Ez3d Modeler Pro Ez3d Modeler Pro
Ez3d is a high-end, low-cost photo-realistic 3D modeling and rendering system for UNIX workstations. Ez3d provides high-end tools at entry-level prices, breaking the price barrier in workstation-based modelers. To quote AV Video (Dec 1994), "A Modeler for the common man.. You don't have to be a rocket scientist - or a millionaire to use (it)".
Ez3d can be put to creative use not only in entertainment and broadcast graphics, but also areas like mechanical and industrial design, molecular modeling, architectural simulations, and scientific and medical visualization.
Ez3d is ideal for creating models in the Open Inventor format, as well as several industry standard formats. Open Inventor has been adopted as a standard for VRML (3D on World-Wide Web), and the Silicon Studio Framework for Entertainment Authoring.
When the designers and engineers here at Radiance Software first sat down to begin the task of creating Ez3d, they came to the conclusion that what was needed was a simple set of tools that placed most of the creative power in the hands of the user. This was the birth of tools like "Potter" and "Mold", simple tools that perform on the computer, what artisans have been doing for thousands of years: making clay pots, and molding little lumps of clay into exquisite objects just by pushing their fingers.
Ez3d's unique "Potter" tools provides sweep/extrude/bend abilities that let you create complex NURBS-based 3D models with utmost ease. You can choose from a library of "primitives" that come with the system.
For fine tuning of objects, you can directly "tweak" control points on the surface. For even finer control, Ez3d's "mold" tools may come in handy. This unique tool lets you push and pull the surface of an object with "finger"-like tools!
Want to create seamless joints between objects? Ez3d's "Face Builder" lets you stitch objects together using direct 3D interaction on the fly. A host of other tools like "Mirror", "Branch", "Bend" and "Assemble" are also available for more intensive modeling.
Or perhaps you want to create "Flying logos"? In Ez3d, creating 3D text has just 3 steps - enter text, set the bevel using an intuitive curve editor, and select from a wide variety of PostScript fonts. You can also use 2D text to annotate your 3D models.
Use Ez3d's display style unitlies for more interactivity, especially on slower hardware. Select objects and set them in one of 5 different display modes. 
Set photo-realistic properties for an object using the Material Editor. Or choose from a library of materials shipped with the system.
Position textures interactively in the texture editor. Apply bump maps, reflectivity and transparency maps to your objects. Overlap upto 20 layers of textures on the same object!
Ez3d allows you to create an edit different types of lights - ambient, headlight, directional, spot and point light.
Create stunning effects of fog, mist and other atmospheric effects using the Environment Editor.
Click on the images below to sample some rendered images produced with Ez3d's rendering module:
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Ez3d uses the Open Inventor format, that is now becoming an industry standard, and a future standard for 3D on WWW and SGI's Silicon Studio. You can import/export to/from the following formats:
Ez3d was intended for the creative artist and engineer who has little or no UNIX experience. Hence you will find that virtually every operation is through a graphical interface. this way. You will find no need to type in UNIX shell commands, run compilers, or chase through a maze of UNIX directories. While being flexible and restrictive at the same time, Ez3d has but one simple goal: providing a comfortable environment to work in, and increasing your productivity.
Ez3d has a Motif-based graphical interface. It provides standard Open Inventor 3D widgets for direct interaction with 3D objects. Ez3d features a "3D clipboard" to enable cut and paste with other desktop tools such as Showcase. You can create 3D objects using Ez3d, and send them as attachments in MediaMail (Z-mail). On-line context-sensitive "cue cards" help you at every stage of your project. Of course, you can "undo" most operations.
In the December 1994 issue of AV Video, Brent Malnack has done a detailed 4-page review of Ez3d modeler. Quotes from the review:
"A Modeler for The Common Man - You don't have to be a rocket scientist - or a millionaire - to use Movieola 3D" [Ed: now called Ez3d]
"Animators familiar with a number of animation systems will probably agree that individual packages have their own strengths. But is there one package that satisfies most of an animator's needs? Enter Movieola 3D, which may be the answer to a lot of modeling prayers."
"One of the most reassuring parts of Movieola is the statement early in the manual that no knowledge of the UNIX operating system is required - proof that Movieola was created for a substantially different audience from that of competing 3-D systems"
"Movieola is really intended to be used as a NURBS system, and it's by far the easiest such system I've seen. It's great for creating complex curved shapes, such as animals."
"..some of the models can easily be built with Movieola that would previously have been best scanned in with an object digitizer"
"If you have been reluctant to investigate the SGI platform because software prices seem prohibitive, it's time to take a look."
1900 Powell Street, Suite 1135, Emeryville, CA 94608 TEL: (510) 848-7621 FAX: (510) 848-7613 E-MAIL: ez3d@radiance.com WWW: http://www.radiance.com