what 3d package is the best?

[iceangel89]

i was wondering which 3d package is the best, i am on maya currently and was wondering why ppl are changing to xsi, zbrush etc. i heard that maya is easy to learn but bad in some other areas like rendering. is it true? if i want to settle for 1 which 1 should i go for? cos i can't learn so many anyway, and it cost alot.

[Nojoy]

Its a choice of preference. There is no Best Package similar to saying thats the Best Movie. Its just what one likes and looks for. One prog is nice here and has its highlights another there. Maya is rock solid obviously if not it wouldnt be so heavily used. I'm sure softimage is great aswell but I for one havent looked at it. As to Zbrush, one cant compare the program to a 3D Package, since it has no animation possiblities so far. Hope this helps you in your search for the right software to use.

[danlefeb]

As Nojoy said, its all a matter of preference. The best 3D package is whichever one will help you finish your projects fastest....they all can do pretty much the same things, its just a matter of which you're most comfortable with. Try downloading some demos of the other software and see how comfortable you feel with it in the time allotted.

[laxman]

zbrush is for modeling details watch videos of people using it and get the demo to see what I mean, XSI and Maya are the big boys, along with 3Dmax and C4D. Those are the guys that can do anything. If you know how to use the program you can use any of them to do anything. As for being weak in rendering, i'm not sure where you came across that but its not even close. The software renderer has its limitation but maya also comes with mental ray which is an industry standard and is also used as separate plugins for XSI, 3dsMax and C4D. The standard renderer works great if you know how and WHEN to use it. I routinely use mental ray and the software renderer and then composite the two together to get the best of both worlds. The software renderer can do things with lights that mental ray can only dream of. Using light effect you can create effect that would otherwise require lots of particle work. On the other hand mental ray is a lot better at creating realistic lighting. So what do you do if you need special effect and realistic lighting? You use both.

go the the gallery on the site of any software. You will see amazing work for every package. That doesn't mean much because all packages can produce anything if you know how.

Of course, I prefer maya:) It also has the best training available online, and you already found it.

[iceangel89]

Thanks ppl. i just will just try the XSI demo, to see. heard it is good. and true laxman, DT has truely great training for maya. that is also why i was wondering ppl are changing to XSI in particular when XSI has lesser training than maya. but XSI seems to be more for games, thats why i am tring it.

[Dj Niine]

XSI is more than just for games. Even though i'm a maya fan....XSI is only used in nextgen games because of its ease of use in some areas....but to be honest most games i've seen where made in 3ds max like final fantasy....but i use xsi for some things just because of the ease...of use, the mental ray is faster and more stable...now maya will offer you more options to do more things but it's harder to learn

[kitneyi]

Hi Laxman talking about using both standard render and mental ray and then compositing the two, is there perhaps a tutorial on doing better compositing? and also the steps to take to get a good image to composite?

thanks

[laxman]

DT doesn't have anything on the subject...yet. If you do a search you should be able to come across some decent free ones:

http://www.seraph3d.com/composite_main.htm
http://www.maxoncomputer.com/tutorial_detail.asp?tutorialID=243

Keep in mind that most compositing tutorials are not program specific since it is mostly a bunch of concept which you need to know.

[sivanantham_art]

C4D rocks....yes Maya has all the capabilities..but c4d does things faster than many other softwares..one of the examples would be..creating HDRI in c4d is faster than any other software

[ArtOfWork]

I tried working with cinema 4d but i didn't like the layout or controls


Maya 2008 is fantastic I feel like I'm at NASA's control panel and anything is possible..

If your looking for a program, I'll use a musical instrument as an example, when your in search of a good guitar in a music shop.

Its not the name of the guitar that matters its the sound that comes out of the guitar and the feel you get from it as you strum the strings and the line of comfort as you change the chords.

The best way I can explain when you are looking for that perfect program that allows you and it to become one.

The best advice I can give to you is to feel out everything you can get your hands on.

[Hard_Drive]

actually dj nine, final fantasy was made with maya. at least the cinematics was made with maya. and if it's not maya they use their own software