Any former Lightwave users switch to Maya?

[Lyr]

I switched from LW to Maya several years ago. At first it was tough, but I adjusted quickly once I changed my mindset. Coming from Lightwave I found the biggest disadvantage of that app to be it's obscure workflow. It seemed like everything was a "trick", you had have some secret clever knowledge to pull things off. I have not found this to be the case with Maya.

For modeling though I would suggest Silo, it's just more refined and focused, and at $109 it's a hell of a bargain.

[LittleFenris]

For modeling though I would suggest Silo, it's just more refined and focused, and at $109 it's a hell of a bargain.
Got a link to Silo? I was actually looking at modo for modeling if I switched to Maya. Is Silo something that adds on to Maya or is it a seperate program altogether?

[Dr. Ira Kane]

I used to work with LW too, i still like the modeling in LW, maya is so different in this field (XSI is much closer to LW's sds), but overall it's better choice than LW. The transition can be hard but after 2-3 weeks with maya UI you'll be ok with main tools.

[Lyr]

Makers of Silo: http://www.nevercenter.com there are a couple of demo options so you can try before you buy. Silo is a standalone modeler, like Modo is, just alot cheaper.

[Goon]

Silo: www.nevercenter.com

This is a seperate program from Maya. It is VERY fast. It has a lot of the standard tools, as well as isoline support, but most importantly, v1.3 is about to be released and that includes the topology brush, which allows you to take a smoothed model (e.g. a sculpture from zbrush), and paint over its surface to create a new mesh.

The developers are very close and responsive to their community, and are constantly making improvements on the software.

Maybe the workflow isn't as tight as Modo's but for $109, Silo is hard to beat.

[BoK]

I was using LW since 4 and made the switch when Maya 4 was just released. Its definatly a different world, at first I missed lw's streamlined ui and how it loaded so fast and modeling was fluid once you got the hang of the tools.

After a few months I had gotten the hang of the tools and the ui and now can't imagine texturing without nodes. Uving is basiclly the same but with more control. It was hard to let the boolean subtract go too since that's a staple of lw poly modeling and it doesn't work with complex geometry in maya(neither does the bevel really).

Dynamics are so easy to work with you'll shiver when you think of MotionDesigner. Sasquatch was pretty cool in LW but nothing that can't be done with maya fur. And like you said the edges in maya really open up different styles of modeling. My advice to you would be to just remap your key functions in maya to what they were in LW, q for materials, k for cut tool etc. Helped ease the transition.

[LittleFenris]

Dynamics are so easy to work with you'll shiver when you think of MotionDesigner. Sasquatch was pretty cool in LW but nothing that can't be done with maya fur. And like you said the edges in maya really open up different styles of modeling. My advice to you would be to just remap your key functions in maya to what they were in LW, q for materials, k for cut tool etc. Helped ease the transition.
Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems you are all saying it will be hard at first to get used to Maya, but worth the transition in the long run. At $700 I don't think I can pass up trying out Maya. Are there any limitations (besides usage rights) between the commercial and educational version of Maya Unlimited. 3D is just a hobby for me...to help extend my artistic boundaries, but I would still like a full featured version.

Thanks.

[scotthik]

I switched from LW to Maya this summer. I invested in Maya/Mental Ray to get my head around photoreal rendering and begin adding skills in dynamics and animation. I thought I was missing out on some modeling tools/features. I like the feel and grace of nurbs in Maya but just couldn't model with any speed. Too much to re-learn...too many LW habits to shed. Then Modo appears...loved modeling in LW now I LOVE modeling in MODO. I'm getting nice renders from Mental Ray and Modo models. Although Mental Ray is a challenge and I've just cracked the surface, I already prefer it to fPrime.

Modo/Maya is it for me. It was a good switch. Tons of details to explore and room to grow in all areas of CG. I'm a print/web designer originally so using mutliple apps to get what you want is a comfortable concept for me; i.e. Flash/Fireworks/Dreamweaver. InDesign/Illustrator/Photoshop.

If it matters/helps, I use a mac.

[Glenfx]

Former Lightwave user, now i wont like to go back to LW ever again. The only thing i miss from LW is the "radiosity" option :D heheheheheBefore you start wth maya and instead of purchasing it rightaway, download the free version from alias site. Though you might hate it at first :P like i did. but watch the videos it has (dont remember if the free version had the video tutorials though.) :/

And then go to www.digital-tutors.com (http://www.digital-tutors.com) for more video tutorials that will give you a good insight with maya :)

[Fungusmonkey]

I switched over to Maya (sort of) from Lightwave about a month back. So far, it hasn't been too hard, but I started out my career using 3DSmax, so the mindset was already sort of there. A couple things:

(my humble opinions only)

1. Surfacing in Maya is waaaay more complicated. The nodes do take a little getting used to. But, the surfacing in Maya is also waaaaaay better. And you don't have to use plug-ins to accomplish simple things (i.e. Phong, Lambert, etc.)

2. Modeling is Maya is crap. You can do it once you're comfortable with the tools, but it's never going to be as smooth or as intuitive as LW. I kept my LW just for the modeler. Right now, I model in Lightwave, then export to Maya for everything else (including tiny modeling tweaks), and I'm a speedy little devil.

3. Maya seems a little clutzy at first as you try to remember where options and buttons and hotkeys are located, but once you get used to using them and customize your controls, it actually isn't too complicated. Just like in LW, there are a handful of tools you'll use all the time, and the rest is just there for the odd occasion. I just downloaded a handful of super easy modeling tutorials and went through them step-by-step. By the time I was done with them, I pretty much had a handle on it. Same goes for shaders, dynamics, etc. It seemed to me like everything just took forever to do, but it gets faster the more you learn.

Basically, it's like everything else. It takes some time, but it's worth it.

[LittleFenris]

I switched over to Maya (sort of) from Lightwave about a month back. So far, it hasn't been too hard, but I started out my career using 3DSmax, so the mindset was already sort of there.
Starting with 3DS definitely helped you...to me they seem to have similar ways of working...at least the UI.

1. Surfacing in Maya is waaaay more complicated. The nodes do take a little getting used to. But, the surfacing in Maya is also waaaaaay better. And you don't have to use plug-ins to accomplish simple things (i.e. Phong, Lambert, etc.)
I played around with a friends copy of Maya a while back and couldn't figure out anything more than how to color the object. Forget trying to put a simple texture on it...too many damned windows and options to weed through. Which I guess for a power user is a good thing to have so many options.

2. Modeling is Maya is crap. You can do it once you're comfortable with the tools, but it's never going to be as smooth or as intuitive as LW. I kept my LW just for the modeler. Right now, I model in Lightwave, then export to Maya for everything else (including tiny modeling tweaks), and I'm a speedy little devil.
See, part of the reason I want to leave LW is because it seems a lot of its modeling tools are ancient and behind the times...like no edge tools. Also everyone tells me Mayas animation tools (character animation is my main concern now) are much better than LWs.

3. Maya seems a little clutzy at first as you try to remember where options and buttons and hotkeys are located, but once you get used to using them and customize your controls, it actually isn't too complicated. Just like in LW, there are a handful of tools you'll use all the time, and the rest is just there for the odd occasion. I just downloaded a handful of super easy modeling tutorials and went through them step-by-step. By the time I was done with them, I pretty much had a handle on it. Same goes for shaders, dynamics, etc. It seemed to me like everything just took forever to do, but it gets faster the more you learn.
I am going to speed that process up by buying some training DVDs. I'm not trying to sit and play around with Maya for months like I did with Lightwave just to learn the basics.

Basically, it's like everything else. It takes some time, but it's worth it.
This is the same answer I get from anyone that has used LW and Maya...exactly the same answer. Must be something to it.

Thanks.

Its just scary to think about relearning all that crap in a new app...just that many more months just to get back to where I am now in LW.

[Fungusmonkey]

When I model in Lightwave, I almost always use the edgetools plugin from dstorm. You can't really split an edge, etc, but you can cut edges onto your faces in real time. It's a great plugin.

In Maya, to place a simple texture you just open up Hypershade, select your base shader (Blinn, Phong, PhongE, Lambert, etc.) and then open the attributes window(if it's not already open) and add your texture image, bump map, etc. Just like LW. (oh yeah, make sure to assign it to your object) But then, in addition, you can control the inputs and outputs of every channel using the shader nodes. That's what really opens the program up.

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.