Sijun Forums :: View topic - Starting in 3D CG: what's the best one to start?

shinji69 · member Member # Joined: 18 Aug 2000 Posts: 100

I am thinking about purchasing Lightwave 3D [6] and Rhino 3D. I've tried Softimage, Animation Master and 3DS MAX, but I never got used to those 3 softwares.

Now I got interested in 3D CG again after 3 years. I'm gonna buy a new computer and start from scratch. Is Lightwave 3D a good softwae for a starter?

And, how many software do I have to use? If I can use Lightwave 3D, I'd rather stick with one software. What do you think?

Mezoic · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2001 4:12 pm

Your going to get a lot of different answers here. People are going to say one or the other based on their own personal experience.

I am a 3dsmax user, but Lightwave is a very good (and cheap) solution to creating 3D CG. I haven't used it, but I have seen a lot of amazing artwork produced with it.

I would recommend going for it, read all those online tutorials, and practice hard.

greenmode · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2001 4:51 pm

definitely recommend lightwave over max... you'll get much better result with lightwave because it has a great render..max is abit to techy, lightwave is great for artist students...

i still wonder why its much chipper than other softwares.

but there are also other, more expensive sofwares like softimage and maya, which most of colleges that i've visited use..

i consider lightwave and softimage to be flawless packages and great for artists..but thats just me

Tendril · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2001 5:15 pm

If you never got used to softimage, animation master or max I dont think youll find lightwave much easier.

Buy it if your rich or something and its no big deal, but its a pretty big investment isnt it?

I use max now because thats what ive been tought. But if i was starting out i would buy animation master cos its cheap, ive never used it though....

And yeh only use 1.

kit · junior member Member # Joined: 13 Jul 2001 Posts: 30

ohh... why not fork over $50k and get Maya Unlimited. That's the best...(my opinion)

Dan3d · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2001 7:02 pm

Maya Unlimited does not cost $50K. Get a life.

I use MAX daily, but I personally could never get used to Lightwave ... that's just me. But I will suggest a great starter 3D application that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and has all the features (and more) at a fraction of the cost:

Realsoft3D

Realsoft costs about $700 ($350 for students) and has a renderer that is as good as Lightwaves (though Realsoft is currently missing a hybred radiosity renderer ... it will be added soon). It features polygonal modeling, NURBS, CSG modeling, and SDS (Sub Divided Surface) modeling. It has IK, FK, and even a footstep driven animation system similar to Character Studio (just not as robust).

Well, check it out for yourself!

Etict · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 2:36 am

If you want to be a REAL man, you do what I did. You start with Pov-ray.

Dan3d · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 3:17 am

That's funny! I started with Pov back when the 486DX was king of the computers (and I had a whopping 4 megs of ram!)

Ben Barker · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 6:13 am

Yeah, I would recommend Hash Animation Master too. Just look at what B. Prince and Victor Navone can do with it. I tried to get my school to start using it, but they would rather get raped by Maxon for Cinema 4D.

RayKast · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 12:11 pm

quote:
Originally posted by Ben Barker:
Yeah, I would recommend Hash Animation Master too. Just look at what B. Prince and Victor Navone can do with it. I tried to get my school to start using it, but they would rather get raped by Maxon for Cinema 4D.

hahahaha, yeah I hear you man. Lucky for me though im transfering to a school that uses animation master.

I use lightwave 6.5, its a great program. It an exceptional interface that beats maya and max when it come to ease of use.

Theres a great site that has 100's of links to lightwave tutorials.

Click here!!

Cheak them out.

MadSamoan · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 12:48 pm

It depends on what you want to do CG for. If it's just for rendering a still image just about anything will do, but if you want to get into animation for video games, TV/movies, etc. you'll probably need to dabble in all three, that being Maya, Lightwave, and 3DStudio because people move around alot in these industries and studios use different packages. In the end, your drawing skills are what make the final product. A mediocre artist isn't going to do great work just because he switched packages.

kit · junior member Member # Joined: 13 Jul 2001 Posts: 30

Dan3d (bitch), do not tell me how much something cost. And if you tell me to get a life again, i'll slap the shit out of ya.

Dan3d · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 6:11 pm

kit,

When you are wrong, you are wrong. Scream and slap all you want. I'm sure your electronic slap will really hurt me bad.

In any case, MAYA is about (notice the word "about") US$7,500 (not counting discouts). We had an offer to upgrade from MAX to MAYA for about US$3,000. Maya Unlimited is about twice that (US15,000), once again, not counting any discounts offered. That is a far cry from US$50,000. So, once again ...

Get a life.

Tendril · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2001 2:36 am

Etict & Dan3d: pov ruled! i was a pov-ray master, i could make spheres and cubes and everything...

Ysg · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2001 2:59 am

Pov-ray, hell yeah!! Took me a day to render a wrinkled glass sphere on my 386 (AMD version, heh) .I remember when Moray came out, that was awesome! Moray actually added a graphical interface to pov-ray, whoop!

mk · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2001 9:58 am

I use LW private and in job. If you allready have a better feeling with LW than all the other go buy it and have fun with it

mk

Ataxia · Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2001 6:49 pm

IMO lw has one of the best modelling systems around, I would go with lw or maya.. 3dsmax is bloatware.. just a big slow annoying program full of bugs and imo is bad for character animation (it lacks alot of tools maya has) whereas Maya is probably the best character animation package out there. If your intending to get into 3D career wise go for Maya, you will have more career options.

Leo · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 7:05 am

Hi there,

I dunno if LW is a good soft for a beginner - I've used it after some expirience with 3D Studio R4 and found it really good and easy to use. One of the strongest side of LW is a polygonal modeller and render. Simply the best I've ever seen. (we'll talking about PC not SGI) The biggest problem - animation. I dunno about version 6.x but in older 5.5 and 5.6 it's a nightmare.
Nowadays many game companies looking mainly for 3ds MAX skills (Blizzard for example). So Lightwave seems to be out of market a bit.

Also I can suggest you try before you buy. Seems obvious but sometimes people get frustrated from the soft they are just bought.

As for number of software to use well at least you'll need 2:
- your 3d package (for modelling/texturing/rendering/animating)
- good composer (to mix your rendered shots, adding soundtracks etc.)

good luck!

-leo

psy · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:08 pm

I am a computer animation student at the art institute of Ft lauderdale, and it's funny how they started the students with 3dsmax, it's a great bundle, but i have to admit that since i've began to take the maya classes, the sense of freedom and i've felt is great. That's just the way i feel. however, do your research.

Hmm.. another suggestion. Learn as many bundles as you can. I know it can be a bitch when money is an issue, but it will pay off.

Shiro_tengu · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:19 pm

I am a C.G. Artist for a software developer making a Playstation Game. I have also worked with EA sports.

If you are interested in getting into 3d with gaming in mind - go with 3D Studio Max and character studio. Its a game industry standard. (Unless you want to work for Square Soft - they use Maya( hence the Final Fantasy Movie))

I haven't used Lightwave but I have seen some awesome models created in it. I would say tv shows like Babalon 5 would have used it. Pick the area you want to work in and learn the software accordingly.

....or go with what you like dude --- if you are good with it the right people will find you :> )

Shirotsugh · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:56 pm

Dude, there can only be one Shiro.

What Playstation game do you speak of?

frostfyre · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 6:59 pm

3D software is a tough choice. When startng out, you have to cope with learning the 3D concepts, learning your way around someone else's interface, and learning what it is you like to do in 3D (if in fact, you do. some people never get into it, and stick to 2D, which is just fine)

That preamble out of the way-

software is expensive, and you've tried 3 VERY different interfaces. Rhino3D is just a modeler- so if all you want to do is build nice virtual sculptures, its a good choice, for using NURBS. If you want to learn inexpensively, and legally, I heartilly recommend the blender , here, which works on most hardware, is FREE, and has capabilities similar to many high end packages.

Lightwave 6.5 is wonderful, if a bit buggy in spots (never EVER been a bug free package) I use it at home, and use 3DS Max at work. Between the 2 I find lightwave to be more intuitive. Also between the 2, Lightwave has a far superior built in renderer. Max is pretty much a standard for games, though that could change- when I got started, everyone was using SGI's and Alias Poweranimator.

In the end, determine what you want to do. If you want to make pretty stills and have a good time, you can do really nice stuff in POV Ray (also free). If you want to write shaders, there are several free versions of renderman based renderers out there. But speaking as one who has spent far too much time searching for ideal software, I'm afraid there is none

ambient-whisper · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2001 7:07 pm

quote:
Originally posted by Ataxia:
IMO lw has one of the best modelling systems around, I would go with lw or maya.. 3dsmax is bloatware.. just a big slow annoying program full of bugs and imo is bad for character animation (it lacks alot of tools maya has) whereas Maya is probably the best character animation package out there. If your intending to get into 3D career wise go for Maya, you will have more career options.

seems you never used Mirai

( probably havent heard of it either)
the only part of that post that i agree with is the fact that youll have more carreer options...but thats it.

[ August 03, 2001: Message edited by: ambient-whisper ]

Dustin Brown · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2001 9:26 am

I still think it's interesting that people will say Maya and Soft are top echelon products, but while there are plenty of AW users, the Avid users are nowhere to be found (except the whipped geezers at ILM perhaps). I still hear about hollywood using Soft like its the best thing, but if this is true, then why is it like the ugly twin brother we keep in the dungeon? Why doesnt anyone use it? Any dont say its because its expensive either. Maya is expensive and lots of people use that. Besides, lets not forget that lots of the goobers that use this stuff didn't pay for it to begin with. Whats to keep them from using a hacked Soft rather than whatever else? To answer my own question a little, I think part of it has to do with the fact that hardly any schools teach Soft. I've got a funny feeling it's on it's way out the door and Maya is taking it's place.

I'm a Max user BTW.

my 2c,
dustin

y0 · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2001 2:04 pm

are there any solutions for jobless high school students that want to try 3d modeling and what not?

Laemtao · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2001 8:38 pm

For the BEST ( hahah.. the word "best" is used soo often here in any 3d package debate, its kinda cliched, hehe) LOWCOST Polymodeller , I suggest Nendo. 99 Bucks and its basically works like Mirai's Polymodeller. Damn good to start. If u want Tips on Mirai. Go spiraloid.com And talk to the MASTER of Polymodeling, BAY RAIT! I met him In Orlando, and the guy just loves to teach and has no airs to him whatsoever. He models like no other i've ever seen! He is just so fast! He models a head in less than an hour and its totally top notch quality, and then u know what he does? He deletes it. HAHAHAHa.. he says he does it for practice. I think he worked on some LOTR stuff if i'm not mistaken.

Now, erm, i aint gonna indulge into which 3D package is best thing. Cuz there is NO Best.!! None... NADA! ZIP! Everyone one has its strength. And further along down the road, all these Packages ( MAya, LW, XSI, Mirai, MAX, Hash etc) will have "stolen" every distinctive feature that was previously unique to a particular program and incorporate it among themselves that the difference will be only the implementation and intuitiveness. So dont worry about which is best. Just pick one and just do it. That simple. Even if at first it seems difficult, sooner or later the interface will be second to nature. and u will fly.

As for some one here that was from AIFL that said to try to learn as many as u can.. I whole heartedly disagree. Spreading yourself too thin isnt a good idea. U will never be as good as u want to be in any package.

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Mo