I am trying to create an ASL based video series. I saw on another post that P3D allows for bone based animation, which would be required. But my biggest question is, can I create a video from this, and not a game? It would be cool to create an ASL based game, but I am trying to find something to create videos FIRST and all the software I have come across is OUTRAGEOUSLY priced.
Also, is there a HUGE learning curve for this?
Thanks!
If you want to render videos, have you looked at Blender? It’s free, and I imagine that it will do what you want.
If you do want to use Panda, I see no reason that you shouldn’t be able to build something that outputs videos – it just seems to me to be the long way around.
(By the way, what is “ASL”?)
If you are looking just to make videos your best bet would be to use a 3d animation software, such as Blender 9which is also free).
first create animation in panda3d, then record the screen using screen capturing softwares, or combine a series of screenshots into a video.
learning curve: panda3d is not the easiest free 3d engine. it depends on what you need (how beautiful, how realistic, how complex…) and what you already can do with programming and graphic design and 3d modeling…
panda3d is not for creating animations, nor can it do that. to get animated mesh working in panda3d one is supposed to create animations with external tools such as blender. i too think this is long way around for rendering videos. panda3d is just not designed for that purpose. trying to make panda cook videos would introduce lots of unnecessary work. imagine - you make art and animate it in blender, then export it to panda-friendly format (and bump into countless problems along the way), set up scene, have to create code that outputs frames to video and use panda to render the thing. this can be simplified by creating scene in blender and using buint-in functions to render that scene to video, its all there.
Actually, I think that one probably could create animations using Panda (remember that it is possible to control bones)… I just don’t think that it’s a terribly efficient way of going about it.
Thanks, everyone.
And ASL is American Sign Language. 
Hi! i have proyects in LSA (Argentine sign language), for the videos use Blender. You can download a model rigged (with a system of bones ready to animate easily) in Blenderswap.com and search in youtube how animate with keyframes. Is very simple, move bone and apply keyframe.