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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?"
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.