ABSTRACT
There are two basic ways that digital applications are used in conjunction with 3D. Most applications can be used in both of these ways, before and after the 3D rendering.
Most artists use one (or many) digital applications to prepare elements to be used in the development of their 3D worlds, such as image maps (flat pictures or textures that will define the surface look of models or backgrounds), vector paths (that can be used in the modeling process or to define motion paths), and even movies that can play as textures or moving backgrounds. Used in this way, applications create elements that feed into the 3D process on the front end, or at some point before the final rendering of the 3D world.
