Swift 3D is a standalone tool for creating low-bandwidth, vector-based 3D animations for the Web. It is available for Windows and Macintosh and exports to Macromedia Flash (SWF), Adobe Illustrator, EPS, and SVG file formats.

This is the interface that will greet you when opening this program. The two windows are a front view (left) and top view (right). Also shown are the Property Toolbar (upper left) and below that, the controls for the individual components of your project.

I must admit that I have not been able to spend as much time as I want to on this program. This does not mean that I am going to stop now. I am very excited about what can be achieved with Swift 3D v2.0.

I have to point out that I have wanted to use 3D animation since I discovered animation on the computer, but have been put off by the huge learning curve associated with using a conventional 3D program. Swift 3D v2.0 offers me the chance to do this.

The similarities between this program and Flash and LiveMotion makes it much easier to understand, for me anyway.

The main difference between Swift 3D v2.0 and 2D programs is the way that 3D requires you to work in space. This is confusing for a while but if you watch the coloured lines which indicate the x, y, and z axes then it becomes a little easier, but it also means that things get lost all the time until you come to grips with this. In conventional 2D you can always find the images you have moved off to one side, but when working in 3D it is much more difficult to keep track of these, they just seem to have a life of their own. To counteract this tendency you have to be very careful and be prepared to zoom a long way out until the object becomes visible again, when it can be selected and moved with the cursor.

The other major complicating factor is that when you view things from only one plane, they look perfectly lined up, but when you select and rotate them, you will discover that invariably, they will be scattered. Once you have got into the program and are comfortable with the idea of 3D space, you can learn to select and manipulate objects based on their coordinates in relation to the x, y, and z axes. This understanding is not a serious problem for the beginner as the objects can be selected and moved with the cursor.

The two viewing panes that come up by default when opening the program show a side/front view on the left, and a top view on the right. To select either view to be live, just click that pane. The way to manipulate objects is by clicking and dragging, and then by using the trackballs situated to the bottom left.

Beside the trackball on the left is a button for restricting movement to particular angle increments, and above this are three buttons which control the direction of movement. This means that you can get your object close to where it is needed by dragging, but for precision placement the trackball is the tool to use. All objects seem to be able to merge with each other which can be a bit confusing at first,  but is easily corrected by using the scrollable boxes below the properties toolbar which is a box at the left of the screen. Once you make a selection here, a set of options appear below. This is where you can make alterations to that object.

Trackballs help move images and lights around the viewing panes. The torch-like symbol is a directed light, sort of like a spot.

The right hand trackball is for lighting, and this relates to the reflective surfaces of the object as it is moved and rotated while being followed by the camera, during animation. Animation is controlled by the timeline, and in this way is similar to other animation programs that you may be familiar with already. The concept is simple, everything happens at a particular point in time and this is considered a keyframe, what happens in between is generated by the program so that events pass smoothly. In Swift 3D v2.0 you also have to consider the camera that shows the angle of view that you have chosen. It is possible to ignore the camera for a start just so you can produce something that moves. Once you have done that, you will be keen to do it again only better.

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