List of software for creating game art

[Patrick]

This post will contain a big list of free and paid software that you can use for creating game ready art or software that can be used in the creation process of game ready art.

 

Before I get going with this post I would like to say that the most complete and affordable or free package is by far Blender. (currently) so if you're starting out and wanting to get into 3D, I would highly recommend getting started with this and putting up with the slightly steep learning curve (at least for some people) I will list it below.

 

FREE Software:

• Blender:This will allow you to do everything from modelling your mesh, unwrapping it and or sculpting upon it before rigging and animation, it even offers a game engine within it not that I have ever used that side of the application. This is well worth a look and will be the best place to start for anyone looking to jump into the 3d art industry.
  
• Sculptris:The best free solution to 3D sculpting without having to worry about any sort of poly count and topology. Just create the art and worry about the technical stuff later. Personally I prefer using this to Blender for sculpting however Blender will offer more for the hard surface stuff.
  
• RoadKill: This is a free standalone UV solution, pretty nice and very usable.
  

 

PAID Software:

• Cheetah3D:This is a Mac only application but It had to be mentioned, I have never used it myself but heard great things about it and it's one of the other applications that do offer modelling alongside animation in a seemingly affordable and professional software.
  
• Silo2: Now I quite like this, it offers you a very nice package for a great price. You will be able to model unwrap and retopologise and even sculpt, the sculpting isn't going to be as powerful as something like the other applications mentioned here, its not the same kind of sculpting. I personally just use the modelling and unwrapping side of this software. This software is cheaper to purchase on Steam than the main site, but also the price on Steam has recently increased to, however its worth the money, if you cannot get on with Blender like many other people out there this is a nice solution, but be warned... Run the demo just to make sure it works on your computer, with some people this software crashes unexpectedly right away, I never have this problem and Maya actually crashes on me more than this but its something worth mentioning before you spend chunks of money on something to find that you cannot use it!
  
• Nvil: This is a very nice piece of software, developed by one guy and often overlooked. Its not complete yet but it's being actively worked on, the community is lacking a little but there is one! I can only hope that this gets a little more popular this year, I really enjoy using it. Highly customizable and easy to use if you know the basics of modelling already. The one downside is you will have to use Roadkill or another standalone UV tool if you want to unwrap your models. Not a bad thing though. Many use this as opposed to the tools software like Maya and 3DS Max offer you anyway!
  
• 3D Coat: This one would be the best premium sculpting application that will also allow you to access great UV tools with a nice set of retopology stuff thrown in, definitely worth the price tag and easy enough to learn how to use.
  
• Zbrush: Probably the most well known application for high end sculpting, be it for game or production, this software is great but it comes at a price, however a very good price for what you get but if you're on a budget 3D Coat will be the way to go, this is a very similar software but I find that using a lesser powerful machine is a lot better with this than 3D Coat so you might want to take that into consideration when marking up what you can afford and what you cannot.
  
• Topogun: If you want something affordable and powerful for the simple task of retopologising your models to be game ready than this is likely the best software you can add to your arsenal of applications, its easy to use, cheap and very powerful at what it does.
  
• Autodesk Maya: Personally I feel that this is one of the best solutions for Animation, although you can use it for a great many other things this is a complete package, modelling, uv mapping, rigging and animation along with rendering and such. It has a high price tag much like every other product by autodesk, but you really do get your moneys worth.
  
• Autodesk 3DS Max: Personally I couldn't get on with this one, I found navigation to be too tedious (when I started out) but I know that this is just as powerful as Maya and it has a very nice viewport renderer too. Another full package with all the tools you will need (excluding sculpting)
  
• Autodesk Softimage XSI: I loved this software back before Autodesk bought them out, I haven't used it since due to the price tag matching up with the others, its still a great piece of software and no doubt that it'll be more powerful than when I used it, it has a great and exstensive set of rigging tools and animation, as well as modelling and the like. Well worth a look if you plan on getting a premium software.
  
• Autodesk Mudbox: Another sculpting solution here, presented by Autodesk, its definitely got the power and a great feature set, personally I prefer 3D Coat and Zbrush, I believe they're actually cheaper too, but if you're looking to go with Autodesk for something like Maya, you can get a major discount for purchasing a bundle of their software including this which will be great to use in that instance.
  

 

I have to run off for a little while but this list will be an on going thing, I will add to it and expand, I have a set of 2d applications I would love to add to this along with some info regarding some other steam applications for 3d modelling that have not long ago released!

 

I hope that this list will help some of you newcomers and such.

[Guppy]

For textures / 2D:

 

http://www.gimp.org/ - While often compaired to photoshop, it is most decidedly NOT photoshop, but a great piece of software in it's own rigth

 

http://krita.org/ - digital painting software ( if your going for that hand painted look )

http://mypaint.intilinux.com/ - digital painting software

[Patrick]

For textures / 2D:

 

http://www.gimp.org/ - While often compaired to photoshop, it is most decidedly NOT photoshop, but a great piece of software in it's own rigth

 

http://krita.org/ - digital painting software ( if your going for that hand painted look )

http://mypaint.intilinux.com/ - digital painting software

I was going to add these but had to go and get some stuff done lol there are more too which I know of and use, thanks for listing them I will add to the main list real soon

[cassius]

Thanks Patrick. Downloading krita now.