QUESTION OF THE WEEK FOR ALL

This is a sort of form letter due to the fact i think this letter is the QUESTION OF THE WEEK.
I explained to Daniel at Material Connextion i am a jewelry making student who could only afford Sourceware like Google sketch up and / or Blender. while they aren't dedicated jewelry sourceware it will be fine by me. During the day i am a civilian clerical secretary with NYPD. (20 +) i said it's fantastic that people like Nervous, Makerbot, Shapeways, Bathsheba Grossman are out there helping people who while studying jewelry design would like to not wait decades to make and sell their designs. The hurdles put there by the Jewelry industry are almost insurmountable. Most Rhino, JewelCAD or softwares dedicated to this are over $1,000.00. with lessons going from one thousand dollars to eight thousand dollars (Monarch CAD). people like You Makerbot, Shapeways, make student jewelry designers who need to make a sellable product - clearly you guys bring us closer to seeing our dreams but alas as Bathsheba Grossman said it took her almost 6 months for her to learn how to use CAD / STL / ATF formatting source
code.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE YOUR QUESTION IF YOU CHOOSE TO ANSWER
i discussed with Material Connexion Genius Daniel Swartz today -- I said "Hey i can operate a little Adobe Photoshop i.e., superimposing a shape on top of my art work and creating a circle, square, heart, with my artwork that's as CLOSE as i can get to 3Drd dimensionally. I wish (like Dorothy clicking her Ruby Slippers - I will be posting this subject all over) Why is there no Software that can take a JPEG, BIF, ETC. and let a person NOVICE convert it to CAD / STL / ATF???? I mean if i got to the point of scanning my art onto Adobe tweaking it in Black and white saving the file why can't a software let it open as a JPEG so that i can make it a 3DRD dimentional finished piece for casting in silicone for later casting in LOST WAX. Makerbot you guys i was told by Daniel taught him how to use CAD a little you developed the worlds' first AFFORDABLE 3D PRINTER WHICH I PLAN ON BUYING AS SOON AS YOU WONDERFUL HACKERS FINISH MY SOFTWARE REQUEST AND BLENDER YOU CAN ADD YOURSELVES TO MY WISHES AND I'M CLICKING MY RUBY SLIPPERS PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP AND A CHERRY.
sabra
mcqueenlabmouse@aol.com
Find me at about.me/sabrasilverclouddesigns

Not entirely sure what you are asking, but here goes.

A two dimensional image (ie jpg) can only show so much in the way of actual depth. There are projects that are taking data from images and recreating 3d from them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-AzN6vxu8 - search for Zbrush 'Shadowbox'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4obTZV2QEM

Quick examples.

However, whether it is expensive CAD software, Blender being free of a price tag or a pencil and paper, all techniques are going to take time and learning even if they don't take as much money.

If you're simply asking if Blender can take in reference images to help you model, then yes it can do that and export out STL when you are done.

Hope that helps somewhat.

you are truly amazing for responding so quickly to me. i have alot of respect for you in that you tried to help me not knowing me at all i appreciate your kindness and feel honored.
my problem i'm scared of blender i mean i want to use it - in regards to my black and white artwork and superimpose 3RD Dimentional shapes shading ultimately printing a 3d model which will translate into a silicone cast which can be used over and over to make wax jewelry molds. my artwork is flat and swirly how to use blender with it i'm so lost because i just downloaded it two days prior. i'd like to see if i can get some certified instructor and get the dvd from him Dillon i think his name is and take my artwork open in blender then change the parameters. But it seems so impossible.

No worries. I just happened to be checking the forum.

For Blender I usually recommend this page as a starter:
http://cgcookie.com/blender/get-started-with-blender/

It's free video content. The rest of the site has a broad range of educational material, most of it available for free with some added content available through subscription.

Of course there are other training dvds and books, etc but if you are just starting to find out if Blender is for you then the CG Cookie stuff would be a good starting place before you spend up on training material. They are also Blender certified instructors.

The main instructor Jonathan Williamson can also be contracted (to my understanding) through http://mavenseed.com/ for one on one personal tutoring.

mavenseed wins my vote. i know that's the way i should go. Bendasie do you think i should try ZBrush also you have my mind open but i like the idea of working one on one for an hour. i think that's Mavenseed is what i'm going to try. i'll upload the artwork i want to work on and if i need continued work i'll pay for 2 hours and do the work and ask if he can send me code work or written transcript so i can look back on my lessons, thanks your the best ! what do you think about zbrush and have you ever taught anyone?

Well Zbrush has a free trial here: https://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/trial/

However, it might be a bit overkill / not entirely suited to how you want to use it. Obviously I'm not sure on that point, but keep in mind that Blender also has some of the sculpting capability Zbrush does. I purchased Zbrush before that, but I enjoy using a mix of both though. I don't have much reason to sculpt at work though (digital day job) so getting more active here is good excuse to use it more. Certainly never taught Zbrush though, not at that level yet with sculpting or educating.

At the risk of confusing things though, there are other options such as https://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/ and I've just found the big list here: https://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/supported-applications

As you are aware, that list ranges from free to thousands of dollars/euros/etc though, but some aren't that bad for price. Haven't tried https://3d-coat.com/ for example yet, but fairly happy with my current software tools for the most part.

It might be my bias, but I would see if Blender suits your needs first. That way all you've really lost is time and a little effort if it doesn't work out. Would be worse to spend $1000+ on something and realise you don't need most of the features.

There is free training for Zbrush https://www.pixologic.com/zclassroom/homeroom/ and a range of other software available these days if you look. The trick is figuring out what tips are actually good.

If I may offer a couple of viewpoints..... In 30+ years of working with computers and users.. I have found two things to be true:

First, almost NO task is ever done with a single tool. The people that are doing really good work here at Shapeways often start a design in one tool, and then move it to another for finishing.

Second, I can take any two tools, and any two users. GIve tool One to user A, and tool Two to user B. Let them both work with their tool for six months to a year and develop a level of proficiency with the tools. Then, present both users with the other tool. GIve tool One to user B and tool Two to user A.

No change in the tools, just switch the users.

They will both proclaim loudly.. "Why didn't you show me this before?!?"

There are hundreds of different design tools, each with it's own quirks and benefits. You need to sample some of them, and find one that "Works the way YOU think" and don't be afraid of changing tools later on, if you find something that suits you better.

Short of that, I'd suggest that you find one of the tools that is actively being developed, and join their support forum to provide positive input to help them develop the tool to make it better.

Completely agree. Another thing I forgot to mention is that picking up skills in one 3d package almost always transfers to the other packages. Modelling with polygons is always going to be modelling with polygons for example. Specific modelling tools differ in the different packages, but the knowledge picked up in Maya, Blender, Max, etc is basically useful in all of them.

Check this out by stonysmith
http://stonysmith.com/wired/stepvan/default.asp
http://download.cnet.com/TrueSpace/3000-6677_4-10187286.html

I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, but it seems like you are asking for something like the Shapeways Image Popper. It does exactly what you describe. It takes a black and white JPG and extrudes it into three dimensions. You can define the thickness and even add a base around it. It's extremely easy to use. Give it a try.

Shapeways Image Popper

thanks for welcoming me and being supportive i greatly appreciate it.!

Thanks i am awed by the outpouring of support i really feel as though i've arrived i'm downloading scuptris now. (i hope it works even though i don't have zbrush.