ImagineFX

DAZ|Studio is a rare beast – a fully functioning 3D tool that’s free. Obviously it lacks the power and precision of Maya and the like, but it offers an introduction to 3D and a wide range of positional, lighting and rendering tools.

There are no modelling features as such. The most you can do is import figures, use morph targets to adjust expressions and use standard move/rotation tools to adjust poses. You can add clothes, hair and other props, control cameras and add/adjust lights.

DAZ|Studio is great as a scene-building tool and for creating images quickly. You can either Spot Render a small part of your scene to get a preview or do a standard render. The results are good enough for everything apart from commercial work, and it’s all easy to set up. Worth a look…