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An ideia to get this forum rolling: each of us has it's own design preferences. Could be cool if we shared our toolset - our favourite applications to create 3D and VRML/X3D content.

Here's mine. I prefer free/open source/shareware tools whenever possible.

Vivaty Studio: who doesn't know this amazingly versatile program? 

Google Sketchup: another app that needs no introduction. Awesomely simple to use and create cool buildings. 

Bryce: an old name in 3D, Bryce is very useful to create skybox backgrounds and terrain meshes. It's a pity that it does not allow exporting other 3D meshes.

CB Model Pro: organic modelling can be daunting, yet this app makes it a very simple process. Very good to create organic meshes. Now incorporated into Dassault Systèmes 3D Via, it can still be downloaded as a standalone beta application. Beware: can generate meshes with high polygon counts and is prone to crashing (it is a beta software), but it's worth the effort.

Doga L3: cute japanese app specifically created to ease learning of 3D workflow. Complex models can easily be assembled from a library of parts and then exported as DXF or VRML files. Very useful for tech meshes, vehicles, robots, mechas and other cool sfi-fi stuff. And animals.

Avatar Studio

Meshlab: when Vivaty fails to import external content... meshlab to the rescue. This is a free 3D file format conversor, with a dazzling array of formats to convert to - from the most generic (OBJ, WRL, DXF) to the exotic (PLY). I use it to convert collada or kmz files from Sketchup when Vivaty fails to import them properly.

Gimp and Inkscape: an image editor to edit/paint textures and a vector drawing program to create images. Both free and very complete.

Stuff that i play with but haven't found yet a way to integrate in the workflow: Makehuman, still in alpha, an open source Poser clone that shows great promise to create realistic characters, and Autodesk  123D, a sort of google sketchup for 3D printing that might be useful to model meshes for VRML/X3D.

And now, your turn! Share!

Workshop about VRML/X3D, virtual worlds, avatars and education:

JCDE 2012 is a conference and series of workshops about digital content in education. In this year's edition one of the workshops will be ABC 3D: Introduction to Generic 3D/VRML/X3D/Virtual Worlds and its Applications in Education. Essentially, we will showcase some pedagogical uses of VRML/X3D virtual worlds, introducing this technology to the conference's audience and demonstrating how to create avatars. Flying avatars, of course... enrollment is here: JCDE 2012.

Vamos estar presentes na edição deste ano das Jornadas de Conteúdos Digitais para a Educação com o workshop ABC 3D: INTRODUÇÃO AO 3D GENÉRICO/VRML/X3D E MUNDOS VIRTUAIS EM CONTEXTO EDUCACIONAL.

Em duas horas, pretendemos dar a conhecer algumas ferramentas simples de modelação e animação 3D, mostrar utilizações pedagógicas interdisciplinares de mundos virtuais em diferentes áreas curriculares, falar um pouco do potencial pedagógico destas tecnologias e criar um humano virtual (avatar) em VRML. Inscrições aqui: JCDE 2012.

Resumo:

Assinala-se um interesse crescente nas aplicações educacionais de mundos virtuais como salas de aula virtual ou simulações em que os participantes exploram e interagem em espaços tridimensionais, centrado em ofertas como Second Life ou Kitely, assentes em tecnologias proprietárias. Propomos neste workshop uma demonstração do VRML/X3D enquanto tecnologia de criação e visualização tridimensional interativa através da exploração de algumas aplicações que permitem criar com facilidade conteúdos em 3D, possibilitando a todos os interessados a criação de espaços virtuais educacionais.

Explorar todas as vertentes de criação e utilização de VRML/X3D em contextos educacionais exigiria mais tempo. Propomos por isso uma experiência de criação de um humano virtual com movimento e aspeto personalizáveis pelo utilizador. Esta experiência desenvolve-se em dois momentos: demonstração de espaços virtuais em VRML/X3D e criação pelos participantes de avatares personalizados animados em 3D.

Alguns exemplos de mundos virtuais educativos criados com esta tecnologia podem ser visitados no sítio web BabelX3D (http://www.odisseialabmedia.univ-ab.pt/babelx3d/).

According to Reuters, the world's first 3D-printed office building opened in Dubai. The 2,700-square-foot, single-story building was built in just 17 days using a gigantic, 20-foot tall 3D printer and a special mix of concrete, fiber reinforced plastic and glass fiber reinforced gypsum.

Read the full article here and watch the video here.

Mountain View, CA (PRWEB) August 07, 2011

At this year’s SIGGRAPH 2011 in Vancouver, Aug 7-12 (http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/), the largest annual conference for computer graphics, the Web3D Consortium (http://www.web3d.org/x3d) will showcase the broad impacts of its latest release of royalty-free International Standards for 3D graphics over the web. From Booth 814, the Web3D Consortium will be sponsoring several events including Birds-of-a-Feather meetings and a special ‘Tech Talk’ demo session. Attendees will learn about the new ISO (http://www.iso.org) specifications and functionalities for Extensible 3D (X3D) 3.3 as well as new collaborations for the delivery of interactive 3D over the web.

Platforms for 3D delivery over the web have been evolving for over 15 years. X3D and its suite of specifications have been enabling enterprise-scale 3D for over a decade, delivering content from high-end immersive platforms to consumer 3D TVs to mobile devices. With multiple encodings and API bindings for a common scene graph model, it is compatible with the broad range of web and industry technologies. The data integration capacities and the rich set of componentized features of X3D are expanding and providing new value in areas such as Geospatial, Augmented Reality, CAD, and Medical applications. Such robust, cross-platform web applications prove once again that X3D is a compelling, interoperable expression for interactive networked virtual environments. In Booth 814 you will find Web3D C members Bitmanagement (http://www.bitmanagement.com) and Fraunhofer’s (http://www.igd.fraunhofer.de) demonstrating their industrial-strength X3D software.

The Web3D Consortium is proud to announce a new release of the X3D specification: Extensible 3D version 3.3. X3D 3.3 has been released for public review and international comment. This new version includes several exciting new capabilities: a new Volume visualization component supporting the presentation of data such as medical scans and microscopy , a new Units statement that allows X3D worlds to retain their precision across scales, and a Binary Encoding which provides a compact representation of the scene.

The Web3D Consortium is a hub of international standardization efforts, engaging in cooperative projects with other principal organizations such as the W3C (HTML5 and Declarative 3D), DICOM (n-dimensional presentation states), IMS (eLearning) and OGC (geospatial web services for real-time interactive portrayal). We will present our recent progress on these cutting-edge projects as well as formally announce the formation of the W3C Community Group effort for Declarative 3D (separate press release). In all these areas, the Web3D Consortium leads the charge to insure the interoperability, longevity and ownership of your 3D content.

SIGGRAPH Event Schedule
Join the Web3D community at their Tech Talk (Wednesday Aug 10 from 5:00 – 6:00 PM) showcasing their incredible X3D innovations – you won’t believe it’s real time! Come network with leading Web3D technologists at the Tech Talk and join the revolution! This is a must-attend event to educate and engage yourself in the latest 3D Web developments. In addition, the Consortium is also championing Special Interest Groups (http://www.web3d.org/sig) for developers and industry leaders interested in using open standards and raise awareness and interest in web-enabled 3D visualization for e-learning and Augmented Reality. They are presenting several Birds of the Feather sessions at SIGGRAPH include: Declarative 3D, X3D and HTML5, Medical Visualization, Augmented and Mixed Reality, a Consortium Town Hall meeting, and a meeting of the Web3D Consortium Korean Chapter.

More information on all the Web3D Consortium events at SIGGRAPH 2011 is available at: http://www.web3d.org/events/details/web3d-at-siggraph-2011.

About the Web3D Consortium:
The Web3D Consortium is a member-driven organization involved in many technical initiatives across the 4D value chain. The Web3D Consortium is a member-funded industry consortium committed to the creation and deployment of open, royalty-free standards that enable the communication of real-time 3D across applications, networks, and XML web services. The Consortium works closely with the ISO, MPEG and has active projects with OGC, DICOM, IMS, KHRONOS and W3C standardization bodies to maximize market opportunities for its membership. More information on Web3D and Consortium membership is available at http://www.web3d.org.

Contact Information:
Anita Havele, Executive Director
Web3D Consortium 650 Castro Street, Suite #120-490, Mountain View, CA 94041
Phone: 248 342 7662 Fax: 248 457 8018
Email: anita dot havele at web3d dot org

Original news here