3d modeling software
What is the best 3d modeling software for mac. I want to use it for game model desing mostly but it would also be used for other thing. I know there is maya, its rather expensive at $7000 but what other modeling tools are there. Which one would you recomend for modeling game meshes. It does however need to be rather advanced so that a very high detail level can be made. I will be waiting until august to make the final purchase as well since CRYTEK is the most jerky company ever and will not even tell me what mod developing tools are included or what formats will be supported.
i really just wish apple came out with a 3d modeler, with the adition of a tablet computer. Most modelers i have demoed are rather complex and somthings just dont work well. Most apple products can be easy for new users but also offer tons of features for true devlopers. They also intergrate well with everything. sadly, i dont think this will ever happen.
Thanks for any input yo uhave on the subject
i really just wish apple came out with a 3d modeler, with the adition of a tablet computer. Most modelers i have demoed are rather complex and somthings just dont work well. Most apple products can be easy for new users but also offer tons of features for true devlopers. They also intergrate well with everything. sadly, i dont think this will ever happen.
Thanks for any input yo uhave on the subject
Comments
What is the best 3d modeling software for mac. I want to use it for game model desing mostly but it would also be used for other thing. I know there is maya, its rather expensive at $7000...
You just answered your own question... unless you can deal with Blender (which is free).
www.blender.org
And Rhino is being ported to the Mac later this year.
If you're a student (or know a student): academicsuperstore.com
Also, hit up the Electric Image forums. There are a couple of smaller-time modelers that import nicely into EIAS.
Lastly, if you haven't done any 3D before, start small. It takes a lot of time to get the hang of it, by which time newer versions of the higher-end apps are likely to come out.
Personally, I use FormZ, an orphaned product called Universe Modeler (by Electric Image), and EIAS. I don't really do much animation. Mostly just engineering, product visualization, and occasionally (now, rarely) some comic-booky biomechanical stuff for fun.
The learning curve is not too steep. It is probably the world's best sub-d modeller.
It's good for low-poly work - and has a very good quality GI renderer.
It's written by the Ex-Lightwave team, so has a lot in common with Lightwave, but with a much cleaner and more consistent user interface.
There's some good tutorials available too.
I know there is maya, its rather expensive at $7000 but what other modeling tools are there. Which one would you recomend for modeling game meshes. It does however need to be rather advanced so that a very high detail level can be made.
Thanks for any input yo uhave on the subject
Maya Unlimited is like $6,999. Maya itself (I think they call it Maya Complete) is like $2,000. Still a lot of dough but much more inline with the other big ones.
Thankyou for your help.
You just answered your own question... unless you can deal with Blender (which is free).
www.blender.org
I prefer Modo. http://www.luxology.com/whatismodo/301/
Yea i really dont need all the fur and hair simulation items included with the highest version. However, does anyone know the exact limits of the personal learning edition. All i need is modeling and animation software. I may not even need animation tools as the game's sandbox editor may include them. Apart from missing features like fluid dynamics, what are the other limits of Maya personal learning edition?
Thankyou for your help.
The personal Learning Edition of Maya is GREAT. It gives you access to the whole program with no time limits. However, it will put watermarks over anything you render. As the name says, it is designed to be used as a learning tool and will not export models to a full version of Maya or anything or program for that matter. I have used the fCheck software from the learning edition to bring in renderings from the full version. Definitley check it out. But if you decide to do commercial work with the program you will have to fork over the dough for the full version.
Maya has some pretty hefty hardware requirements so the Learning edition is a great way to make sure it works with your system before actually purchasing.
It tries hard to be all things to all people. Modeller, Animation, Renderer, Dynamics - everything is crammed in there in one big pile of functionality.
To rationalise this mess everything is reduced to a system of nodes and connections which to programmers is natural and obvious, and to artists can sometimes be confusing and counter intuitive.
Is Maya used by the best houses in the world? Yes... because of its Swiss-Penknife universal nature. But it's worth pointing out that these big houses apply a lot of their own technology and customisation to make Maya usable and functional.
Straight out of the box, Maya presents a mass of functionality through a user-interface that is often over-burdened by the amount of stuff it has to access. The power is undeniable. It can do almost everything. But if you have a single task to do, like modelling or sculpting. There are much better single-function applications out there.
I prefer Modo. http://www.luxology.com/whatismodo/301/
Blender's UI is one of the best IMO. As usual it comes down to personal preference but the whole non-overlapped subdivided UI is used in Shake too and similar to Shake is drawn in OpenGL. You may think this is bad as it doesn't feel like OS X but it's one of the very few apps that launch before the dock icon makes its first bounce. The fact that it is full subdivision modeller, animation package with some hair and fluid dynamics, has the best UV unwrapping with LSCM, has a game engine and a GI renderer (yafray) included and some basic node-based compositing all for free for Linux, Mac and Windows makes it pretty impressive to me.
Also, it doesn't support n-gons so you are forced to model in tris and quads, which encourages you to produce cleaner models. You really just have to make sure to turn off the trackball in favour of the turntable so that the 3D view doesn't go all over the place.
Ive decided on getin modo, it looks great, easy ui, great tools, its adding animation in version 301 and it will only cost me $99
Good grief, if I could get it at the student rate, it would be a no-brainer!