Best modeling package other than 3ds Max??
polycounter lvl 6
So I know this is a very broad question, but what app. do you all use other than 3ds Max and why. I ask this because I learned on Max and it has a pretty straight forward learning curve, but it also is just plagued with too many problems for me any more. The stupid viewport shading error that someimes never go away even afte trying every "fix" trick in the book. They say they fix some bug while they break ten more things. Modifiers that just don't work well or are just wonky in general. The only benefit anymore is that it is free because I'm a student.
I have been looking at Modo, or possibly C4D as they look like they offer plenty of updated modifiers and less issues with viewport errors and such-though the learning curve seems steeper on these. I am not in the market now as I'm poor but I'm going to be buying something within the next year I think. What is your app. and why?
Thanks:poly136:
I have been looking at Modo, or possibly C4D as they look like they offer plenty of updated modifiers and less issues with viewport errors and such-though the learning curve seems steeper on these. I am not in the market now as I'm poor but I'm going to be buying something within the next year I think. What is your app. and why?
Thanks:poly136:
Replies
Do you mind elaborating on this?
3dsmax and Maya are industry standard while I'd say modo is coming in third in popularity. I use 3dsmax because there are so many useful scripts and tools because of how popular it is. The work flow makes sense as well as the functions of the hotkeys/shortcuts. 3dsmax feels more common with functions with every other app. Whereas Maya and Modo usually have hotkeys which feel out of the norm to get used to.
Not making the switch for viewport reasons just want to get a bit more versatile and the industry feels (even if it isn't) its moving more maya heavy, when it will take just a short time to pick up why not be versatile.
but you could always check your shit out in marmoset if you want to get more ideal shading conditions, or even a sculpting app like mudbox.
New website: http://www.blender.org/
your particular issue sounds like broken vertex normals. apply a normals modifier and check for green lines in the output and reset them if applicable.
Low down! Modo is great! interface is better, way more intuitive than max, easier to make hotkeys, (and make more hotkeys... anything can be a modifier key in modo!) and you can customize the hell out of it with macro recording, (which gets everything). It's simple, to the point, and has built in workflows that will speed up the modeling process. Having said that, my max is just like Modo, (with the exception of the boolean tools) and I get my modifiers! Also, max has a ton tools at its beckon call, you just have to get to know them. One other great thing about max is, if you want to know more about it, there's tons of docs, forums, and people that can show you the way. I find that people who are blown by Modo never took the time to find out if max can do the same thing... and it can.
In the end... Both are awesome! Modo is going to get you modeling faster right out the gate, no lie. Max is just as fast, and more powerful in extended areas; your just going to have to spend more time figuring it out! and that's kind of a pain in the ass... just saying. Either way you can't go wrong.
Max is like a heavy hammer that takes time to learn how to wield properly, but its a super versatile and incredibly powerful tool. Modo is more like a rapier, easy to pick up, lighting fast, and gets right to the point.
It's like thomasp said-"feature creep ruins the party" in programs and games alike. It is one of the hardest temptations to resist when making a game/program I assume. You want the pretties but your core shit is broken.
Keep the feedback coming!:thumbup:
I would suggest picking a popular package like Max or Maya to learn first as you'll likely find more documentation and video tutorials about how to get things done with them versus the "lesser known" 3d packages. Once you master either then you can feel free to learn about other 3D packages as there will be a much smaller learning curve.
1. it's quite different from the rest of the package
2. it's not widely(or at all) used in the industry, you will face the risk that the things you learnt is not gonna get your a job
but if you are just looking at a better modelling package, blender is valid, and its free!
As far as best modelling package goes. I prefer to use Maya for everything. The company I am at now uses Max, the one before that was Modo, before that Maya, before that Max...
If anything I would say to try out Maya as it is more widely used than Modo in the industry and at least having a basic knowledge of it will be a bonus to potential employers.
the fun part about that shading/normals bug is, that it will get entirely lost over the years of your practice, i know when i started i had that shit all the time. I don't even know what caused it, but now years later i don't have that stuff anymore. You remove every errorsource from your workflow the more you use something. There might be tools in max that are now great but i don't know them anymore as i removed them from my memory when they have been bugged years ago.
the answer is of course that it's a business and they want you to continue upgrading. new fancy features surely read much better in the brochure than bugfixes and optimizations.
it' also very evident from an artist and end-user POV that the very people coding this stuff are far more interested in implementing newfangled things for the sake of implementing them rather than painfully sorting out the old cr*p.
plus they don't use their own program extensively in a real-world situation and approach using it from a completely different angle than we do - you can really see the positive difference when a developer has artists on staff that use the program and advise on the workflow internally.
then throw in things like people behind the scenes moving on, code being done out of house, the occasional not-so-great hire messing up or delaying a system, management shifting focus of the application around over the years and you get the picture.
btw. i made a mistake earlier - it's not the 'normals' modifier you want to use to fix your issue, it's 'edit normals'.