Anark Studio 1.0

That is because Anark Studio is so good at integrating 3D and 2D graphics, sound, video, and data into one that you cannot help but feel a little like how movie directors Steven Spielberg or George Lucas must feel when they create their special effects wonders.

Further, load times are extremely quick (and files surprisingly small) in light of the productions that can be created.

But before you run to the web site to purchase this program, there are two things you need to keep in mind. It is somewhat pricey, and viewers to a website using content created from Anark Studio have to download Anark's own player to see the content.

The program costs $995, unless you qualify for a competitive upgrade which lowers the price tag to $399. Qualifying programs include Macromedia's Director and Flash, Adobe's Livemotion and After Effects, and 3D Studio Max.

The player, called Anark Client, is free. The negative of it is that it is a 1.5 MB download, and people may not be willing to go through that to see what you have produced. It does, however, only need to be downloaded once and not for each different Anark Studio production.

Nonetheless, because of that no examples are featured in this review. However, if you wish to download the client and see some very entertaining samples, you may go the Anark web site (http://www.anark.com) and then enter the Demo Lounge to see some great examples of what the program can do.

While Anark Studio beautifully handles 3D content, it does not include the tools needed to author original 3D graphics. That means that you either have to have a program that produces such items, preferably in .3ds format, or you must search the internet to search for those items. Doing that could provide you with some copyright issues.

That said, it does import a variety of 2D images and can turn them into an impressive show, too. Among import options are .psd, .png, .jpg, .tga, .tiff, and .bmp formats. It will also import .wav sounds, Windows media, Quick Time version 3, and MPEG video and audio files.

Anark Studio has a clean interface, offers 3D layers that can pass through and blend with other layers, drag-and-drop interactive behaviors (eliminates scripting), and continuous time animation (in other words not frame based).

It supports video mapping onto 3D objects, has a built-in script editor, preloaders built into the movies, an easy to use timeline, and many, many more features.

Anark Studio 1.0 is easy to use and does not require all that much time to produce sensational results, especially if you are accustomed to using Flash and other such programs. The upgrade price is not unreasonable and now is a good time to get it before that price goes away or is increased.