I need help picking 3d modeling program
Author
Hello again.
I have been reading up on my XNA over the last several days, and have come into a stumbling block along the way, I need a good 3d modeling program.
Is there any 3d modeling software that is freeware?
Is there anything at all that competes with Maya yet?
I need something that is capable of skeletons, skinning, etc.
I would prefer not to shell out thousands of dollars.
I remember using wings 3d way back when, but I really didn't like its interface very much at the time.
Thank you in advance for your help! :)
(I am an accomplished 2d artist, but not very great when it comes to the 3d realm, so something with a simple learning curve that can still be powerful is what I'm looking for)
Truespace which is a much more intuitive 3D program is now free so you might want to check that out too.
Here is a comparision chartagainst maya,etc and it says it supports skeletons with full body IK.
Not to mention they also have free tutorial video's that can get you up to speed quickly!
Elements of Game Design
Matthew Collins takes you through creating an interactive world, showing how to write scripts, and re-use existing objects, in order to create objects that respond in various ways to the user's actions. During this course, you will learn how to create a rock fall, a teleporter, an elevator, a cable car, and more. Best yet, Matthew takes his time to show every step in detail so you won't feel lost or rushed, resulting in over 3 hours of training! (3 hours 4 minutes)
Here is a comparision chartagainst maya,etc and it says it supports skeletons with full body IK.
Not to mention they also have free tutorial video's that can get you up to speed quickly!
Elements of Game Design
Matthew Collins takes you through creating an interactive world, showing how to write scripts, and re-use existing objects, in order to create objects that respond in various ways to the user's actions. During this course, you will learn how to create a rock fall, a teleporter, an elevator, a cable car, and more. Best yet, Matthew takes his time to show every step in detail so you won't feel lost or rushed, resulting in over 3 hours of training! (3 hours 4 minutes)
Quote:Original post by daviangel
Truespace which is a much more intuitive 3D program is now free so you might want to check that out too.
Yuck! I think Truespace is a horrid abomination and still won't touch it even though it is free. I don't like Blender's interface, but I still think it is worlds better than Truespace.
To the OP: If you're sticking to only applications that are free then you're pretty well limited to Blender, Truespace, and XSI Mod Tool. XSI Mod Tool doesn't allow commercial works to be done with it, but is otherwise pretty much XSI 6.5 with a limit to polycounts (more than enough for game dev) and render sized (512 x 512).
If you're willing to spend just a little bit of money then checkout Milkshape 3D ($35) or Fragmotion ($20). Both are relatively simple, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. They both seem pretty easy to use.
Author
Hrm... Out of these Truespace does seem to hit the mark. And actually, I recall using Truespace 2, 8 years ago.
I used a Maya demo about a year ago, and absolutely loved it. But I really don't want watermarks all over my work from using a demo (not even sure if they still have a demo).
From the comparison chart I can see that one of the only things that Truespace is missing that looks potentially important to me is the 3d realtime model painting.
Is there anything out there that can pick up that slack, some model painter or anything? It seems like a feature I might like, though I surely can't afford the 6k+ for maya unlimited to get it. And does it map this painting procedure to textures after your done with it? Just curious.
And how do the milkshape/fragmotion/blender compare to truespace/maya as far as features?
Thanks for all of your remarks so far guys :) If any of you have anything else you think I should know, I'd appreciate it.
I used a Maya demo about a year ago, and absolutely loved it. But I really don't want watermarks all over my work from using a demo (not even sure if they still have a demo).
From the comparison chart I can see that one of the only things that Truespace is missing that looks potentially important to me is the 3d realtime model painting.
Is there anything out there that can pick up that slack, some model painter or anything? It seems like a feature I might like, though I surely can't afford the 6k+ for maya unlimited to get it. And does it map this painting procedure to textures after your done with it? Just curious.
And how do the milkshape/fragmotion/blender compare to truespace/maya as far as features?
Thanks for all of your remarks so far guys :) If any of you have anything else you think I should know, I'd appreciate it.
We just listed off a shlew of applications. Google is your friend as far as feature capabilities are concerned.
A few notes though: 3d painting is built into Blender. 3D-Coat is a really nice 3d painting program, though it costs a few bucks (though loads cheaper than BodyPaint or Zbrush). Also, you don't need Maya Unlimited for 3d painting or even anything else related to game art creation. Maya Complete has it all and it considerably cheaper than Unlimited. Unlimited has additional features useful for film work.
A few notes though: 3d painting is built into Blender. 3D-Coat is a really nice 3d painting program, though it costs a few bucks (though loads cheaper than BodyPaint or Zbrush). Also, you don't need Maya Unlimited for 3d painting or even anything else related to game art creation. Maya Complete has it all and it considerably cheaper than Unlimited. Unlimited has additional features useful for film work.
As an artist I use maya at work but I can say blender is one the best pieces of 3d software around, I really recommend it.
It's sufficiently powerful to do anything the big competitors do. There are tons of tutorials and videos, and several books written focusing on blender and more important there's a huge community willing (really willing) to help you with anything (check the IRC channel #blenderchat). On top of that it's being constantly updated and there also many plugins offering extra functionality.
It's powerful enough to do anything related to game development and even film production.
There have been several movies produced entirely on blender, 2 of the latest are.
Elephants Dream
Big Buck Bunny
http://www.blender.org/features-gallery/movies/
Check them out if you need inspiration.
Maya is great but it has a few disadvantages, it costs quite a bit ($$$$) while blender is free, it's pretty heavy in size and in memory footprint, (blender is less than 20 mb and extremely lightweight, plus ir runs in pretty much any major OS), and if you need help with something it's pretty damn hard to find quick help.
It's sufficiently powerful to do anything the big competitors do. There are tons of tutorials and videos, and several books written focusing on blender and more important there's a huge community willing (really willing) to help you with anything (check the IRC channel #blenderchat). On top of that it's being constantly updated and there also many plugins offering extra functionality.
It's powerful enough to do anything related to game development and even film production.
There have been several movies produced entirely on blender, 2 of the latest are.
Elephants Dream
Big Buck Bunny
http://www.blender.org/features-gallery/movies/
Check them out if you need inspiration.
Maya is great but it has a few disadvantages, it costs quite a bit ($$$$) while blender is free, it's pretty heavy in size and in memory footprint, (blender is less than 20 mb and extremely lightweight, plus ir runs in pretty much any major OS), and if you need help with something it's pretty damn hard to find quick help.
Quote:Original post by daviangelHuh?
Truespace which is a much more intuitive 3D program is now free so you might want to check that out too.
This is the third time this has come up this week, so I will refer to this post. Click..
trueSpace 7.6 is a sloppy toy, and a waste of time.
Like a guy said I do recommend blender. It's interface may be weird at first but you'll love it when you get use to it. Also you can try Google Sketchup (http://sketchup.google.com/#utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=google%20sketchup). Also you can use Metasequoia (http://metaseq.net/english/index.html). Metasequoia is very similar to 3d Milkshape and a beginner can pick up basic modeling in one day with tutorials. Another one is Gmax. Gmax is just like 3dsmax, but doesn't have a renderer, no hair, and fur. But that wouldn't be a problem. Gmax is still a great tool (http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax).
Quote:Original post by DaaarkQuote:Original post by daviangelHuh?
Truespace which is a much more intuitive 3D program is now free so you might want to check that out too.
This is the third time this has come up this week, so I will refer to this post. Click..
trueSpace 7.6 is a sloppy toy, and a waste of time.
That might be true if you are a 3D pro but for just getting started making some basic 3D stuff Blender is not easy at all especially since it's Unix roots show through. For example loading and saving files doesn't follow standard windows conventions at all. Figuring out how to render you scene is another wild goose chase that take way too long unless you already used it before,etc. Anyways, I'm sure it's gotten better since last time I used it not to mention there are actually a lot more books available teaching you how to use blender compared to when I first used it. Same thing when you compare 3DMax with Maya. 3DMax is intuitive from the start especially for Windows users just click on a sphere and drag,hit render button etc. In Maya you have extra layers of complexity you must wade through before you can even figure out how to render a scene just like Blender but like blender it lets you make use of Python so you know it's powerful!
Anyways, just try them all out and go with what lets you get the job done. I must point out Lamothe used truespace long ago to make the models for his 3D space shooter games he used in his game programming books and it worked out great. My point just do it already I mean and don't let something this simple detract you from your original XNA programming.
Basically as long as the 3D program you choose exports to a format or has a plugin that lets you use it with XNA you are good to go!
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