Whats most commenly used and why (maya vs 3ds max)
polycounter lvl 3
Hi everyone,
now this is not a question of "which is better maya or max?"
what i am asking is which software is used the most in the industry and why is that?
i see alot of "3d artists" portfolios, alot of images on CGHUB and images used in magazines such as 3DWorld all the artists use 3ds Max, now my question is why? why do so many artists use 3ds max over maya? is it coz it can do something that maya cant, or because its just an older program and alot more people are using it coz its hat they know and dont want to change to maya? can maya do exactly the same as 3ds max?
im mainly looking to get into the gaming industry as a character artist and environment designer so thats the reason im asking, so that i dont start learning the wrong software.
thanks
now this is not a question of "which is better maya or max?"
what i am asking is which software is used the most in the industry and why is that?
i see alot of "3d artists" portfolios, alot of images on CGHUB and images used in magazines such as 3DWorld all the artists use 3ds Max, now my question is why? why do so many artists use 3ds max over maya? is it coz it can do something that maya cant, or because its just an older program and alot more people are using it coz its hat they know and dont want to change to maya? can maya do exactly the same as 3ds max?
im mainly looking to get into the gaming industry as a character artist and environment designer so thats the reason im asking, so that i dont start learning the wrong software.
thanks
Replies
If you want to use the most common application in the industry, 3ds Max is your answer, but in the end you'll learn how to use dozens of pieces of software, and it's not going to matter much which one you start out on. A studio isn't really going to care if you know Maya or Max.
Don't worry about learning the "wrong" software...its just a tool...use one of them, and learn how to make awesome art. You can always learn new software.....and studios know that too.
max and Maya are just different, can't really label one as better they just take different approaches.
Legacy is probably the next reason, no one wants to bear the cost to re-write pipelines and retrain the team, and if it ain't broke....
User preference probably comes next.
So as a general rule of thumb in Game Dev, Max seems to be heading for the smaller scale studios and Maya for the larger ones.
Maya a lot more clunky imo and needs MEL knowledge to make the best of the package.
I'm not saying go can't use Maya on a small team, as I know there are small teams out there using it.
I think the bigger studios tend to prefer Maya is that it seems a lot more open than Max with Mel and Python, then you've got the ties to the movie industry which is nearly all Maya.
Won't feed.
is not the same as
but it is better put.
The original post is asking for what is most popular in studios and not what is most preferable amongst users, that's a debate that's been done to death here and elsewhere.
Larger studios have different requirements than smaller studios (don't equate larger as being better than smaller) so the deciding factor is mainly one of scope, pipelines and tool chains and Maya is better suited.
As Ark also commented, I'm not saying here that large studios can't use Max effectively, but Maya is easier to integrate and therefore cheaper in this respect.
It nearly always comes down to cost.
but just to get a general answer Maya - used mainly in the film industry and 3Ds Max - used mainly in the gaming industry? correct me if i am wrong
This is the best kind of advice and the one I use to most when talking to people. I've always been a believer of understanding and learning some of the artistic foundation skills, together with a 3D software, as (imo) the software will only be as good as the person operating it.
One of the main things to remember is that you should always be open and willing to learn new things, and software. Many can get religious over 3D software and develop chips on their shoulders about changing. I always use the analogy that we trained chimps to go into space, so learning a new 3D software shouldn't be that hard, should it.
Unfortunately, I can't really directly answer your question about which, between Max and Maya, gets used the most in games. I'm not allowed to actually reveal numbers etc. But I wouldn't get too hung up on this type of thing and also what many will say on forums like these. Although many will state one software is more used than the other, for all kinds of reasons and based on their own knowledge and exposure, this shouldn't always be taken as gospel and hard fact.
Perception is often that Maya isn't used that much in game (and never has been), but that isn't true. I started in games in '96 and all I used was Maya (PowerAnimator before that) and Softimage, and I knew just as many Maya studios, as Max ones.
There are many factors to take into consideration as to why studios use one over the other - history, legacy, tools, country, local community, culture, talent pool, etc.
As for Autodesk itself, again I can't talk about future direction etc, but there is some information out there, such as this for example: http://www.3dworldmag.com/2011/03/04/autodesks-marc-petit-talks-to-3d-world/
Well, i certainly hate maya at times, and i gotta admit i as looking at Modo lately but...i started with 3ds and switched to maya , and don't think i will ever (though you never really know how things can turn out) go back to 3ds max. To me, they are both really great apps, it's just that i find maya's interface and how it does things better then how 3ds max does. It's very subjective thing though.
Oh yeah, and i'm environment artist (or trying to be anyway :P). So Maya is still my #1 choice, and i know quite few people who have similar opinion.
But i do also know many who prefer 3ds max...
Anyhow, i'm not sure about others, but i dunno, i don't know that envo artists would be particularly picky about maya...we sure like to complain a lot, since maya can be quite annoying, but it's still #1 choice for quite a lot of envo artist....
And atleast here in this area, studios have been using maya for as long as i can remember....not that there are bazilions of studios here.:P
Don't worry about learning both packages when you are first developing skills as a 3D artist, this will just slow you down. Transitioning from one software to another will be much easier once you understand the fundamental principles of working in 3D.
I'd download trial versions of both, try a couple tutorials, then stick with whichever you like best.