3D Studio Max

3d studio max is the industry standard in modelling and animating computer realistic humanoid and animal models, as well as in creating realistic and dynamic backgrounds. It is costs a pretty penny, so can't be afforded by everyone, but if you are an animation professional, the cost is well worth it. Really, nothing can compare in quality, versitility, functionality, and high tech.

Animation is an elaborate process. If you are doing it, whether by hand or by computer, there are many steps which you must take before you achieve a finished product. One is that you must do first story boards, which are sketches of the main scenes and situations of your animation. Besides that, you must sketch and develop your characters, understanding both their appearance and their personality, as well as their different facial expressions and postures. This can take many many hours, and is one of the most involved parts of the animation process, and it takes place before the 3d studio max animation even begins.

One of the most crucial points in any animation is the walk cycle. Basically, this is a cycle of frames which show the character taking two steps from a set perspective – a left foot and a right foot. This can be then repeated over and over again, and voila, your character is walking. After that, you can make them walk through any environment. This is where the advantage of 3d studio max comes in over by hand animation: With animating by hand, you'll have to draw a different walk cycle from any perspective which you want to view the character, which can multiply your work by several times.

With a 3d studio max animation program, however, instead of just drawing a picture of the character doing certain things, you create a model of the character in 3 dimensions. This means that its almost like having a real actor – you can film your animation from any direction without re-drawing it, which, when making a full movie, is an almost indespensible technological innovation.

The draw back to 3d animation programs is that they have this very glassy, shinny, look to them. They don't have the same sense of individual style as hand drawn animations, and all look kind of the same, no matter what artist designs them. Really, although the 3d studio max animation is great for modelling backgrounds in a movie, it will never replace hand drawn characters fully.