Which 3D software should I choose.

solo · 27 Sept 2013, 15:54

Time has come for me to expand my toolbox, my modeling toolbox and animation.

I have most of the render engines figured out and can pretty much get a decent image in all of them, so I now need more modeling tools.

I have been looking at blender and read a ton of blogs that compare it with the other commercial apps and the results are a very mixed review, what I did get was that Blender lacks in modeling but holds it's own with everything else, which is strange as I assumed it was supposed to be awesome at modeling.

I was thinking maybe Maya or Max, then again the is Modo and Cinema to consider.

Anyone got an opinion to help me decide, let's not factor prices here as I do intend to use it commercially for architectural and product design.

Rich O Brien · 27 Sept 2013, 16:24

I use Modo and I find it a supreme modeling tool. With the recent merger with Foundry things just keep getting better.

You don't 'Sketch' you manipulate. Sliders, inputs, modifier etc... But in terms of having something that allows you to model, animate, textures, sculpt, rig, render it is hard to beat.

The devs are entrenched in their forums and very actively listen to the community.

It has Pixar Sub-D implemented so less modeling is needed for proxy etc...

The only caveat is that the UI is as difficult as Blender. There are areas that I have yet to fathom. The manual alone is 1800 pages.

Once you grasp the use of it's Action Centre then you never look back. Prepare for 6 - 12 months of re-learning.

For NURBS I use MoI. Simple, beautiful and powerful.

I do think that transitioning to the next level of 3D package above SketchUp means taking time off work and devoting it to that package.

I did it with Blender. What I learned transitioned to Modo.But, again, the learning is steep.

I never touched Max so I don't know what it is like..

Pixero · 27 Sept 2013, 17:03

I've worked with both Maya and Max.
Maya I really like the way everything's based on nodes where you can connect almost Everything to anything. It's so much fun driving an animation with a procedural color texture for example.

But... Maya is more directed toward film and games where there are longer production cycles.
Maybe not the best for quick jobs.

Max/Max Design has two great advantages, it's some what of a standard in Archviz with every plugin/renderer available and also loads of ready to render models(vray) to buy.

But...Max is expensive and starting to show it's age.

Not sure that has help you deside in any way...

I know some of my collegues are using Modo and say it's a great modelling app.
Rhino is also an alternative. With Grasshopper for parametric modelling and VisualARQ for architectural modelling.

I guess it all depend on what you want to model.

solo · 27 Sept 2013, 18:10

Must say I do like Rhino, very easy to pick up and nurbs.

dedmin · 27 Sept 2013, 18:46

@solo said:

Must say I do like Rhino, very easy to pick up and nurbs.

Yes, Rhino is fine - very powerful and stable, with great plugins like T-splines. But texturing and renderings are problem there. For architecture You need a good companion software to do rendering and animation. Rhino excels in precise architecture modeling - just like Autocad on steroids.Is getting very popular in architecture fields. Modo 701 opens rhino 4 files directly. There is rhino.io plugin for Cinema 4D.

stefanq · 27 Sept 2013, 19:49

3ds max is the standard not because is the best. You should think about productivity. If you need a 3d model, a tutorial or some sort of plugin,it's there. I tried modo 401 and I loved it. The modelling part I mean. The render engine was great for everything but not for interiors. Maybe now it's better.

solo · 27 Sept 2013, 20:06

@stefanq said:

3ds max is the standard not because is the best. You should think about productivity. If you need a 3d model, a tutorial or some sort of plugin,it's there. I tried modo 401 and I loved it. The modelling part I mean. The render engine was great for everything but not for interiors. Maybe now it's better.

Even though I can get around in Rhino and create medium complexity models I agree 3ds Max is probably the best tool right now as it can do everything, as sort of Jack of all trades.

pilou · 28 Sept 2013, 00:19

@unknownuser said:

For NURBS I use MoI. Simple, beautiful and powerful.

I didn't know that you use this true candy gem!

Can be used with Rhino in direct in the 2 ways by a simple CTRL + C, CTRL + V !

And has the better Converter Nurbs --> OBJ Format (or others) for any polygons 3D progs part!