Tools (Content Creation)

Software and online tools for content creators.

Models

Blender

• Link: http://www.blender.org/ (confirmed 2023-05-25)
• Use: Mesh models, Materials, Terrain, Animations
• OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
• License: Open source (GNU GPL)
• Price: Free

Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License. It is mainly known as a mesh editing/creation program but is also a powerful tool for creating animations, materials and terrains.

SketchUp

• Link: (Old link broken, add new)
• Type: Program
• Use: Mesh models
• OS: Windows, MacOS
• License: Propietary?
• Price: Free?

Entry level mesh model editor/creator software. SketchUp is CSG based which means it tends to generate rather "dirty" and render heavy meshes. As the name indicates, it was made as a 3D sketching tool and never intended for making models for real time rendering. Use it carefully!

Wings 3d

• Link: http://www.wings3d.com/ (confirmed 2023-05-28)
• Type: Program
• Use: Mesh models (and to some degree sculpts)
• OS: Windows, MacOS, Linux
• License: Open source
• Price: Free

A simpler and less developed free 3D modelling program. This is a good alternative for many since, unlike SketchUp, it offers all the functions you really need to create mesh for opensim and much fewer of the often confusing mass of functions not relevant for our purpose than Blender and the big commercial programs.

Unlike the other 3D modelling programs Wings 3d also has some limited support for sculpts, limited since it only supports 32x32 format sculpt map. This function is a bit compromised though since it requires special templates that can be hard to find.

Other tools

• makehuman - Realistic 3d humans, open source for Windows, OSX, Linux.
• 3DS Max
• Maya
• Zbrush

Textures

• GIMP - alternative GIMP - GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program for Linux, OS X and Windows.
• PaintNET Plugins - Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for Windows.
• WoodWorkshop - Wood Workshop is a free seamless texture editor for Windows.
• FilterForge

Materials

NormalMap Online

• Link: https://cpetry.github.io/NormalMap-Online/ (confirmed 2023-05-25)
• Use: Materials
• OS: Online tool
• License: Open source?
• Price: Free

A simple but surprisingly effective online tool for generating normal, specular, AO and displacement maps. NormalMap Online is supposed to use height maps as input but it can be effective for some textures too.

Other tools

• Materialize
• Substance Painter

Animations

Blender

See the #Blender description in the Models section.

Other tools

• BVHacker - Animation for OpenSimulator avatars.
• QAvimator - Animation for OpenSimulator avatars.
• BVH Mirror - This is an online service to mirror a BVH animation/pose file. That is, looking left becomes looking right, the pose of the left arm becomes the pose of the right arm, etc..

Sounds

• Audacity - Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
• LMMS - Compose sound and music on Windows, Linux and OS X.

Music

• LMMS - Compose sound and music on Windows, Linux and OS X.