Downloads Beta

Today's programs for creating animation are amazing. They can turn the klutsiest artist into a Disney or Chuck Jones by automating the intricate, finger-busting work of turning thousands of drawings into a few seconds of animation. Just as amazing are the programs' prices: Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 costs $3,495, retail. And Autodesk Maya Unlimited 2008 can be yours for a trifling $6,995. Or, you can pay nothing. Zilch. Nada. That'll get you a sizable hunk of what goes into the latest version of Autodesk Maya.

Autodesk must be selling enough of those high-priced programs to feel good about giving away free copies of Maya Personal Learning Edition. It doesn't include all the goodies found in the high end programs. It lacks the speed with which the other programs render their complicated images and the newest innovations, including the latest shaders and skin editors. But you get the rigging and animation technology that let characters move with both soft and rigid body dynamics, Maya paint effects, a complete particle system, toon shading, and four renderers. There is no tech support, but there oodles of documentation, demonstrations, and online discussion groups.

Note: This download takes you to the developer site where you will be required to register to obtain the product.

--Ron White