Amorphium Pro Edition

Amorphium Pro is the cross-platform tool that was used to create imagery, such as that on the right, for the movie "Austin Powers II: The Spy Who Shagged Me," from which the line "Yeah, baby, yeah," became a classic for actor Mike Meyers.

Whether Amorphium Pro becomes a classic remains to be seen, but it does offer many features that have escaped most previous 3D creators, not the least of which is the ability to work without using wireframes.

Amorphium Pro's interface is graphical and clean, which from the beginning make the program somewhat less daunting than most 3D programs. But make no mistake, this is a 3D program and, as such, still has a learning curve that can make it tough for a neophyte.

However, with a little patience and the willingness of a child to try different things, almost anyone can create 3D objects in a reasonable amount of time.

Creation begins with choosing the "New Project" button. From there, the menu on the left of the screen has a great many options from which users can select, including a wide assortment of shapes, type features, lighting, rotation angles, smokes, boolean adds, gradients, resizing tools, shading, brushes, pinches, and smudges.

Once all the choices and designing is complete, the user can push the camera button at the bottom of the menu to render the scene (shown at right). Rendering can take the form of vector graphics, raytracing (true-to-life surface reflections and refractions), radiosity (photo realistic), and more.

While Amorphium Pro is great for producing 3D text and other still life, its usefulness far exceeds that ability. In fact, it can produce optimized Flash graphics in .SWF format, offering full animation, and animated .GIFs. That opens the door for production of graphics and animations used in movies such as the one mentioned above as well as "Star Wars: Episode 1", "Dinosaur", "Mission to Mars", "Space Cowboys", and "U-571".

Many more options become available when the user selects the "Tasks" button at the top left of the screen, opening a whole new world of options, as seen on the menu bar below. Among the possibilities are textures, banking, scaling, spiking, twisting, shearing, tapering, and three forms of morphing.

From there, users can take advantage of the program's timelines, unlimited keyframes, parenting, and grouping tools, as well as a plethora of special effects tools.

Amorphium Pro is another of those programs that is of particular use to those who prefer using pressure-sensitive tablets. It also enables users to see their work in up to four window views.

The program probably is not the best choice for someone's first- ever graphic tool, but more experienced users can take advantage of its many powers to produce some extremely fine work. Am I sure? Yeah, baby, yeah.

What is it called again? Amorphium Pro Edition

Where can I get it? http://www.electricimage.com

What are the computer requirements to use it? For PCs, Windows 95 or higher, 233 Mhz or higher, 64 MB of RAM, 800x600 display with 16-bit color or better, Quick Time. For Macintosh, MacOS 8.6 or later, Power PC, 64 MB RAM, 800x600 display, Quick Time.

How much does it cost? $119 for PC or Mac download; $129 for Mac/Win CD hybrid.

Do I recommend it? Yes, if you are comfortable working with Photoshop, or with other 3D programs. The price is quite good for what you get — if you can figure out how to use it. I would caution beginners to expect an investment in time learning the program, too.