3D Modelling 

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Don't you need Windows for 3D Modelling?

Nope. Ray tracing and modelling existed well before Windows. As regards 3D graphics, SGI workstations are still considered state of the art in terms of both their hardware and software. Wintel PCs have only recently surpassed the 3D capabilities of early Nineties SGI machines.

In fact, there's a strangely wide range of 3D software for Linux and the other *nixes. They cover every single requirement and taste, from the curious amateur to the serious professional. Some work individually, others organise rendering ‘farms’ (clusters). Some have GUI modellers built-in, others are only raytracing back-ends.

I won't give you a full taxonomy of these beasts. Although I don't have a use for raytracers and modellers, I've played with them.

The first one I ever used was the Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer (POVray). My first experience with it was under DOS in 1992. A *nix version existed at the time. POVray doesn't come with a GUI, but it's a powerful raytracer back-end. It's still my favourite, and it runs on many architectures, including Windows.

I also like Blender, a screenshot of which is below. Blender is a bit too Amiga-like for my tastes. It seems to be the centre of a weird joke (‘how many widgets can we fit on one screen and get away with it?’). It also has a tendency to occupy an entire desktop, which is probably necessary for the aforementioned abundant widgets to fit. I think it's a good enough modeller, but I severely dislike its lack of Undo and its unintuitive user interface. I can work POVray faster.

For more eye candy, drop by the POVray homepage and have a look at the Hall of Fame. Or try the Internet Raytracing Competition. Many of the monthly entries are made with *nix workstations. My favourite is Wet Bird by Gilles Tran, April-March 2000 first prize winner.