by Zan La Hara

Amapi 3D as the name implies is a 3D graphics program by TGS. Never heard of them? Neither had I but chances are you'll be hearing more form this company as 3D and animation continue to take off. Primarily a 3D modeling program, Amapi does have some animation capabilities as well as a strong rendering engine. In this article I'll go over some of the features of its newest release and try and point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of the program.

The Interface

According to TGS one of the most popular aspects of Amapi is the Workshop or 'Natural Design' Interface. Instead of the standard straight line tool box found in other programs the Workshop Interface consists of three separate palettes that are displayed one at a time in an arc on the right of the screen. To switch between palettes you simply move the mouse over to the palette area. A standard interface option is available if you don't like the Workshop Interface.

I have to admit I was skeptical at first but after using the Workshop Interface a few times I was very pleased with how automatic switching tools and palettes became. Another surprise is the ability to quickly change the view in the scene using keyboard shortcuts or make small adjustments using the arrow keys. Sometimes having a second window open can be very helpful and it's nice that you can open as many windows (each with its own display type and view) as your monitor can hold.

One word of caution: Amapi calls the three palettes Construction, Modeling, and Assembly and with about ten tools each I was constantly trying to figure out which tool was where. When I renamed the palettes in my mind to creation, modification, and transformation it was much easier to find the tools I was looking for and get some real modeling done.

The Construction Palette houses the tools that create the three types of objects found in Amapi: curves, surfaces, and volumes. The drawing tools are used to create either polygonal or NURBS 2D shapes. Hull, coon, and Gordon surfaces are the three types of surfaces available. Volumes include basic primitives such as spheres, cubes, and cones as well as more advanced objects that are created by extrusion, lofting, etc. I especially like the way Amapi's extrusion tool works, it's very easy to use and doesn't require any extra dialog boxes to create more complicated objects. In fact, whenever a tool is in use the active palette disappears giving you the whole screen to use and letting you view the object you are working on in a non-cluttered environment. This is one of the few powerful programs you can use with a relatively small screen and not spend half your time cursing at or searching for palettes.

The Modeling Palette includes the tools that allow you to modify an object once it has been created. This palette holds the tools to chamfer, add thickness, smooth, or 'decimate' an object. Also, found in this palette is the punch tool which allows for creating Boolean objects. Amapi handles Boolean objects well and does not display any of the instability problems Boolean operations are known for. Other tools of note here are the smooth and decimate tools. The smooth tool has five different options, each working best depending on the original design of the object being smoothed. A couple of these are particularly good for creating the natural smoothness of organic objects. The decimate tool reduces faces and overall complexity of an object. The nice thing here is that it removes more faces from areas that are less complex giving the maximum reduction in faces (and file size) while maintaining the original shape of the object.

The last palette is the Assembly Palette, which has the traditional transformation tools (move, rotate, and scale) as well as some handy tools such as weld and lay on that assist in combining objects together.

As you can see Amapi contains quite a few powerful modeling tools. Some of the new features introduced in version 5 make these tools even stronger.

New to version 5

Both the decimate and smooth tools already mentioned are new to version 5 but that's not all. Dynamic Geometry stores creation information of some complex objects with the objects themselves. This lets you adjust an object by acting on its components. For example, you can change the shape of an extruded object by changing the line of extrusion (or the shape extruded). This lets you quickly make modifications to objects that would otherwise be difficult or impractical. Unfortunately, many of the modeling tools cause this dynamic geometry information to be lost and render the object a polygonal mesh.

There are improvements in almost every aspect of the program. From new display modes to improved text to the new Active Styles function of the material editor which renders objects in a cartoon-like way.

There are also new deformation tools that allow you to taper, bend or twist an object. And these features can be animated. The general animation tools are however, very weak. Though morphing and animation along a path are possible, modeling is really what Amapi is about.

TGS suggests a primary use of Amapi to be modeling objects that are then exported to more powerful programs for animation. In support of this philosophy Amapi exports to just about every major 3D format out there. New to version 5 is the ability to output files for Cinema4D and Zap, TGS's new web 3D format.

Recommendation

If it wasn't for the capabilities of Amapi's material editor I would chalk this program up as only useful for exporting models to better programs. But with the ability to create and store complicated materials that offer a lot of depth Amapi enters the realm of a 3D illustration package. The lighting and camera options are limited but the material editor is both powerful and easy to use.

If you're looking for a full-powered animation product keep looking. If on the other hand a strong modeler is what you need Amapi offers an excellent product with a nice interface at a reasonable price. With its numerous export capabilities no matter what your final destination Amapi will help get you there.

Product: Amapi 5.0

Company: TGS, Inc.

MSRP: Retail - $399 Upgrade - $199

Rating: (5 possible)

Hits: Powerful modeling tools, nice overall interface, deep material editor.

Misses: Limited animation capabilities, material editor slow

Requirements: - Power Mac - Mac OS 8.x or higher - 24MB RAM - 15MB disk space - 256 color monitor