web.3d47ca24bdbb9d8188d4e3910@news.povray.org...
> I've been wondering what the strengths and weaknesses of Povray are
compared
> to the other softwares(lightwave3d, kinetics, etc) for 3-d graphics and
> animations.  What aspects of it put us on the cutting edge and where are
we
> at a major disadvantage.

Hmm, there should be a FAQ somewhere about this.
In a nutshell :
Advantages :
- free
- very high rendering quality
- very large flexibility and range of uses
- very friendly community, mostly hobbyists
- lots of free, ready-to-use povray material around the web
- actually easy to use once one has more or less mastered the script
- implementation of high-end features such as radiosity, photon mapping and
object instanciation (for meshes)
- users can add features because the source is available. For instance,
Povray had radiosity and photons well before a few commercial apps.

Disadvantages
- no native GUI modeller
- requires basic programming/scripting talent
- raytracing is still too slow for professional animation purposes
- no native support for usual industry 3d file formats ; script not readable
by other apps
- no native support for advanced modelling/animation features like inverse
kinematics or particle systems
- no native support for advanced shading, like cell shading or subsurface
scattering.

"no native support" here means that to get the job done the user will have
to rely on third-party app/macro or will have to write his/her own
utilities, or will be able to do with it with some important limitations.
For instance, it is possible to do subsurface scattering in Povray but it
can be very slow to render, or give imperfect results.

To create animations, the lack of GUI and of native animation features such
as IK, bones or particles makes it difficult to compete with other apps.
Animating a Mech Warrior or an insect using only Povray is feasible, but to
animate a realistic human will require another software.  People with a lot
of time and talent can obtain amazing results in Povray animation though
(see the "Tatooine Pod Race" by HE Day here
http://www.irtc.org/anims/1999-04-15.html)

For making stills, Povray can easily outperform software like Bryce,
Truespace or Vue, and in many cases it can give results comparable to those
obtained with high-end products like Max, LW or Maya. It may be necessary to
use and master an array of GUI modellers, specialised tools like Poser,
Xfrog or Terragen, file converters and paint software.

G.


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