Vector graphics

David Fearon introduces 3D models and rendering

TrueSpace has always led the pack in terms of features as far as Windows 3D animation packages under $2,000 are concerned. Recently, however, the market has become rather crowded, with a powerful upgrade to Ray Dream (reviewed issue 9, p100) and the cut-down version of LightWave 3D (Inspire 3D) both challenging it on features and price.

Don't want to settle for rolling green hills on your desktop? PC Authority looks at the alternatives with our guide to the latest desktop enhancements.

It sets out to create photo-realistic 3D models from 2D photos and illustrations, with the barest of tool sets and minimum user input.

Improved interface, object and layer handling, plus integrated 3D painting add greatly to power, usability and value

Right from the first moment you open Adobe GoLive!, it becomes obvious that this is not your standard Web page layout tool.

An improved working environment and ground-breaking colour handling make Illustrator fresher than ever.

The world's most popular professional 3D animation package, 3ds max by discreet, just got an upgrade. Rather than being a major overhaul, this seems an effort to bridge gaps between 3ds max and some of the industry's leading 3d applications in several areas. However, 3ds max6 is not just upward expansion reaching higher in 3D visual effects, it is also broadening to encompass a wider scope of different industry disciplines.

Computer scientists use Google Labs widget in object recognition software.

Full commercial app, worth £28

FreeHand has had a long, distinguished career since its launch 15 years ago, but time has caught up with it. While Macromedia concentrated development on its Web-oriented MX applications, FreeHand was put on the back burner and fell seriously behind its main rivals CorelDRAW (see issue 60, p54) and Adobe Illustrator (see issue 51, p88). So, is this latest release evidence of further decline, or has FreeHand finally risen to the challenge?

With its improved interface, colour handling, image adjustments and brush-based artistic creativity, DrawPlus moves onto a new level.

Almost five years have past now since the first release of 3ds max, then called the full 3D Studio MAX. One of the first packages of its kind to introduce affordability and performance to an industry dominated by huge price tags. And even after its competitors have been forced to compromise their price to compete, max has kept up its innovative features and held its ground.

So far, so uninteresting: now we can do something slightly more exciting by giving our objects some surface textures that will show up when rendering. Before we do that, make sure the sphere is the cu

Photoshop moves beyond photo editing to conquer completely new territory.

It's always a bonus to uncover a shortcut or program enhancement, and here we bring you 100 tips and tricks that we hope will make your computing experience quicker, simpler or more rewarding. All about Image.

Crystal Reports creates structured reports from databases by selecting fields from source data and grouping them appropriately.

Built-in tracing and improved drawing, formatting and colour correction make X3 the best CorelDRAW upgrade in years.

Boffins consider heating objects to alter their course.