Freelancing with Blender
interpolator
I'd like to know how viable it is to rely on Blender as your main 3D program for freelance work. I also have ZBrush for the base/highpoly creation and Substance Painter/Photoshop for base texturing, Substance Designer for baking and texture detailing. I'd be relying on Blender primarily for retopology, UV mapping, rigging, animating and exporting etc.
There were other discussions on this I've read through, but they were old enough that they covered somewhat dated versions of Blender which were held back by the lack of recent improvements.
Mostly issues with exporting from your Blender into the client's Max/Maya.
My alternative would be to use Maya LT, and eventually upgrade to Maya full if I become successful enough to afford it.
I actually am a bit torn on which to go with, hence the thread. But I would rather use Blender if it were a fair option, since I prefer the workflow and money is very tight for me. I'm also not a fan of how lax Autodesk seems to be in improving their software due to the near-monopoly they possess (like the dated Windows '95-style aesthetic Maya is sporting in many areas)
If I really would be much better served on a professional level to learn Maya, then I am perfectly capable of sucking it up and getting used to it, and finding a means to pay for it.
There were other discussions on this I've read through, but they were old enough that they covered somewhat dated versions of Blender which were held back by the lack of recent improvements.
Mostly issues with exporting from your Blender into the client's Max/Maya.
My alternative would be to use Maya LT, and eventually upgrade to Maya full if I become successful enough to afford it.
I actually am a bit torn on which to go with, hence the thread. But I would rather use Blender if it were a fair option, since I prefer the workflow and money is very tight for me. I'm also not a fan of how lax Autodesk seems to be in improving their software due to the near-monopoly they possess (like the dated Windows '95-style aesthetic Maya is sporting in many areas)
If I really would be much better served on a professional level to learn Maya, then I am perfectly capable of sucking it up and getting used to it, and finding a means to pay for it.
Replies
Thanks.
I suppose a more productive question then is, how viable is it to start out using Maya LT for freelance. Since there's not a chance in hell I'd be able to afford Maya full for some time.
http://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/buy
If a client makes it a point that you should be using Maya..add it to the cost of your quote
If so, that is helpful. If for whatever reason I absolutely need full for a particular job I could just add the price of a month's subscription, like you said, to my quote.