Quick Question about 3D Modeling Software

flowpoly

Hey Polycounters!

So I feel I am in a good place with Blender, but I see many places asking for Maya or 3DS Max knowledge. I am not sure if there are big gigantic things that separate those two programs from Blender or perhaps some scripts here and there.
I would not mind learning Maya or 3DS Max, but I want to know if you think I will have an issue for using Blender/is it worth that I learn those programs? I want to avoid having problems such as less job opportunities, or people ignoring my portfolio right away just because I don't use Maya or 3DS Max. 

Have a nice day and sorry if this question has been asked too many times! Dx

Zack Maxwell

You can get Maya LT to learn Maya relatively cheaply. I've also heard that many places will let you model in Blender (being free and all), as long as you can get the model into Maya without issue before passing it on. So you can probably ask the studio about that beforehand.

musashidan

flowpoly said:

I see many places asking for Maya or 3DS Max knowledge. I am not sure if there are big gigantic things that separate those two programs from Blender or perhaps some scripts here and there.

It's the pipelines. Companies establish their entire pipeline around Max/Maya. It's the 'command post'.
So knowing one of these 2 will greatly raise your own significance/value if there's a possibility that you might be in one of those pipes. With the huge numbers of talented artists applying for these jobs, not having the main software that the company use on your resume VS the next 10 applicants that do.....

Then there's the chance that the job or company will require you to do more than just model. You may be looked to in crunch time to step out of your comfort zone to help the team.

Again it depends on the company in question but, I would say, yes, you should definitely learn one of the big 2.
A lot of artists use Max or Maya at work all day, and then at home might use the other exclusively(or Modo/Blender/Mirai/whatever)

flowpoly

Thanks everyone for the comments, I appreciate it. I decided I will learn Maya and maybe Max depending on time!