United3dArtists Archive

Ok, is it only me or is the low end 3D arena looking smaller and smaller each year?
Truespace was one of the few programs that actually was aimed a bit against hobbyists and had a price point that works for us hobbyists.

The marked now seam very divided. We have one huge 900 pound gorilla in Autodesk and then a couple of smaller players like Cinema 4D and Modo trying to turn a profit. So the professional scene isn't really so competitive either but it at least have several titles even if many of the is owned by Autodesk.

In the low-end, I personally only know of one company now - Daz. They make both Carrara, Daz studio and Bryce. Is there any more low end software suites available? I am looking for complete software solutions, like Truespace was (not single program that only solves one problem) and that costs under $700 or 500 euro for us to call them "low end".
One of the "cheapest" software out there is Modo but that goes for $995 which in my opinion is to much for a hobby software.

We then of course have Blender. But there would be nice to know of a competitor to blender that is rather cheap and capable. Currently I only know of one and that is Carrara...

I find it rather strange that Autodesk doesn't act and turns out a Light software of some of it's software. They have had "personal learnings editions" of some titles but as I know, they have none now. If we compare the 3D world with the 2D world, Adobe have light versions of almost all their titles. The Photoshop elements is a very good software that I use since I don't need all functions for the $1000 Photoshop. I pay a tenth of that sum and get what I need. A tenth of Maya or 3D studio would be between $400 - $600 I think - still expensive but it would be within reach for hobbyists.

What do you have for input on this issue? Or are you a professional and really don't care about the price? However, even professionals should perhaps care about future generations getting access to the tools to learn - now we more or less rely on pirating for this (I don't belive that many of these 18 year old 3D studio users really have paid for their license so if they don't attend a school I suspect some other means of getting the software...)

Any thoughts and hints for good software out there?
Btw, if it is easier to use than Blender that is a plus for most of us I believe...

Rayman, as we all know, uses a vast arsenal of programs and likes Silo ($159 pro version) and Moi 3D ($195) for modeling. I think Steinie has Silo too. Using several affordable programs together could be something for hobbyists. Not as convenient as a jack-of-all-trades program though.

The low end of 3d software is a diminishing market in many ways. Let's face it many people get interested in 3d, try it for a while and leave when they realize just how much learning has to happen. These numbers are getting lower all the time and there is little to change the trend.

The generalist tool for hobbyists is either free or freeware. Hence TS remains a choice available to players starting in this game.

Focused, function driven tools, like 3d Coat, Silo and anything less than $200.00 US make perfect sense as part of a kit for a beginner. But the beginner will have to realize that spending $500- $1,000 is likely what will be required to get to a competent production level capable of producing "anything". Specific types of work can be served quite well for less or a whole lot more.....

Anyone thinking of going pro and getting into a decent sized studio has to look at the big ticket software as far as I can tell.

Blender is the way to go. Free and powerful like the big buddies. Low end 3d software simply loose against that deal

Art of Illusion is very good and free, has a great render system, there is Gmax which is a ripped down version of 3D Studio max 5, used by a lot of game modders but can't render images (i think)
Sketchup is just awesome various render plugins some work with the free SU

Oh and Blender, 2.5 is very newbie friendly (all be it a bit buggy)

I like Carrara a lot, there's version 8 in beta thats looking very good

nigec wrote:Art of Illusion is very good and free, has a great render system, there is Gmax which is a ripped down version of 3D Studio max 5, used by a lot of game modders but can't render images (i think)
Sketchup is just awesome various render plugins some work with the free SU

Oh and Blender, 2.5 is very newbie friendly (all be it a bit buggy)

I like Carrara a lot, there's version 8 in beta thats looking very good

But isn't Gmax a discontinued product?

no, you can still get it from Turbosquid, you just sign up to get the serial number, there's no offical support for it and as far as I know there's no new development

nigec wrote:no, you can still get it from Turbosquid, you just sign up to get the serial number, there's no offical support for it and as far as I know there's no new development

Yep, that is more or less my definition of a discontinued product....

Finis wrote:Rayman, as we all know, uses a vast arsenal of programs and likes Silo ($159 pro version) and Moi 3D ($195) for modeling. I think Steinie has Silo too. Using several affordable programs together could be something for hobbyists. Not as convenient as a jack-of-all-trades program though.

Even more convenient then one package realy.....
Its much easier to make buildings in the free version of Sketchup then in any program...... you want boolean operations and those on top of each other..
Moi3d is the most affordable and very easy to use software.... silo 3d is a very stable 3d software and for the low money you get pro quality...
Vue is great for rendering and landscapes and animations..... throw in the free daz studio 3 and you got great character animation with lip synching
throw in Kerkythea and you have a free render engine that works very well and also is easy to use.... maybe 3d coat for painting and sculpting....
with all these together you have much more options and everything you will need.
If you want to get serious with 3d you got to spend about 1000 $ but you wont need more for everything..... about what a single big pack costs
that has a fraction of the possibilities.........
I can tell you because I have tried them all out...... thats what it boils down to after 10 years of scratching my head over all the pain that some
packages cause....
Steinie uses just about the same packages I do..... V3 and Dan use most of them too....
its the question how things work and how fast...
Peter