If I wanted to make animations for Skyrim, would 3DS max be the only program I could make them in?

Pretty sure you can do it in Blender too.

Nope, blender would work just as good.

Only for making .kf animations. Skyrim uses Havok Behavior and blender doesn't support it.

Is this of any use? http://software.intel.com/sites/havok/en/

Last time I checked Maya--owned by Autodesk now---always had the best animation tools. But the price is off limits for some.

Maya is available for free under Autodesks educational assistance program. There are certain requirements to apply for the program but it is very easy to create an account and try it out.

So only rich people can mod skyrim animations?
I'm not much of an animator so i don't care that much but that's still rediculous.

not at all... autodesk is an amazingly charitable company... if your even simply unemployed they loan u the software. im not rich and i have free access to all of their software

What is this? Is it for real? Those terms look... too generous to be true.

Dunno, I just googled "havok tools student"

I believe it's one of the changes Intel made when they bought Havok. Give me a few minutes and I can try to check. Will update this post I guess when I confirm.

Edit:

Well, my archive came up empty on that. Kinda surprised it's not in my archive here...

There's also some stuff on havok's website about a student edition, but I haven't found it today.

Use can still use Blender you just need to use Holograms hkxcmd tool to allow you to convert hkx anims to kf import alter -> export then convert back to hkx.

Its fairly user friendly if you know anything at all about creating .bat files and how command prompt works.

Now if you want to create anything original you have no choice but the 3 3DApps supported by Havok as they are the only method of creating hkx files from scratch.

Maya blows my mind. What an amazing program. Superb for animations.

Indeed. Film makers often use Maya for their CGI(animation). 3D Max, though has a good animation system as well, is more for the videogame developers while Maya for the movie industry. All this is not etched in stone so one can use either program for anything computer art really.

I hear ya :]

All this is true.

I personally prefer Maya due to its features and palettes, but perhaps maybe because I've gotten used to them. These programs intimidate me to begin with.

Can anyone help me get access to these programs? It seems like a lot of people have access to it for free in various legal ways, and I'm very interested in making good animation. Someone please let me know!

have you visited the http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C6pnw-DEiT6fsFceg0AGPzvy_C9adlo8Cjsi9lRuG9v0FCAAQASCW1-IaUOTf88AGYMmGr4fco5QRoAHisujzA8gBAaoEGU_QZ6tZeiOUnLYA9IqyzH5DxisPH1ZKNcKABZBOugUTCLub7be4760CFYZlNAodU246hsoFAA&ei=-DEiT7u_E4bL0QHT3OmxCA&sig=AOD64_2skNyreE5a21MyrsuHrBwydKhTnQ&sqi=2&ved=0CBIQ0Qw&adurl=http://s0.srtk.net/www/delivery/rd.php%3Fbannerid%3D490%26trackerid%3D1228%26SR%3Dsem_brandknow_go%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fusa%252Eautodesk%252Ecom%252Fadsk%252Fservlet%252Foc%252Fredir%253FsiteID%253D123112%2526mktvar002%253Dknc-wwm-amer-us-gcabd-ggl-----%2526url%253Dhttp%25253a%25252f%25252fusa%25252Eautodesk%25252Ecom%25252fadsk%25252fservlet%25252findex%25253fid%25253d15577397%252526siteID%25253d123112%252526src%25253DOMSE%252526utm_source%25253DGoogle%252526utm_medium%25253Dcpc%252526utm_term%25253Dautodesk%252526utm_content%25253DBrand%25252520Knowledge%25252520Exact%252526utm_campaign%25253DAutodesk%25252520-%25252520Corporate%25252520-%25252520Branded website yet?

Im personally a student which grants me access, im not sure how stringent the restrictions are but you could propably find out by checking there.

http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=download_center

Just have to register an account as a student, and you get to download for free. You are supposed to be a student, though. Could be other ways to qualify, just make an account and check it out. I just got 3ds max a few days ago myself.