I thought about makehuman, but then I thought, “wait, isn’t that cheating?” Kinda like how people buy 3D models online, and call the art their own.
oops, I didn’t know there was allready a thread like this. I should start searching before I post.
I’ll reply anyway…
We are all “standing on the shoulders of giants” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_on_the_shoulders_of_giants
It wasn’t that long ago when you couldn’t find the word computer and art in the same book, let alone the same sentence.
I suppose at one time, using a blinn shader was cheating - you really should develop/program your own.
IMHO, calling anything in the 3d world cheating is like accusing them of having a good work flow. It would be like telling a photographer he can only take pictures of his own kids, or only take pictures of the buildings he built.
Now, there is cheating when you say you modeled the character when in fact you didn’t. But I see nothing wrong with using any model that is licensed properly in a scene that you create - just give credit where credit is due. If you use MakeHuman/DAZ/Poser for models, say so in the description. If you have downloaded a model of anything, and are using it accordance with the license, just say so.
There are many aspects of Blender, or any other 3d app for that matter. You may want to use pre-made models and concentrate on lighting or textures. Or, use a model from MakeHuman and concentrate on rigging for an animation. Just say so in your final product.
As Always…Best of Luck!!