FREE Shade 7 designer LE 3D software - INSTRUCTIONS

#1 

  CGSociety and [e frontier](http://www.e-frontier.com) have partnered to give all CGSociety members a free, downloadable copy of Shade 7 designer LE until 30 August 2006! 
   
   Shade 7 designer LE is a powerful choice for artists new to 3D. 
   
   
   [b]About Shade 7 designer LE[/b]
   The full version of e frontier’s Shade 7 designer LE is the entry version to an all-in-one 3D graphics suite for creative designers and illustrators. Quickly learn and use intuitive modeling tools to visualize your creations with Shade 7 designer LE. Graduate to the latest benefits and power of Shade 8, in either standard or professional levels. This sophisticated 3D tool generates photo-realistic renderings and 3D animations. More than 200,000+ designers use Shade for 3D design projects ranging from store design to product prototypes, automotive design, future and office interiors, high-end character rendering and animation. With a library of thousands of ready-to-use objects available, Shade provides a content collection that gets you started fast!
   
   [b]Shade 8 Upgrade Offer[/b]
   Shade 7 designer LE is a powerful choice for artists new to 3D. This incredible offer brings you the next two levels of Shade 8, either standard or professional at incredible discounts. Upgrade to Shade 8 standard for only $99.99, that’s a savings of 50% off the regular price of $199.99. Or order Shade 8 professional for $699.99, $200 off the regular price of $899.99.
  
  [>> More information on e frontier Shade <<](http://www.e-frontier.com/article/articleview/1784/1/652?sbss=652)
   
   
   INSTRUCTIONS
   
   GET YOUR VOUCHER CODE HERE:
   [http://www.cgsociety.org/member_benefits/efrontier.php](http://www.cgsociety.org/member_benefits/efrontier.php)
   
   You will be downloading your full version of Shade 7 designer LE software from e frontier's content superstore, Content Paradise.
   
   Create Your Account: Before downloading your software, you will need to create an account with Content Paradise. You will be unable to checkout without an active account.
   
   To set up your account, go here: [http://www.contentparadise.com/register](http://www.contentparadise.com/register). This will take a few minutes.
   
   Activate Your Account: Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email to activate your user account, make sure to use a valid email.  (Check your spam filter if it does not appear within 15 minutes).
   
   Once you have activated your account, go here:

http://www.contentparadise.com/us/user/product_20644

   To Get Shade 7: On the right side of the [Shade 7 designer LE  product page](http://www.contentparadise.com/us/user/product_20644), select your preferred platform, then click "Add to cart". On the following page enter your unique CG Society coupon code in the Discount Coupon box in the middle of the page. Click “Go”.
    
   The following page will deliver your unique serial number (in the middle of the page). Use this serial number to activate your Shade 7 designer LE. 
   
   You will receive a confirmation email with your download link at the bottom of the page. Click this link to download the software and enter your serial number to activate your software.
   
   You are now ready to use the beginner’s version of one of the best 3D rendering and modeling software programs available!
   [color=LemonChiffon][b]

Problems with the download? Tech support![/b]
[/color] For further questions, contact e frontier tech support at
techsupport@e-frontier.com

[color=LemonChiffon]Upgrade to Shade 8
Shade 8 is now shipping which includes many new features CG hobbyists and professionals want, such as Quicktime VR panoramas, support for 3D sound, network rendering, playback of Poser rendering, UB compatibility on Macintosh and 64-bit support on Windows. Now that you have Shade 7, [/color]you can upgrade to Shade 8 standard for only $99.99, that’s a savings of 50% off the regular price of $199.99. Or order Shade 8 professional for $699.99, $200 off the regular price of $899.99.

   For more information about Shade 8 standard or Shade 8 go to [http://www.e-frontier.com/go/shade](http://www.e-frontier.com/go/shade)
   [email="techsupport@e-frontier.com"][/email]
#2

cool bananas, this looks likes fun, thanks!

I must confess, after using maya for some time, i’m just starting to get tired of the over complexity, so i’m keen to start trying alternatives, this couldn’t have come at a better time!

#3

Excellent news! I already have Shade, but this seems like a nice offer anyway. If anybody needs help getting to know the program, I am more than willing to help

#4

Interesting stuff… starting to learn this “new” tool…

#5

Juan -

I’m curious. How does Shade compare to Lightwave or Max? I’ll most likely take advantage of the offer, but I’d like to hear some input from Shade users, and since you know Shade and LW (my preferred general purpose app, BTW) you seem an ideal candidate.

…plus you offered. :smiley:

#6

That’s a good question, I also would like to hear from the experienced users how does Shade compare to Lightwave… anyone?
Thanks for poping this question mlynch

#7

I wish they had a feature comparison between standard and pro. Maybe someone could shed some light on the differences?

#8

Thanks for giving us this chance to try out this new software, I hope ill get to use it on some of my upcoming projects, if it has good compatibility with other softwares I mean, but thanks none the less.

#9

There is a comparison chart between Shade8 Standard and Shade8 pro here

Now, as to the feature set between Shade7LE and Shade8 Standard. Shade8 incorporates a radically improved polygon mesh editing toolset. While it is possible to edit polygon meshes in Shade7, the difference in ease between the versions is substantial.

What excells in Shade (be it version 7 or 8) is what it calls curved surfaces. The most similar comparison could be the way beizer gradients work in Illustrator, but on a 3d level. They are extremely versatile for some type of work.

As to how easy it is to get to grips with the program, well, it uses icons sparingly. You could say it has a spartan GUI. You can assign keyboard shortcuts to almost everything, which speeds the workflow tremendously. The spartan approach goes all the way to configuring the program. You have not much to configure. Truth be said, there no need.

Shade lends itself to a two monitor workflow, as it has lots of dialogue windows. A one monitor worflow is feasible, of course, but not as productive.

As to the difference between lightwave and Shade, well, I could not really compare the two, as I am not that familiar with lightwave as I am with Shade. So don’t take this as the definite comparison between the two…

First, Shade handles particles as a post effect. So some types of effects are harder to do opposed to 3d particle volumetrics, etc.

Second, the goodies as displacement mapping etc are just available only in the pro version. Mostly the difference between the pro and the other versions are more types of material shaders, unlimited render nodes, and render sizes.

Third, Shade incorporates the texture maps inside the shade file. Which is absolutely awesome for portability, but not so awesome if you have lots of different bitmaps around. You can have instanced reference of materials, so used wisely, it is a very powerful thing indeed.

Fourth, Shade uses python for scripting. I am not that much a programmer, but it also has a python script recorder.

Fifth, Shade loves hierarchy. This feature alone is probably one of the reasons I like using it. It just makes scene organization much easier. And changing a thingy from one hierarchy level to another modifies its attributes in a very predictable and efficient way. Surface attributes, motion attributes, everything depends on where something lies in a hierarchy. This is really powerful stuff, while not the usual way of doing things compared to other programs.

As to the workflow. Well, Shade is probably unique among 3d modelling and rendering applications, as it was developed in Japan for a long time before being available to the west. In that regard, the workflow is different from what most people are used to, but that does not mean it is an arcane or insane way of doing things. It is simply a different way of doing things. So if you think you will just open the program and everything will just feel familiar, that will not be the case. It is somewhat like a cad program in that aspect, it will not do the work for you, or assume things, or guess for you.

One important thing. Shade does not handle (yet) different material zones in a mesh. So if you import something from the outside, the imported object will only have one material applied to all the mesh. To overcome this, I split the mesh into material groups before importing.

All in all, IMHO, Shade7LE is great for modelling. It does have several rendering options (scanline, raytracing, pathtracing), radiosity, photon and pathtracing GI, but it does not let you tweak the render settings in the LE version. That is possible in the pro version. As to what in can do in real life situations? Well, you can check my portfolio here in cgtalk, most of the work I have there has been rendered in Shade. Some of the images there were done in Shade7LE, others are done in the pro version.

But don’t take my word for it. Download and try Shade.

#10

very nice, looking forward checking out this peace of aquipment. Thx CGS…

#11

Great offer! Thank you very much CGS :slight_smile:

#12

Shade8 VS modo201 ?

Anyone has anything to say about it?

For what I have been reading through forums and specifications, it looks like that modo201 future is brighter than Shade8. Plus modo is very similar to Zbrush 2… uii
Dan is writing another one of his Award winning books about modo201
The Official Luxology modo Guide

back to the main question

Shade8 VS modo201 ?

What do you have to say ?

#13

really Interesting stuff…

thanks…:bounce:

#14

cool stuff Leo, I´ll get it!

thanx

gusss

#15

Thanks for the feedback, Juan. :thumbsup: Shade Pro sounds pretty comparable to Strata 3D CX - another app in my toolkit (not as versatile as Lightwave, but definitely capable) …and being that Shade Pro can work with LWOs it looks like it could be a good addition to my line-up.

…I’m downloading the free version of Shade 7 LE now, and will most likely be upgrading to v.8… at the discounted prices why wouldn’t I?

Leo - I just want to extend my thanks for this offer. This is just one more reason (out of a list of many) why I love being a member of CGS! This is a great community, and service, for digital artists. Keep up the great work. Your efforts have made this society the pinnacle of CG news and information.

#16

I wouldn’t know if Modo and Shade compare, as I do not own Modo. Sorry. Modo does look like a nice powerful app.

#17

Anyway, thanks for the CGS for offering this soft :wink:

I think that I’m going for modo, then shade, try here try there try try try, at the end only after trying both I can really say.

#18

I appreciate the offer, but since I have created a unique work flow for my type of work within Max and also depend heavily on Vray at render time, I doubt it would be worth my while to invest the time to go through the curve with it.

Any other Maxites in the same position ?

Thanks for the offer though

#19

3d studio max users, you might not need Shade as an alternate render. But I seriously recommend it as a substitute nurbs modeller. Much easier, more flexible, IMO, nurbs-wise.

#20

Great offer, puts some real benefit to the CGS membership.