Hi, I'm in the process of reinventing myself from a long time (26 year) computer service guy to building childrens training materials in the form of an Entertainment style of Kids Show with sets, characters, special effects and the like.
Although I have some part time employees that are helping with shooting video (chromakey live action) and some compositing, I will end up being the main guy to put the virtual scenes together with 3D Scenes/sets with Live action characters.
I know learning a major application well takes a big investment in time, so I am on the fence here about which one to invest the time into. I can afford the cost of any software since it's just a single user, so it's more a matter of function and long term value. I like the idea of Blender because I have a small studio of about 4 or 5 computers that I will use to render, etc.. and I load it on all of them without a license issue. I do not intend to buy 5 copies of Maya.
The real issue, is being a one man band so to speak, so the question is....
If you were starting a new solo / independent studio career, which 3D modeling software would you invest the time into. It may not be either of the two I mentioned. I already own AE and Hitfilm, Sony Vegas.. I just need to create the fake sets and possibly Cartoon Characters to interact with.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I have never used Blender or Maya, I have seen their video. It looks to me you would not be wasting time with either program. The button naming and placement would be the biggest hurte if you were to switch between the two. In my opion you should start off with Blender and after you spent some time with it you could try out a demo version of Maya. Both programs have a lot support forums, books and videos. The biggest difference between the two, in my opion, is that Maya has more build in features and more plug-ins. Good luck