Just like to say hi to all the Sumea Community since Im a new member of this fantastic web site. Im really impressed, it is a great resource of information for inspiring digital artists and programers. From what I have read on the forums for the last couple of weeks since I have been coming here, the community likes to share information that they have learned in there industry or courses etc..., and help people out with any questions that arises.
I have some questions of my own to ask of people who know abit about the pros and cons between Maya and 3dsmax and anything relevant to them.
As I am just starting out in 3d digital art I would like to know the diferences between Maya and 3ds max. Such as;
1.Which program does the games indusrty have a preference of specilization in ? and the movie industry?
2.Whats the main differences between the 2 programs and what do you recommend to use, and why?.
I would like to be proficient in both, as im hoping to one day get a job in the movie or games industry as an Animator/Concept Artist.
Having knowledge in both programs would be an advantage, but to specialize in one is probably more realistic because of the learning curve required to use these programs to a professional level is hard enough with one of them Im guessing let alone learning 2 to a professional standard.
Anyway Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my questions.[:)]
Apart from Maya and Max there's also Lightwave, which I would say has the far superior modeller of the three. It is used in a lot of places too, and has been used in many games.
The ideal situation would be to try all three out and see which one fits best with you, but of course the best situation coming from that would be that you know how to use all three equally well (i.e. really well).
Hello MoonUnit, yes the Vets are a wealth of information and as you said they can be tricky ones. The trick is to get as much information out of them as possible with out upsetting them lol.
Daemin thanks for the advice, I had a quick look at the Lightwave website and there lightwave3d software looks pretty impressive. I didn't realise that there where a lot more 3d programs out there then just Maya and Max. The hard part is trying to get hold of them to give each one a try out, and then choose which one would be the best. It's a hard decision I think, because if your looking at working in the industry, most places ask that you have a professional knowledge base in one of these programs (seems like 3dsmax is the most popular in Australia), and although the basic principals of digital 3d carry from one program to the next, its still a high learning curve to learn each of the programs UI, Tools, Terminology etc...
Looking at the "projects list" at the Lightwave website where it shows a lot of the projects Lightwave3d was used in is also impressive, there seems to be a lot of companies; specially in the movie industry in the U.S. that uses it.
Hmmm decisions, decisions, which to go with for now.
Would like to see some more comments from other Sumeans. Its a pretty important topic I think for any inspiring 3d animator looking at what program to specialize in.
quote:Originally posted by Jeremiah
Hello MoonUnit, yes the Vets are a wealth of information and as you said they can be tricky ones. The trick is to get as much information out of them as possible with out upsetting them lol.
LOL right on the money my friend, i know how annoying it can be to have someone bugging you yet ive allmost got no other way of learning :P
3d packages have been discussed in the past on Sumea, and there's [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=651"]a pretty good and informative thread here[/url]. (**contains comments from those tricksy vets too!)
Welcome. I'm pretty sure that most people here will be willing to tell you what app they prefer.
1. Games. Max for sure, but a few larger companies are starting to switch to Maya (id) and XSI (Valve). Movies. Maya, XSI, Houdini, and the major studios use their own proprietry tools as well.
2. Honestly I prefer Maya a lot more than Max. The funny thing is that if I hadn't used Max, I wouldn't like Maya so much :) Give both a try though and see which you prefer.