Software for 3D/2D Artists, Designers, etc.
Intro:
I've been trying to do my small part in the Linux community by helping out as much as possible. In doing so I created this extensive list of software which are used by studios and freelancers. The list is intended to be for working professionals so I try to avoid listing to many hobby software and instead focus more on the highend.
Film/Broadcast/Game Design:
Highend software that is ported to Linux such as some of the ones mentioned below are typically supported by their developers only for use with Red Hat and Novell distributions though this shouldn't stop you from trying other RPM based distributions (ie: Mandriva Linux, etc). Don't be surprised to find some production studios working in a cross network with Linux, Windows and OSX.
Due to individual copyrights, support issues and time involved the method of converting proprietary software files so as to attempt to work on Debian based distributions (ie: Linspire, Xandros, etc) is typically not considered a viable option. When speaking to studios and artist's it's understandable considering tools such as Alien are still in the experimental stage so software developers will not support them at this time. So if you're serious about entering this field and intend to use highend software then I suggest using RPM based distribution offerings from developers such as Novell or Red Hat. Both developers mentioned have obtained LSB certification ( see
http://www.linuxbase.org/ ).
Warning: Highend software such as Maya, XSI, Shake, etc that are ported to Linux is compiled for the x86 architecture only. Meaning you cannot run for example Shake ported to Linux on Yellow Dog Linux for PPC. If you are using Apple's PPC hardware you will need to find applications ported to OSX.
Graphic/Web Design:
Typically for web/graphic designers and illustrators the platform of choice is OSX due to Apple's dominance in that particular market. Though I've heard many good reports from designers that Macromedia software such as Flash MX and Dreamweaver MX do work on Wine. There are also other software ported to Linux for designers so freelancers and design studios can now consider Linux as a viable alternative to cut cost. You are also less restricted than production studios in that you have the choice of using either a RPM based or Debian based distribution.
Conclusion:
Choose the right tool for the job. No matter if it's software or hardware the entire pipeline should compliment the end user and projects. Also, ensure to check individual developer system requirements prior to purchase and/or installation.
NOTE: Forward comments and suggestions by sending a PM (see link at end of post). This method ensures an organized thread and less chance of duplicate posts. Thank you.
Previz:
Storyboard Lite
http://www.zebradevelopment.com/
2D Animation:
US Animation
http://www.toonboom.com/products/USAnimation/
MOHO
http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/
Synfig Studio (OSS)
http://www.synfig.com/
KToon (OSS)
http://ktoon.toonka.com/
3D Animation:
Maya
http://www.alias.com/eng/index_flash.shtml
XSI
http://www.softimage.com/home/
Houdini
http://www.sidefx.com/
Blender (OSS)
http://www.blender3d.com/
Cinema4D (Works on Wine)
http://www.maxoncomputer.com/
Lightwave (Works on Wine)
http://www.newtek.com/
Lip-sync for animation:
Papagayo (OSS)
http://www.lostmarble.com/papagayo/index.shtml
Camera Tracking and Match Moving:
Boujou
http://www.2d3.com/
3DEqualizer
http://www.3dequalizer.com
Mokey/Monet
http://www.imagineersystems.com/
Matchmover Pro
http://realviz.com/products/mpro/index.php
MMTrack
http://realviz.com/products/mmt/index.php
Maya Live (Included with Maya Unlimited - See Maya link above).
Compositors:
Inferno
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Flame
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Shake
http://www.apple.com/shake/
Flint
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Nuke
http://www.d2software.com/index.html
Halo
http://www.sidefx.com/
Combustion (Works on Wine)
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Render Software:
Mental Ray
http://www.mentalimages.com/
Renderman
https://renderman.pixar.com/
Pixie (OSS)
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~okan/Pixie/pixie.htm
3DElight
http://3delight.com/index.htm
Open Render (OSS)
http://openrender.sourceforge.net/
Aqsis (OSS)
http://www.aqsis.com/
Radiance (OSS)
http://radsite.lbl.gov/radiance/
Gelato Film Renderer
http://film.nvidia.com/page/home.html
PovRay (OSS)
http://www.povray.org/
Air
http://www.sitexgraphics.com/
Yafray (OSS)
http://www.yafray.org/
RenderDocC
http://www.dotcsw.com/rdc.html
Discreet Burn
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Turtle
http://www.illuminatelabs.com/
Qube!
http://www.pipelinefx.com/
Muster
http://www.vvertex.com/
Rush
http://seriss.com/rush/
GRender (OSS)
http://grender.sourceforge.net/
DrQueue (OSS)
http://drqueue.org/
PovMosix (OSS)
http://povmosix.sourceforge.net/
Online Render Services:
Render Rocket
http://www.renderrocket.com/
ResPower:
http://www.respower.com/
RenderNOW
http://www.rendernow.com/
EFX
http://www.efxone.com/renderfarm1.htm
Rendercore
http://www.rendercore.com/
Render-it
http://render-it.co.uk/
NLE Software:
Jahshaka (OSS)
http://www.jahshaka.org/index.php
Smoke
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Piranha Cinema
http://www.ifx.com/piranha/
MainActor
http://www.mainconcept.com/
Cinelerra (OSS)
http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3
Online NLE Services:
Rainmaker
http://www.rainmaker.com/
Eyespost
http://www.eyespost.com/
Post Producers
http://www.ppd.ca/
Imarion
http://www.imarion.com/
Audio Editing/Mixing:
Wired (OSS)
http://bloodshed.net/wired/
Ardour (OSS)
http://ardour.org/
Rosegarden (OSS)
http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/
LMMS (OSS)
http://lmms.sourceforge.net/
Hydrogen (OSS)
http://www.hydrogen-music.org/
Paint/Image Editing:
GIMP (OSS)
http://gimp.org/
Cinepaint (OSS)
http://www.cinepaint.org/
Pixel
http://www.kanzelsberger.com/pixel/
IFX Amazon Paint
http://www.ifx.com/amazon/
Photogenics
http://www.idruna.com/index.html
Pixologic ZBrush (Works on Wine)
http://pixologic.com/index.cgi
BodyPaint 3D (Works on Wine)
http://www.maxoncomputer.com/
Panorama Tools (OSS)
http://panotools.sourceforge.net/
Film Color Correction/Mastering:
Da Vinci
http://www.davsys.com/
Speedgrade
http://www.speedgrade.com/
Lustre
http://www4.discreet.com/lustre/
Film Master
http://www.digitalvision.se/
Data Conform
http://www.digitalvision.se/
Video/Audio Conversion:
Konverter (OSS)
http://www.kraus.tk/projects/konverter/
AudioKonverter (OSS)
http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=12608
AudioMove (OSS)
http://www.lcscanada.com/audiomove/index.html
Video Playback:
Framecycler
http://www.iridas.com/framecycler/
MPlayer (OSS)
http://www.mplayerhq.hu
Xine (OSS)
http://xinehq.de/
Helix (OSS)
https://player.helixcommunity.org/
RealPlayer
http://www.realnetworks.com/
MoviX (OSS)
http://movix.sourceforge.net/
Vector Drawing/Illustration:
Inkscape (OSS)
http://www.inkscape.org/
Sodipodi (OSS)
http://www.sodipodi.com/
Skencil (OSS)
http://www.nongnu.org/skencil/index.html
Adobe Illustrator (Works on Wine)
Web Design:
WireFusion
http://www.demicron.com/wirefusion/index.html
Macromedia FlashMX (Works on Wine)
Flash For Linux (OSS)
http://f4l.sourceforge.net/
Macromedia DreamweaverMX (Works on Wine)
Macromedia StudioMX (Works on Wine)
NVU (OSS)
http://nvu.com/index.html
Quanta (OSS)
http://quanta.sourceforge.net/
Bluefish (OSS)
http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/
CAD:
VariCAD
http://www.varicad.com/
Cycas
http://www.cycas.de/
gCAD3D (OSS)
http://www.cadcam.co.at/freiter/gCAD3D.htm
ARCAD 3D
http://www.lx-office.com/LX/products/archi...rcad/index.html
Asset Management:
NXN Alienbrain
http://www.alienbrain.com/
File Maker Pro
http://www.filemaker.com/
Discreet Backdraft
http://www4.discreet.com/backdraft/
Gwenview (OSS)
http://gwenview.sourceforge.net/
Showimg (OSS)
http://www.jalix.org/projects/showimg/
KPhotoBook (OSS)
http://kphotobook.sourceforge.net/
Rushplay
http://www.heuris.com/hollywood/AboutRushplay.htm
F-Spot (OSS - Like iPhoto)
http://www.gnome.org/projects/f-spot/
Cluster Software:
Maui
http://supercluster.org/maui/
Open Mosix (OSS)
http://openmosix.sourceforge.net/
OpenPBS
http://www.openpbs.org/
Platform LSF
http://www.platform.com/products/LSF/
OpenSSI (OSS)
http://openssi.org/
Archiving/Backup:
Konserve (OSS)
http://konserve.sourceforge.net/
KDar (OSS)
http://kdar.sourceforge.net/
Dar (OSS)
http://dar.linux.free.fr/
Amanda (OSS)
http://www.amanda.org/
KArchiver (OSS)
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/coquelle/karchiver/
K3B (OSS)
http://www.k3b.org/
X-CD-Roast (OSS)
http://www.xcdroast.org/
Drive Image
http://www.drive-image.com/
Burt (OSS)
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~jmelski/burt/
Storix
http://www.storix.com/
GnomeBaker (OSS)
http://gnomebaker.sourceforge.net/v2/
APCupsd (OSS)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/apcupsd
Conference/Chat Messengers:
OpenWengo (OSS - video/voice)
http://www.openwengo.com/
Kopete (OSS - video)
http://kopete.kde.org/
GnomeMeeting (OSS - video/voice)
http://www.gnomemeeting.org/
aMSN (OSS - video)
http://amsn.sourceforge.net/
GAIM (OSS)
http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
Skype (OSS - voice)
http://www.skype.com/
DigiChat
http://digichat.com/
Gizmo
http://www.gizmoproject.com/
Office Productivity:
Evolution (OSS - Mail)
http://www.gnome.org/projects/evolution/
KMail (OSS - Mail)
http://kmail.kde.org/
Open Office (OSS)
http://www.openoffice.org/
Star Office
http://wwws.sun.com/
KDE Kontact Groupware Client (OSS)
http://kontact.kde.org/
KOffice (OSS)
http://koffice.kde.org/
Gnome Office (OSS)
http://www.gnome.org/gnome-office/
Google Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar
Wine Links:
Wine (OSS)
http://www.winehq.com/
Wine Doors (OSS)
http://www.wine-doors.org/trac
WineTools (OSS)
http://www.von-thadden.de/Joachim/WineTools/
CrossOver Office
http://www.codeweavers.com
Cedega (For games)
http://www.transgaming.com/
Help Docs:
Wine How To
http://www.frankscorner.org
eLibrary
http://elibrary.fultus.com/technical/index.jsp
Linux How To & Manuals
http://www.linuxforum.com/
The Linux Documentation Project
http://www.tldp.org/index.html
Linux Wacom Project:
http://linuxwacom.sourceforge.net/