Simple questions regarding software choice.
I haven't modeled in ages and am just starting to get back into the groove of things. When I had modeled before (low poly stuff for Quake/Half-life) I used Milkshape, but now that things have moved into the realm of high poly and normal maps, I decided I definitely need to learn how to use professional software.
I can't decide between Maya, 3DSM, and Blender. Maya and 3DSM carry quite the hefty price tag. Blender, on the other hand, seems to be powerful but suffers from Linuxitus, or an extremely convoluted and ultimately frustrating interface. Free, open source, multi-platform software is always a win in my book, but if I familiarize myself with Blender's interface, will I have just as much functionality at my fingertips as Maya or 3DSM? Also, will I end up being forced to learn Maya/3DSM anyways due to industry standards?
Another problem I'm facing is a total lack of understanding when it comes to normal maps and such. It seems many of you use Mudbox for normal map creation and I feel the gist is to create a lower poly character, import it into Mudbox, flesh it out with high poly detail, and then somehow use that model to create a normal map texture to wrap over the low poly. Other than that though, I don't know what else the process entails or what other crazy voodoo magic is going on in the next gen.
Thanks for your time.
I can't decide between Maya, 3DSM, and Blender. Maya and 3DSM carry quite the hefty price tag. Blender, on the other hand, seems to be powerful but suffers from Linuxitus, or an extremely convoluted and ultimately frustrating interface. Free, open source, multi-platform software is always a win in my book, but if I familiarize myself with Blender's interface, will I have just as much functionality at my fingertips as Maya or 3DSM? Also, will I end up being forced to learn Maya/3DSM anyways due to industry standards?
Another problem I'm facing is a total lack of understanding when it comes to normal maps and such. It seems many of you use Mudbox for normal map creation and I feel the gist is to create a lower poly character, import it into Mudbox, flesh it out with high poly detail, and then somehow use that model to create a normal map texture to wrap over the low poly. Other than that though, I don't know what else the process entails or what other crazy voodoo magic is going on in the next gen.
Thanks for your time.
Replies
On the other hand, some of XSI's exporters simply do not work correctly. One of them is the DirectX exporter which is pretty annoying. And many games do not have exporters written for XSI if you want to check your models in a game you have. AFAIK, there are exporters for UT2k4, HL2 and the Ogre 3D Engine.
I don't know much about normal maps either
Ben Mathias has a good tut on normal map workflow: http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/normal_workflow.htm
Also go through the 2d 3d section here...has a pirates booty full of stuff on Max,Maya,Mudbox,zbrush,normalmaps..etc