Maxwell Render | Official public forum

looking for a suitable software, free 3d viewer or something similar

hi all

i am preparing multipart 3d models for an artist (probably polygonal). he would like to be able to view them in 3D and change the color (just plain diffuse or phong, no maps) of the different parts, so he can play with the overall look of the model until he's happy.

now he knows about 3D as much as i know about string theory - actually less. so there is no way i can talk him into using blender or a similar freeish 3d app.

the 3d viewers i know of don't let me change the color of the parts. do you know a free or not expensive software that lets him do this.

thanx in advance.

edit: to have an idea how comfortable he is with using a computer - when he want me to look at a website he tells me: ok go to h..t..t..p..colon..slash..slash..

you get the idea

Does he need to be able to save his changes? Rhino's evaluation only saves 25 times, but it continues to function as normal, with the exceptions of saving and loading plugins, afterward. Not polygonal, but probably one of the simplest apps to use for someone who doesn't know how -- if he at least knows how to turn his computer on and off, it should probably take you ten or twenty minutes to show him how to open a file, move around in the viewport, select objects, and change their color.

[edit: Moi3D might even be simpler -- here's a link for a version of Moi3D labeled "(No expiration but save disabled)": http://moi3d.com/2.0/trial/moi_v2_nosav ... _setup.exe. I'm not sure about changing colors in it though, I haven't tried the V2 yet]

hmm..yeah saving would be nice.

photoshop CS5 can open 3d files..can you color them there too? never used the 3d features in CS5

As suggested, photoshop works for that. I've started using that to show the 3d models to clients before I start rendering. It works pretty well for that. You can edit the stuff just like you would any photoshop layer, for the most part, although I haven't looked into that part a whole lot yet.

I'd say Silo when the content is primarily mesh-based.
Here your artist can also Subdivide the mesh if need be.
Badly supported Software but cheap and the simplest to pick
up SubD-Modeler I have used.

A free alternative could be MeshLab. Also here applying
a Shader to an imported mesh however is a push-button action.

photoshop isn't that "free"
the 25-saves-rhino sounds like a good solution.
have you looked at adobe3d yet? not sure if this works, but you at least watch and rotate models.

Autodesk has a free 3d dwf viewer that can do what you asked.

have a look here
http://www.irhino3d.com/index.htm