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Best 3d software?

J

jamays00

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
30
0
Hi, I've had some experience in working with 3d design in the past but only on a pc at work. I've come to the point where i'd like to purchase software for my own use on my macbook pro. Does anyone have suggestions on which software would be the best way to go?

I was thinking either lightwave or maya.
I'm looking to get one that will be good for modeling, texture, rendering, and animations (basically everything haha)
thanks!:D
 
rather than me just listing another piece of software (i use maya for what it's worth) take a step back and think more about you want to do with the software.

Do you want to do modelling or animating? Do you want to do texturing or rendering? With all due respects they're quite different and you might be better going with something like Z-Brush or modo if you want to get into modelling and somthing like Maya or XSI if you want to do animation.
 
winninganthem said:
What is the closest equivalent to 3D Studio Max on a Mac?
Click to expand...
Realistically there isn't anything, 3ds Max is quite unique in its combination of features in my view. Note I use 3ds max and am windows only when it comes to cad software and in my honest opinion anyone who wants to do cad really needs a windows os as there are more options out there in respect to quality products (sorry but a lot of the mac cad software just doesn't cut it).

You don't say what you use 3ds max for and as such you can get the list like everyone else :)

Depending on what you do theres lightwave (pretty powerful - earlier version used on babylon 5 iirc), maya (damned powerful but expensive), cinema 4d (plus decent render engine such as maxwell - this or lightwave is probably your best bet without breaking the bank) and of course blender. You have alibre cobalt etc for more engineering type software although thats not very good in my experience compared to the likes of solidworks.
 
winninganthem said:
What is the closest equivalent to 3D Studio Max on a Mac?
Click to expand...

If 3DS is your thing, just run it on Windows under Boot Camp on your Mac.

I would second the recommendation for Maxon's Cinema 4D, which I have been dabbling with for several years, but I believe that Maya now has a fairly respectable Mac port, so you may want to look at that ...

Cheers

Jim
 
Jim Campbell said:
If 3DS is your thing, just run it on Windows under Boot Camp on your Mac.

I would second the recommendation for Maxon's Cinema 4D, which I have been dabbling with for several years, but I believe that Maya now has a fairly respectable Mac port, so you may want to look at that ...

Cheers

Jim
Click to expand...

3D Studio MAX on bootcamp is horrid, your best option IMHO is a cheap Windows box with a RDP session on your Mac. It's what I do at work, cheap, fast and it works.
 
sorry but i'm having trouble with what people are saying about Max. For all intents and purposes Max is almost identical to Maya. Sure the buttons are a bit different and there are some UI differences but under the hood they're almost the same imo.

Now it's not exactly a 'beginners' option at £toomuch.00.

I'd seriously go with Blender for 6 months and decide whether you're into modelling, texturing, animation etc and go from there and decide whether you want to shell out for a "professional" package (i know blender is used professionally, but you know what i mean)
 
Phrasikleia said:
That's so sad. Why don't these companies port their products to OS X? There must be a reasonably large demand for it.
Click to expand...

because max and maya are almost identical and as such there is no demand for max on OS X, also OS X isn't really used enough in 3d post houses to justify the huge task of porting it.

"industry" tend to use Linux/Windows - we should be thankful there is enough support for maya on os x!
 
I'm acutally into modelling, texturing, and animation.
I have used blender in the past and i'm not a big fan of it.
Also I am pretty familar with lightwave.
So say i'm leaning between ligthwave and maya... what would be the pro's and cons of each (besides lightwaves limited animation capabilities)
Thanks again!
 
tru dat

tbh i hate to sound all preachy and all but this stuff really is all about the wizard and not the wand. There is a correct way of doing things, the particular software you use is just the tool to get the job done. Blender is a good app, why do you not like it? If you don't that's cool, i just personally think that using a program like that is great free way to begin with as you learn the "right way" to model and the way to animate a walk cycle etc

you might be past that already by the sounds of it in which case you'll probably be looking for a more permanent piece of software to work with.

Are you looking for work in this area or is this just a hobby? Because buying maya is a damn expensive hobby ;)
 
yes this will be used for both work and hobby.
at work i've been using lightwave which took me quite some time to get the hang of but I have grown to really like the modeler. I could continue to use lightwave (on my mac) I just want to make sure I don't focus all my time on this one piece of software if there is another out there that is better. I've heard alot of good things about MAYA also though. i'm not too concerned about the price.
 
yes it is a lot but there are two versions, the full blown kit includes the cloth, hair, fur, fluid kits that are for those that need them, the 'basic' version is a bit cheaper.
 
fluidedge said:
because max and maya are almost identical and as such there is no demand for max on OS X, also OS X isn't really used enough in 3d post houses to justify the huge task of porting it.

"industry" tend to use Linux/Windows - we should be thankful there is enough support for maya on os x!
Click to expand...

about 40% of maya licenses sold are for osx, just putting it out there. Im a maya user but have been looking at modo a lot latley, its so 'mac' and looks great for a beginner and has sculpting tools too.
 
yeh thats a nice idea for starters actually. All renders are watermarked but it's a great way to decide if you like the software or not.
 
i'm going to check out the maya PLE and the free trial of modo...
for those who use MAYA can you explain the reason behind such a high price? does it really offer that much more than lightwave?
 
i can't comment on lightwave but maya has a (ridiculously) large feature set. Even the most advanced users will probably never use even 50% of the features as the feature set is so wide ranging but it can do just about anything you ask it to. This is as a result of long and expensive development --> this results in the high cost.
 
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