3D modeling & rendering?

[yvan_c]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there are any 3D modelers here? What programs do you use?

I've been dabbling in Zbrush (3D sculpting, painting & rendering. Unfortutnately rather expensive), Hexagon (great free modeler from DAZ3D), DAZ Studio Pro (also free from DAZ) Carrara Pro (a great modeler & renderer, also from DAZ. Not free though), Groboto (unique software for modeling 'robotic' models) and various others.

There's a lot of other opensource/free stuff out there to get you going. Would love to share ideas with guys in SA. Frequenting user forums mostly in the USA at the moment.

Cheers.

 

[Wavelength]

Check out Blender bud. http://www.blender.org/

 

[crysis]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there are any 3D modelers here? What programs do you use?

I've been dabbling in Zbrush (3D sculpting, painting & rendering. Unfortutnately rather expensive), Hexagon (great free modeler from DAZ3D), DAZ Studio Pro (also free from DAZ) Carrara Pro (a great modeler & renderer, also from DAZ. Not free though), Groboto (unique software for modeling 'robotic' models) and various others.

There's a lot of other opensource/free stuff out there to get you going. Would love to share ideas with guys in SA. Frequenting user forums mostly in the USA at the moment.

Cheers.

There are a few local CG forums around. Ill see if I can find one and post here.

Im currently enrolled at the Animation School (such an original name), and hope to follow 3D animation as a career path. We use maya, which isn't my favourite software around. Id suggest downloading a "free" version of cinema 4D or 3DS Max if you plan on pursuing this any further. If your using them for non profit reasons, You shouldn't feel like you pirated it, they are incredibly expensive pieces of kit designed for the best artists to make use of all the tools available, and some one pirating it is only a potential customer who is just getting their feet wet. The learning curve is long, and the 30 day trial autodesk give you is pretty pathetic. Imo, either of these two programs are the most user friendly and widely used high end 3D programs. I taught my self the fundamentals on both before I started college. Maya on the other hand, would be a little too much to learn on ones self, as it is a pretty obtuse program to understand.

Keep going at it. Modeling, even as a hobby, is great fun. You get such satisfaction out of something you are proud of.

 

[zolly]

I'm really out of touch with the 3D scene atm but I still pop by CGSociety once in a while. They're not local but they're awesome.

Im currently enrolled at the Animation School (such an original name)

My condolences...

 

[Solitude]

I just play with modelling as a hobby. Also got all the Daz products for free but man I love Modo. I wish I could buy Modo 601 but it's just too expensive for a hobbyist.

I'm thinking of giving Blender a try. I last used Blender many many years ago and apparently it has improved a lot.

 

[Tachyon]

It depends what you are trying to achieve. Are you rendering high detail for stills or animation? Are you modelling low detail for games? Are you creating environments or characters? I have been doing a course over the last couple weeks with a local game dev and what tools you use is not nearly as important as an understanding of the art.

If you are modelling characters, do you understand human anatomy, what is the topology; the proportions of your subject? How can you expand on the familiar to be creative with your pieces?

It really is a fascinating field and well worth the effort. I use Maya and I get the just that a lot of environment artists use 3DS Max where character artists will use Maya, Zbrush, Mudbox etc. I've also heard good things about Blender.

Polycount is your go to international portal and MakeGamesSA is your local portal, particularly if you're interested in game dev.

 

[yvan_c]

Cool. I know Blender, but the UI is not for me. I rather use Carrara. Much like Max but 10 times cheaper. Perfect for a hobbyist. Fortunately I manage to buy ZBrush years ago when it was still version 2. Since then all upgrades were free to users owning v2. Pixologic really looks after their fans! It is now on Version 4R4 if I'm not mistaken and it rocks! I fear v5 will not be a free upgrade again. The ZB renderer is also now as good as Maya's any day.

 

[creeper]

Check out Blender bud. http://www.blender.org/

+1

 

[Shockwave]

personally i enjoy using Maya. It's what I studied at college and is an industry standard. Can definitely not go wrong with added Zbrush in the mix

 

[Barilak]

I used Blender for a little bit... haven't modeled in a while

Can't really compare it to anything else as I haven't used any other software, but I was quite impressed with it. There is a lot of online support for it, and an excellent community to boot.

 

[benbarian]

Wow, there are so few Modo users in SA. I know of maybe a handful! I've been fiddling for about 2 years now. And still no next to nothing, but loving Modo. 10.1 just came out, and man, it's magic. Would love to have a chat about Modo and mode ling and 3D in general if ever you were keen