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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?"
MAYA PLE - personal learning edition. Gives you all features, but puts watermarks on everything.
AW
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.
"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.*
"Derp de derp."