Slashdot Mirror
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?"
3D graphics, like nearly every other complex software package in the computing industry evolves, and with it so does the interface.
I suggest at this stage learning the concepts, techniques and "general" skills, with whatever you can reasonably afford. When the time comes for you to be on the job market in a few years, the software will have changed a lot, but you'll be prepared because you'll know how to craft a 3D model. As opposed to simply knowing which menu selections to use to apply a texture, or add a special effect.
I've had several people ask me the same question about Photoshop vs. The Gimp. Obviously the cost issue is not nearly so huge, but nevertheless the answer should be the same.
When you get closer to the time when you actually start to interview, you can begin the process of translationing your skills to another package. Until then save your cash so you can by the latest version a few years down the road when you'll need it.
I learned this lesson the hard way, spending cash on software that by the time I needed to use it professionally it was way obsolete. (This was back when DOS was ceding its claim to Windows, and applications ALL had proprietary interfaces.)
Good Luck,
MS2k
Ok, people will you stop with this "Blender has horrible interface" bs? I've started playing with 3d porgrams in 98, and first thing I used was 3D Studio MAX, which has this windows application look and feel for most things. Then I tried blender, and at first i had no idea where to look for what, but then i read 2 short interface tutorials, and i was set. I still don't find it any more difficult than 3D MAX, because I woouldn't know what to do with it either, if my friend didn't show me the basics of (seamingly simple) interface. Also, for any sufficiently advanced feature, you really need a book or a tutorial, for any 3D prog.
Maya, Lightwave 3D and Softimage have interfaces that are somewhere in between of your-regular-win32-app and blenderesque-maze-of-keystrokes. So, whatever you choose, I recomend find a nice book (or site full of tutorials) to go with it.
Um, lets see.
I know how to use 3d Studio, and that is very powerful, but will run you around $1000 for a commercial liscence. I feel that it was easy to use, and I could easily produce some good results.
On the Cheap side, If milkshop 3d is still around, that is a very cheap 3d program used a lot in the game modding community.
Then You have Maya, but ive never used it, so cant compare.
Lightwave, has a great renderer, but i find that making models is easier in 3ds
of course, you also have all the support packages, like Bryce 3d, Poser, etc.
But honestly, from someone whose dabbled in 3d, go with the choice that major motion picture studious use. Blender, as soon as you master the interface, is easily the most powerful modeller around, and it makes great sense for High School budgets.
This
Wings3d
Its free, its Free, and its M-Fing E.Z.
[wings3d.com]
What you're looking for, my friend, is Maya 4.5 Personal Learning Edition. Can't use it for commercial work, and it puts a (rather obtrusive, unfortunately) watermark in renderings and hardware-rendered viewports (i.e. anything but wireframe), and it's purposely gimped to disallow importing/exporting between itself and the real Maya or MEL scripts, but hell if it isn't the whole damn Maya Complete package.
Enjoy - Maya blows the competition out of the water. Also the prices have dropped down to reasonable levels, with Maya Complete for $1,999, so once you get to the point that you need to buy a real copy, your family won't have to starve for more than a week or so.