Switch to Maya for Job? is max less used in the game industry?
polycounter lvl 11
It's an often asked question, i'm sorry 
On most job ads i've seen in my surroundings, Maya is the preferred 3D software they're looking for when asking for 3D artist skillset (next to the usual zbrush/Mudbox/PS)
I've been Using Max for ages, but it seems to drop off more and more on applications in favor of Maya. Is this just a coincidence?
Or is it the preferred program next to say Zbrush, a lot of the tutorials from ea3d for example cover maya as well, sure I can do the same thing in Max for basic shapes, but it does seem to focus on Maya a lot.
I saw the lectures by Bradley Wascher for Max to Maya, and wondered if I should make the switch?
Personally I thought 3Dsmax was more prominent in Game developement, and Maya was better suited for animation, the Studio I worked at used mainly Max, and a small ps3 team was working with Maya.
But I don't want to miss out on certain ads just because I don't know the tool that well..
Is it better to focus on my current toolset of Max/zbrush etc? or add Maya in the mix, to know basic knowledge of all? or will I be shooting my own foot and spread the mayo too thin?
On most job ads i've seen in my surroundings, Maya is the preferred 3D software they're looking for when asking for 3D artist skillset (next to the usual zbrush/Mudbox/PS)
I've been Using Max for ages, but it seems to drop off more and more on applications in favor of Maya. Is this just a coincidence?
Or is it the preferred program next to say Zbrush, a lot of the tutorials from ea3d for example cover maya as well, sure I can do the same thing in Max for basic shapes, but it does seem to focus on Maya a lot.
I saw the lectures by Bradley Wascher for Max to Maya, and wondered if I should make the switch?
Personally I thought 3Dsmax was more prominent in Game developement, and Maya was better suited for animation, the Studio I worked at used mainly Max, and a small ps3 team was working with Maya.
But I don't want to miss out on certain ads just because I don't know the tool that well..
Is it better to focus on my current toolset of Max/zbrush etc? or add Maya in the mix, to know basic knowledge of all? or will I be shooting my own foot and spread the mayo too thin?
Replies
in the end you get more skill cause you know more than one app and way to work...
Our whole studio just switched to maya the beginning of this year and it was frustrating for the first couple of months but its pretty good now. The modelling and uv tools arent very well thought out in my opinion but they get the job done pretty fast once you are used to it.
I think a basic knowledge at the very least can help. Ive used lots of different software over the years (max, maya, cinema4d, silo) and I cant say I feel like Ive spread myself too thin as I just dedicate myself to the one I currently use at work.
Personally I think knowing 2 Primary 3d package is good enough (max,maya) and just one Sculpting software(Zbrush). I think there are more benefits if you learn maya, since a lot of studios use maya as their main. Dont limit yourself just to max.
and it not only reinforced the foundations, but makes you stronger and more valuable as an artist. its really helped me identify better techniques.
so it seems like a total pos in the beginning, and its still missing tons of functionality for construction as well as being a bit clunky but its comfortable enough to get art done.) feel free to use me as a resource or shoot a message if you run into any weirdness (some things you'll just have to think about slightly different). happy to help if ya need it.
cheers
We only work on macs at my work and started a new project which required a better tool set than cinema4d offered, also a new art director and senior artist joined us who both knew maya well. It was a good move!
I just started at id, and everyone here uses Modo. They switched from Max a couple years ago, which a few people still use. I've always used Maya. They're cool with me using it, but I'm going to start making the switch to Modo in a couple weeks anyway.
Every studio is different. Even if they're cool with you using something else, you might want to just conform anyways. You'll save yourself frustration in the future.
But as it's been pointed out on here a few times, those sites just skim the surface when it comes to actual availability.
I'm making the switch to Maya next year as well, little scared, max is like ma best friend.
It will be good to know another tool though, who knows I might like it better.
I'll say this though, once you spend a week with a different program, setting up all your hotkeys/scripts.. you'll shrug off the new user feeling VERY quickly.
Though what I'm curious to see is how studios built a workflow around modo, yes modo has amazing modeling tools and UV tools, but its script interface sucks balls no matter what language you use with it.
Spend the time being an awesome artist, picking up new tools takes a lot less time :P.
ive found mayas duplicate special and subdiv proxy to be somewhat annoying/limited to deal with.
for one example, whenever use the sculpt geometry tool extensively with half of my mesh instanced, i usually have to re-attach the center verticies whenever i sculpt near the center which is an annoying part. (so far the only barely tolerable workaround ive found for that is to keyframe the all the center verticies to one axis.)
then another annoyance is that the duplicate special instance doesnt merge center verts. so if you preview the smoothed version it will not look right at the center.
then in subdiv proxy mode you can see the smoothed version live but i find it a pain to work with and you still have to delete center double faces when extruding at center.
what scripts do you use for mirroring/instances and where would i download it? or perhaps i should make a new thread for this.
Many just go through some basic tutorials, then just dive in, can't find what they need and then get frustrated.
Over many years, I've often heard that Maya is hard to learn, its UI is tricky, or you need scripts for everything, but frankly I've always found this to be a kinda myth. It's really no better, or worse than any other package to learn really.
The one thing to remember about Maya, is that it's very open, it was designed that way. So there can be different ways to do the same thing.
Also, Maya has a lot of preferences, so you can actually change many things, including the UI. It's mastering those things, that can often be the trick. I still see people now, who aren't using the hotbox or marking menus correctly and they're key (imo)to Maya's UI and usability.
Overall though, I think the main thing when having to consider using a different software, is be professional. On another thread there was discussion about why studios don't just allow people to use what they want. Well, this sounds great on paper, but isn't always practical, for many reasons. The fact is that despite what you might want, you aren't in control of the situation and a studio in question has chosen their software of choice and that's that.
I've always been a Maya and Softimage guy, and I make no secret of the fact that I'm not the biggest Max fan in the world. However, in the past, I've had to work on projects that have used Max and though I haven't liked it, I just got on with the job. My employer isn't paying me to moan, they're paying me to do a job.
great experiences in your original topic tho!
Software A is like a manual transmission. Software B is like an automatic transmission.
It doesn't really matter which software is A or B. The point is, if you learn to drive both ways, you can drive any car out there.
Don't handicap yourself and don't stress about leaving one for the other and never being able to going back, you can. It's not like they are two forces locked in an intergalactic war and you'll be a traitor to our home world, unable to return if you choose to "join the other side".
DUDE!!!, congrats on ID!!, i will buy and play whatever your working on for sure. your gonna be a super star, cant wait to see your ID work!
but for maya/max, i think every one pretty much covered it, while its not hard to learn the software, keep the focus on the art and keep the learning momentum up. momentum is the key to success in anything! good luck!