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Freeman · May 3, 2002, 10:45 PM

Hi, I was just curious to know which is the best 3D modeler beside Maya?

Freeman

Griggsy · May 4, 2002, 04:36 AM

Haven't had chance to use maya but sine it came down in price need to have a serious look at it.

However IMHO it's Lightwave, followed by Lightwave, with Lightwave coming in third!

Eric_Henao · May 4, 2002, 12:13 PM

What about Electric Image? I don't do any 3D but I remember hearing that this program was "all that and a bag of chips" back in the day... Maybe those days are long gone...

How about that Macromedia program, Extreme 3D? They still make that one?

Eric Henao

bluedog · May 5, 2002, 09:14 AM

I've tried Lightwave, Maya, and Cinema3d and a tiny bit of Electric Image.

For MODELING ONLY, I really like the toolset of Cinema3d, I think its interface is quite easy to pick up and use. Lightwave has a LOT of power and is relatively affordable, but I think its interface is a bit counter-intuitive in some places.

Maya and EI both have great modelers. I think Maya may be the overall best but, for the price and if its NOT animation that you want I'd go with Cinema3d from Maxon (www.maxon.de). Which is what Cinema3d has a weakness using its animation toolset.

tomra · May 5, 2002, 12:17 PM

Hi.

....then there is of course formZ from autodesys which has been around on the mac since the birth of polygons, but from what i understand it has a steep learning curve compared to other modeler units ( never done anything with it myself except for playing around with the demoversion ).

I`m using EI`s modeler and it has a plentyfull toolset which allows you to deal with most modeling tasks. I do however believe it`s too weak when dealing with precise architectural modeling ( using precise realworld measurements and so forth ), but i would`nt really know since i don`t do any of such modeling.
Demoversions are available for both Mac and PC.

Me too have also heard very good things about both Cinema and lightwave.

Too bad Rhino is PC - only, but if you have the option to work on both platforms it`s certainly worth checking out.
www.rhino3d.com

Tom.

phobos · May 5, 2002, 04:31 PM

bluedog the program you're talking about cinema4d. Yes it's a four (4).
I use as my main 3d program cinema4d and it's just great.I can't think of a greater program.Easy to get to grips with and also very powerful.Has some bad attitude on OSX but it'll be resolved over time.
Freeman I suggest you try cinema4d.It's a great program.
If you're not gonna be involved professionnaly with 3d there's no reason to learn maya

mfessenden · May 6, 2002, 10:35 AM

It also depends on what you want to do. I use three modelers in my work, so here's a rundown...they're all good in different ways.

Lightwave probably has the best Subdivision Surfaces Modeler on the Mac. Maya for the Mac does not yet have this feature (though 4.0 for other platforms does, so we'll probably get it in the next rev). Lightwave Modeler allows you to create fluid objects very quickly and edit them easily. Once you learn the keyboard shortcuts and menus, you can really hum along in Lightwave unlike any other program I've seen.

Maya has a great NURBS modeler...since we don't have Rhino on the Mac (one of the best NURBS modelers around) this is probably the next best thing.

FormZ is great for architectural/solids modeling...though with its drafting-style interface and refusal to work with objects that are "not well formed"...you kind of lose the spontaneous freedom you'd get with Lightwave. But you can't beat its precision and snapping system...great for building cities, buildings and such. FormZ objects are mostly polygonal based, though it's rumored that an upcoming version is supposed to sport full NURBS based modeler as well- a "Rhino-killer". The next rev should be worth a look.

Michael

ReggieX · May 6, 2002, 11:55 PM

On the Mac anyway, I've only used Inifi-D waaaay back when, and just got going with Maya recently. I have some PowerAnimator training, so Maya is pretty darn close.
One thing you have to remember: no 3D has an "intuitive" interface. Such a thing doesn't exist. Maya's tutorials are really good, they start off on the very basics and work up. I can't say on any other program how good they are.

If Rhino came to the Mac, that would be pretty cool!

mfessenden · May 7, 2002, 08:34 AM

Originally posted by ReggieX:
[QB]
One thing you have to remember: no 3D has an "intuitive" interface. Such a thing doesn't exist. Maya's tutorials are really good, they start off on the very basics and work up. I can't say on any other program how good they are.
QB]

Exactly...the one thing I love about Lightwave and Maya is that you can COMPLETELY customize the interface and menus to your liking...even change the icons in Maya. No two workstations have to be the same.