the best poly-modelling toolset

[musashidan]

I won't talk about Silo or Modo,simply because i don't have experience with either.However, something i do have experience with is the amazing PolyBosost(recently V4 released)
Poly by poly modeling is preposterously intuitive,i actually find myself with a big grin on my mush whilst throwing verts and edges around as if they were loose women on a dancefloor:)

Polyboost is brilliant.:thumbsup:

[Piotrek255]

3dmax is great and very intuitive, and with polyboost it is unbelievably intuitive and impossible to beat by any other modelling app. (zBrush does not count, its for sculpting :P )

[polygun]

Same here, Max with Polyboost is the best.

[KOKE]

3dmax is great and very intuitive, and with polyboost it is unbelievably intuitive and impossible to beat by any other modelling app. (zBrush does not count, its for sculpting :P )

Quoted for agreement, I have tried Maya, XSI and Max+Polyboost and I must say that Max+polyboost is far superior to both the other options.
XSI would be my second choice for modeling as it is quite intuitive and it is probably better than Max without Polyboost.

Polyboost is also very cheap for all the tools and improvements it contains.

two thumbs up for polyboost! :thumbsup::thumbsup:.

JK.

:D

[danilo2]

Thank You for your replyies :) I'll try polyboost :)

[hanskloss]

Piotrek, witam:)

It's not the number of tools that make the modeler top notch. It's how the basic and most common tools are implemented to create a friendly and efficient workflow. There is no clear winner today. Many developers tend to copy tools from other packages but fail to improve on them or even implement them correctly. Personally I feel that the modeling arena has been stale for too long and we are in dire need of a true next generation modeling application.

[j3st3r]

Prettuy sure that XSI is better than MAX even with Polyboost, Why? Because it's history, the ability to use any geometry element (nulls, points, edges, polygons, other objects) as a reference coordinate system, etc. And if it is a point, MAX a lot more expensive than XSI. XSI's snapping abilities way better than MAX's, and selecting in XSI is not as painful as it is in MAX. Of course MAX users will say MAX is better, but I do have serious experience with MAX, Maya, Modo, LW and XSI in modeling. SO the best is if you do tests. And whatever fits you the beast, select that

[KOKE]

^^

Well having been a heavy XSI user I agree that XSI history resource is a very powerful tool and that Max selection filter really sucks, because I suffer it every day at work in the studio.... but other than that I still claim that Max + polyboost is the best toolset avaliable today.
Two other true things that j3st3r said is that XSI (if intended for pure modeling, so just the basics) is way cheaper than Max and that the best you can do is test every package and chose the one you like best.

JK.

:D

[j3st3r]

Polyboost is an awesome plugin for MAX, but I still think that XSI is far better. I think it's flexible scripting system is capable of extending the capabilities with similar toolset, if it is required. The best thing in XSI that I have never felt the urge to use plugins (expect some user shaders, or workflow improving scripts I made my own)

One more info, that Essential is 2995USD while MAX is some 3500 and for optimal performance with MAX you need plenty of plugins (like polyboost). It has hair, syflex, GATOR, MOTOR, a compositor, etc. So I think Essential is a very good allrounder for lower proce than MAX

[tide78]

Once you get good with a certain peice of software, it becomes what is best for YOU. I am fast with Maya and XSI because I have used them both quite a bit and am familiar with the toolsets. Once I go into another program that has different bells and whistles, I go back to a crawl pretty quick. Though there are some features that vary from app to app, it all comes down to your personal workflow and how you like to model. Sometimes it's even nice to do certain tasks in certain apps if you have the luxury. The bottom line is whatever helps you get the job done in my opinion. There are a ton of great tools out there, some work slick, and some will break your scene. That's why it's great to just get a good workflow down that uses some of the basic tools, and then you'll be efficient without all the bells and whistles. :D
As far as i'm concerned though, once Zbrush and Mudbox have some worthwhile UV tools, they will be THE apps to know for obvious reasons.

-Z

[wasker]

maya's getting upgrades aswell.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=10462447&linkID=7679628

[musashidan]

At the top of this thread i was Max+Polyboost all the way,no doubt...............until about 4 days ago when i decided to try Modo...........WOW!!!
the transition from Max couldn't have been easier,the learning curve was non-existent and the modeling workflow is heaven:)

Modo is simply incredible.

[Xtrude]

To a certain extent it is all about using some pretty basic tools within a good workflow enviro... the concept, and the methods involved are where the app simply becomes the extention of your creativity... It's but a ui... use the one you feel comfy in, and that offers the features/tools that you will require... you are allowed to have more than one set of tools per pipeline ;) :D

[j3st3r]

I've tried modo time to time, but it came nowhere to XSI IMO. The selection system is pain in the ass, it was incredible slow, etc. Although the interface is loveley, the render quality is amazing. I think it's bit of exaggeration to call it the fastest subdivision modeler on Earth. If one worked with maya or max, or LW, I'm pretty sure that you'll find it blazingly fast, but after using XSI...

And it's not because I'm an XSI user. It has it's own problems as well, but to me, that fits to my way of thinking the best.

That is why I alweays suggest to test all package, and go with what you like the most. And do not use a package just because the big guys use it also.

[Gadzooks]

Modo.... put simply, is AMAZING. Best Tool set Around And its getting better all the time.
Before buying or switching to any app I would down load the demo of modo and give it a try.
You will See... my 2 cents.

[toontje]

I never used Silo or Modo, but judging from what I've heard, they're very capable modelers. Now, from my own experience, Wings3D and Blender are excellent polygon modelers. Quite a lot of veteran modelers that used Blender think that Blender is very well suited for the poly-by-poly method.

[musashidan]

I've tried modo time to time, I think it's bit of exaggeration to call it the fastest subdivision modeler on Earth.


I don't think anyone here did actually refer to it thus.

Anyhow,I've been using Max for 5 odd years now and polyboost is a must.I started to use Modo less than a week ago and i modelled a head/eyes/teeth/hair,the lot straight from the install in less time then it took me to get comfortable with polyboost's hotkeys!!

i always wanted to try out Xsi,but stayed loyal to Max.

Modo seemed like a good extension to my workflow as i will only use it for modeling/sculpting.
I have used ZBrush since V1.55 and have to say that(IMO)Modo's base sculpting tools are far more user friendly,plus Max>Zbrush>Max would almost turn you off altogether.
For me Max will always be my main App for animation/rendering,whilst it seems Modo will be my organic modeling solution(unless,of course,you can convince me to jump ship and become an Xsi man):)

[cTennant]

Piotrek, witam:)

It's not the number of tools that make the modeler top notch. It's how the basic and most common tools are implemented to create a friendly and efficient workflow. There is no clear winner today. Many developers tend to copy tools from other packages but fail to improve on them or even implement them correctly. Personally I feel that the modeling arena has been stale for too long and we are in dire need of a true next generation modeling application.

I agree. Zbrush is great, but outside of specialized software the basic toolsets have not evolved over much over the last four years. That said, I'm happy with the toolset in my older version of Maya, so hey, if I don't need to upgrade I won't.

[BenCole]

im with the max + polyboost bunch. Havent tried some of the other tools mentioned, but havent really needed to as max and polyboost have never left me needing anything more

[j3st3r]

It is not true that ZBRUSH's toolset haven't been evolved in the last few years. It's really a lot better than this before. I don't know if you can easily sculpt 12 millions of polygons in modo, I'll test it soon, but I have to tell that I'm just changed my workflow to a better one. I do model the character in zbrush starting with zspheres, sculpt it to a certain detail, retopologize it in zbrush, and continue sculpting. To me that is the most artist friendly technique.

musashidan, I don't want to convince you, but I have few fellow colleagues whoo were hardcore maya and max users. I have shown them how to work with XSI, and now there is no money they would ever touch max or maya again. Their speed is almost doubled, they are not yelling on crashing, or problematical selecting, etc.

To me modo is a promising application, but now it's very far from what I like in XSI, and zbrush. But as I always said, there is no ultimate tool. Everyone has his/her favorite.

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