Should i change my tools?

KnechtRuprecht

First I want so say Hi, i'm lurking around in this great forum for a year or so, but i never registered.
Since 1 and a half years i'm working with Blender and Gimp, because I'm an student and can't afford the expensive tools. It worked a quite while good with blender, but in the last time i missed more and more (working) tools which Max has. A few days ago i stumbled over the fact, that 3dsMax is free for students, in a limited way.
I watched a few tuts of how to work with max and it a quite big difference to blender, regarding the shortcut, the many new cool tools the different layout and the different workflow.
The same problem has Gimp, too. Although i love open source and free programms (who dont ) i would hear your opinion regarding this issue.
Should I change my software and learn new Programms?

Greetings Moritz

Btw: please ignore faults in my spelling or worng vocabulary, i'm not an native english speaker

xrg

Blender user here - I say if it's within your reach get whatever you can, and learn it. You're only limiting yourself if you don't. Knowing 3ds Max is really beneficial as far as getting a job.

All the Open Source stuff will always be free so you can still fall back on it if you want.

ChaosEidolon

If your goal is to work in the games industry, then I would say yes, absolutely.

Every single studio will require that you have some level of proficiency in either 3dStudio max or Maya, so I would pick one of those and learn it. It can be a bit daunting because they are full production suites and do everything from modeling to FX to rendering, but just focus in on what you need to know for you specialty and you should be fine.

As so whether to use Max or Maya, it doesnt matter too much, the industry is pretty split, with maya maybe having a slight edge over max.

Best of luck, and remember that Polycount has a good tutorial section if you get stuck.

KnechtRuprecht

Thank you for your responses But should I focus on one programm from now on, or should I use both?
And whats with Gimp? A students license costs here in Germany around 200 Euro (around 260 Dollars). Does it pays off to buy a license?

Moritz

Lamont

KnechtRuprecht wrote: »

Thank you for your responses But should I focus on one programm from now on, or should I use both?
And whats with Gimp? A students license costs here in Germany around 200 Euro (around 260 Dollars). Does it pays off to buy a license?

Moritz

Maybe in Germany it is different, but register on Autodesk`s site to get all their software for free (learning use only).

joeriv

If you are a student, have a look around for the educational licences of adobe software (I think the resellers are different for every country), or ask your school.

It's around 150 euro for a 1 year over here (and I don't think it's gonna be huge difference for another country) wich is not all that much, but ofcourse you can't do any commercial work with it.

PolyHertz

You could also take advantage of the current fiasco with Adobe CS2 software. See more on that here:

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115369

eld

Learning new tools does not need that you have to exclude blender.

Keep using blender as you learn new tools, as depending on how you like it, it'll end your primary modelling/uv tool while you use the studio choice of a tool to make it work with their pipeline.

Strengths in knowing a wide range of tools!

KnechtRuprecht

Again, thanks for your replys. I found a student edition of the up to date Photoshop for 210 Euros. And i even can do commercial stuff with it . Should i buy the newest version or CS 5 which is cheaper? I read throug the new funcions and it seems that Adobe added only functions which are interesting for photographers and stuff i don't need like this 3d rendering inside Photoshop. Are all important tools compatible with Photoshop CS5 ?

Moritz

ivanzu

You cant do commercial work with student version,only trust Adobe and not the re-seller.

DrunkShaman

KnechtRuprecht wrote: »

First I want so say Hi, i'm lurking around in this great forum for a year or so, but i never registered.
Since 1 and a half years i'm working with Blender and Gimp, because I'm an student and can't afford the expensive tools. It worked a quite while good with blender, but in the last time i missed more and more (working) tools which Max has. A few days ago i stumbled over the fact, that 3dsMax is free for students, in a limited way.
I watched a few tuts of how to work with max and it a quite big difference to blender, regarding the shortcut, the many new cool tools the different layout and the different workflow.
The same problem has Gimp, too. Although i love open source and free programms (who dont ) i would hear your opinion regarding this issue.
Should I change my software and learn new Programms?

Greetings Moritz

Btw: please ignore faults in my spelling or worng vocabulary, i'm not an native english speaker

Are you struggling with the current tool set? If so, you should switch to some other to get your portfolio ready, (purchase is not necessary as you have stated that student license is free for students.)

KnechtRuprecht

You cant do commercial work with student version,only trust Adobe and not the re-seller.

Thats weird. I have read it on several websides.

Are you struggling with the current tool set? If so, you should switch to some other to get your portfolio ready, (purchase is not necessary as you have stated that student license is free for students.)

Yeah that is what i want to do
Btw does anybody knows good tutorials for 3dsMax for someone who has already experience in 3d? Because all tuts are designed for starters, and i only need an overviev over the functions and where to find them.

Moritz