Maya or XSI

DrunkShaman

Greetings guys;

I have learned and practicing both programs for 3d modeling but I wanted to figure out which one should I stick to and pursue further practice and learning.

I have been using Softimage XSI and Maya (as the title states) I know how to use the modeling tools in that, as well as laying down the UVs for the texture maps.

But there is one downfall for it. I am using Digital Tutors for my studies that has the most tutorials for XSI and even more for Maya. There arent many other resources for XSI but there are for Maya. And game studios' demand is also a question.

So my question to you is this. Which one should I pursue?

Maph

Artistically, I would say which one you feel comfortable in most. Practically, I'd go for Maya (and I'm a pretty hardcore XSI user) and even more practical, I'd say Max. XSI is hardly used in this industry except for maybe a handful of studios with Max taking the crown.

mdeforge

Personally I would choose Maya but it's certainly valid to learn several different programs and stay frosty with all of them. If found that after I learned 3DSM I could pick up Maya fairly fast, despite the UI and Hotkeys being different (even some of the terminology). There shouldn't be too much of a problem translating videos into the appropriate 3D package either. I've watched tutorials that were in blender before and applied it to Maya.

I wouldn't be too worried about it. Go with what you can afford and just focus on showcasing your skills because software is always going to change.

DrunkShaman

Maph wrote: »

Artistically, I would say which one you feel comfortable in most. Practically, I'd go for Maya (and I'm a pretty hardcore XSI user) and even more practical, I'd say Max. XSI is hardly used in this industry except for maybe a handful of studios with Max taking the crown.

That was one of my concern. Like Barely any game studios use XSI except for Valve, and few Japanese Game Studios, and few NA Game Studios maybe. I am comfortable with both Maya and XSI. Maybe I should just doodle in XSI but when it comes to the actual projects for my portfolio, I use Maya. =\

I just wanted to know how many people would prefer Maya over XSI.

Thanks for your post.

Mongrelman

I've used both and personally much prefer XSI, though I'd suggest sticking with Maya as that is more commonly used in the industry.

Ultimately it's more about what you can actually produce; switching to a different program when you join s company is a pain, but it's pretty much just doing the same thing you did before but pressing different buttons. I just reckon you're less likely to need to do that if you go with Maya as the company will probably be using that or Max.

dregoloth

I'd go Maya. I love Soft|Image, but almost no game companies use it, and there isn't really an 3rd party support with plug-ins and the like compared to Maya

Ark

Gotta agree with whats already been said, XSI is a great program and my favorite, but unless your japan based, theres hardy any studios that use it. Even Valve use Maya now.

Funny why it's so underused in the western parts of the world.

But if you have access to both programs then i don't see why you can't learn both. Keep your priority of say Maya, then switch to XSI for some little side projects.

Once you learn the tools of one app, then you should easily be able to transfer that knowledge to the other.

DrunkShaman

Bumping this thread to say, I finally moved on from xsi since they are discontinuing it anyways. Now I'll just fiddle around with Maya and 3ds max. Or Modo.

inflict3d

Softimage XSI died to help Maya become more awesome. :poly121:

peanut™

I jumped into XSI a few times in my life, and was marvelously surprised by some of the modeling features. Pretty comfortable for a Maya user.

Littlegirl: whynotboth.gif

JedTheKrampus

Look at it this way: if you take up XSI now, you'll never have to learn anything new!

StephenVyas

All this XSI talk is making me nostalgic
first love , 1 love

:icon60:nice necro btw