r/retrocgi • • Aug 03 '22

Discussion MEGATHREAD: How to make retro CGI

235 Upvotes

Seeing the frequent "How do I ____?" threads and the recent "Clueless" meme, I felt it's high time to consolidate all learning resources into one place. Going through multiple past threads on the subreddit I put together this list of programs + tutorials for making retro CGI... Please keep in mind that this list is meant to be a constant work in progress, as the retro CGI scene grows and more resources are available they will be added here on a regular basis. Additions, suggestions, and criticisms are most welcome.


Bryce 3D

Landscape/terrain generator, basic modeler and animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)

Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)

Blender

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)

Download for free

3D Studio

Modeler, animator, renderer (MS-DOS)

Download for free

3D Studio MAX

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows)

Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)

POV-Ray

Raytracer (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)

Download for free

Infini-D

Modeler, animator, renderer (Macintosh)

Download for free

Anim8or

Basic modeler, animator, renderer (Windows)

Download for free

Art Of Illusion

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)

Download for free

Ray Dream Studio / Designer

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)

Download for free

Carrara

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)

Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)

Lightwave 3D

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)

Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)

Poser

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)

Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)

TrueSpace

Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows)

Download for free

StrataVision 3D

Modeler, renderer (Macintosh)

Download for free

Sculpt 3D / 4D

Modeler, raytracer (Amiga)

Download for free

Others


r/retrocgi • • 21h ago

"How was this specific look achieved back then? Not just general ""old CGI"" but the one that makes you think everythink is made out of clay, with mostly dark shadows"

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83 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 1d ago

Blender Polygon Hills

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26 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 19h ago

Bryce Ocean Man music video I made in Bryce3D and Blender :^)

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4 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 1d ago

Bryce Bryce-cola

19 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 1d ago

Bryce God Reflected in a Teardrop

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31 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 2d ago

Blender Retro style PRBG for a 90s adventure game

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91 Upvotes

Here's an example of one of the background scenes I made for my game using Blender 3.6. This one was fun trying to work out how to add some life with a simple 6 frame looping animation. The last pic shows the water ripple shader, the phase offset value was animated to create the seamless looping I needed. The final renders are run through a colour index/dither step and then loaded into Godot as a frame animation.


r/retrocgi • • 3d ago

island people

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162 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 3d ago

tropical timelapse

560 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

New Nomad Sculpt work

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267 Upvotes

Another iPad / Nomad Sculpt sofa session followed by many Photoshop filters πŸ˜„


r/retrocgi • • 3d ago

City Teapots

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46 Upvotes

Floating. For a long time?


r/retrocgi • • 3d ago

Blender I used Blender to make a parody of early 2000’s commercials.

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7 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 3d ago

Blender This appeared in my recommended, so decided to not only DESLOP but also be a reimagining of the Sonic 3 Title Screen. ^^

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19 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

Blender [[ SONIC 3D ]] Been working on a 3D Blast Sonic mod for Sonic 1 (( Forever )) with my Sonic model!

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12 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

Bryce Aeon of KELT-9b

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45 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

π˜₯𝘒𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘒𝘬 (art by me)

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82 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

Stecyk3D: a Bryce3D recomp Blender add-on is now available

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72 Upvotes

You'll need your own Bryce (only works with 3.0, 3.1, and 5.0), follow the instructions to extract the files and you'll be good to go. Enjoy!


r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

Not OC I kinda love this creepy CGI vibe from the 90s/2000s

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54 Upvotes

I know this is quite horrifying but I kinda dig the dark and eerie and almost surreal vibe of this Shrek 1996 test animation.

It also really screams "Retro CGI" and I would love to recreate this for my projects.


r/retrocgi • • 4d ago

some apartments

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24 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 5d ago

Blender The Marching Hammers

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28 Upvotes

Our current president in Brazil is fighting for re-election against a right-wing fascist... and Roger Waters (former lyricist, singer and bassist for Pink Floyd) came out publicly against this one extremist candidate, which took me back to listening to The Wallβ€”all this to say: I made them hammers :)


r/retrocgi • • 5d ago

Bryce β€œto which I have loved in every lifetime.” (oc)

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169 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 5d ago

3d GameStudio 1999 (fan art)

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166 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 5d ago

Oil City Archival Center

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50 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 5d ago

I made a survival horror game set in a town you can completely explore with ps2-esque graphics. What do you think of the visuals!

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9 Upvotes

r/retrocgi • • 5d ago

POV-Ray First meal in heaven

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27 Upvotes