Blender
Dreaming of doing cool special effects in your movie but don’t have a budget to match? The most basic of 3D animation software will run in the area of $5,000 a license. The sad part is that you now have blown a chunk of change and you have nothing to show for it because you still haven’t rendered anything.
Blender is a FREE alternative to 3d Studio Max or Maya, but don’t let the price fool you, its’ a powerful 3D animation software. In spirit of Pixar’s animation, the video above was created, but instead using Blender and that’s just the beginning.
Visit Blender.org for galleries, free tutorials, and free downloads. If you’re worried about support, Blender’s community is always release new updates, applications, and their community boards are a great place to get friendly and helpful to meet any need you may have.
Here are a few more examples of what can be done using Blender
Video: Elephants Dream
Visit the Elephants Dream website to learn more!