What modeler do you use?

#1

The EI Modeler is history now, or isn’t it?

I am wondering what the favorite modelers are amongst EIAS users.

Please vote

#2

I’m a Building Designer and I use ArchiCAD and them import to EI. I’ve just purchased SILO which I love for freeform type models.

Buggsy

#3

Try setting up a poll with a couple of possibilities. 10 is the maximum. I’d include:

EIM
Silo
Form Z
Hexagon
Modo
Cobalt/Xenon/Argon
SketchUp
Other mainstream 3D app. (LW/Maya/C4D/Max)
Amapi

Who am I missing?

#4

Sorry Brian,

I was working on the poll, there are so many choices, I had a hard time choosing between them, maybe users can post if their modeler is other than the mentioned ones.

Cheers

Hans

#5

Its cool… you got some that I overlooked.

#6

I still use EI modeler, I always loved it.

But Modo has taken it’s place as my favorite modeler.

#7

It took me almost a year from when it first came out to get my head around how EI Modeler worked. And I’m still learning! Now I won’t let it go until it refuses to run on my Mac :slight_smile:

I still have (fading) hopes that somehow it might be revived.

In the meantime I’ve tried Silo and Hexagon. Both are great but I think the wiring in my head seems to work better with Hexagon. Just wish it supported FACT.

#8

My primary modeler is FormZ because it can do anything.
However, I got more into EIM when I got into orgranic characters because of the Morph Targeting is easier to transfer into EIAS for facial animation.

My first character head was modeled in FormZ and transferred via .SAT into EIModeler.
Then as I learned to use EIM it went the way of the dinosaur.

Well, of course EIM still works fine but I decided to learn Maya, because of UV control would benefit my EI work more.

http://web.mac.com/avtpro5/iWeb

#9

I used to use EIM but for the life of me I couldn’t grasp the 101 rules of rounding so I moved to Form•Z and it is fantastic, I get on very well with it. I love solid body modeling and prefer it to soft body apps like Silo and Hexagon.

AzOne: I have a couple of friends who use Hexagon and they find exporting to OBJ and going into EI via Transporter works fine. I think FACT export may happen if you nag them enough given that there are some EIAS users inside the development team there…

#10

Ian, thanks for the tip!

There are EIAS users in the Hexagon team? That’s brilliant! I’ll e-mail them my request.

I used to use FormZ when I was using EIAS 2.7.5 (FormZ v 2.7, I think) but haven’t upgraded since then. Took me awhile to get my head around it too, but I liked it eventually. The upgrade price (if even possible after all the versions I missed) would be daunting.

I actually prefer solid body modeling myself too, but most of the new modeling tools seem geared towards soft body work.

Aziz.

#11

for me, my fav modelers are…

Polygon : Silo, Modo and some of them going to ZBrush
some kind of CAD thing… : formZ, EI Modeler

whooo… that’ more than enough for me I think…

if someone ever use Jenna plugin that make many kind of Array for Cinema 4D, could you suggest which software, plugin that can be comparable with Jenna plugin? (Thinking about everything you can imagine about Arraying objects.)

#12

I’m surprised to see that Rhino isn’t up there. It’s one of the most versatile NURBS modelers out there. I used Rhino quite a bit before EI had a modeler. Very stable, very fast and it’ll run well on practically any machine – even my Mac under Virtual PC!

I’m using Silo now that I’m not creating high-tolerenced models for manufacture but Rhino really should be on the list. In my opinion, it’s one of the best modelers out there.

Just my $0.02

#13

Sorry, had to make a selection, and picked the ones I heard most about on the EIAS forums.

Cool, downloading the evaluation version now.

#14

I realize there are lots of modelers to choose from. I guess everyone’s trying to find the ideal workflow. Thanks for putting this up!

#15

EIM had everything under on roof, pitty it had to go the way it did, i was just starting to learn how powerfull it was, i can still use it but having a few issues running on WinXP, and i suspect it will only get worse…

So it if i want to model something its usually Silo, been thinking about Concepts3D hmm.

I dabble with Zbrush 2, but i really think the whole ZB+EI thing needs looking at on both sides.

Reuben

#16

I am not an EI user at all but I have worked as a modeler at three different studios and have to say that if you want the best Sub D modeler in the world use MODO without a doubt. I use a combination of Modo and Zbrush and all is well. I really couldn’t ask for more.

I have been asked to Model professionally in Max, Lightwave, and Maya, and without a doubt my current Modo, Zbrush combo is far far superior. Modo is the base Zbrush for Zbrush things. Adding realism and small details basically. \

If I couldn’t use Modo, I would choose Lightwave’s modeler. It’s thourough, complete, really fast, and battle tested. Plus the whole app is so cheap now that you get the animation tools and a pro renderer for free. The modeling tools pay for themselfes. Also Luxology has announced a new Modo render that looks very promising.

Just my opinion.

#17

Thanks Paul…

Yes, Modo is a fine piece of software. Great for modeling. As for rendering, well, we’ll stick to Camera. We’re pretty happy with it. :slight_smile:

#18

Well, there could be a way to use both camera and the future Modo renderer.
Modo 201 will support Color and Normal Map Render Baking. I did some tests with this in C4D, it was useful for my EIAS projects, but in C4D the render baking is just to slow to be practical for me. Maybe in Modo 201 Render Baking will be faster and useable in EIAS.

Cheers

Hans

#19

Maybe it is to some, but i still don’t understand why it requires 2x mouse clicks to do the same job every other modeler i know does with one click.

Thats just the feeling i got from the demo, oh and it seemed over complex, guess i’m just used to Silo :slight_smile:

Reuben

#20

I tried the demo of Modo too and a lot of stuff seems to be borrowed from Lightwave (clicking a specific icon to select and deselect, creating layers for boolean operations, etc.) but I think Modo comes to life when you need to generate complex arrays or automate the construction of a complicated spline path for an extrusion.

I’m still hooked on the Silo work flow (it’s “like butta”) and version 2.0 looks like a giant leap forward but I can certainly understand why people appreciate Modo. Silo and Modo are very much alike.