Home Technical Talk

Autodesk Maya ( please don't kill me)

Hey all, i read a lots of discussions about this battle between 3ds max and maya but no one of them answered my question. I understand that both programms can do anything all depends from who use it. I also a read a post of "3d artist " about this argument. In general i understood that 3ds max ( on high levels) is for game modelling while maya is for animation. So my question is , if both of these programms ar good for evrything why there are Schools that use ONLY maya?
Right now i'm studying 3ds max and i can't find a school that use this software. So there is a doubt is maya more requested in all productions?
PS sorry fro my bad english, hope you understand what i ment to ask
Have a nice day
PSS i know also that there are lots of good programms out there , but i'm more interessting on these two

Replies

  • Kwramm
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    Kwramm interpolator
    apart from the "it's just a tool argument", the thinking of a uni could be like this: maya has a stronger foothold in film. Therefore graduates know software used in games AND film. Maya, for a while used to be cheaper than max. Plus maya uses Python for scripting, if the college teaches that, it's more useful than max script as python can be found in other apps and used for stand-alone app dev. Maya's visual node editors are also a nice learning tool to understand how stuff works under the hood - there's no real equivalent in max for teaching this.
    Other reasons for sticking to Maya only: hiring extra max teachers costs money. Buying extra max licenses costs money.

    Funny though, my college taught both, Maya and Max - back when Maya still cost $8000 a seat.

    From what's requested more: depends on what fields of 3D you include. Autodesk's numbers for Max subscriptions are much higher than the ones for Maya, but this also include Max licenses used for e.g. product visualization, and not just entertainment alone.
  • Brendan
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    Brendan polycounter lvl 8
    Shuael wrote: »
    Hey all, i read a lots of discussions about this battle between 3ds max and maya but no one of them answered my question. I understand that both programms can do anything all depends from who use it. I also a read a post of "3d artist " about this argument. In general i understood that 3ds max ( on high levels) is for game modelling while maya is for animation. So my question is , if both of these programms ar good for evrything why there are Schools that use ONLY maya?
    Right now i'm studying 3ds max and i can't find a school that use this software. So there is a doubt is maya more requested in all productions?
    PS sorry fro my bad english, hope you understand what i ment to ask
    Have a nice day
    PSS i know also that there are lots of good programms out there , but i'm more interessting on these two


    The schools will obviously teaching the basics of modelling - what to do (run an edge loop around the torso) and not how to do it (click this, then this, and slide here, then done). My guess would be that it's easier, faster and more 'to the point' to teach them one program, rather than having to spend twice the time teaching people how to use both interfaces. Generally if you know what you need to do, then it's just a case of finding the right button 90% of the time.

    Maya's poly modelling is decent, maybe not as 'pure' as Max, but it's more than sufficient to get something done really fast. I've had no problems raising skyscrapers or making racing cars in Maya, for instance.
  • BARDLER
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    BARDLER polycounter lvl 12
    For a few reasons.

    Its safe. If you know Maya you can get a job at a lot of places because it is basically everywhere.

    It is a better complete package. Maya's rigging, animation, and effects tools are way better than 3DS max. It is easier and cheaper for a school to put just Maya on their computers rather than Maya and 3Ds Max. My school, and any art school, don't just teach modeling, they also teach rigging and animation. Eventually when all the students come together to make a film they all know how to use Maya and staying in one program makes life way easier.

    Good modeling is good modeling. If you understand edge flow and how to go about modeling any object or character you can do it in any package. I wouldn't be so worried about sticking to Max and trying to find a school that teaches it. You are just selling yourself short. Find a school that has good teachers with industry experience and are putting out students making awesome art. That should be how you decide what school to go to.
  • Sage
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    Sage polycounter lvl 19
    well to be honest, one of the reasons might be how autodesk's does business. back in the day when I went to school school reps wanted to get max, but got a all kids of attitude from the sales rep. They got a nice response from alias, so the school got Maya and said f you to max. Maya works on both Mac and PC Max doesn't... Another reason is word of mouth. Maya has been known for a decade for it's work on special FX for film, Max isn't. Also a lot of people that started animation programs in school have no clue of what is needed in the game industry so, that is another reason Max was overlooked. Decent schools have both though Max and Maya and now probably have Zbrush and Mudbox at a minimum. Macs are known for their amazing power to do graphics... So if a school decided later to add animation for example, they just used software that fit onto what they already offer. Keep in mind I think PCs are just better for the price, and Mac suck in my opinion because of how Apple does business.
  • bugo
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    bugo polycounter lvl 17
    Most "good" companies have technical artists that will give you the support and create whatever tools you need. So it can be max, maya, blender, whatever, you should be fine. Just make sure you know enough of the application to say you are pleased and comfortable with. Max is really straight forward, and many like it because of it. Maya is not as easy and it can be overwhelming for some, but whenever you know it, it's hard to go to another one. (thats my experience)
  • Angry Beaver
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    Angry Beaver polycounter lvl 7
    It's regional. No seriously, based upon several factors you'll find pockets of people using certain software. You cast your gaze internationally and you'll discover its got a lot of variety but inside a local community it can get very regional as to who uses what software because of teachers, work places, industries all end up feeding each other. Schools teach what industry uses to attract students who want jobs and lots of people don't move very far for a job. This self perpetuating cycle can do crazy things like my college tried to teach me Vue and Lightwave FFS.
  • jordan.kocon
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    jordan.kocon polycounter lvl 6
    TLDR; In Canada the general vibe is studios on the west coast use Maya and studios on the east coast use Max. I just got a job at Digital Extremes about a month ago, and they use Max. I told them in the interview I had never used Max before, and I still got the job. The point is, you can easily switch from one to the other. After my first week I felt fairly comfortable in Max, and now I feel completely fluent. I would say focus on one for the sake of your portfolio, don't worry about knowing both.

    As a recent grad student who has recently used XSI/Maya/Max all within the last year or so, I would definitely recommend Max for modeling.
  • Shuael
    Options
    Offline / Send Message
    Thank you all , now i have a better idea of what to do. Than k you very much
Sign In or Register to comment.