Modeling

[ai]

One free modelling prog (except for Blender) is Milkshape: http://www.milkshape3d.com/. Though as you can read about it on the site, it's for low-poly modeler and has basic operations like select, move, rotate, scale, extrude, turn edge, subdivide and can go on low-level editing with vertex and faces.

[Trayer]

Milkshape = Not free . Shareware, $25. It is a good lowpoly modeller and it can do animations/bones with export to pretty well EVERY format imaginable. It can do SMD/PSK/MD5 etc etc, I use it mainly as a endpoint in my workflow to get my finished models into quake games. It can fully export and import SMD. Afaik it can only import MD5, which is strange, but since it does everything else no troubles ^^; mainly it can do SMD.

*Edit*: Milkshape is actually ok up to date. Aside from weightpainting, it has it's job complete. It has a large community and has stood the test of time. I definitly reccomend it for anyone trying to get from blender -> Halflife 2 SMD since it's so darned cheap. See http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/ms3d/index.html for the list of all 70 supported formats.

[Taiyo.uk]

Wings 3D is open source: http://www.wings3d.com/ It's an easy program to learn, some modelers use this with blender (model in W3D, animate in Blender)

SharpConstruct is also open source, but early in development. It's useable though. http://sharp3d.sourceforge.net/mediawik ... /Main_Page

HTH

[ihsan]

Can anyone please post a step-by-step tut on using zmodel in windows? I haven't been able to get it to work myself.

[Trayer]

Sharp construct, well, The lead guy (Something Bishop) is responsible now for blenders sculpting system : P. If you get the blender cvs from Graphicall it has sculpting beyond sharp construct made by the same developer.