Ray Dream Studio Animates Images

Designer 4 from Ray Dream Studio adds a number of important featuresthat bring this moderately priced 3D illustration package to the level enjoyedby its pricier competitors. Some of those features, including design wizards anda very easy-to-use animation system, help bring these sophisticated functions tomost users. Now, nearly anyone can design professional-quality illustrations andmake animated movies almost as soon as they've installed this software.

I used Designer 4 with Windows NT Workstation, but it's also available forWindows 3.1 and Windows 95, as well as for the Macintosh. On the DigitalCelebris XL 5133 Dual Processor, this package was speedy, as you'd expect. Whileit didn't take full advantage of both processors for some functions--notably,rendering animation into movies--it did use them in other places. The result isa very fast, capable, and attractive package that most companies wouldn't mindhaving for presentations and other computer-based illustrations.

In fact, learning to use Designer 4 is quite easy. Most of the hard partscan be automated or are handled by wizards, so you have to know surprisinglylittle to get acceptable results. On the other hand, Designer 4 allows trainedprofessionals to have as much control as they want, so they're not limited bytoo much automation.

Adding to the ease of use are more than 500 models, over 300 textures, anda number of other shapes, colors, and related animation tools. Most operationsare performed by dragging and dropping the desired feature onto the objectyou're designing. The Animator is also easy to use and lets you createanimations much like those from much more expensive packages. Most Windows NTusers won't need to look beyond Ray Dream Studio's Designer 4 for their 3D andanimation needs.