All,

Autodesk has changed their policies and you can now download 3DS Max and Maya 3D software for free if you are a student. They even have an option for homeschool students.

This is a big news, because these two software packages are industry standard. They also have 28 other packages you can download, including Autodesk for CAD/CAM work.

Here's the link:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/it ... d=14185424

Now, mind you, software like this is *very* complex, but if you learn it very well, you have a good chance of getting a job with those skills.

Oh, and you can use software like this for special effects, architecture, lettering, etc. for book covers and book trailers.

-Robert

Oh! Oh! Oh! Awesome! ^.^

I'll have to check this out. Thank you for the link.

Welt's got those

He's also got Blender. A completely free 3D program.

Download page

(I'm sure he'll be along in moments to expound on 3D stuff...)

I looked at those, but they'd probably kill my computer.

You're right that you need a powerful computer. We have a quad-core that we just upgraded to 10gig memory, but we're thinking of getting a new graphics card for it. We have an NVIDIA 8500, which is about six generations out of data. We're thinking of getting an NVIDIA GTX 550.

And Blender is awesome, too! That's the program I use.

I almost wish I was a student still....

*looks at ultra-long download time*