one of those loaded questions...

#1

i’m trying to hide this question here in the wings section because i use wings and i really like using wings…but i need to pick up another program. i’m planning to make a decision before December, and i will be getting an educational version. since there are some other programs i need to get as well, i can only afford to get one package.

i’m not sure what to get.

i’ve played around with the demos for XSI, C4D, Lightwave, Maya, and i’m waiting to get Max.

So far Maya seems to have the most potential, but i can’t figure out how to model in it (i haven’t done every tutorial i can find yet…). C4D was the easiest to get into up to my elbows, but it doesn’t have n-gons. Lightwave was…not really anything i enjoyed a lot, and i’m not sure why. I never could get a smooth feeling workflow going in XSI, i think it felt too much like when i learned AutoCAD r11 way back when…too much typing to get things going.

i’m just looking for some opinions from the wings guys about what they like. i intend to keep using wings for a lot of my modeling.

i also realize this is similar to the “wings sidedish” thread, but i’d like to read some opinions instead of looking at a graph.

thanks for any input.

oh ya, please keep stuff objective. don’t flame another program or person, or i might just decide not to buy what you use :stuck_out_tongue:

and if this is a really dumb idea, i’m sorry, and i won’t feel bad if it gets deleted. i’ll just have to figure out some other way to get information.

#2

Personally I use XSI… Having learned ACAD w/ R11 like yourself, I am at a loss to your impression, but after doing the demo/PLE rounds, I came to the conclusion that XSI has the best workflow (next to wings) for my work style. Now I am in that newb-turning-amature category, but I find XSI’s tools perfectly intuitive and well layed out, plus the almost seamless integration with Mental Ray is awesome.

There is not an app on your list that I would bash (maybe a few things about them, but that goes for XSI too)… the biggest problem I have with XSI is the lack of app specific training. Not to get into the whole “paying for education proves you’re a retarded fool” discussion, cause we all know that there are a few jokers around here who are extremely opinionated about that topic, but schooling for XSI is tough to find… unless your Canadian.

I am actually about to buy Maya to add to my aresenal. This will allow me to get my much anticipated training and also give me the ability that is really pushing the purchase, rendering vector output.

Go with what feels right Skippy, your decision will not be WRONG…

#3

thanks for the thoughts, JDex

i feel bad now and i want to clarify my AutoCAD r11 comment…

i loved AutoCAD when i used it, i’m curious what it’s like now. i used it with a puck and digitizer, at a huge desk, and used it enough to memorize the layout. i was also only doing architectural and other technical drawings. and while my teacher was good at the program, it was in a public high school, so i had to teach myself how to do most everything. (oh ya, and the rich school district had release 13…remember how it could draw walls with the required offsets already?)

and, like you mentioned, the XSI doesn’t seem to lend itself to well to learning it on your own. compared to the other proggys, there are almost no publically available tutorials. (this is not to knock what Ed Harris has done. there’s only so much one guy can do.)

#4

I should have mentioned the stuff over at 3dtutorial, they have started generating some really great training materials over there… and it is amazingly priced. I think they have something like 20 new titles in the oven too. And as great as they are, I like to learn in a group environment and have that personal relationship with my professor, that is what is seriously lacking in the XSI community. Perhaps after a while that will change (after all VFS is storming with XSI training and I hear that a few major schools in the states are pondering license purchases) but unfortunately some places that did teach it here in the states have pulled away from due to lack of intrest.

#5

Skippy - Only you can decide what’s right for you, I like Lightwave, you don’t, I think I’d probably like XSI if only they’s make a Mac version but you were’nt comfortable with that either.
Sounds to me like you’re leaning towards Maya or Cinema. Well they’re both great apps, maya is more powerful but also much more expensive. Maya is also much more common in industry so if you’re looking to be employed in 3d it’s probably a better bet in that respect. On the other hand Cinema is probably easier to learn.
You could get both! Maya PLE is fully functional, you can’t import or export and renders are watermarked but as far as I know it has very few limits otherwise. Cinema CE is also free and is only limited in render size (the unlimited CE+ is only $100 too) it doesn’t have all the features of R8 but it has the same feel. Maybe spend 6 months playing with just those two before you commit your cash? - Baz

#6

<< i need >>

Interesting choice of words.

Since I’ve no real idea about what you intend modelling etc (and you have Wings + Max on the way) - might adding Rhino to the list also be worth considering?

An edu version of same is relatively inexpensive (25% retail, I think) - no prob / cost u/grading edu -> commercial licence , large community / training base etc - and excellent at what it does.

Fully functional demo with 25(?) saves to allow you to try it out and has various rendering options.

just a thought :slight_smile:

pp

(No, I don’t work for McNeal …)

#7

i graduate in 2 months and have no current job opportunities on the table. flipping burgers looks like a better option every day.

i really have enjoyed getting my feet wet with the various 3d software packages that are out there, and i would LIKE to pick one up. in order to have the full gamut of options open to me, i should probably make some decision while i’m still a student, as academic pricing is much more attractive than full retail. therefore, if i am going to do this, i need to do it soon.

i guess i skipped some of my chain of logic for the sake of brevity, pp. :slight_smile:

#8

Skippy,
For some reason, I get from your posts that you have the impression that paying the academic price for these apps has no other reprocussions than getting an app at a reduce cost for students.

I just wanted to let you know that Acad. versions are limited to non-commercial use in case you dind’t already know. :slight_smile:

#9

Ran13 - good point, but I don’t think it’s the same for Rhino (am not 100% sure, tho’)

SMH - best of luck, whatever happens - above advice re PLEs etc still sounds valid.
Sort out what fits your way of working / approach with a ple, buy edu of choice (at discount) - then u/grade licence as and when?

pp

#10

i do know about the limitations of the educational licenses. and i intend to stick with them. if i wanted to get a cheap program to try to make money, we all know i could just go and pirate something, as i could probably find anything i want in about 2 minutes. but that’s not my intention, nor is it my desire.

cg is a really involved hobby to me at this point; it’s an offshoot of my other artistic pursuits (photography, drawing, painting, music). if i reach some level of expertice with it, i may try my hand at freelancing, but one of the stipulations would be that i have a commercial license to work with. as many people have suggested in the “how do you afford max” thread in that section of the forums, the academic version is a good way to have a truly full and complete version to get used to, and stepping to a commercial license isn’t too bad when someone is paying you for the work you’re doing. if you’re good at what you do and good at the negotiating table, you can get a commercial license paid for with your first or second job.

pp has hit it on the head with the demo=>edu=>whatever comes next approach. with my currently limited resources, i’m just trying to decide which program is the first educational license to get.

hopefully i’ll find some form of employment, and there will be a decent community college around. i’ve been meaning to learn how to weld for a while, and was thinking i’d do that next. and being enrolled in something like that will keep me in the academic pricing category.

(i have a “disease”…i can’t really take it when i’m not learning something. my interests and aptitudes are ridiculously broad-spectrum. i think i should be mad at my parents for raising me to believe that i can do anything if i work hard at it and enjoy it. my degree is in economics, and finance is in my blood, but if i stuck around for a semester or two more i’d finish a B.A. in Studio Arts as well. i could probably pick up philosophy and or business, too, but i’ve been in school too flipping long now. i gotta get someone to pay me to learn, as opposed to forking it out myself.)

#11

I use C4D myself…Love it…it’s easy to get into,
it’s pretty fast on my mid-end box,and I just like working in it.
I also play around with Maya PLE and Houdini apprentice…
Doing the 3dbuzz online course in Houdini…great stuff :slight_smile:
Anyways,I’d go for C4D…If you’re wondering about either maya or C4D…
Get the edu C4D and you can still have maya ple for free :slight_smile:

And if you’re anything like me,you can never have TOO many apps to mess around in:)

#12

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