What Software Should I learn?

[egproductions]

I want to start learning 3d animation but am having a little trouble deciding between maya or 3d studio max. which one is better to learn and whihc one is more widley used for video animation. In specific I want to create an intro for my company that looks much like this still image below (really bad scan sorry)

http://eden.rutgers.edu/~egabor/Transfer%20Folder/EG%20Logo.jpg

[Anhar Miah]

You can use any Package really, this is something I did in Max, needs some tweaking but you get the Idea:

Egg Logo:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/Anhar/Egg_preview.jpg

And In Case you wondering what the wireframe looks like:

WireFrame:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/Anhar/Egg_preview_w.jpg


Anhar

[egproductions]

thats very sexy. I would normally ask someone to do this for me but I think its time i learn to do it for myslef. What is more commonly used in the industry. What is max better at doing than maya lets say.

[NickJushchyshyn]

Either app can do the job you want.
Try the demos out. Which ever one "feels" better/easier/more comfortable to you is probably the best place to start.

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

I have heard the Maya is more film industry related while 3ds Max is more video game related. I am planning on playing around with Maya at some point, but another alternative is Cinema 4d. I've heard lots of good stuff about it.

[Anhar Miah]

Man, they are just tools, it does'nt matter thats the truth really, whatever your comfortable with, and the film industry does not use any one app exlusively, what happens is that they use a bit of this a bit of that and some in house stuff as well.

Anyway come join the fun/madness welcome to a world of 3 dimensional pain :)

Anhar

[mcgeedigital]

I have heard the Maya is more film industry related while 3ds Max is more video game related. I am planning on playing around with Maya at some point, but another alternative is Cinema 4d. I've heard lots of good stuff about it.


Cinema 4d is great, as is Lightwave. I would say both are some of the easier 3d apps to learn on.

[egproductions]

I think I am going to choose maya from what I have seen from tuturiol results is that maya has some of the more realistic renderings whihc is what I am more interested in generally. Thanks for al your help.

[SomewhereinLA]

Neither, Maya is great but useless if you don't have a gigantic render farm, and as far as I am concerned 3ds max is crap, which is probably why autodesk felt they had to buy Maya. Go cinema 4d, best 3d pkg for the money, great modeler and very photorealistic.

[Anhar Miah]

Oh dear this is going to turn into another, my X is better than your X, its not the case as I've already said almost all modern 3d apps are just as capable as each other, how good each one is depends on the user now in terms of features, I think Maya is tops with Max a close behind (infact they say Maya is just Max with all the plugins)

C4D from what I hear has a simple learning curve (i.e. its a simple app to pick up) where as some dislike Max due to the harder learning curve (and would probably hate Maya which is even harder).

Anyway pick your tools and get good at it, then when you feel you have "outgrown" you tool move on to another..

Anhar

[MrPolarBare]

I use Maya. I haven't used any other 3D apps, so it isn't really fair to compare, I guess. I do know that Maya has a strong standing in the 3D community, which is a really nice benefit. Also, Maya has some great learning resources like The Gnomon Workshop and Digital Tutor DVD sets. I've been using Maya since version 4.0, and I've never felt compelled to look for another 3D alternative.

[Gord.T]

I'm new to 3d and have been using max 8 for 3 months. My impression was Maya was more animation based and more user-friendly while max is tech-based and while harder has more tech-ability if user inputs it. Another analogy is Visual Basic->C++? If I'm wrong, I'll be glad to look at maya.??? -thanks.

[mdharrington]

Maya is much more tech based....not to say max isn't

I've used lightwave professionally for years, and have gotten into maya the past 3 years....and also have dabbled with max and houdini.

If I were in the market I would probably go with cinema4d or XSI foundation.
XSI probably being a little harder to learn but more powerful.

As far as renderers XSI MAYA and MAX all use mental ray, as there built in quality renderer...(before Maya got mental ray...it's default renderer was the worst.) C4D and lightwave each have there own renderer's which are very good quality.Any one of these apps can do photo realistic rendering,though I belive C4d is the fastest (it does matter...I've had to wait over a week for 60 seconds of animation...all depends on the size/quality)

Maya is esteemed in 3d because of it's customisable....everything, most production houses write there own tools and shaders and maya is very friendly in that environment. It's character animation is also some of the best...but to be realistic...developing and rigging a production quality character...just to make it animation ready could take a pro months. So you have to look at what you want to do with it and how deep you want to go.

I own Maya and lightwave....I love maya because I like to dig deep into the program....(and trust me 3d programs are 10 times deeper than any video editing app)....but when I need something quick...I go to Lightwave.

So for basic 3d capabilities go for XSI foundation ($499) C4d (dependes on the modules ($700-$2500) or Lightwave($800)
If you see yourself spending months on end perfecting a 3d project the jump to Maya($2000-$7000) XSI Advanced($2000-$7000) or Houdini($17,500)

Just my opinions of course

[retaf99]

I use 3DS Max for non-organics and Maya for organic objects. Depending on the project I decide which dynamics and or particle effects system I will use. A great place for learning material is:

http://www.3DBuzz.com

They fundamental DVD courses for Max and Maya and they are TRUELY AWSOME. The best instructional content I have ever seen.

Good luck

[SomewhereinLA]

Here is my take on it...

I think there are a few thing to consider when buying a 3d software. At work, we use Maya, and I think it's the best software out there, however all the hi-end features and the cool rendering engines need a rendering farm. You won't be able to use it at home unless you are willing to wait 6 month for a 1 sec. ani. There are, of course a lot of thing you will be able to do with it without a rendering farm, but you won't be able to use many of the very cool shaders and plug-ins.

Lightwave is very good as well, but I have never liked the fact that the Modeler isn't integrated with the animation part.

Softimage XSI is great, but not as popular as it was once...

3D StudioMax: I never understood why this software is popular... It is easy to learn I guess but I think it's crap, in my opinion the worst 3d software outhere... Just to be more specific, I don't like the animation features, I think they are weak, also I don't like the rendering engine that comes with it. Also I don't find it very flexibe.

Cinema 4D is sort of the new kid on the block, the basics are very easy to learn so you can start doing cool stuff fairly quickly. Also the modeler is non destructive which I think is very cool. The rendering engines are very impressive. I think the best for the money.


PS: The following comments are based on over 15 years experience working in Post Production houses and VFX companies producing mainly hi-end commercials, feature films and music videos.

[MrBattle@mac.com]

modo is good to learn on... maya is real good once you learn it. But once you learn one program, you should be able to pick up the rest pretty fast

[twocik23]

"maya is real good once you learn it"


That's the key word, once you learn it.

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

Who makes the best ground up training for Cinema 4d? Something multi DVD, starting with basics and working up to the more intricate stuff. I've downloaded some of the demos off Lynda.com (?) but would like to know what everyone else likes. My 3d experience... Poser, Daz|Studio, Bryce. Nothing much.

[ryan brown]

Who makes the best ground up training for Cinema 4d? Something multi DVD, starting with basics and working up to the more intricate stuff.

I'm interested in this, also... SOOO... BUMP!

[Nik Manning]

I have access to the Lynda.com Cinema 4d Tutorials and I plan on watching them. I will report back if they are good or not.

[Nik Manning]

Yes the Lynda Cinema 4d tutorials seem to be pretty good. It goes into detail and covers mograph and bodypaint and other extras. I just watched him make a spoon out of a square.

[eliotbaring]

Maya has a lot of published tuitional books and is used by most of the top fx houses.

[zeke]

With all due respect to the pros here, maybe the original poster should be more specific about their long term goals. If you find you don't want to do 3d modeling, then any purchase is a waste.

I highly recommend Blender for those just starting out, which has a built in compositor now and with YaFray has very decent output. Since 2.42 it's had a great feature for creating liquids.

If you mainly want to do character animation and you are just starting out, good luck in any package, because it will take you a long time (after learning the software) to get any good at it.

If you find yourself enjoying and actually creating things, then you can always reevaluate your decision.
And if you need to build a render farm, the cost for blender and yafray stays the same, free.
Weakness is documentation, though the wiki site has been getting updated.

Blenderartist.org is a great place to get help.

[AllAroundFilmLV]

I have heard the Maya is more film industry related while 3ds Max is more video game related. I am planning on playing around with Maya at some point, but another alternative is Cinema 4d. I've heard lots of good stuff about it.

This is very true, they used Maya for the new halo coming out this year.
Maya is generally used for 3d-animation movies ie: shrek.
C4D: Is used a lot for live action 3D ie: Spiderman 1 + 2.

Max is a very advanced program, but it deals more with planes, while Maya is as equally advanced but deals more with nurbs and splines(So ive heard.) I havent wrked with C4D. Most of my experience with 3D work is in Max, so most of what I hear is from instructors and Industry pros.

Its essentially just like any editing program: 12 different ways to do the same thing. Its all the same stuff, you just have to find what you like the most

[oneinfiniteloop]

From what I've read, C4D is not used as much as your alluding to for live action CG...Maya is the primary tool for many VFX houses.

[Shaw]

While I do generally agree that user interface should play a part in application selection I think everyone has vastly underestimated the necessity of a good renderer! In fact, I would go so far as to say that you should pick an app based on what renderer you want to use. As of right now most 3D applications have approximately equivalent performance in still frames. Add motion to it though and the good renderers really stand out. The good ones are also fast which is of paramount concern when using an application in a professional environment.

[KyleProhaska]

Honestly CGI might be the only area of filmmaking where the software you choose could be a major deal. I wouldn't say that "its just a tool and how you use it" apply's as much here as it would with an NLE. Some pieces of software simply give better results no matter what. For instance, 3dsmax does awful effects like fire and explosions without an expensive plugin, Maya is great at doing those things out of the box (after learning how to do it of coarse). I think either way it does depend on what your used to but some stuff works better and faster than others simply because thats how the program has been made. The film industry uses Maya most of the time (or their own written CG programs) because of the leeway it gives and its ability to do many different things. Its ability to use scripts is #1 among other programs IMO.

Most of the stuff you see in movies, expecially when it comes to effects, requires loads of scripting, plugins, etc. to get it just right. NO one 3d package can do it all just with the software, thats pretty much impossible lol. I guess it is the tool you use and how your familiar but its how fast you can get things done that matters in the real world and most people find Maya to deliver.

- Kyle