Kitely Forums

Can anyone suggest a good 3D design program for beginning and advance creating? Also, if you use a 3D Design program, can your creations be imported into Kitely?

Hi Donna,

Blender is a popular free option: http://www.blender.org/

You can import items created in Blender into Kitely.

Donna Eason wrote:Can anyone suggest a good 3D design program for beginning and advance creating? Also, if you use a 3D Design program, can your creations be imported into Kitely?

Hi Donna

I'm not an expert but I suspect it would help to know who it is intended for, what platform they use and how much they want to spend. You can import COLLADA DAE files into OpenSim much as in SL although you may need to simplify large meshes using something like MeshLab.

Simple packages might include Trimble Sketchup (free) or, simpler still, Archepelis. Daz Studio is a free high-end tool. But do wait for comments from mesh gurus -- I'm more of an inworld prim builder personally.

I haven't done much with these tools, but I would add Wings 3D to the options and list them in order of difficulty, easiest first, as

Sketchup
Wings3D
Blender

So long as the output file from the program is Collada (.dae) you can import them with Firestorm or similar viewer, pretty much as Graham said.

In practice, I've had a mixed experience importing files for mesh in Firestorm, mainly with models I've downloaded from websites.
There are plenty of ready made models available, though not always in the right format, and sometimes with peculiar scaling issues.
After a bit of practice though, it's going fairly well, you can use Blender for converting other file formats into Collada for OpenSim without learning the whole package, and when you have them in OpenSim, sometimes they are an assembly of smaller components you can repurpose and build with in OpenSim.

I'm going to add http://clara.io/ to that list. Seems to import/export .dae files OK.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I am really struggling with Blender and I am finding it too frustrating.
I am going to try the other program recommendations.
I am signed up and checking out Clara.io right now at the moment.

Note there are converters available to and from other formats if you are having difficulty.
For example the FBX Converter from Autodesk converts to/from 3ds, dae, dxf, fbx, obj.

Don't give up easy, it takes most people a very long time to master most 3D software, there's a reason most people build in prims

Yeah I looked around few programs.
I am going for right now stick with prims and mesh studio, photoshopping texture maps right now my brain can't rezz any more than it is.
I am going see if I can do beach house and board walk mesh for my simonastick sim first though.

Edit: I got it in my soas sim but I still haven't figure out how to texture the suckers.
The tree with cat and man reading book mesh I have major issues trying to rezz it any where else this size because
even at its smallest mesh size its got really big load

If you feel the need to create a load of goblets or waste baskets then shapeshifter.io may be worth checking out. You can convert .obj output to .dae using clara.io.

I checked out clara.io. tried to mess around the program and read one day but I haven't been back truthfully.
But I figured out now how to move objects and the camera little better in Blender.
Wings 3D still struggle a bit with.
Daz 3D I have hit few walls with when it comes to clothes and skin making because my version of photoshop doesn't seem support their 3D bridge so I can't get installed.