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Which 3D App Should I Use

Z

zachsilvey

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 5, 2008
444
3
Battle Ground
I am planning on learning to do some 3D modeling and animation and I am having trouble choosing between the apps. The main apps I'm looking at are Cinema 4D, Modo, Maya and Blender. I know blender is open source and maya has a free learning edition but I want to go with the one that is best. Any animators on here willing to point me in the right direction.

I want to be able to make an animated short film.
 
well that's a bummer.
I am going to get the 30 day trial and see how much I can teach myself using free resources. I know I am not going to master it but I should be able to get down some decent modeling and animation. If I want to stick with it I just have to buy *cough*torrent*cough* it.
 
Blender without question. It contains nearly all the current features of the big boys without the price. The interface may be different but then you'll face that problem no matter what you choose.
 
mongrol said:
Blender without question. It contains nearly all the current features of the big boys without the price. The interface may be different but then you'll face that problem no matter what you choose.
Click to expand...

I spent a lot of time with blender and went through all the training videos on blender underground and found it fairly easy to get used. From some things I have read it seems like Maya is the industry standard and learning it provides the highest potential for getting a 3D related job.
 
Holy Crap Maya is 4000 bucks! I had thought about learning this skill but I can't touch that.

Are you guys saying that if you learned the basics on Blender you can very easily transition to Maya? Or is it more complicated than that?
 
harperjones99 said:
Holy Crap Maya is 4000 bucks! I had thought about learning this skill but I can't touch that.

Are you guys saying that if you learned the basics on Blender you can very easily transition to Maya? Or is it more complicated than that?
Click to expand...

It is more complicated than that, they have different interfaces, commands, rigging systems and much more. On the other hand manipulating polygons and nurbs objects is pretty much the same from platform to platform. Blender just happens to have a interface that is much different from all the other applications.
 
zachsilvey said:
It is more complicated than that, they have different interfaces, commands, rigging systems and much more. On the other hand manipulating polygons and nurbs objects is pretty much the same from platform to platform. Blender just happens to have a interface that is much different from all the other applications.
Click to expand...

Interface differences don't count. If you're at the stage where you can get a job in the 3d industry then learning a new interface is trivial. What you need to do is learn the techniques, technologies and skills to create the images and animation to a professional degree. Blender is more than capable for providing this. The modelling, texturing, animation techniques translate well from Blender to the big boy apps. Only the interface is different.
 
I would recommend Maya or 3ds Max.
For me personally, I prefer 3ds for modeling - but I guess that's because I'm used to it. I'm fairly new to Maya, but I like that too.
And you can make some pretty nice animations (short movies) with 3ds, give that a try also. :)

If you are a student, you can get 3ds and Maya as a package for ~$350.
 
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