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FREE DOWNLOADS
This page lists the tips, tutorials, and software I have explored and used-- all Free.
I hate "free" sites that bait-then-load nasties into your machine. If my firewall tells me there was suspicious activity, I kept it off this list. So, none of these sites are suspect.
Since the web is alive and changeable, let me know if some site here has joined the Dark Side.
(last updated July, 2008)
- GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)
Don't let the odd name roll your eyes. GIMP is a pretty good replacement for Photoshop, especially if you would like a TWAIN interface for converting paper documents to digital, via a scanner.
There is a variation-- Gimpshop-- that makes GIMP look and feel like Photoshop, but it appears the development has stalled.
GIMP site
http://www.gimp.org
- Google SketchUp (free version)
If you've never attempted 3D, SketchUp has a very easy interface. It helps create your ideas with basic forms and perspective. The idea was to use it a easily as drawing. I use it to construct a complex shape from simple forms, then rotate it to the right perspective so I can use it as a drawing model. It isn't as full-featured as the for-sale version.
SketchUp6
http://sketchup.google.com
http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsu.html
- Blender
If you have attempted 3D, Blender is a full-blooded quad-modeling, rendering and animating powerhouse. If you learned Maya, Max or some other expensive modeler in school but don't have the bucks to pay for a version, try Blender. Be advised this app is not for the impatient or the faint-hearted. The interface is crammed with cryptic buttons.
Blender
http://www.blender.org/
Blender Nodes tools
If you can't to do something in Maya or Max, you can render amazing things with Nodes, or write a Python script and attempt the impossible with this! Here following, are URLs to Nodes and the location of a Camstudio video step-by-step of Nodes behaving much like Photoshop's Adjustment Layers. (Yes, it's fairly tech-ish; remember the software and the support is free...)
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Blender_3D:_ActionBook/Nodes
http://www.blenderuniverse.de/Videotutorials/Microcosmos_Composit.html
And here is a tutorial for Blender Nodes doing the impossible with green screen images:
http://www.blendedplanet.com/?Freebie_Tutorials:The_Ultimate_Keyer
Where to find rapid support when you get stuck in Blender, and very good Beginner video tutorials. Download the free videos, then join the very friendly, helpful forum:
http://blenderunderground.com/
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