Slashdot Mirror
3D Modelling Apps for a Former Modeller?
capsteve asks: "I've gotten back into 3D modelling after YEARS of absence in the 3D scene, and I'm having some difficulty sorting out the chaff from the wheat. I cut my teeth on 3D back in college, learning a dead end system called Z-Grass then moving into Super3D and StrataVision, shortly thereafter. Recently, I've gotten back into doing 3D modelling using Blender, Wings, and a tiny bit of POVray and YAFray for rendering. I'm looking for an all around 3D modeller that has the ability to perform subdivision modelling, particle effects, and HDRI rendering (to name a few options), yet still have an intuitive interface. Also, my platform of choice is a Mac. I'm pretty happy working between Blender and Wings, but I wonder if there are others out there who've had experience with some commercial apps that would be comparable with the ones already mentioned?"
"I'm not opposed to working between several apps, but I think in order to really get my skill up to snuff, I need to settle on a single one. I'd love to get Maya or Cinema 4D, but i think my wife would kill me, and I was wondering if some of the entry level apps (like Silo or Modo) would help me build my skills up to the point where i could migrate to a Maya/Cinema at a later date? Any thoughts?"
Great modeler from some former LightWave devs. There's a free, unrestricted, "production evaluation" version available for Mac OS X and Windows. Have at it.
Blender was a good pick. The developers are doing a good job of maturing it to a professional level app for any type of content (including film). It's the only other modelling app I have installed or ever use since I found the grail... When it comes down to it, I'm a Maya guy (big bullet to bite $$$). I can't really see myself going back to anything else after I started using it. It is a complete package with versatility that is unmatched. Whatever you do, try Maya last or you'll end up begging your wife until she lets you blow that $2500 :D.
Please ignore the guy who posted the crack and torrent to Maya - especially if you ever plan to do serious work. When you show/submit/release what you create, Alias may very well come asking how you ended up with Maya and have no license for it on record (I've seen it happen now and it's ugly). It's a good feeling to say that "this was created with Maya and Photoshop" without looking over your shoulder. People are usually genuinely impressed that you have a Maya license. It makes you look a bit more professional. Conversly, saying that "I can't tell you" or some other vague excuse for how you created your work makes you look more foolish than mysterious.
Good luck. Nice to have you back.
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Funny enough, I was searching yesterday to see if 3D Studio Max wsa going to be ported to *nix as it is my program of choice and it is the only reason I am still using an XP system as my main work computer.
flinging poop since 1969
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Despite what many fools here seem to say, OS X is a valid and growing platform for 3D content creation.
.sig
Lightwave and Maya have both had native versions since the pre-OS X days, and while both were a bit slow out the gate with their OS X versions, both are current and feature complete.
I personally prefer LIghtwave, but I have yet to get a license of my own for an OS X ready version. Having used other workstations for both Maya and Lightwave I can say that they are both stable and fast.
As someone else pointed out Linux is gaining ground very fast in content creation and nowhere is it gaining faster than in 3D. I think this is because 3D users are the most technically minded of creative users, with the possible exception of Digital Compositors. (I'd argue that anyway.) Again Maya is leading the pack. Lightwave has a render client, but no modeling or layout.
As to Blender, I am never happy with it. The guys keep improving it and it is a good tool, but I see it as comparable to things like Truespace. You are definitely stepping up if you move to either LW or Maya.
I don't know modo, but I am trying it NOW. It seems quite promising.
Best of luck
Oh, and as to the aforementioned fools, please read my
Don't post innacurate information
If you do, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you.
Before you ditch blender, try some of the more recent builds,e =phpBB2&file=viewforum&f=18
build forum here:
http://www.blender.org/modules.php?op=modload&nam
Also, get a build of "Tuhopuu3", it is blenders evil brother testing branch ^_^
You can also find the full manual here:
http://download.blender.org/documentation/htmlI/
It does take some time to learn, but is very powerful. I am not going to compare it to max etc, it is whatever works best for you. Blenders animation tools are currently lacking somewhat, but expect a rewrite soon
Really?? That odd, being that back in, oh, '97 when I was working on SGIs using Alias|Wavefront's PowerAnimator (aka Alias) we had an NT workstation running Maya 1.0 betas and then 1.0 final. I never knew Maya to run on OS8 (Maya 1.0 was out very early in '98, OS9 didn't ship until '99)... or OS9. And it didn't come out for OSX until, what... v3.5?
Nice try, but Maya was initially released for NT 4 and Irix 6.2 (not sure about Linux)
But I see you're limited to the Mac.
So on that end, you COULD get the lowest end Maya which won't totally break the bank. Also look into Lightwave. And while I started out on the precurser to Lightwave on the Amiga (called Videoscape...Alan Hastings first 3D app before going to Newtek), it is still two seperate apps with Modeler and Lightwave, which is kind of cumbersome in some instances.
The reason I was going to suggest XSI is because it's not that expensive for the base configuration and it's still a very powerfull 3D app that tends to get overlooked. But having said that, I'm a total convert to Maya.
You might want to also look at Zbrush, as that's a very interesting app too. One of the closest things to working with clay to build a model I've ever used. It's amazing what you can do with a very short amount of time.
But having said all that, I've drifted back over to 2D and create everything now in just Photoshop and Painter...with Alias Sketchbook now and then. I guess it's the traditional artist in me, I don't know. And quite frankly, even after all these years being into 3D, I'm still not that good at it. Where as I can get anything I want with Photoshop. Guess it's personal preference.
You might also want to head over to cgnetworks.com and get inspired and learn on their forums. It's a great place with people willing to help out.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
I stand corrected by someone with a better memory than I. Thanks. Mac or Irix was the platform of choice though. Especially given the wonkiness of NT.
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
It's pretty clear that Maya is the best tool out there - if you can't get a decent Mac version, the cost of a Linux PC to run it on will be totally dwarfed by the cost of Maya itself!
www.sjbaker.org
So anyone know how to import from Solidworks into Povray or any other free rendering software?
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Mirai is the step up from Wings 3D (see also Nendo on that same site, although Wings has surpassed Nendo in most areas at this point). I don't know if you can even get Mirai but if you can it's quite fun. It's like Wings 3D on steroids. Animation, etc...
;)
Of course there is Maya and other stuff like 3DSMAX, both of which you can get free versions to play around with. You're still stuck with their ass interfaces though. Although if you're a Blender user then obviously that must not matter to you. 3DS was the worst until Blender came along. Gak
Mirai, Nendo, and Wings 3D have the best, fastest, and easiest to use interfaces. Too often modelers pass them over simply because they are easy to use. It's too bad because they also contain a lot of power, especially in terms of modeling productivity.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
Other good programs are Light Wave, Cinema 4D, and Modo.
All of these programs can be used at the professional level and are relatively cheap.
Tea and kung-fu. Life is good. Rising Phoenix
Lightwave 3D is nice, especially if you can manage an educational discount. For a straight, very inexpensive, modeler, try Silo from nevercenter.com.
Simple, cheap, infinite polygons, instant render times.
Pretty Pictures!
The Max/Viz line of products is built entirely upon a COM infrastructure. At one time they tried porting it to DEC Alpha (stil under WinNT for Alpha) and were basically unsuccessful, cancelling the port just as it went into beta.
I doubt you'll ever see Max or Viz for anything other than Windows, barring maybe HEAVY use of Wine/Winelib.
-- There is no truth. There is only Perception. To Percieve is to Exist.
If you do use the Personal Learning edition, know that you probably won't get to port your projects over to the real thing. Projects made with PLE from what I've heard, do not open in Maya full version. You can pay alias to convert it for you.
Blender is awesome... it may not do everything, but neither does maya. Blender's interface is better than Maya, and it's control over the 3D environment is better too.. middle mouse button drag swivels the 3D axis.
Also, pro animation houses, modify maya using it's scripting language to improve the interface.
...::----::...
I am in no way affiliated with this sig.
http://www.caligari.com/ yah.
For everyone who uses Blender, take a look at the BURP project. It's a distributed computing project that runs on BOINC. BURP aims to develop a publicly distributed system for rendering 3D animations. Eventually, the goal is for people to be able to submit work for rendering, though they're not that far yet. The code is still in development, so workunits are just to clean bugs out of the system right now.
Well, take your pick. I personally prefer Cinema4D. It has a great modeller and a fantastic interface, and has a great future ahead.
Maya and Softimage|XSI are complex. Generally you see huge teams working in Maya and XSI (not all, but it seems to be the trend) whereas Lightwave and Cinema4D are geared more toward the one-man shop.
Max is limited to Windows, so thats out the window.
When you show/submit/release what you create, Alias may very well come asking how you ended up with Maya and have no license for it on record (I've seen it happen now and it's ugly).
Absolute and total rubbish and obviously you have little idea about the realities of the cg industry. What you describe never happens because for Alias or anyone to go round doing that puts them in an incredibly unproffesional and accusatory position which is rather hard to wiggle out of. It also kill offs an enormous source of fresh new artwork and animation. To go round pointing the finger at individual students and up and coming artists would heavily damage any company's reputation and actually cut off a lot of the better work out there which helps to sell their product. Also no employer gives a damn about how people put their reels together, in fact it's almost a running accepted joke in many quarters. Add to that many big named companies will delve into unlicenced software as and when they need to (I say this from personal experience)
It's a good feeling to say that "this was created with Maya and Photoshop" without looking over your shoulder. People are usually genuinely impressed that you have a Maya license.
You have hit the nail on the head unfortunately, it's just a status symbol for the more-money-than-sense types like a nice new car. Huge amounts of those Maya or other commerical 3d licences are just a waste of money bought by people without a clue who cannot produce good work to save their lives.
Sadly you cannot buy into artistic ability and creativity by buying software.
I know this may sound harsh, I know I will be labeled a troll, a pirate etc which wouldn't be true by the way, but I do despair when I read this sort of stuff and genuinely pity the people who write it.
yeah, that's my fear with maya PLE is that files once created in PLE are not accessible in the full version. considering that modelling is often a multi-session process, going back and refining previously created files, the version locking didn't seem very cool to me.
i concur with you middle mouse(especially wheel mice) allow for rotation/drag/scaling/zooming that i've not experienced to the same degree. it's feels more natural than having to use a keyboard modifier to do the same. wings is the closest in feel to blender, although i find myself using blender key commands in wings and vs.
three can keep a secret, if two are dead - benjamin franklin
I've personally tried 3D Studio Max, Maya (taking a maya course now), XSI and Houdini (out of the "big boys", that is), and I found XSI to have the best poly/subdivs modelling tools, and of the free trial versions of all these the most unobstrusive ones are Houdini and XSI, so you can even try it with no problems for as long as you can (actually when learning those I forgot I was using a trial)
Animation Master is a very cool application. Only $299 supports Mac and PC. Its animation tools are brilliant. However it is spline only tool which takes some getting used to. Check out AM Stills and AM Films for work done with the product.
I recently purchased Carrara 3D Basics 2 and Hexagon from Eovia and have been quite pleased. The combination provides quite a bit of bang for the buck. 3D Toolkit 2.5 from DVgarage provides a low-cost version of Electric Image Universe, also a solid package.
Love the power of Blender. A shame that it has such an awful interface...
*** Quantum Mechanics: The Dreams of Which Stuff is Made ***
I've been tracking Art of Illusion (http://www.artofillusion.org/) for some time, and I like it more and more. It's Maya-ish, and provides impressive modelling, animating, and rendering. It's much more capable than you'd guess at first glance, and it can be extended in many ways with Beanshell scripts.
It's in Java and it's open source and free. The Mac front end is reasonably Macified, and the documentation and tutorials are pretty good. Give it a spin.
ab
...then 3D Max - whatever technical/feature failings it may have are made up for by its intuitive interface, and the modelling 'stack' should be a feature of every 3D and 2D graphics program - no debate.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.