Swift 3D v6 has faster render speed, 3D boolean operations capabilities, an advanced texture mapper, image tracing, and much more. Version 6 looks like a whole new application in that Swift 3D now shares many of the higher end features with other 3D programs. That's good, of course, but it does make the program more complicated than it was before.Boolean operations allow you to combine or punch holes through objects using other 3D objects in your scene. It’s fairly easy to do, but Swift 3D has its own procedure which you should be familiar with: you don’t select the two objects to operate on, but you select one of the two, then click on the Boolean operator button and select the second object. It’s not hard, but you must have read the manual in order to find out.
Mapping complex textures to 3D models is now possible, but the exact process how to get there is not very well explained in the manual. Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it, it’s one of the easiest and most simple ways to map textures to objects in any 3D application.
Swift 3D v6 allows you to create a clone of an object. Clones are synchronised with the original object, so if you change the original, all of the clones change in the same manner. If you change one of the clones, the others will also change. However, you can also break them apart, so that every instance becomes an individual object again.
You can also clone in an array organisation, so that the cloned objects are distributed along one or more defined axis with adjustable positioning. This works in an incredibly easy way. It’s fun too, actually, because it allows you to very quickly experiment with the results of a cloning operation. Imagine that you want to create an army in formation; with this array functionality, you can do so in minutes, literally.
Integration with Collada and Papervision3D v2Swift 3D v6 makes it incredibly easy to create 3D objects within the Extrusion and Lathe Editors by tracing a bitmap image in the background. You should ensure the image is not too complex, because if it is, things rapidly become too crowded in the editor window. However, I found this to be extremely useful to create or re-create logos and even bring to life flat objects. For example, a tea cup that has been photographed on the side can be made in a 3D object in Swift 3D v6 fairly easily. And yes, Swift gives you have full control of the position and transparency level of the background image for detailed tracing.
Bump mapping is a technique to make a rendered surface look more realistic by modeling the interaction of a bumpy surface texture with lights in the environment. Swift 3D v6 doesn’t just let you apply bump maps from bitmap images, you can also create your own in the Material Editor.
By changing light size, you can now create soft shadows, which increase photo realism when rendering to one of Swift’s raster scenes.
Swift 3D v6 creates a PV3D project and exports to the latest Papervision3D v2.0 spec and Collada .dae format, while automatically creating the full Papervision project for you in one simple export. The export format is not found in the render editor, though; it’s a selection on the File menu.
Finally, Swift 3D v6 renders renders raster 3D images faster. The claim is up to five times, but I wasn’t able to check that—it’s definitelty a lot faster, though. Swift 3D can exploit all of the processors available on your system and can make the work simultaneously on the same raster render to provide faster renders. For example, on a multiprocessing platform with 4 processors a user is said to expect up to a fourfold increase in render performance/speed.
Except for some more minor improvements, I found Swift 3D v6 to be a very important upgrade, and one that you should really consider. Compared to Cinema 4D, Swift 3D v6 still is a lot easier to learn and use, but its creative features and output capabilities are robust and increasingly supporting complex 3D scenes.
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Swift 3D v6 is a must-have upgrade of eRain’s 3D application
Swift 3D v6 has faster render speed, 3D boolean operations capabilities, an advanced texture mapper, image tracing, and much more. Version 6 looks like a whole new application in that Swift 3D now shares many of the higher end features with other 3D programs. That's good, of course, but it does make the program more complicated than it was before.Boolean operations allow you to combine or punch holes through objects using other 3D objects in your scene. It’s fairly easy to do, but Swift 3D has its own procedure which you should be familiar with: you don’t select the two objects to operate on, but you select one of the two, then click on the Boolean operator button and select the second object. It’s not hard, but you must have read the manual in order to find out.
Mapping complex textures to 3D models is now possible, but the exact process how to get there is not very well explained in the manual. Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it, it’s one of the easiest and most simple ways to map textures to objects in any 3D application.
Swift 3D v6 allows you to create a clone of an object. Clones are synchronised with the original object, so if you change the original, all of the clones change in the same manner. If you change one of the clones, the others will also change. However, you can also break them apart, so that every instance becomes an individual object again.
You can also clone in an array organisation, so that the cloned objects are distributed along one or more defined axis with adjustable positioning. This works in an incredibly easy way. It’s fun too, actually, because it allows you to very quickly experiment with the results of a cloning operation. Imagine that you want to create an army in formation; with this array functionality, you can do so in minutes, literally.
Integration with Collada and Papervision3D v2Swift 3D v6 makes it incredibly easy to create 3D objects within the Extrusion and Lathe Editors by tracing a bitmap image in the background. You should ensure the image is not too complex, because if it is, things rapidly become too crowded in the editor window. However, I found this to be extremely useful to create or re-create logos and even bring to life flat objects. For example, a tea cup that has been photographed on the side can be made in a 3D object in Swift 3D v6 fairly easily. And yes, Swift gives you have full control of the position and transparency level of the background image for detailed tracing.
Bump mapping is a technique to make a rendered surface look more realistic by modeling the interaction of a bumpy surface texture with lights in the environment. Swift 3D v6 doesn’t just let you apply bump maps from bitmap images, you can also create your own in the Material Editor.
By changing light size, you can now create soft shadows, which increase photo realism when rendering to one of Swift’s raster scenes.
Swift 3D v6 creates a PV3D project and exports to the latest Papervision3D v2.0 spec and Collada .dae format, while automatically creating the full Papervision project for you in one simple export. The export format is not found in the render editor, though; it’s a selection on the File menu.
Finally, Swift 3D v6 renders renders raster 3D images faster. The claim is up to five times, but I wasn’t able to check that—it’s definitelty a lot faster, though. Swift 3D can exploit all of the processors available on your system and can make the work simultaneously on the same raster render to provide faster renders. For example, on a multiprocessing platform with 4 processors a user is said to expect up to a fourfold increase in render performance/speed.
Except for some more minor improvements, I found Swift 3D v6 to be a very important upgrade, and one that you should really consider. Compared to Cinema 4D, Swift 3D v6 still is a lot easier to learn and use, but its creative features and output capabilities are robust and increasingly supporting complex 3D scenes.