Maya or Max (industry fave / standard ??)
Author
what would look best on my portfolio / what is the industry standard?
industry exp using maya or max??
i heard maya seems to be overtaking max at the moment due to its price and features BUT i still see more job requirements to have max exp
any info would be great regarding the two programs
thanks in advance :)
It would be best to learn both of them, but i prefer maya. Many jobs do use max, but i believe thats mostly because they are following the main stream which was max, and also because most people learn max. But all in all, id say learn one then the other...maya is easier for me imho.
[Edited by - d2king10 on July 19, 2005 12:48:30 PM]
[Edited by - d2king10 on July 19, 2005 12:48:30 PM]
I'm asking the same quiestion. Through research Iv'e discovered (not shockingly) that Maya and houdini (although much much less so) dominate in the movie business (spiderman movies, final fantasy advent children). Max is traditionally the dominant game modeler HOWEVER because graphics are consistantly improving, especially now with the onset of the third generation playstation, Xbox360 and revolution it is increasingly more common to see Maya being used in game producion including half life 2. I would guess that Maya is taking over both markets.
Done underestimate discreet though. Max is a great product and its a dead competitior for Maya. Both have their strengths and weaknessess. Maya is the best for animating, UV unwrapping and general rendering (better implementation of mental ray IMO). But Max does have it beat with ease of use, learning curve and general modeling. Those are all my opinions though.
It might be helpfull to mention that Maya runs a lot slower for me than Max, significantly so.
Lastly the above poster is right. Having an understaning of many programs is a serious bonus for an employer. Maybe start with Maya and learn mel script so that you can get into the actual basic world of 3d.
Both Discreet and Alias offer free trials of Max and Maya. You can try them both for over a month. (maya a month, Max 45 days)
Good luck!
Done underestimate discreet though. Max is a great product and its a dead competitior for Maya. Both have their strengths and weaknessess. Maya is the best for animating, UV unwrapping and general rendering (better implementation of mental ray IMO). But Max does have it beat with ease of use, learning curve and general modeling. Those are all my opinions though.
It might be helpfull to mention that Maya runs a lot slower for me than Max, significantly so.
Lastly the above poster is right. Having an understaning of many programs is a serious bonus for an employer. Maybe start with Maya and learn mel script so that you can get into the actual basic world of 3d.
Both Discreet and Alias offer free trials of Max and Maya. You can try them both for over a month. (maya a month, Max 45 days)
Good luck!
Author
thanks for the fast replies
jsut so you know, i already know lightwave and the foundations of max to model / UV unwrap low poly models, however im not 100% confident in max as i am in lightwave.. and seeing as no 1 useies lightwave (shame :() its either maya, max of softimage , so looks like im gonna get my hands in maya in the next week and see how it goes :)
thanks again for your replys :)
jsut so you know, i already know lightwave and the foundations of max to model / UV unwrap low poly models, however im not 100% confident in max as i am in lightwave.. and seeing as no 1 useies lightwave (shame :() its either maya, max of softimage , so looks like im gonna get my hands in maya in the next week and see how it goes :)
thanks again for your replys :)
a lot of places have their own custom software, so either program will be helpful. this kind of thing is more about learning the theory and technique than the software, as that will always change, but the principles remain the same :)
the industry standard is 3ds max however alot of companies are very leneant on what you use and would offer to give you a basic tutorial on max.
Jsut to correct somthing said above: I believe that the modeler used in HL2 was Lightwave, not Maya.
That said, here's my recommendation: Learn one to the point where you are completely comfortable with the basics of 3D modeling, animation, unwrapping, etc. Then play around with as many others as you can get your hands on to become familiar with the interfaces. Learning to model, in ANYTHING, is the hard part. The rest is just syntax. ^_^
That said, here's my recommendation: Learn one to the point where you are completely comfortable with the basics of 3D modeling, animation, unwrapping, etc. Then play around with as many others as you can get your hands on to become familiar with the interfaces. Learning to model, in ANYTHING, is the hard part. The rest is just syntax. ^_^
Now im not sure where I heard about half life 2 being made with maya. Im sorry.
I researched it and turns out we are both wrong, half life 2 was created in softimage XSI.
Maya Movies (only some)
'The Mummy', 'The Mummy Returns', 'George of the Jungle', 'The Fifth Element', 'Final Fantasy', 'The Hollow Man', 'The X-Man', 'Anaconda', 'Stuart Little', 'Shrek', 'Sindbad', 'Pandavas', 'Starship Trooper', 'Lake Placid', 'The Phantom Menace', 'Spiderman', 'Harry Potter', 'Jurassic Park 3', 'Star Wars', 'Lord of the Rings',' Ice Age'
max movies (only some)
bewitched
fantastic four
land of the dead
max games (only some)
underground
prince of persia
dark age of camelot
trials of atlantis
star wars knights of the old republic
dues ex II: invisable war
road kill
elite force II
at the movies
impossible creatures: insect invasion
big mutha truckers
indiana jones
metal gear solid: twin snakes
NHL blitz
Rayman III
savage
superman 2
jurassic park
syberia 2
tony hawk pro skater 5
dungeon siege
LOTR: fellowhip of the rings
battlefield 1942
age of mythology
need for speed: hot pusuit 2
unreal championship
sim city 4
rainbow six: splinter cell
dungeons and dragons: Heros
buffy the vampire slayer
elder scroll III: morrowind
eternal darkness
syberia
barbarian
mortal combat: deadly alliance
whacked!
mechassult
LOTR: The two towers
Unreal tournament 2003
master tennis series II
neverwinter nights
robotech: Battlecry
grand theft auto: vice city
rainbow six: raven shield
red faction
maya games (only some)
I ran out of time
Maybe i'll update this later, hope it helps!
I researched it and turns out we are both wrong, half life 2 was created in softimage XSI.
Maya Movies (only some)
'The Mummy', 'The Mummy Returns', 'George of the Jungle', 'The Fifth Element', 'Final Fantasy', 'The Hollow Man', 'The X-Man', 'Anaconda', 'Stuart Little', 'Shrek', 'Sindbad', 'Pandavas', 'Starship Trooper', 'Lake Placid', 'The Phantom Menace', 'Spiderman', 'Harry Potter', 'Jurassic Park 3', 'Star Wars', 'Lord of the Rings',' Ice Age'
max movies (only some)
bewitched
fantastic four
land of the dead
max games (only some)
underground
prince of persia
dark age of camelot
trials of atlantis
star wars knights of the old republic
dues ex II: invisable war
road kill
elite force II
at the movies
impossible creatures: insect invasion
big mutha truckers
indiana jones
metal gear solid: twin snakes
NHL blitz
Rayman III
savage
superman 2
jurassic park
syberia 2
tony hawk pro skater 5
dungeon siege
LOTR: fellowhip of the rings
battlefield 1942
age of mythology
need for speed: hot pusuit 2
unreal championship
sim city 4
rainbow six: splinter cell
dungeons and dragons: Heros
buffy the vampire slayer
elder scroll III: morrowind
eternal darkness
syberia
barbarian
mortal combat: deadly alliance
whacked!
mechassult
LOTR: The two towers
Unreal tournament 2003
master tennis series II
neverwinter nights
robotech: Battlecry
grand theft auto: vice city
rainbow six: raven shield
red faction
maya games (only some)
I ran out of time
Maybe i'll update this later, hope it helps!
I've been using 3dsmax for 7+ years and find it to very good tool in game dev.
I tried a demo of maya at a friends house and although hard to use because I was a n00b at it, it was just as capable as max.
From what I've picked up in the years: Maya is mostly used in movies and Max is mostly used in game dev. Both pakages are all encompassing in their approach to 3d modeling and with enough practice, either would be great for game use.
With either choice, expect a high learning curve. Once you can move around in the application with ease, start learning either MaxScript or Mel. You'll be a much more valuable asset if you know the tool's scripting language.
Its entirely possible to write enough scripts to turn 3dsmax into a full featured level editor / 3d content creator.
I reccomend learning both. Learning the second should be easier than the first.
From the looks of your other posts, you intend to come to America as soon as possible. Be aware that fluency in 3dsmax or Maya can take years. Learning these tools to a degree needed in the game dev field would take IMO 2years minimum. Learning 3dsmax is not the same as learning MSWord. Becomming proficient in 3dsmax or Maya is much like becomming proficient in a programming language. There are guru programmers that learn a new thing every day.
I tried a demo of maya at a friends house and although hard to use because I was a n00b at it, it was just as capable as max.
From what I've picked up in the years: Maya is mostly used in movies and Max is mostly used in game dev. Both pakages are all encompassing in their approach to 3d modeling and with enough practice, either would be great for game use.
With either choice, expect a high learning curve. Once you can move around in the application with ease, start learning either MaxScript or Mel. You'll be a much more valuable asset if you know the tool's scripting language.
Its entirely possible to write enough scripts to turn 3dsmax into a full featured level editor / 3d content creator.
I reccomend learning both. Learning the second should be easier than the first.
From the looks of your other posts, you intend to come to America as soon as possible. Be aware that fluency in 3dsmax or Maya can take years. Learning these tools to a degree needed in the game dev field would take IMO 2years minimum. Learning 3dsmax is not the same as learning MSWord. Becomming proficient in 3dsmax or Maya is much like becomming proficient in a programming language. There are guru programmers that learn a new thing every day.
Author
thanks for the very informative posts
regarding my personal exp, im currently emplyoed as a level designer and have 3 yrs exp with lightwave and a few months with max and pretty comfortable with it now, although the company has given me the choice to work with any 3d program i like, however the engine we are using doesnt support any of the lightwave formats, and there are no converters that work 100%, so as it is, i have the choice between max or maya, and although i already know how to use max, maya seems the best bet as it is cheaper to purchase + its a new program to add to my resume,
so if things go well ill be looking to use max at home (with a main focus on becomeing fluent with it) and ill be useing maya here
thanks again for all your feedback :) and of course feel free to talk more about the subject at hand, more information is always welcome and any feedback on my recent decisions would be great
regarding my personal exp, im currently emplyoed as a level designer and have 3 yrs exp with lightwave and a few months with max and pretty comfortable with it now, although the company has given me the choice to work with any 3d program i like, however the engine we are using doesnt support any of the lightwave formats, and there are no converters that work 100%, so as it is, i have the choice between max or maya, and although i already know how to use max, maya seems the best bet as it is cheaper to purchase + its a new program to add to my resume,
so if things go well ill be looking to use max at home (with a main focus on becomeing fluent with it) and ill be useing maya here
thanks again for all your feedback :) and of course feel free to talk more about the subject at hand, more information is always welcome and any feedback on my recent decisions would be great
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