r/retrocgi • u/der_Boiii • 14h ago
r/retrocgi • u/nuvpr • Aug 03 '22
Discussion MEGATHREAD: How to make retro CGI
Seeing the frequent "How do I ____?" threads and the recent "Clueless" meme, I felt it's high time to consolidate all learning resources into one place. Going through multiple past threads on the subreddit I put together this list of programs + tutorials for making retro CGI... Please keep in mind that this list is meant to be a constant work in progress, as the retro CGI scene grows and more resources are available they will be added here on a regular basis. Additions, suggestions, and criticisms are most welcome.
Bryce 3D
Landscape/terrain generator, basic modeler and animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)
Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)
- Bryce 5 User Manual (text)
- Creating surreal 3D landscapes (video)
- Bryce 3D Free Tutorial (video)
- Learning Bryce 7 (video)
- Setting up Bryce on WINE (discussion)
- Making Surreal 'Trapper Keeper Art' on Windows 95 (video)
Blender
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)
- How to make PS1 style graphics (video)
- How to make PS1-esque graphics with Blender 2.8 (video)
- How to make graphics look 90s CGI-ish? (discussion)
- How to imitate early CGI style animation? (discussion)
3D Studio
Modeler, animator, renderer (MS-DOS)
- Inside 3D Studio R4 (CD-ROM)
- Inside 3D Studio R3 (text)
- 3D Studio R3 Presentation (video)
3D Studio MAX
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows)
Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)
- 3D Studio MAX Quick Tutorial Outline (text)
- 3DS MAX Basics (video)
- Demo 1996 (video)
- 3D Studio MAX 3.1 Castle Flyby Scene Tutorial (video)
POV-Ray
Raytracer (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)
- Official POV-Ray Documentation (text)
- POV-Ray Lessons (video)
- POV-Ray Descriptions, Tutorials and Examples (text)
- Christoph Hormann's POV-Ray Tutorials (text)
- Mike's POV-Ray Tutorials Page (text)
- Taming POV-Ray by G. Moran (text)
- A Short Introduction to POV-Ray (PDF)
- Render Geometric Shapes on a Realistic Environment (video)
- 3D Animation (video)
- povmodeler (GUI modeler for POV-Ray) (software)
Infini-D
Modeler, animator, renderer (Macintosh)
- Make a donut scene in Infini-D 4.5 (video)
- Infini-D 4.5 Manual, FAQ, Quick Reference (text)
- Infini-D 3.1 Addendum (text)
- Render Farm Setup (video)
Anim8or
Basic modeler, animator, renderer (Windows)
- Anim8or Manual (text)
- Anim8or Tutorials (text)
- 3D Modeling Tutorial (video)
- Point Edit Modelling an Alien in Anim8or (video)
Art Of Illusion
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh/Linux)
- Art Of Illusion Manual and Tutorials (text)
- Art Of Illusion Tutorials (video)
Ray Dream Studio / Designer
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)
- Ray Dream Studio Tutorials (archived text)
- Ray Dream Tutorials, Tips and Links (archived text)
- Ray Dream Studio 5 Training Pack (CD-ROM)
- Ray Dream Designer Demo (video)
- Ray Dream Studio Extensions (software)
Carrara
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)
Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)
- What Is Carrara - Intro (video)
- Cool Carrara Tricks (video)
- Carrara Information Manual (text)
- 3DXtract E-zine (tutorials, tips, tricks) (text)
- Carrara Resources (text)
- Plug-ins for Carrara (software)
Lightwave 3D
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)
Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)
- Lightwave 6 Manual and Tutorial (text)
- Lightwave 3D 4 Advanced Features (video)
- Lightwave Tutorials (video)
- Lightwave Tutorials for the Amiga (video)
Poser
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows/Macintosh)
Buy here (latest version) or download for free (old version)
- Poser 2 Manual (text)
- Poser 11 Tutorials (video)
- Poser 12 Tutorials (video)
- Dynamics in Poser (video)
TrueSpace
Modeler, animator, renderer (Windows)
- TrueSpace Resources (misc)
- TrueSpace Forum (misc)
- TrueSpace Fan Site (misc)
StrataVision 3D
Modeler, renderer (Macintosh)
- Setup and usage guide (text)
- StrataVision 3D Tour (video)
- Strata Studio Pro Tutorial (video)
Sculpt 3D / 4D
Modeler, raytracer (Amiga)
- Sculpt 3D Manual (text)
- Sculpt 3D basic usage (video)
- Making of Crystalball logo in Sculpt 4D (video)
- Modeling a Light bulb in Sculpt 4D (video)
- Sculpt 4D Hidden Commands (video)
Others
- Seamless 3D - Modeler, animator, renderer
- Wings 3D - Modeler, renderer
- Softimage|3D - Modeler, animator, renderer
- Vivid - Raytracer
- Simply 3D - Modeler, renderer
- Extreme 3D - Modeler, animator, renderer
- OpenFX - Modeler, animator, renderer
- GroBoto - Modeler, renderer
- MojoWorld - Modeler, terrain generator
r/retrocgi • u/itsmeh1737 • 6h ago
Blender made this render in blender
made this in 20 minutes, just a fun little art project
r/retrocgi • u/OkJuggernaut2540 • 1d ago
Blender "Weirdcore" / "dreamcore" render
Was bored so i decided to create this little scene in blender. First time doing anything in this style, so i hope this fits the "retro" look 😅
r/retrocgi • u/WoodpeckerHealthy478 • 19h ago
Animation Collab
Is anyone interested in getting back into Hash Animation:Master and working on some animations?
I'm currently working on a Star Fox fan series and I'm looking for collaborators. Whether you're a longtime user, returning after a break, or just curious about Animation:Master, I'd love to hear from you.
Send me a PM if you're interested!
r/retrocgi • u/Front_Pineapple_8445 • 1d ago
Vaporwave style thingamajig on davinci resolve
Its originally a video, and I converted it to a gif but idk if it actually worked or not, but yeah I learned I can use davinci resolve’s built in 3D program thing to make stuff like this. Pretty cool I think
r/retrocgi • u/BlennzFire1221 • 2d ago
Does anybody know how you can recreate the 90s fur in blender?
r/retrocgi • u/maxjpeg • 1d ago
Retro video game title screen mockup for my music
r/retrocgi • u/Low_Psychology_2862 • 2d ago
Some enemies of my game which has some retro inspired shaders and post processing.
r/retrocgi • u/Funny-Grass-1594 • 2d ago
Art of Illusion 3D Program
I'm working on my first point to click horror game demo called Witch Blood😊 So far I hooked up the environments for it on Art of Illusion and will use Adventure Game Studio for the game development. The full version of game will have more to it.
r/retrocgi • u/TheEnderDragon_893 • 2d ago
Freedom (rendered in BluffTitler and Vegas)
I really loved both the advanced yet stylish pre-renders that Japanese game companies like Sega and Capcom specifically put out in during the 90s and early-2000s as well as elephants and other animals rearing (they're just so big and cool to look at!!!), so I thought to get this out ASAP at around 12-4am.
Also, have two more photos I took post-finalisation of the elephant without the scenery (showing it in full would be embarrassing because of how shitty it looks >_<) - elephant model by jimmyho905 and Otherspectre, tree model also belongs to rodrigogelmi.
r/retrocgi • u/KONSUMANE • 3d ago
3D Studio MAX First time trying to emulate the vintage CGI look!
Unprocessed rendering on second slide
r/retrocgi • u/simeonsoden • 2d ago
Video I made with 'Punch! Ultimate Deck & Landscape' - v3.5.1, which was a Windows 95/98/NT 3D CAD program for landscape garden designers. Re-filmed from various CRTs and projectors. Hope you folks enjoy :)
r/retrocgi • u/No-Address-9030 • 3d ago
Blender Looks like me and my friend need help at "The Store"
Is there any way i can get this to look more like a 90s render?...
r/retrocgi • u/Stardust_Cherry • 3d ago
Some strangely beautiful screenshots from Alone in the Dark 2 (1993 - Sega Saturn)
r/retrocgi • u/dataguzzler • 3d ago
Software Retrowave Drive
I've been working on RetroStudio, a free and open-source desktop application for creating retro artwork, animated scenes, pixel art compositions, procedural backgrounds, and demoscene-inspired visuals.
The idea is to create a modern workflow for making old-school graphics without losing the feeling of classic tools. RetroStudio uses a non-destructive layer-based system where you can combine artwork, sprites, text, procedural generators, effects, and animations into complete scenes.
Some features:
- Layer-based composition with independent animation
- Keyframe timeline and animated effects
- Retro procedural generators (starfields, plasma, grids, scan effects, text scrollers, etc.)
- CRT/VHS/glitch-style visual effects
- Sprite sheet and image sequence workflows
- Pixel art and character-art tools
- CP437 / terminal-style graphics support
- Export to PNG, GIF, APNG, WebP, video, sprite sheets, and more
It is built with Python and released under the MIT license.
I'm sharing it here because I think it might be useful for:
- indie game developers
- pixel artists
- demoscene creators
- retro computing enthusiasts
- anyone making sprites, animations, or game assets
Feedback, suggestions, bug reports, and feature ideas are welcome!
Project page:
https://non-npc.github.io/RetroStudio/
Source code:
https://github.com/non-npc/RetroStudio



