From: offthelip@surfvh.com (Off The Lip)
Subject: Mac Graphics FAQ v1
Here is a list of questions and answers I keep seeing over and over and
over and over again on various news groups, bbses, and mailing lists. So
look here before you ask the same thing that's been asked several hundred
times before concerning Macintosh graphics files.
Frequently Asked Questions document on the following topics:
(as of Sunday, December 17, 1995)
Progressive JPEGS
Transparent GIFs
playing AVI, GL, DL.. MPEG
VRML
3D software
2D software
This document is broadcast on several universes. It will be posted to a
couple Usenet groups on a hopefully regular basis, posted to any bbses that
I notice would need it, and I'll keep it as a web page at:
http://www.redshift.com/~surfvh/X/MacGraphicsFAQ.html
This is a Frequently Asked Questions document on the following topics:
(as of Sunday, December 17, 1995)
Progressive JPEGS
Transparent GIFs
playing AVI, GL, DL.. MPEG
VRML
3D software
2D software
Here is a list of questions and answers I keep seeing over and over and over
and over again on various news groups, bbses, and mailing lists. So look here
before you ask the same thing that's been asked several hundred times before
concerning Macintosh graphics files.
How do I make progressively loading JPEGs for Netscape web pages?
Goto the InTouch web site and download either the Photoshop Plug-In for it or
the stand alone application. You can use either to convert to and from the
progressive format.
http://www.in-touch.com/pjpeg.html
How do I make transparent and progressively loading (transparent) GIFs for the
web?
Download a program called Transparency from the InfoMac (among other places),
use one of the shareware programs that support the features (like
GraphicConverter, GifConverter, etc.) or get the Photoshop Plug-In called
PhotoGIF.
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/grf/transparency-10.hqx
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/grf/gif-converter-237.hqx
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/grf/graphic-converter-222.hqx
How do I play and/or make those ibm style animation files?
AVI files only have to be adapted to play on any Quicktime player program. You
have to get the codec plug-in and wrapper application though from Microsoft.
The set for Indeo is more nicely packaged, but I've never actually gotten it
to play anything. The Microsoft one you'll probably have to change the
type/creator to the stuffit format (SITD and SIT!) for it to decompress.
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/developr/drg/Multimedia/VFW11-Mac/vfw11.sit
GL files can be played with MAV (Mac Animation Viewer), though they often play
a little schizophrenically. DL files are simpler, and can be played with
GraphicConverter, dl-viewer, or MAV.
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/mov/mac-anim-viewer-11.hqx
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/grf/graphic-converter-222.hqx
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/dl-viewer-10b8.hqx
What do I need to play and/or make MPEG-I movies?
There are several things to choose from. The most widely used is Sparkle (plays
and converts both ways). After that, there is Mac MPEG 0.3 (plays and converts
to quicktime), and PPC MPEG Players (plays on PowerMacs only).
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/mov/sparkle-245.hqx
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/app/mpeg-mac-03.hqx
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/mov/mpeg-players-ppc.hqx
How can I view and make VRML documents?
Right now all of the viewers are in alpha versions, so keep on checking each
of the following links for Whurlwind, Equinox, Voyager, and the list in San
Diego. Whurlwind and Equinox require Quickdraw 3D, so, PowerMac only.
ftp://ftp.sdsc.edu/pub/vrml/software/browsers/
http://www.ipsystems.com/nps/EquiInfo.html
http://rosebud.sdsc.edu/SDSC/Partners/vrml/software/browsers.html
To make VRML documents it's a little more expensive. Currently there exists
Strata Pro Blitz (v1.75), and Virtus Walkthrough Pro export to VRML.
http://www.strata3d.com:80/tools/studiopro/index.html
http://www.virtus.com/vwtpro.html
What are the best 3d programs for the Mac?
Well, that depends on how much money you have. If you don't want to pay
anything but feel you can just never type enough, download POV go nuts. If you
have so much money that you don't know where to spend it all, then go buy
Electric Image & some equally over-priced modeler. Somewhere in between those
two are some commercial programs named Infinity-D, Studio Pro, Amapi,
Animation Master, Sketch, Presenter Pro, Pixel Putty, Sculpt, and Macromodel.
Designer I'm reluctant to even mention because it has been the cause of so
much dissatisfaction. Too offer some kind of help in deciding which one is for
you, here is a list of extremely biased comments/info:
Infinity-D from Specular
http://www.specular.com/products/infini-d/infini-d.html
Easy to use, but limited interface. Good but not great modeling. Animation
controls are very good. Rendering is good. Hardware requirements are pretty
reasonable. Demo is available on the web site.
Studio Pro from Strata
http://www.strata3d.com:80/tools/studiopro/index.html
Interface is too plug-in based. Quirky, but advanced modeling. Animation
controls are a bit lacking. Rendering quality is wonderful. Needs a lot of
machine to run very smoothly if you get the newest version.
Amapi from Yonowat
http://www.yonowat.com/
Interface is really hard to figure out. Powerful and fast, but strangely
implemented polygon modeling. No animation. Rendering is basic. Hardware
requirements are very reasonable. Demo available on the site.
Animation Master from Hash
http://www.teleport.com/~hashinc/
Interface is often the reverse of rational thought. Extremely malleable
modeling, but no automated creation or deformation tools. Animation controls
are very powerful, but not as flexible as they could be. Rendering is good.
Hardware requirements are pretty reasonable, though it requires a
PowerMac..but hey, who doesn't? No demo.
Sketch from Alias
http://www.alias.com/Product/Misc/Alias_Sketch!.html
Interface is well laid out, but confining. Modeling is powerful, but limited
as soon as you make it 3D. No animation, which is disappointing. Rendering is
very good, especially for placing rendered objects in real scenes. Hardware
requirements are fairly reasonable. No demo.
Presenter Pro from VIDI
http://erehwon.caltech.edu/vidi/vidi-homepage.html
Interface is great, but many tools are hard to figure out. Modeling is
advanced. Animation is very good. Rendering is good. Hardware requirements
fairly reasonable. Demo is on the site now.
Pixel Putty Solo from Valis
http://www.shsu.edu/~stdjnd/pps.html
Interface is simple, but it works. Modeling is great. Animation controls are
good. Rendering is handled with Renderman, so that can be good or bad
depending on your shaders. Hardware requirements are reasonable. No demo.
Sculpt 3d from Byte by Byte
http://bytebybyte.com/sculpt.htm
Interface is confusing, but complete. Modeling is pretty powerful. Animation
is very good. Rendering is very good. Hardware requirements are fairly
reasonable. Demo of the sculptor only is on the site.
Macromodel (Soon to be Extream 3D) from Macromedia
http://www.macromedia.com/Tools/Extreme3d/index.html
Interface is not wonderfully laid out, but it's Macish. Modeling is not very
intuitive, but powerful. Animation will be pretty good. Rendering will also be
very good. I feel kind of stupid talking about something that's not even out
yet, but you should know about it. No demo yet on the site.
Electric Image Animation System
http://stingray.cac.psu.edu/~eias/
Interface is less than intuitive. No modeling. Animation is very powerful
indeed. Rendering is not RayTraced, but is very good and very fast. Hardware
requirements are not all that reasonable. No demo on the site.
On the shareware/freeware side, the list is not as long.
POV
http://www.povray.org/
ftp://ftp.povray.org/pub/povray/Official/Macintosh/
Has no interface. Modeling is great if you love to type. Animation..no
controls. Rendering is great, nothing like a good ray trace. As far as I know
it runs on everything.
Mechanisto
ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gst/grf/mechanisto-20-demo.hqx
Interface is very hard to figure out. Modeling is okay. Animation is hard.
Rendering is pretty good. Runs on Powermacs only. Big file to download.
Vision 3d
I couldn't find an url for it, but I'm pretty sure it's on the net somewhere.
This programs is basically one step below a pretty good commercial program.
Interface is more or less standard. Modeling is good but not flexible.
Animation is basic. Rendering is okay. The first program I found that output
to 3DMF files.
What are the best 2D (imaging, painting, etc.) programs?
2D image software is usually a bit more intuitive, and usually less expensive.
There has already been a lot of discussion on this already and a ton of
programs in comparison to the numbers available for 3d work, so I'll keep the
list as short as I can.
Photoshop
The main attraction in this realm, is of course, Photoshop (aka, the coolest
program in the world). The Photoshop interface is based on the original cool
app, MacPaint, but is a zillion times better. Industry standard for painting,
retouching, correction, and anything else having to do with pixel-based
images.
Painter
Closely related to Photoshop, is Painter. And like all relatives, they should
stay together. Family values you know... Anyways, Painter is pretty much the
standard for imitated physical media painting. It has tools with built-in
settings for everything from crayons to brushes that mimic artist styles.
Live Picture
Kind of an odd program, it needs a lot of hardware to run it. If you spend all
day messing around with gigantic images because that's what you get paid for
(which of course, allows you to buy all that damn hardware), then this program
is for you. Because you actually work on a screen rez version of the giant
files, and what you paint is actually recorded
ColorIt, ExpertColor Paint, and other littler programs
These require less computer, but don't do as much. Just the thing for smaller
computers with less ram and lower bit depth graphics. But they won't allow you
do make as cool of pictures. The interfaces are very friendly, and the prices
are low.
What are the best drawing programs?
Since paint-type files aren't then only kind you have to deal with in the
world, you're going to want a draw-type art program too.
Illustrator
Another industry standard, it's just the thing for all things postscript.
Interface is a lot like Photoshop, and is very easy, once you figure it out.
Freehand
Functionally very similar to Illustrator, but the interface is more like
PageMaker (which is good, and bad). So if you want someone to choose for you
which you whether you should get Freehand or Illustrator, you're probably not
going to get a very straight answer. They'll both do the job, and they both
have easy to use features.
Canvas
This is basically for if you want more technical style drawings. The interface
is, well, different. Functionally a pretty good program. But not on the CAD
scale of say, Vellum or anything.
SmartSketch
This is a really weird program, and it's really cool. It's not completely
useful for many things, but it's mixture of draw-type, paint-type functions is
unique..and should be more common. It's amazing no one made this program years
ago, since people would be able to adapt to draw-type programs much easier
with this kind of functionality.
Okay...that's about all I feel like writing right now. My infos on the
programs are getting less and less informative, and more and more wordy. So
I'll shut up now, and if you want to add anything then email me at
offthelip@surfvh.com
This document is broadcast on several universes. It will be posted to a couple
Usenet groups on a hopefully regular basis, posted to any bbses that I notice
would need it, and I'll keep it as a web page at:
http://www.redshift.com/~surfvh/X/MacGraphicsFAQ.html
GRIN
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