Building VRML Worlds

You absolutely can build a VRML world of your own.

You don't need to be a computer wizard or a world-renowned artist.  You don't even have to have taken a computer course, or be able to draw a straight line.  What you do need is one of two things:

• The ability to spend some time and learn VRML or
• The ability to spend some money and get some tools so you don't have to learn VRML

That's it.  As far as money is concerned, US$500-1,000 will get you running in a first rate VRML modeling environment, and you won't have to learn anything at all about VRML.  At the other end of the scale, you'll have to learn VRML, but you won't have to spend one penny.  And like most things in life, there's a broad middle ground where you'll learn some VRML and spend a moderate amount of money on books and tools.

Assuming you're somewhere in the middle, let's take a look at a few things:

• What VRML book(s) to get
• A process you can use to build your worlds
• Tutorials on world building in VRML
• Example worlds that illustrate specific how-to's
• Tools to make world-building easier
• VRML Sites, lists, and miscellaneous resources

And, by the way, if you've decided to buy the tools and forget about learning VRML, bookmark this page.  It's entirely possible that you'll want to learn a little VRML later on so you can go beyond the limits of your tools.

Did I leave anything out about building worlds that you need to know, or did I miss a good tutorial, tool or reference? Let me know .