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, Mac
• 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!

Other tools

• makehuman - Realistic 3d humans, open source for Windows, OSX, Linux.
• Wings 3d - Sculpty editor
• 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.

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.

Terrain

Blender

See the #Blender description in the Models section.

Other tools

• L3DT Windows-only tool to generate detailed terrain. Now has a specific Opensim export option, which exports in r32 format.
• Terrain.Party Web-based tool for turning terrain from a real life world map into a height map which can be imported into Opensim using "terrain load <texture_name>.png". Note that the textures require resizing, since they are exported as 1081x1081 png files
• Daylon Leveller Windows-only tool for producing terrains from from a variety of sources (including Second Life, Terragen, and terrain.painter), and using painting-like tools and filters to create features. Imports and exports region(s) from/to Opensimulator, either as a tileset of one or more terragen files, or via PNG/RAW formats.

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.