[commedia] Arts software for ICT

[Digita]

>I am supporting a voluntary group to set up an ICT centre. 
>They are currently looking for software that relates to the 
>arts i.e. Music, film & video and others.  Any help will 
>be appreciated.

* A full registered copy of Poser 4 will be given away free
with the next issue of the UK's Computer Arts magazine.  
In the past they've given away full software (worth having)
such as Bryce, the Photographic Edges plug-in for Photoshop,
Dreamweaver 2, and more.  Their sister magazine Computer
Music gives away similar music software too.  See if you 
can find someone who has a stash of the all the free cover 
CDs from Computer Arts, Digit, Create, Computer Music, and 
CGI mags.  A lot of the stuff on cover-disks is dross, but
occassionaly there's a jewel. 

* Terragen is an excellent freeware landscape-generator 
similar to Bryce.  Search Google for the home page and 
download.

* alias.wavefront are currently offering a free full 
'learning copy' of the industry-standard Maya to students 
and interested 'back-bedroom' learners. High-end stuff, 
though; not for beginners to creative computing or for 
low-spec machines.  If you can tell us who the target/likely
users are, we could better target the advice.

* a range of very interesting generative software is 
coming along, in beta, and often free while still in the 
testing stages.

* Font Creator 3.02 is excellent non-crippled shareware for 
designing custom fonts / typefaces.  Download from
http://www.high-logic.com/fcp.html 

* PaintShop Pro is always the popular graphics 
editing tool for charities and youth-arts centres, 
if they can't get a copy of Photoshop.  I think that
Adobe are now making a cut-down 'light' version of
Photoshop called Photoshop Elements, which costs 
about 60 pounds?

I understand you can also get educational/charity freebie 
packs from Microsoft, and perhaps Adobe, Macromedia etc.

If you're buying music software, make sure you get a 
copy of Reason. If not, then even the demo is worth
having.

Yours,

David

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