[garuda_x]

maya is pretty much all that you need. it does it all....if you are a student, then you can get yourself a full unlimited copy for something like $740us for the year. and you will have all the bells and whistles to do anything you can imagine. and AW gives great support...and has some free plugins....to get the same function from max, i think you have to buy more plugs to do what maya unlimited comes with...even complet(the smaller version)....have fun.
i am totally biased though since the only 3d apps i really know are PA and maya....

[Jorge]

okey dockey, maybe I was a bit harsh. Sorry if I seemed rude, I probably was. He is exclusively interested in modeling it seems. I insist then, I'd go for Rhino. As I said the lack of construction history would be the only thing that might change my mind. If animating was intended too, well, importing is always a bit sucky comparing to native, but it seems he does not want that. Just my (humble this time) opinion.

BTW, Rhino is not very expensive if you are a student. But still, if you just want to play with it, I guess it is indeed quite an expensive toy.

(Danny, he does not seem to be spending a single buck on a license, so...)

quote

Quote:

Just curious as I have all these at my disposal but no time to waste on bull shit progs!

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Jorge

[This message has been edited by Jorge (edited September 10, 2000).]

[dEATH.Tool]

Thanks for the neverending help! First tho I'd like to address a few questions and comments.

* No I'm not a student....been at sony for going on two years. (character design and conceptual)!

* I got 3DS for $200 from my brother-in-law, all the nessesary info in account also. I also get most of this stuff for free from friends since they are all some kind of artist or the other (gaming and/or commercial)! Sometimes I just work at their houses, or just simply share account! I also get alot of new stuff from work, my fiance (interior designer), and a electronic warehouse my brother works at.....call it luck or call it simply connections.

* I'm still new to digital painting and 3d (job only requires strong traditional and commercial knowledge not digital or 3d training) so I'm still kinda off level! That's what practice is for. Like said I'm not interested in animation as of yet....just trying to intergrate 3d in exchange for my current clay modeling and sculpting!

However like said I have 3DS, and now I have LW6 and Rhino....now comes the foolery....then comes experimentantion! I'll work with those a bit. My friend is trying to get me to use Maya badly....but I just starter trying to learn Lightwave...so I'll have to pass until I get that down a bit! Oh yeh....are there any good 3d painting programs out there? I'll probably just re-touch in PS because so far the word is Painter 3d sucks....what about Deep Paint? Anyone know anybooks that have proven helpful for LW or whatever.....hell I'll read on any of the progs you guys have mentioned even if I don't have the prog yet! Can't get enough of learning!

Thanks again for the help everyone!

[Worthy]

heres my take after doing game production for 4 years and now modeling and film productin for another year..

1-maya..the best for nurbs bar none

2-mirai..the best for polys bar none (solid modeler)

3-max..the best all-purpose tool (not a solid model)

4-everyone..EVERYONE..should have Nendo. great quick poly modeling tool..and respectable little 3d painting..only 99 bucks too. And I'm not saying that just cuz Im in the opening credits for it either

5-deep paint 3d, amazon paint and mirai's 3d paint all are pretty nice. Mirai comes with it. Amazon specializes in it..and deep paint is aplugin for Max. So..your choice

I know theres some debate between max and mirai..solid and non-solid models. The way I feel is this..max has tons of plugins..great tool..and theres lots and lots of powerful stuff you can do with Max. But the models arent solid. This means during animation you are going to see tearing, bad stretching..etc..wheres Mirai is a winged-edge database.e.very edge knows about every other edge..no tears..it all looks awesome. Muich better and cleaner geometry. Dont take my word for it..take Viewpoint's. Some of you may not have heard of us..but we do the majority of the 3d models you see in films and plenty of commercials and games.

anyways..hope that helps a bit.
oh..and rhino and LW..ehh..not my choices..but you can indeed do some amazing things with those packages!

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3D Sculptor
Viewpoint Digital

[eetu]

as LW6 books go, your best bet at the moment would be "inside LW6" by Dan Ablan.

for online resources take a look at www.flay.com

eetu.

[dEATH.Tool]

Well I'm still jus taking the learning process slow...in between the job and life...which both just happen to be art also. I figure...hell I've got a pretty solid base with 3DS and it's pointless imo to start at the top and work to the bottom! Not that LW is the bottom but working with a secure modeling base from low end progs can only be a more secure steo into anew. I'm gonna get my hands on Maya, and SoftImage sometime soon....meanwhile I'm just trying to get compfy in the 3d realm! What's weird tho is that when I get flustrated at 3D, digital painting seems to calm me a bit! Not that I've mastered that yet....far away! Thanks for the link to the book and thanks for all the help! As soon as I create something decent in LW I'll post it! LaTer!

[Haarg2]

I personally use POVray and notepad. Or at least I did till notepad crashed. Oh Win98, it's almost like a REAL operating system...

--h2

[Pixelator]

How good a program is, will greatly depends on the type of art that you wish to create. A program that is frequently used when creating a CG movie (such as Maya) would not be the best program for you, unless you are actually creating a CG movie. A program that used by many Game Companies (such as Max) would not be the best program for you, unless you are actually working in a game company.

So� Which program should you use?
Use the program that will better fit your style and your creativity. The more you enjoy using that program, the better you artwork would be. The better your artwork is, the more chances you have for your star to shine.

How do you determine which package fits your style best?
It�s quite easy, surf the Internet and look for artists, which are currently producing art that truly inspires you. It will not take long before you�ll stumble upon a piece of artwork that will give this irresistible urge to stop whatever you are currently doing, and begin creating your next �master piece�. When you see such artwork, make a note of the application that was used, as this application may be the one for you.


[This message has been edited by Pixelator (edited September 14, 2000).]

[dEATH.Tool]

Uh well didn't want to start anew thread. Well I'd like to thank everyone that helped me out in picking my 3D programs. Uh I haven't modeled anything that I feel like publicly displaying yet...hehehehe....I suck! Anyhow I just wanted to fill in my progress for those that helped and would like to know...um I've haven't really touched 3DS much because of work. Tossed Rhino for the moment....I did however develope a liking for the LW6 interface....why dunno. But I'll hopefully be posting some models soon...when I finish reading the books for LW and 3DS I got. Couldn't get ahold of Maya unless I order it from afar!

Okay now to the main reason I boosted this thread up! I need a bit more input! Here goes plain and simple:

Infini-D V4.1: Anygood?

Ray Dream Studio 5.5: What the hell is that?

TrueSpace 4: Anygood?

Cinema 4D: My friend has shown me some impressive stuff from this prog....but a second opinion would help.

Oh and I decided to go back to school for CAM (Computer Animation and Design)....Sony is really being caring on this....gonna let me work from afar! I don't know if this added school will affect my current field but hey gives me more choices huh? Wish me good fortune.

Note: I'm really sleepy, so if this didn't make any sense or I irritated anyone....ahh hell you guys understand!




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.we all have fallen victim to the evil which is ourselves.

[balistic]

You should also look into Hash A:M
http://www.hash.com



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Brian "balistic" Prince
3D Artist
Eggington Productions

[dEATH.Tool]

Thanks Balistic for the reply! Haven't really heard much about that prog, but it seems like it's worth a look...from what I've seen from a bit of research today.

Man I'm high off life right now! You know going in for another degree....the learning experience mostly though. Likely Arizona....err Phoenix or whatever you americans call it Once again I'm just happy the job is cooperating! I'm pretty proud right now....you know...I'm only tweenty...you did know that right (Yeah I'm one of those dweebs that finished school at 16 so what? Yay....hope things work out Wish me the best man!

[pierre]

I dont have the time to read all of the posted messages, I will just give a quick comment on what is the allround best 3D tool for the best price, that would be 3D Studio Max. It is my, with others, opinion that it offers the best you can get looking at the Price/Performance tag.

However, If you are into some serious 3D work, then you have three major players in the Market today. Softimage XSI (AVID), MAYA(Alias|Wavefront) and Houdini (Side Effects).

My favourite is Softimage XSI on Animation and MAYA on modeling. Houdini is strong on every aspect on the 3D process too, however I prefer using the latter softwares.

Pierre

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http://www.crosswinds.net/~pierrehannah