The section "Training Software" continues to publish information which is giving you an opportunity to familiarize with the newest development in the field of the computer graphics and geometry. In the present section the brief descriptions of such programs with the indication of a place will be represented, where it is possible to find the demo-versions of the present programs.
V. Pilyugin

Art of Illusion

Art of Illusion is a free, open source 3D modelling and rendering studio. It is written entirely in Java, and should be usable on any Java Virtual Machine which is compatible with J2SE 1.4 or later. Art of Illusion may be freely distributed and modified under the terms of the Free Software Foundation's General Public License.

The current version is 2.5.1, released Oct. 21, 2007. This version is both stable and powerful enough to be used for serious, high end animation work. Many of its capabilities rival those found in commercial programs. Some of the highlights include subdivision surface based modelling tools, skeleton based animation, and a graphical language for designing procedural textures and materials.

Art of Illusion contains many features found in high-end commercial graphics software, though its interface is simple. Some of its features, like the use of online repositories and a built-in downloading tool for installing extensions, are not found in similar commercial software.

Software Features

• Powerful Interface
• Graphics Tools (Objects modelling and modifying, animation, cameras)
  • Objects modeling and modifying
    • Primitives: cube, sphere, cone, tube, curve, triangle mesh, spline mesh
    • Boolean modeling operations
    • Lathe, sweep, extrude (straight or along a curve)
    • Subdivision surfaces (smoothing) with edge creasing available for triangle meshes.
    • Mesh editor featuring adjustable mesh tension, bevel, taper, various selection methods (including select edge loop/strip), etc.
    • Object array tool (multidimensional arrays or arrays along a curve)
    • Isosurface modeling (via procedural nodes or direct numeric input)
  • Animation
    • Distortion tracks for effects like bend, twist, and shatter
    • Skeletal animation with weighting, constraints and IK
    • Poses and Gestures
    • Keyframe editor with interpolating curves
    • Path animation
    • Animation through scripted objects, e.g. particles using Particle Jet script
  • Cameras
    • Camera filters (Exposure Correction, Glow, Outline, Tint, Blur, etc.)
• Rendering
  • Multithreading
  • Global illumination rendering
  • Global illumination methods: Monte carlo, photon mapping with final gathering, direct photon mapping and etc.
  • Light types: Point lights, spotlights and directional lights
  • Soft shadows
  • Light scattering for materials: Both Single Scattering and Photon Scattering (BSSRDF). User can specify either or both at rendertime.
  • Raytraced depth of field
  • Gloss/translucency (blurred reflections and blurry transparency)
  • Motion blur
  • HDRI scene illumination
• Grid view and realtime display modes (Wireframe, Smooth, Textured and etc.).
• Various textures and materials
  • Textures
    • Types: Uniform, image mapped, procedural 2D and 3D
    • Mapping options: Projection, spherical, cylindrical, UV
    • Per-vertex, per-face and per-face-per-vertex texture assignment (depending on textured object)
    • Layered textures
    • Graphical language for procedural texture/material design (procedural textures can be based on parameters like view angle (for fresnel-like effects), etc.)
    • Animation of textures via texture parameters and use of Time module
  • Materials
    • Procedural and uniform materials
    • Animation of materials via Time module

• Scripting (Scripting language (Beanshell) )

• Export/Import (with plugins)
  • 3D Import: .obj, .dem, .dxf, .geo, .lwo, .pov, .inc, .3ds
  • 2D Import : .ai, .svg
  • 3D Export: .pov, .obj, VRML,.stl
  • 2D Export/Save: .jpg, .bmp, .png, .tif, .hdr, .svg

• Extended Functionality Through Scripts and Plugins

You can download the latest version of Art of Illusion for free.

Download Art of Illusion.

Publication is bassed on the contents of wikipedia and artofillusion.org websites.