[marc]

Right, for those of you starting with 3D or like to learn a bit more about it, here's a short list of info to get you started.

Unlike the (static) 2D scene, the 3D scene has no clearcut 'standard app' that reigns supreme over it's competition. The world of 3D knows many many many apps that all are useful in their own little way. However, there are 4 prominent marketleaders, these are:

3DStudio Max (http://www.discreet.com/products/3dsmax/), made by Discreet (http://www.discreet.com). This is a jack-of-all-trades, used predominantly in the games industry, but a fair amount of use in just about any industry.

It's plus points are it's versitality, it's relatively easy interface (remember folks, 3D isn't as easy as photoshop) and the utterly massive amounts of plug-ins available, meaning you can extend max to do just about anything you need it to do. Also of interest is it integrates heavily with Discreet's video compositing app Combustion, and has tons and tons of educational material out there as well as a huge userbase (i.e. help community).

Downsides is the price (where other 3D apps have plummeted their prices to an all-time low, Max has stood it's ground), the fact it's not the most stable piece of software around and it's restricted to the Windows platform only.

Noteworthy info: Max doesn't have a free learning version available, but Discreet do have the free Gmax (http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax) they give away, a prog aimed at game mod makers. Also, for those with limited 3D needs, they've created Plasma (http://www.discreet.com/products/plasma/), a cut down version of Max with a more photoshop-esque interface, aimed solely at web3D (shockwave & Flash). Check 'em out.

Maya (http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/pro...ya/index.shtml), made by Alias|Wavefront (http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/news/home.shtml). This one just won an oscar, and is the premiere app used in Hollywood. The focus of Maya is character animation, and that's it's big strength. It's also used in the video & games industry (thanks to it's recent massive pricecut).

It's plus points are the 'node-based' way of working (everything is a node that you connect to other nodes making your project very flexible and easy to manage), it's open architecture (meaning you can code extension to it to make it do whatever you want) and it's robustness. Also Maya is available on Irix, Linux, Windows and Mac, making it truly cross platform.

Downsides are the steep learning curve, the not-to-great renderer (hollywood all use renderman anyway, so they don't care about the native renderer) although recently A|W are giving away Mental Ray (a great renderer) for free with Maya. Ultimately this is a big app that'll take a fair bit of time to get to know.

Noteworthy info: A free learning version (http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/pro...le/index.shtml) is available. It uses a custom fileformat, restricts renders to a certain size and puts watermarks on the renders and viewports. But hey, it's free and it comes with a buncha tutorials.

Lightwave (http://www.newtek.com/products/light...uct/index.html), made by Newtek (http://www.newtek.com). The quirky one of the bunch. Modelling and animating/rendering are split into two apps (great according to some, stupid to others) and the interface is straight from the Amiga days. Lightwave is known for it's excellent modelling and rendering though, so if you like quirky things, check it out. Ligtwave is mainly used for TV and video productions, with a small presence in the games and movie industry.

It's plus points are it's relatively cheap price (cheapest of the bucnh) it's great modelling tools and good renderer. The user community can be called dedicated (to the average lightwave user lightwave is the best thing *ever*) or fundamentalist even . It's available on both Windows and Mac, as well as having a linux renderer (for you renderfarm owners ;P ).

Downsides are the quirky interface, the splitting of modelling and animating/rendering (depending how you look at it) and the lack of a lot of 3rd party documentation.

Noteworthy info: There's a free learning version (http://www.newtek.com/discovery.html) available.

XSI (http://www.softimage.com/Products/Xsi/v3/), made by Softimage(url=http://www.softimage.com). Together with Maya this is the other mainstream high-end 3D app. XSI is the follow-up to Softimage 3D, which was the main app hollywood used before Maya came along. Now they're growing back fast and giving Maya a run for it's money. XSI is used for movie and video productions, with a small usage for games.

It's plus points are it's friendly (tho some say cluttered) interface, it's great subdiv tools, non linear animation, built-in compositing engine and excellent renderer (mental ray). Again this is a big deep app that'll take quite some time to get to know. XSI is available on both Windows, Linux and Irix.

Downsides are the steep learning curve, price and some features (like NURBS modelling) are incomplete.

Noteworthy: XSI also has a free learning version (http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/), which is pretty non-instrusive (small watermark on the render).

Ofcourse there are tons of other 3D apps, with each a respectable userbase, but these are the 4 biggies.


Ok, so. You're new to 3D and want to start. You could download some of the free learning versions mentioned above and toy with those. Most likely tho you'll be kind of overwhelmed with all the concepts of 3D (polygons, nurbs, subdivision surfaces, xyz axes, uv mapping, isoparms, need I go on ;P ) and the often confusing interfaces. You can do the supplied tuts, but if you're like me you just want to dive in without reading 400 page manuals first.

So head on over to www.wings3d.com (http://www.wings3d.com) and grab Wings3D. It's a free opensource polygon modelling program, that has attracted quite some attention from 3D pros for it's super simple but very powerful modelling method. The interface'll take you 10 minutes to learn. After that it's modelling goodness.

Once you feel you're kicking ass modelling wise, then grab a learning version of whatever 3D app that appeals to you most. Do the tuts, or head over to http://www.3dbuzz.com and download some training vids for Max, XSI or Maya totally free. Then start to learn about animation, lighting, mapping, rendering, etc, etc.

Edit: I cleaned up the URLs, with the conversion to the new system they got messed up.

cheers for the info man nice insight!

[marc]

thx.

3D can seem pretty daunting, but it doesn't have to be. The thing with something like Photoshop is, it offers instant gratification. You open up a pic, apply a filter and you have something cool (well, I thought so when I started out, heh). From then you're hooked and you start investing time in it.

With vector stuff there's already a delay, you have to learn the tools before you can do cool stuff.

With 3D you have to get past a bunch of terminology, concepts and (eventually) big ass manuals before you finally get to do the cool stuff.

But damn, if you look at the stuff people like mk12 (http://media.mk12.com/mk12v4/index2.html) (check out ultralove ninja & man of action), psyop (http://www.psyop.tv) (check out starbucks & coflow), etc. it's a damn nice tool to add to your design arsenal.

omg starbucks is sooo funky!

[oli]

Thanks a lot for that Marc, it gives a good starting point for people wanting to get into 3D; Its something I have been interested in but just have never had the time to get into.

[chips]

great post this..very useful for me
I'm applying for a post grad in advanced 2d/3d motion graphics but the majority of the course is learning maya and fundamentals of 3d animation.
I'm looking forward to learning this stuff, but it's hard to visualise how my work will turn out using 3d tools...you know?
when I look about for stuff produced by maya all I find is seriously cheesy images - e.g. warlocks/'future cars'/fantasy landscapes/semi-naked robot chicks!
if anyone got any online resources for decent 3d images & aniamtion I'd very much appreciate it.

Cheers,

Chips

[dorian]

Very informative - thanx Mark...
I'm yet another designer lacking 3d skills..

[oli]

I think Mark has deserted us ! He posted loads for a while the dissapeared.

[chips]

come back Marc!! we need your 3d knowledge!!

I want to know if I learn maya, would I be able to pick up the other aps pretty quickly? - (3d max/lightwave etc)

or is each tool specialised and unique?

I suppose once you get your head around the concepts & fundamentals, you would have get a head start on the others.

[BugJam]

Lightwave rules ubber rendering good community, good work if u have the time to do it ( wich i dont atm) . Plus its been around since old Amiga so its a classic stuff now. EDIT : FORGET ME U DIDNT MY BAD !

[oli]

I have access to a copy of 3D studio Max and have been meaning to learn it for ages. Apperently its quite a steep learning curve but once u get it its fairly quick and easy to create things in it.

[quote:2204ee4c2c]I want to know if I learn maya, would I be able to pick up the other aps pretty quickly? [/quote:2204ee4c2c] I think that 3dMax is the easier to learn of the two , I should think once u have the basics of polygons , texturing etc mastered, its a case of learning the new interface for each program.

[marc]

Back I have been indeed away, not much was happening here for a while. Hopefully with the new board that'll pick up.

As for which app to pick up, that totally depends on how much time you are willing to invest into it and what kind of stuff you want to do. Maya and XSI are the top of the lot, but be prepared to pour years of your life into them to get to know them. Unless you are going use everything they offer, why bother?

Lightwave is certainly a good app, nice modeller, great renderer, but it really is it's own island. It's workflow and interface are vastly different from the other 3D apps. So if the idea is to learn an easier app first then move on you'd be better off going with something like max or cinema 4d.

Me personally I've switched to Cinema 4D, after getting fed up with Max' instability and weirdness. I will miss it for some things (that lovely yummy vray renderer) and will continue to use it where I must (vector output), but C4D is basically max with the key plug-ins built in, a much nicer interface and a lot more stable. It can output to After Effects directly and supports the RPF format fully so I can take 3d camera movies into Combustion (yayy!!).

It's growing to be the top choice for motion graphics guys (like me) who just don't need all the heavy character animation stuff. Oh, and I still use Wings3D for modelling, it's advancing so fast it's incredible to watch.

I must say that there is tons and tons and TONS of training stuff for Maya now. Between Gnomon, 3dbuzz, SimplyMaya, Digital tutors, etc, etc, ETC you can spend the rest of your life watching maya tutorial videos should you want to

If the amount of training material available ways heavily in your decision then right now Maya is king (as max was when I started out).

So what do you want to do? Make the next Toy Story? Liven up your 2D designs? Make some motion graphics madness?

[oli]

welcome back marc

[seanf]

What about Blender? It's FREE and small to download. I got it the other day and it looks like a pig to learn but can give some very impressive results. 3D is a whole new ball game to me, but I really want to pick up the basics at least. The programme and loads of tuts can be found at http://www.blender3d.org/About/

It's worth a look.

Sean

[dan]

Only just read this (guess it's been lurking around the bottom since I joined up) Great read. 3D is always something I've wanted to have a go at, I've dabbled in the past (mainly with strata 3D) but found it slow going (though with a bit of effort I managed to get all I wanted done). Might dive back in when I have a free weekend and try that simple modling app you mentioned above and go from there.

Mainly need it for use with flash at the moment, but who knows where it will go from there

[marc]

Yup, Blender is free and indeed notoriously hard to learn. You might want to check out some of the free learning versions of commercial apps instead. Yes there's that bastard watermark on top of your renders, but at least you're learning something that might help your career along.

Free apps can be nice though, gotta love Wings3d, Metasequoia and the tons of free rendering apps out there. So even if you eat noodles every day, you *can* learn 3D :-)

[Digiboy]

IMO Cinema 4D is the daddy when it comes to serious 3D.


http://www.maxon.net/pages/products/...oreel2002.html

http://www.maxon.net/index_e.html

[smika_a]

Why dont you try Maya. It 's trial you can find in:
http://www.alias.com/eng/products-se...e/index.shtml;$sessionid$R5D2OTEYOJBV1QCLCWSSFEQ

It is very logical, giving a complete freedom to design. Here is the good tutorial source:
http://www.maya3d.dk/links/tutorials/
And the best part is it have extremlu powerfull programming language bundeled inside.

[riyazgomes]

Well.... Im a 3D Freelancer (www.dimension-z.net)....And I think all the softwares are the same trust me Iv used them all.....Though I am preferential to max and maya since they both are pretty easy to learn...i.e. to make basic stuff....though Yes all the 3d softwares take a higher leaning curve..I think it took me 2 yrs to get something decent out of any software I used. What I would suggest to any newbies trying 3d is stick with max first...its got a much easy interface and tutorials out there on the internet and then Its pretty much easier to move onto any other 3d software cause its all just the same only the tools have different names

[Dusty]

I would have to disagree with that, I found the max interface clunky, with cinema 4D being much easier for a beginner. I was producing passable 3D work within 2 months of starting with cinema. Its only downside is a fairly poor set of poly editing tools.

If your a designer who wants to produce 3D quickly use Cinema 4D
If you want to become a serious 3D modeller use max or maya.