good 3d drawing progs?

[ThoughtKriminal]

im looking for some powerful 3d creation/animation/publishing tools.

perferably with skeletal support and animation if possible.

mostly looking for consumer grade stuff, but im willing to fork out the cash for something really good.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

What are you familliar using?

Lightwave, Maya and Cinema4D are some of the better ones, but they all cost 2k or so.

D

 

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by dukestreet
What are you familliar using?

Lightwave, Maya and Cinema4D are some of the better ones, but they all cost 2k or so.

D

Cinema 4D 8 is actually only $595

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by edesignuk
Cinema 4D 8 is actually only $595

ah, true, and Lightwave can be found on the street for around 1500, sorry about that.

So what are you planning on doing with it once you get it?

D

 

[etoiles]

cinema4D is badass, I had no idea the price came down that much... I kept avoiding it because it is not really an 'industry standard' (you better learn a package that is used out there to land a job in the industry) and because it used to be in the same price range as maya and lightwave3D. But it is super fast, robust, has a quality renderer and comes fully loaded...with several optional add-ons.

If it is for 'consumer' use, I'd go with cinema4D, if you plan on landing a job (or work with) in the movie/games industry I'd go for maya if your focus is on animation or Lightwave3D if you are more about modeling/render quality. Lightwave traditionally used for TV productions, is also gaining acceptance within game studios.

The bottom line is they are all very complete and powerfull packages that let you create cutting edge 3D graphics. You cannot really go wrong. Don't forget to test demo versions before you make a choice...

 

[Eniregnat]

The following links should spawn new browser windows.
Alias Wavefront makes Maya . Arguably the most powerful tool for 3d work. It starts at $7k U.S., but they now have student licensing. I couldn’t find it, but that was the news I read.

lightwave 3d is another powerful program that offers what you want. Their DNS entry or redirect is off. The link above will get you their.

Cinima 4d (Contests here- I don’t think you have to use their products to do most of the work. You could import your stuff their.)


You get a free iBook with Universe5 license . Look at what they charge for their software. I think that they are trying to get students hooked with this offer.


Strata 3d was once free to students. A complete version, with limited precreated objects and textures. It still exists on some file servers along with the key code- Just search. Currently from their site you can order a working DEMO and they also offer academic pricing under $500 U.S..

Don't forget Adobe . They offer Adobe Dimensions which interfaces well with the other Adobe products like photoshop. For web 3d they also offer Adobe Atmosphere which is still in beta, but it's not exsactly what you are looking for.

This is cute and of no use, but PIXAR has this little clip as to how they make movies.

Look for on auction houses for older versions of software, student licensing, and for contests where the prize is usually a license and software.

 

[agreenster]

Correction--Maya is only 2k.

I started out with Cinema4D, and have moved on to Maya.

My suggestion? Use Cinema4D (based on price alone) and get the 'feel' for 3D (since I assume you are a beginner---"3D drawing?" ) Then, once you feel ready to really step up, move on to Maya, which IS the industry standard

 

[Eniregnat]

Some credits, clipped and edited from their respective sites. I left the quotes out, but basically, this is what the sites were touting. Links to the sites were posted by me above.

AlaisWavefront- Maya

• 
  Maya played a role in three of the 2002 Academy Award winning films: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , Shrekand For The Birds. Also Maya was used to create over half of the top twenty best-selling holiday PlaysStation® 2 titles in December 2001. Alias|Wavefront software has been used in almost every film nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the category best visual effects for the past five years. Also Starwars I,2, CNN, and a more.

Newtek- Lightwave

• 
  Smallville, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius to name a few.

Maxon- Cinima4d

• 
  Star Wars 2-The Attack of the Clones, Spiderman, The Mummy Returns, Gladiator, Tomb Raider, the new Columbia-TriStar Film Logo, the On-Air Packages for Comedy Central, Monday Night Football, Discovery Channel Canada, Inspector Gadget, The Emmys on CBS, TiVO, NBC, DirecTV, CBS NFL, Mad TV, Smart House, J.A.G., The WB, Fox Kids…

Electricimage- Universe 5

• 
  Austin Powers Goldmember, xXx, The Fast and the Furious, Star Wars, Phantom Menace ,Austin Powers II, Titan A.E., Dinosaur, Mission to Mars, Space Cowboys and U-571, as well as The West Wing, Extreme Australia, Dateline NBC, and Babylon 5 .

Strata’s site is having problems. Adobe lists no big credits, less a guy used it to plan his house. I’ll post if I can get more information.

Is is me or did everybody play a role in Starwars?