Why must I work with Wings3d

#1

Hi,
I am beginning with wings3d and I think it is great. But, Why must I use wings3d to make my models instead of 3d studio, maya and such? What are the advantages of wings3d against other packages? One big reason is that it is free, What more?

#2

iā€™ts minimilasm is itā€™s attraction.

The cut tool and tweak modes are worth the hit.

Really though, if you have an ā€œall 'roundā€ package then you dont ā€œNEEDā€ wings, you may just prefer it a whole lot.

i work at Sony Europe working on video games and lots of our staff use it for preferance. I like its uncluttered nature and find it hard to beat for speed modelling and the UV mapping is suprisingly robust. Itā€™s mainly used for character modelling here and hasnā€™t lost any popularity with the advent of ā€œnext genā€ asset creation. (though itā€™s usually combined with Z-brush or mud box.)

#3

I agree with everything Michael said. I use Wings because I learned to model on Nichimen and Mirari. Itā€™s had the tools that Maya 8 just barely adopted (probably not as fast to use) and the interface with smart menus is very simple and quick.

I havenā€™t tried the UV tools in Wings, though.

I usually use Wings to start a model, and do the final touch-ups and detail work in Maya or Zbrush. The magnet/soft selection tools in Wings give you very good control on a vertice level, which I find somewhat more preferable than Maya and Zbrush when paying close attention to edge loops and vertice placement.

Wings also has modeling tools that I would need to go to lengths to replicate in Maya, and I just donā€™t have that kind of time! These tools include: bridge (new in maya 8), radial scale around axis, scale along arbitrary axis, fall-off curve adjustment, bump, intrude.

While Wings is a superb modeling package, other packages also have their advantages over it. For example, I modeled a detailed flying machine. I did most of the modeling in Wings, but did all of the hoses and tubes in Maya so I could take advantage of NURBS curves and maintain history.

#4

Thanks for your replies, you throwed a lot of light on the question

#5

I think wings has the best mirror tool out there. I cringe when I see other mirror tools. I also think it is much better at edge handling. I use it because I canā€™t afford MAX and Maya. It is free it is good.

#6

I love Wings. Its been my main modeler for years. So clutter free. I donā€™t have to think while Iā€™m working. . . things just form into place making the creative process much more fun.

#7

It is free, It is very easy to learn, you can do in it anything you can do in max, maya, LW etc ( talking about box modeling), its smooth process is fantastic. Now I am doing a tutorial made in Maya and without a problem.

You want box modeling, then the best choice is wings3d without any doubt.

#8

ā€¦itā€™s largely a matter of what youā€™re used to using - but for me, as someone who uses a number of apps, I find myself falling back into wings when I simply need to get a model done quickly. I just see it as a plugin to whatever app Iā€™m using at the time.

Itā€™s a breaze to learn too!

#9

I could be wrong, but I would imagine a package like 3D max may be more cpu intensive than Wings.

I havenā€™t benchmarked the two so canā€™t say for sure, but at the same time since Max has a layer system etc, this arguement may be moot.

#10

Because we say so? Seriously. What a silly question. :wink:

#11

I only wanted to know which are the advantages of Wings against other packages. Why do people that have access to more complete software prefer to use Wings? I know that it is not only a matter of price. I think that I have obtained very good and convincing answers.
Maybe the answer is very clear for you or maybe you donā€™t understand the question.
Thank you all and I wish you a very happy new year 2007!!

#12

Itā€™s quicker and easier. Thatā€™s my view. It might not be ideal for everything, but for basic character modelling and UV mapping work, I stick with it.

#13

Hiā€¦ Wellā€¦ been using blender for about a year or soā€¦ not constantly, but almostā€¦ been trying out, lightwave, 3dsmax and maya, but all withouth successā€¦ but blender was really good, but blender has been around for some time, and i really want to be with a software from more or less closer to its ā€œbirthā€ā€¦ Do anyone think it wise to switch from blender to another software now?
Could wings be my thing, or are there other programs i should/could try? (must be freeā€¦ completely free, like wings/blender)

-thondal-

#14

Other programs Anim8tor has a lot of features has been aroudn a while though. Metasequoia has a freeware version. New stuff ther eis moment of inspiration a Nurbs modeler but I think it is a beta for free download not a freeware or open source modeler. Here is a link to the site. http://moi3d.com/download.htm

#15

what he said.

it sounds like in your first post your being made to use wings 3d. mostly its biggest benefit is its free. secondly its so easy to use and learn. if you want to see an example of what it can do check out the link in my sig. its so manipulative of polys that are already there. its so easy to just start with a box and end up with something as cool as you can imagine.

although i would recomend using it for base models, and then importing it to something higher end like Zbrush or 3dsā€¦ for further manipulation/detailing

#16

The First 3d app I ever used was TrueSpace back in 1996, and through Trial and error and two books and 8 months later, I stated making things. I made a bike, a cartoon character, a toilet, and a whole bunch of other stuff. But when Wings came out (version .88 or something), modeling anything was quicker and the you didnt need a book to make stuff. Wings is an app of choice because its pain-steakingly easy to use and it has features most 3d apps should have. Its not a complete all in one app, but many use it because of its ease of use and quality features.

#17

One does not have to work with Wings3D but it definitely has great advantages. The biggest ā€ždisadvantageā€œ ā€“ as I may say so ā€“ is itā€™s logic how you are working with it. It is a ā€œbox modelerā€ which mean you are constructing your object by modifying itā€™s faces. I think the more human ā€œnaturalā€ way would be by defining new points (vertices), connect them and define faces between the these edges. This is how other modelers work but it is not the Wings-way. Every model has to be closed and you start with some primitives, a plane cube, a ball or something.

I just can say out of my view but due to this fact it was very hard for me to understand how I actually do something in Wings3D. So to say it has a very steep learning curve. But once you have mastered the first steps Wings3D you will recognize a very straight internal logic how you do things.

And of cause the finished model can have ā€œopeningsā€ just by assigning the build in ā€œholeā€ material to it and export the model to the appropriate 3D format.

For me one disadvantage is itā€™s internal speed. I only have an Athlon/1300-system (1 Gbyte though) and when the face count raises Wings3D getā€™s tough. But thatā€™s my only point. And I (hopefully) get a faster PC soon.

I really really recommend puzzledpauls Wings3D-tutorials on his site which are not only absolutely great but also essential. Without these I never had the chance to get into it:

http://www.puzzledpaul.com/

Regards,
The Inflater

#18

Wings is a an amazing program. It is easy to learn the basics right away, and a great modeler to keep you learning. Something about wings makes you want to learn it, keeping you interested with its the power and flexibility of its tool set. The basics are easy but every tool has multiple layers of functionality allowing the more advanced user to create anything. Some of the tools are intimidating to new users such as Intersect or Bend, but something about the way that Wings is designed allows users to model without the more advanced stuff until they are ready. It is something to do with the need for a specific result arising from a particularly challenging model that makes users try a new tool and experiment with an operation they had never tried. This is something I have found is unique to Wings, and is the reason I stick with it. I think itā€™s an amazing program because users tend to graduate through the tools smoothly. I guess Wings just seems to fit the way I create.

Optigon

#19

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