Hello everybody. Please excuse any grammar mistake.

Me and my best friend started out developing a 2d mobile game and we are doing all good . He's doing all the programming and I do the graphics. We want to make a living from game developing and I was wondering what software to use for 3d graphic design. I know it's king of early to think about this but till now I was learning motion graphics and I have experience with After effects illustrator Cinema4d .

I imagine I have to learn advanced sculpting rigging and animating techniques to develop a 3D application . Should I stick with c4d or change sides to Maya / Unity? Is there other way to develop the graphic for a 3d game ?

Thank you guys for reading !

Should I stick with c4d or change sides to Maya / Unity?

Cinema4d has very little tools focused on 3D modeling, it is even missing some of the basics, switching is recommended. However when it comes to rendering and effects Cinema4d is a good option for graphics so you will want to use it for cinematics, logos and 2D stuff especially because you know how to use it.

I will recommend attempting Blender before you get Maya, Blender is free and small to download no reason not to give it a try.

The top three modeling software is 3ds Max, Blender and last Maya.

The top three animation software is 3ds Max, Maya and last Blender.

Cinema4d isn't on the list as it isn't really a 3D modeling software, it's more of graphics software, making it a bad choice when making game assets.

A Maya+ Cinema4d combo or Blender+ Cinema4d will give you all the same abillitys as 3ds Max has. As for a game engine I will recommend trying Unreal 4 it's a better engine for artist, however Unity is just as good a option although with less control over things than Unreal.

Is there other way to develop the graphic for a 3d game ?

Yes, there are lot's of software that make instant models and things, the down side is that they are all low quality, you can attempt to use them.

We want to make a living from game developing

More people win lotteries, than developers make successful games. As long as you don't plan on getting rich it's possible to make some kind of living from games; however it won't be glamours.

People often ask me why as a 3D artist I don't just make games for a living, the truth is it's easier to make money as a 3D artist.

Thank you for your response. As for the effects like spells and magic stuff ? Is it created with particle system?

Effects like spells and magic are usually created with the tools that your game engine provides.

Unreal 4 uses Cascade: https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/ParticleSystems/

Unity uses a built-in particle system called "Shuriken": https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/PartSysUsage.html

Look in the documentation of the game engine you're using.

As for a game engine I will recommend trying Unreal 4 it's a better engine for artist, however Unity is just as good a option although with less control over things than Unreal.

Well, Unreal 4 has Blueprint, if you have no intention of learning a real programming language like C++/C#, and actually can get on with the Blueprint system (I found it not really useful, many did find it good), it is a more artist friendly engine in that sense.

BUT: Unreal will quickly drown in MANY more options than Unity does. While that sounds like a pro (and it is, Unreal is always slightly ahead on features compared to Unity, as long as the features fit "the Unreal way of doing things" (see forward renderer still missing in Unreal last time I checked)), it is also a con at the same time, especially for new users.

The UI of the Editor is quite cluttered compared to Unity, and many of the additional options make no sense until you really dig into the documentation and look up what they do (well, that is also true for Unity to some extent).

Then there is the documentation. As long as you are going with Blueprint, its all good. I still would rate Unitys documentation higher, their online API docs are really brilliant. But Unreal documentation for Blueprint is quite close, once you get your head wrapped around the indexing.

But the documentation for the C++ part is just lackluster in comparison. Granted, that might not matter to the TO, but it needs to be said: Unity has the better API documentation for what that is worth.

Lastly, AFAIK the TO is talking about mobile 3D games. Here, the positions are actually reversed, with Unreal doing the catch up. I really am not comparing features or performance here, just the plain fact that Unity nowadays is the default mobile 3D engine for many, while Unreal 4 is certainly also used a lot. Its just not as widely used in the mobile space.

Might have to do with the pricing options, Unity being in the mobile game for longer, inertia of mobile devs or whatever.

Still, when it comes to developing mobile games, Unity would be the default option, with Unreal 4 being a close runner up for more ambitious devs.

And yeah, I am a programmer, so I do not rate the presence of a visual scripting system just as high as others (don't get me started on how they made C++ into the unwanted stepchild for Blueprint). Even if I would, I'd say you can get multiple different visual scripting systems for Unity starting at about 25-50$ from the Unity asset store, and some of these are actually quite good. As tightly integrated into the engine as Blueprint? No. But still, its an option.

Well, Unreal 4 has Blueprint, if you have no intention of learning a real programming language like C++/C#, and actually can get on with the Blueprint system (I found it not really useful, many did find it good), it is a more artist friendly engine in that sense.

True the Blueprint is one of the key features that makes Unreal better for artist but it isn't all.

Unreal import and exports better allowing for a work flow between engine and 3D software, very important for level design where the basic level starts as just cubes and stuff.

Unreal's material editor allows for full control of the shaders with no need for code.

Unreal has animation tools that allows you to pull parts from a animation and use it on other rigs, saving a huge amount of time as you don't need to do a walk cycle for every character, combining this with physics also allows for unique animation based on the skeleton.

The largest drawback from using Unreal is that it's made with professionals in mind, making it a lot less forgiving than Unity.

Unity is the better engine for mobile games at the moment as Gain-Reto pointed out and because of it's forgiving nature and documentation it's better engine for new developers.

It's not that Unreal doesn't have documentation on very thing, it's just that 90% of those documents say the same thing as the tool tip. If the tool tip was clear I wouldn't need to check the documents, so why does it say the exact same thing!

Even if I would, I'd say you can get multiple different visual scripting systems for Unity starting at about 25-50$ from the Unity asset store, and some of these are actually quite good. As tightly integrated into the engine as Blueprint? No. But still, its an option.

This is the thing I hate about Unity, just to have a proper workflow you need to buy so many addons for things that should have been built into the engine. It was fine when Unity was the best engine in it's price range, now with Unreal free it just feels redundant.

Depends on what you need. 3d apps have similar tools and power but there are things like:

- how money you can spent;

- how many tutorials are available (good tutorials);

- the tools you need to export to 3d;

- personal preferencies;

- some small pluses you will find later.