3D Modeling

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MarketAndChurch
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01 Aug 2011, 5:19 pm

Chevand wrote:

For three years, I was a computer animation student at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, one of the premier CGI curricula in the United States (often considered on par with CalArt). While I was there, I received training using Maya (Version 7, to be specific). As far as modeling and animation, it's no wonder Maya is considered the industry standard by companies like Pixar and Dreamworks-- it's a very high-end program with a fairly intuitive interface, and if you know what you're doing, you can produce remarkable work with it. All the standard tools are there-- hierarchies, modeling (with NURBs, polygons and subdivisions), UVing, rigging, weight-painting, animation, plus hair, cloth, and particle effects. Sometimes, admittedly, it can cause headaches, and it's very expensive-- but it's a very good program.

have you tried other animation / modeling programs? Is learning one make it easier to learn other modeling or animation programs? Do they follow similar rules, setups, etc?

Is maya worth three thousand+ dollars?

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MarketAndChurch
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01 Aug 2011, 5:39 pm

wcoltd wrote:

MarketAndChurch wrote:

what is a good and cheap or free one for mac? I used Daz Studio for a while but I never found a decent tutorial to really get into the program. I currently love sketchup from google but only to make simple layouts of floor plans, and my super awesome mega skyscrapper city I'm building. I see blender listed, I'll give it a try, but the UI seem too confusing for a novice like myself. I'll youtube some tutorials.

Blender is the best I think. I don't know how much it would cost if it were on the market, but it would be alot. It's WAY more powerful than sketchup.

The blender noob to pro tutorial series is pretty good, though it is based on Blender 2.49 (the current version is 2.58)

The interface has improved - it is not difficult to learn - you'll just come accustomed to a bunch of hot keys. Plus Blender is powerful.

Watch this in maximum window and pause it frequently, look to see everything he presses when he presses it. This tutorial made me learn so much in a short period of time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yOvWkehqRw
you should be able to build a skyscraper with the info in this tutorial.

Sweet man, I appreciate it!

These are the works I hope to learn to make:

[img][800:508]http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/14930_4_ManamaLagoon-Add03.jpg[/img]
[img][800:743]http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/11960_1_crystal1big.JPG[/img]
[img][800:667]http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/12738_2_ZL%20rear.jpg[/img]
[img][800:776]http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1378_2_1000%20Transby%20SOM%202.jpg[/img]

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IdahoRose
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15 Aug 2011, 4:02 am

I'm really interested in learning how to do 3D modeling. I was ecstatic when I discovered Blender, but I got intimidated by all of its features. One day when I'm feeling less lazy and more ambitious, I'm going to try to master it.

shrox
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15 Aug 2011, 3:53 pm

Lightwave 3D.

It's what I have been using professionally for 15 years. The remake of Battlestar Galatica was done with it. It's not just for sci fi either, you see work done with it all the time if you what shows like CSI, even.

Lightwave is easy to use because it uses words rather that icons. A few icons are easy to remember, but literally hundreds of icons is literally learning a new language. And it's time consuming, hover over icon, wait for tool tip that identifies icon to appear, wonder what the heck that is, etc.

Lightwave as a nice clean interface, with standard windows-like menus. You can check it at newtek dot com. You can see my Lightwave work at shrox dot com.

Ormusei
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18 Aug 2011, 5:57 am

I say go for Cararra!

Over the years I've tried many 3D modeling applications, such as 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Rhino 3D, Lightwave, SoftImage, Modo, you name it; I've tried it, but my favorite modeling tool is Carrara by DAZ3D. I've been using Carrara ever since I came across it looking for affordable 3D software, up to then I'd only used illegal copies of those ridiculously expensive high end applications.
After looking at some alternatives Carrara seemed to be the best 3D modeling application I could actually afford and I've been using with fun for many years now; it's easy and it's fast!
Even though it's often ridiculed by professionals, who use more advanced software, it can be very powerful when one knows how to handle it right.

For me 3D modeling is a hobby and Carrara serves me well in this; I can get awesome results QUICK, that's what I want from a 3D modeling program.
But if you wish make a career out of 3D modeling I'd go for some industry standard software; difficult, expensive, but often lots of tutorials, something Carrara lacks.

If you choose Carrara you'll probably become frustrated by this lack of real good hands on tutorials; I know I did, but since I've become quite proficient in Carrara I've made some tutorials myself and could send you these if you wish.

Regards,
Ormusei

Kvornan
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18 Aug 2011, 6:33 am

Whilest I'm more of a 3D landscape guy, I would like to recommend "zBrush", which is a 2.5D sculpting program that many of the character design folks use in big time movies. You actually sculpt it rather than pushing vertices... :lol:

But for 3D landscaping, I use Vue 3D.

shrox
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18 Aug 2011, 4:13 pm

Are you looking for just a 3D modeling or a full animation package? If you want a professional package, Lightwave is the best all around deal. It includes hair and particle systems, which many packages offer as an expensive add on. And it lends itself to game asset creation quite nicely. You've probably seen Lightwave work in commercials and didn't even realize it was 3D. And there are plenty of tutorials and free add-ons available.

I have Max, Maya and others, I use Lightwave 95% of the time.

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