Which 3D Modeling Software is Best for Learning Use?

An anonymous reader asks: "Blender 2.26 is out and 2.27 is soon on its way. This powerful 3D modeling/animation/rendering program is released under the GPL so it (along with the source code) is free, there is only one downside: the learning curve is large due to is abnormal user interface. I am in High School (unfortunately) and I want to do something related to 3D animation (movies, games, special effects, etc.) when I get older. Which package should I choose? The free, but difficult, Blender? The amazing, but bankrupting, Maya? Or should I get another program that is cheaper than Maya but easier to learn than Blender? If we take money out of the picture which is the best program to learn about modeling/rendering/animating on?"

Comments

Lightwave 3D

[Hanji]

I'm a big fan of Lightwave. It's a LOT cheaper than Maya, especially if you get a student discount, and it's pretty easy to learn to use, and it's DAMN powerful.

Re:Lightwave 3D

[NanoGator]

"I'm a big fan of Lightwave [lightwave3d.com]. It's a LOT cheaper than Maya, especially if you get a student discount, and it's pretty easy to learn to use, and it's DAMN powerful. "

I second that. Out of the box, LW is very well rounded. Very good for character animation, modelling, and rendering. From LW, it's pretty easy to go to Maya or even 3D Studio MAX. (Or not move at all if you dun wanna...) If you start with something like MAX, though, you can end up with layers upon layers of stuff. That can be rather confusing if you move to LW. "Uh.. I just want to smooth this mesh, but I can't find the modifier for that!"

That's pretty much what I mean by 'get to the point'. You start with polygons, you end with polygons. You don't end up with an 'object' that has a bunch of settings to it you need to keep an eye on. It's like the difference between driving with a stick and having an automatic transmission. If you have an auto transmission, you can start driving right away but never truely understand what it is about shifting that makes a car efficient. LW would be more like the manual transmission, you have to do more work to get around, but you have a much more fundamental understanding of how your car works and how you can apply those gears to various situations like slowing yourself down on a steep incline.

*hopes that makse some sense, I'm in a bit of a hurry.*

try Caligari trueSpace

[Jim Morash]

It's about $600 for the latest version, and fun to use. I like it anyway. No I don't work there.

Caligari

Free version of Maya

[JensR]

MAYA PLE - personal learning edition. Gives you all features, but puts watermarks on everything.
AW

Stick with Blender

[Craig Maloney]

I'll admit learning Blender is a real pain in the you-know-what, but the community is top notch, and the documentation for it really makes it easier to learn. (And it's available in the online store for less than $20). Granted, it doesn't have the plug-in support of Maya, and it's a little more difficult to get results, but once you're there, the pay-off is tremendous. Plus you get Blender's amazing game engine to boot.

Are you looking to pursue a career in 3D artistry, or are you looking for something to just play around with? If you're looking to do this professionally, you might want to use Maya or 3ds Max. If you're just looking to get your feet wet, or don't want to spend yourself silly, then Blender is the way to go.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Caligari trueSpace v3.2 for free

[ip_vjl]

version 3.2 is now available on their website for download for free.

It's not the most advanced, but learning the concepts is the important thing - not learning the exact intricacies of current software. By the time the author is out of school, the landscape of features will have changed anyway, but knowing the basics of how to animate and model will translate to any package.

Don't deal Blender out of hand...

[i0wnzj005uck4]

I'm going to lay it to you straight.

There are many things to consider when choosing a 3D package. Most of it really comes down to taste and money. I don't much like nurbs or metaballs -- I prefer to have control over a control mesh, so I use polymesh smoothing / subsurface modeling, for which Blender works wonderfully. But you'll need to experiment with many different packages and find what works right for you. Strangely, whatever you first choose will likely end up being your preference, so choose your initial foray wisely.

However, I'm going to advocate Blender whole-heartedly. It's got most of the important features, support for external renderers, and what's more, it's totally cross-platform. I can model on my Mac and render on my unix box while I'm at work. You can't do that with any commercial package I know, not at prices that a hobbiyst will be able to afford.

Further, the community *is* great, and once you get past the hurdle of the UI you'll realize it's really powerful software. Don't believe me? http://membres.lycos.fr/garbager/ That's what can be done with free tools.

Coolest thing about blender is how it became open

[ron_ivi]

If I recall correctly, the open source community bought the software from their shareholders for 100K euros; in one of the coolest fundraising events I remember, beating expectations of all the journalists I saw write about it.

details and a cool chart here http://www.blender.org/bf/

I'm sure someone can fill in more details.