Hi guys
If you have to select one 3D animation platform, which software you would select?
This question is to trigger a full-length discussion on the subject.
—
Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.
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debjit at prestostudio dot com
looks like there're not going to be any MotionBuilder in the future..
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=3375436#post3375436
Hey Michael; welcome!
Autodesk has a number of animation tools in their product portfolio, not the least of which are Max and Maya. It's not surprising there's some overlap in their offerings - it happens when one company buys up a similar company.
Replace the name "Autodesk" with "Adobe" and "Max and Maya" with oh, say "Illustrator and Freehand," and you end up with the same kind of picture.
I haven't tried this program out but it looks pretty good.
http://www.maxon.net/pages/products/c4d/cinema4d_e.html
James :cool:
Maya is the leading 3D software in movies and is now taking over the game world too. If you want to try it you can download a learning edition at Alias.com.
ed
Department of Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Florida
Maya probably is the way to go, but with my old unit I can't use it anymore. Still keep my hand in with LightWave, but 3d was never a favorite mode of operating for me. I guess it's my painter roots. Just never could get fond of that plastic look. Over the years I've used Metacreations stuff, Studio Max and LightWave, but I like the 2d look.
Pat
Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.
i've been using maya for a while,but i guess trying out demos will help you decide
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Thank you guys.
Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.
www.prestostudio.com
debjit at prestostudio dot com
All of them are growing more and more towards eachother, so it really doesn't matter.
A couple of years ago, Maya was the package for movies, and 3DsMax the package for games; but nowadays Maya is being used more and more in games and Max is being used more and more in movies. Softimage was on a downhill slope a few years ago but seems to be getting more popular again, especially in non-american markets.
Lightwave is cool for modelling and texturing, but I wouldn't recommend it for character-animation.
Every software has its pro's and con's, and people tend to recommend whatever they're most familiar with. In the end it doesn't matter, they all pretty much do the same thing.
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy [i]-Tom Waits
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Based on my somewhat limited experience with high-end 3D packages (7+ years), Maya is currently the most versatile animation software, although Softimage XSI has the most advanced character animation tools and rendering features. Lighwave and Max are also worth consideration, depending on what you want to do. I recommend asking the folks at www.cgtalk.com . They'll know more.
The reason for Softimage XSI's comeback is the massive drop in price for the package. 5 years ago, XSI was priced insanely, and that is why nobody used it, regardless of its high end functions. Now with the drop in price, more and more people are onto it, and they are making a nice comeback. I was quite surprised to know that the game studio I work for uses XSI for the cinematics. I did a training in it, and it is close in functionality to Maya, but I believe that it has an edge as far as the overall look of the final product is concerned.
Don't underestimate Max though. They are progressing in leaps and bounds, and catching up to the others quickly.
Cheers
"Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" - Paul Simon
CGTalk has a very strict policy about discussing which software is better. Any question there will get deleted within the hour.
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy [i]-Tom Waits
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It's almost more work to delete that kind of thing than to put up with the incessant return of such a discussion. Besides, what if someone comes along without the time or patience to have gone elsewhere on a site like that to find hands-on reviews/info from people? No need to cater to lazies or "newbies" but also no need to shun the artist sense of community and prohibit people from learning.
That's kind of a dumb policy. A better one would be for the mods to warn flamers so the rest of the forum members can continue learning something.
Well then, try www.highend3d.com .
I found the author of this software at FOSE - an annual computer show for government purchasers and love it. You can do 3D modeling, rendering and animation in the same package and it is inexpensive.
A couple follow-up questions:
My experience is with MotionBuilder. We like its real-time capability. Data from a motion-capture system can be streamed into MotionBuilder and the model then does whatever the human subject does. Up to now, I had assumed Maya could not do that. However, if Maya is now replacing MotionBuilder, that implies that Maya 7 and higher will have this real-time ability.
i) Is this correct? (i.e. - does version 7 and higher have real-time capability?)
ii) Was I correct in assuming versions 6 and earlier do NOT have of real-time capability?
Regards,
Michael
great things can be done in both programs.
there really is no best. It is totally opinion. I hate maya for texturing. Mainly just because i like the Max approach better even though they are pretty much the same.
The only real difference i find in Max and Maya is the layout, the tool names and when/how they work.
Modeling is pretty similar in both.
I hear actual animation in Maya is a lot better. but i have not actually done any animation in it yet. thats next quarter!
"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo
The weakest link in the Maya pipeline is the rendering. Obviously that's an important element that can't be underestimated, but in all other ways, I think Maya is still the premiere 3d package du jour.
And the weakness in rendering can be overcome, it just takes a little more work to make it look good than it does in other packages. The newest versions of Maya use Mental Ray, and my understanding is that it now includes some version of Renderman. But I may be mistaken about that. I'm actually starting work on a feature soon that will use Maya 7 in the pipeline, so I'll find out for sure then.
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Hi, folks.
I just joined this forum and this thread caught my eye. I am beginning to gather some information together about animation products and software. In addition to Maya, I have also come across mention of MotionBuilder (also made by AutoDesk). Reading the product descriptions, they are both used for animation and I am now wondering: they sound so similar, why does Autodesk provide both? In other words, what are the differences between them?
Regards,
Michael
Michael, unless I'm mistaken, MotionBuilder was recently incorporated into Maya 7 for that very reason.