ZacD

I've heard good things about google sketchup for certain types of modeling. Maya and Blender are not as big and scary as they look. Personally my favorite UI of any 3D application is XSI.

LoTekK

Yeah, depending on the sort of concept art you're looking to do, Sketchup could potentially serve you well.

Silo has been dead in the water, development-wise, for years, but I still use it daily, and workflow and tools are fast fast fast, so that could be an option. Alternately there's VoidWorld, which also boasts quite a fast workflow.

KarlWrang

I'd personally recommend sketchup as well, good documentation, big community and easy ui compared to other free software.

EDIT:That is if you don't want to learn a heavier modelling software, liek maya,blender, modo and 3ds Max etc.

Alismuffin

+1 for sketchup

commodorejohn

I suppose I should've mentioned right off that I mean an actual application and not a web app (don't trust 'em and I tend towards browsers too old to run 'em anyway,) so no Sketchup. But I'll take a look at some of the other suggestions.

3DS Max might actually be usable, I remember it being fairly well-geared for simple mesh editing when I tried it. I'd have to get an old copy on the cheap, though.

LoTekK

commodorejohn wrote: »

actual application and not a web app...so no Sketchup

Eh? Sketchup is a standalone.

commodorejohn

Oh, my mistake.

Neox

did some of you guys ever look at one of the models coming out of sketchup? its supper messy and needs a lot of optimizations, using it for ds spec art would be a huge timewaste. i'd say go for blender, it has everything you need and more. Might not be as easy to handle but might be the best free choice you have.

LoTekK

sketchup? its supper messy and needs a lot of optimizations, using it for ds spec art would be a huge timewaste

Yeah, but it would depend on what he's looking to do with the models. I'd read concept art, and assumed he meant just that: concept art. If he's planning on putting these in-engine, then yeah, sketchup would be far from an ideal choice.

For a pure [free] modeller, I would lean towards recommending VoidWorld, but that's primarily because I [personally] don't much like Blender's modelling toolset (love the rest of the package, though).

Tiles

Voidword / Nvil is just a modeler. Blender brings the rest of the pipeline. Texture baking and stuff. So you can always combine those two.

Lamont

Blast from the past: http://www.izware.com/nendo/index.htm

LoTekK

Fuck Nendo, I [STILL] want me some Mirai.

Lamont

Wings!! http://www.wings3d.com/wiki.php?title=Downloads

commodorejohn

LoTekK wrote: »

Yeah, but it would depend on what he's looking to do with the models. I'd read concept art, and assumed he meant just that: concept art. If he's planning on putting these in-engine, then yeah, sketchup would be far from an ideal choice.

Well, yes and no. For the moment, I just want to get a look at what characters are going to look like in 3D (since the DS can only push ~2K polygons per frame, as I understand it, I'm trying to approach the project from an angle of designing the visual style around what the hardware can pull off.) That said, if I could find a reasonable simple/lean tool for the concept art that also works for building the actual game models, that would be much preferable (especially since that'd give me some 3D assets to use in trying to build the engine.)