3D packages
I'm in the market for a 3D application (for modeling/architecture purposes), and I've been reading up on Cinema 4D XL, Lightwave, and Maya. Unfortunately, I haven't had an opportunity to demo the packages except Maya PLE, but if anyone can share any positives and negatives about these applications, I'd be very appreciative.
Comments
Architecture is it's specialty.
Lightwave Discovery Edition:
<a href="http://www.newtek.com/discovery.html"; target="_blank">http://www.newtek.com/discovery.html</A>;
Maxon Demo
<a href="http://www.maxoncomputer.com/download_demo.asp"; target="_blank">http://www.maxoncomputer.com/download_demo.asp</A>;
Registration required, YMMV.
I think it is a little easier to get to grips with than Maya or Lightwave.
Definitely go for the demos though.
[Edit; I think Lightwave's renderer is supposed to be the best, whereas Maya's modelling is tremendously powerful - I think often it is just a matter of personal preference, and what you need it to do.
Not very helpful, I know
[ 03-07-2003: Message edited by: DaveLee ]</p>
<strong>I like Cinema 4D.
I think it is a little easier to get to grips with than Maya or Lightwave.
Definitely go for the demos though.
[Edit; I think Lightwave's renderer is supposed to be the best, whereas Maya's modelling is tremendously powerful - I think often it is just a matter of personal preference, and what you need it to do.
Not very helpful, I know
[ 03-07-2003: Message edited by: DaveLee ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Hey Don't forget the Maya now has Mentay Ray which is an excellent renderer. This means you get Global Illumuniation!!!!
Here are my few cents about it all. First off every package has its pros and cons. What one package is good at another might suck at it, and vice versa. Do not discredit any package. I have my beefs with LightWave and with Maya. There are things I can do in Maya that I couldn't dream of in LightWave but I can also get a LOT done in LightWave. Just use what works for you.
Now it is true that Mayas renderer sucks(though it has gotten a little better), and MentalRay has helped a great deal but there is still a lot of Mayas attributes that MentalRay doesn't render yet. Globalillumination is great but not realistic if you aredoing long and detailed animations. Most studios fake GI with more advanced lighting setups, so don't let that be the selling point for Maya. Maya has strong animation capabilities, a great scripting language, great dymamics engine, and so forth. It also has a huge learning curve, more then say LIghtWave and Cinema4D. I although have heard from people that they find LIghtWave complicated, so again whatever works for you the best.
Lightwave has a solid renderer. It is fast and beautiful. Lightwave also has one of the best modelers in the industry. A lot of studios love LIghtwaves modeler and they end up modeling in Lightwave then sending their models over to maya for animation and rigging and so on. A side note to that is that I have seen great models made in Maya.
I can go on and on and on about this subject since I do it for a living and can probably state more but in the end it comes down to one major thing. All these programs are just tools and it is the artist that makes the art. If you can understand maya go for it...same for Lightwave. I haven't really messed around with C4D I can't really take a stance on it, although I have heard really good(and bad) things about it.
How accurate do you want to be for architectural reasons? The reason is that Maya supports NURBS which is great for architectural purposes. LightWave does not.
NURBS are used during manufacturing and design processes. For example, car and product design. You can take a up to scale NURBS model straight to manufacturing. If you that kind of detail and want to model in NURBS(which can suck sometimes) then Maya would be a strong choice.
Here is one of my favorite reels:
<a href="http://www.kdlab.net/"; target="_blank">http://www.kdlab.net/</a>;
NURBS make modelling very easy, And HyperNURBS are pretty cool, they turn all vertices into rounded fillets
so you draw this:
And it turns in to this:
Nice for character design and have custom subdivision, so can be simplified for using in games.
Andrew
<strong>Well, it doesn't look like AcademicSuperstore offers student pricing for Vectorworks,</strong><hr></blockquote>
cooop: If you're (going to be) an architect, you really should consider VectorWorks more seriously. I'm almost certain that Academic Superstore sells VW at the academic price. I bought VW 9 there last year (or was it 2001?) for $85, which is a great price by any measure, even compared to academic pricing for other CAD products. Give them a call.
Escher
<strong>
cooop: If you're (going to be) an architect, you really should consider VectorWorks more seriously. I'm almost certain that Academic Superstore sells VW at the academic price. I bought VW 9 there last year (or was it 2001?) for $85, which is a great price by any measure, even compared to academic pricing for other CAD products. Give them a call.
Escher</strong><hr></blockquote>
Personally I would avoid VectorWorks. I'm using it daily for architecture, and while it is a nice drafting package, I much prefer ArchiCAD. It was designed as an architectural modeler which can also produce the working drawings. The model is integral to the CDs. In VectorWorks, the model is extra and the CDs still have to be drafted. It's like an expensive electronic pencil. Well, at least that's how we use it here in this office.
I would also highly recommend formZ for architectural modeling. However, producing CDs with formZ is not recommended.
For rendering and animation, I would also suggest Electric Image. It can render large scenes blazingly fast. It can take high polygon scenes and output them much faster than other packages can. But it isn't a mainstream application, so if you are looking to work at an animation house, it won't do you much good on your resume.
As an aside, have never understood why people talk about NURBS and architectural modeling in the same breath. Architecture is almost exclusively polygonal, as most building materials are rectilinear. Only when modeling furniture and people do you need a NURBS modeler. That is, unless you work for Frank Gehry.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Tery
[quote]As an aside, have never understood why people talk about NURBS and architectural modeling in the same breath. Architecture is almost exclusively polygonal, as most building materials are rectilinear. Only when modeling furniture and people do you need a NURBS modeler. That is, unless you work for Frank Gehry.<hr></blockquote>Guess you didn't go to Columbia for grad school. Architecture hasn't been exclusively polygonal for some time now.
Mac Guru
I use LW on a daily basis. When I get my 970 later this year, I'm going to get Maya. I will be needing it for my Masters program so, this will be a head start.
The LW interface has it's roots in the Amiga. It is straight foward, but can take some getting used to. Once you do, it is a very powerful program.