Free 3D Modelling and Animation Software

Occasionally, as I look around at free software for creative purposes, I am genuinely suprised by some amazing give-aways. Usually these freebies come with one of the well known digital design journals like Computer Arts, 3D World or DigitalArts (formerly Digit).

This time though, it is well known 3D Software developer Caligari that is giving away their hard developed wares, and not even limiting it to magazine readers. This time you can download Truespace 7.6, their latest version, absolutely free. All you need to do is click the link on the home page, and set up a free membership account if you don't already have one.

What are you waiting for? Download it now >

Caligari have given away TrueSpace before. V1 and V3 have both been available for a while, but this is the first time they appear to have given away their latest version, and by the looks of things it is pretty powerful.



See how it compares with more well known competitor products:



I actually found out about this amazing offering when reading on the Computer Arts website, what the content of the new 3D World issue was going to be, then promptly zoomed over to Caligari to see for myself.

The reasons for this daring move by Caligari are to be discussed in the new issue of 3D World (which I don't have yet), but I can't help wondering if this has something to do with Daz 3D's move to give away Carrara 5 Pro on a magazine a few months ago. If so, watch Daz, because that is where the next move may be.

Whatever the reason, high competition in the 3D software industry has to be a factor, and so a good thing in the short term. The problem with this type of competition is that there are likely to be casualties, and that may hurt if you have developed a workflow around software from a company that goes under, or stops developing that title.

But while that is largely out of the control of most of us, make hay while the sun shines and download TrueSpace 7.6 today, free.

And if that all looks a bit complicated for your students...

Take a look at some alternative free 3D software here:

http://www.digitalarena.co.uk/3d_software.htm

Interactive Ukulele Tuner

Now that I teach interactive media, rather than practice commercially for a living, I sometimes get fidgety, wanting to do more of my own but never having the time.

Finally the holidays arrived and I was able to get inspired, on account of my wife buying a Ukulele. She was using an online tuning system, but it wasn't as helpful as it could have been. The problem with the online tuning system, was that it only gave audio samples of a Ukulele string being plucked. However it is much easier to tune an instrument to a continuous tone. In Uke Tuner I gave the option, plucked note, or continuous tone, so the user can choose their preferred method. Then of course I went overboard on graphics and interactivity - just for the fun of it.

You can download Uke Tuner 0.92 (Beta) here free >

Now I have had time to do it, I actually plan setting such a project to my students next year. Teaching and learning materials can be based heavily on my own source files and graphics, and best of all, I already have a demonstration piece. This is why time needs to be set aside for personal development - whether by your employer or yourself, it impacts positively on the learning experience and makes for new, and interesting projects.

For the more technically minded, graphics were produced in Fireworks then exported as PNG 32 to preserve alpha channels or SWF, for use in Flash. Audio was recorded from a Yamaha PSR-240 keyboard via a line-in cable from the keyboard's headphone socket. Sound was recorded and processed with Audacity then exported as WAV 32-bit for use in Flash. Interactivity was produced in Flash, with ActionScript 2. Flash Audio settings were set to export sound at 22Khz stereo and 128kbps. Playback speed is 30 fps to make it animate more smoothly. The application was compiled with MDM Flash Studio because it has a faster projector engine than the Flash Standalone Player, extends the ActionScript classes available in Flash with some additional functionality, and allows the creator to tweak the display options (such as turning off the blue bar at the top).

Crude Colour Blindness Indicator

Taking yesterdays research a bit further, I have devised a crude colour blindness indicator for use with my own students. I don't claim that it can be used to diagnose, but it would certainly work well enough to indicate where there may a problem and where further, qualified diagnosis may be prudent. Most importantly however, it helps me as a teacher have a better understanding of my students colour perception so I can better support them in areas where they may struggle.

I got on to this when I found out, purely by chance, that a colleague in another department was colour blind. It occured to me that if he looked at the image in yesterday's blog post that two of the four colour wheels would look identical. They being the colour wheel that simulated his colour blindness type, and the original. To him, they should look the same. This being the case, it would make a very simple (if crude) colour blindness test, and even give some indication of the type.

Here's how it works

Candidates would all be presented with this set of colour wheels (minus labels of course - we don't want to suggest answers).
To people with "normal" vision, the first wheel would appear to display the full spectrum, while the Protanope and Deuteranope simulations would appear similar, though not exact. The Tritanope simulation would look very different.

However, to people with Deuteranope (red/green deficit) colour blindness, the set would look like this:

While three of the colour wheels will look similar, two will have a closer match, the simulation of Deuteranope colour blindness and the original colour wheel.

To candidates with Protanope (red/green deficit) colour blindness, the set would look like this:

Again, while three of the colour wheels will look similar, two will have a closer match, this time the simulation of Protanope colour blindness and the original colour wheel.

Finally, to candidates with Tritanope (blue/yellow deficit) colour blindness, the set would look like this:
While all four colour wheels look similar, two have a definate closer match, this time the simulation of Tritanope colour blindness and the original colour wheel.

So, back to the beginning, by showing candidates the set of four colour wheels - one normal, and three adjusted to simulate different colour blindness types - a simple indicator test is produced.

The candidate is simply asked to point out which two colour wheels are most similar, and an indication of the presence of colour blindness (and possibly type) is arrived at.

I tried it on my colour blind colleague, and it seemed successful in that he really did see two circles as being the same, indicating him to be of the deuteranope colour blindness type. Another colleague with a less severe colour blindness (he only confuses certain greens and certain browns) was, according to this test "normal". So it really only indicates a problem when it's severity is more pronounced.

Spurred on by today's success I have compiled the test into a single double sided A4 sheet. You can download it here in PDF format >



One word of caution. This test has been devised by me, an experienced graphic/interactive media designer turned teacher. But I have no qualifications regarding colour blindness. Perhaps some kind scientist/researcher with more experience will come along and verify or refute my observations. Meanwhile I will use this method to help me understand the needs of colourblind students as and when I get them. If nothing else, it gives me some idea of their colour confusion, and will allow me to take it into account in supporting my students.

Accessibility and Colour Blindness

Colour blindness has been more relevant to me this year more than previous years on account of having a colour blind student.

While it certainly doesn't make life easier for an Art & Design & Interactive Media student it doesn't make it impossible to work in the design industry either. I did know of a former product designer, who was colour blind, who had a successful career in industry and in teaching.

Even so, as a teacher, it is helpful to have some understanding of colour blindness so I know what to expect, and can help the student develop strategies to cope with areas of difficulty.

One resource I found recently is a website called Vischeck. Vischeck provides colour blindness simulation tools, including an image previewer, a website previewer and a Photoshop filter. The site also gives information about a Daltonization algorithm for correcting images for colour blind people. All fascinating stuff.

I downloaded the Photoshop filter and installed it for Photoshop and Fireworks. It works fine in both.

I wondered how the normal visible spectrum would look to a colour blind person, and so I used the Photoshop filter to adjust a bog standard colour wheel. The results were truly astonishing:

I just cannot imagine a world so radically different to the one I see now.

Now I know why my student picked a muted grey/green instead of a vibrant green to represent grass in a client visual. To them they looked the same.

This insight into how colour blind people actually see the world is probably the most valuable outcome of this find. Meanwhile the Photoshop filter will allow me to demonstrate it to other people, and to gauge usability of my own designs.