United3dArtists Archive

BNG · Post by **BNG** » 04 May 2015, 09:42

I've tried Blender but it's a bit too complicated.

I've used Anim8or but it can't export animation.

Google Sketchup's interesting but is it easy to learn?

What about Daz 3d? I heard it was released free?

I guess I'm kind of bias towards Truespace but have yet to find a better modeling creation tool for simple low poly models.

Draise · Post by **Draise** » 04 May 2015, 12:56

Softimage (animation, rigging, simulations and rendering - sometimes compositing)
Blender (sometimes some modeling TS can't - like sculpting, and smoothing; baking textures, UV's, compositing - like DOF and vector blur; video editing - and learning more as I go, it's good - worth the learning curve)
VirtualDub and Avisynth (video resizing and compressions, video conversion, faux motion blur)
Inkscape (vectors, and converting bitmaps to vectors)
Krita and GIMP (heavy duty 2D editing and text creation)
Paint.net (light duty 2D editing)

I use other software every now and then, but I stick to those three main ones, Softimage, trueSpace and Blender, in that order - for 3D.

I have used Arnold, Redshift3D, Mental Ray and Machstudio Pro 2 to render out things from Softimage. My favorites being Redshift3D hands down.

Softimage is as complete if not more complete than 3Dmax and Maya, and now it's... at $340 USD dollars on a reseller site I found.

I'm not sure it's a scam, but.. looks legit. View for yourself.

EDIT: I just reviewed it, and well.. I think that site is a Scam. After April 2016, it's going to be very hard to get Softimage legally.....

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 04 May 2015, 14:19

Hi BNG!

I'm using the Daz programs. Daz Studio, Bryce, and Hexagon. They are free or cheap. These aren't a complete replacement for full featured programs like Blender and TS so I'm going to use Blender as my main program when I have time to learn it.

The Daz suite is intended to sell their premade content and make pictures with it. That said, it is possible to use it like a full feature program but with frustrating limits especially in modeling. The programs each have some good features and can have a place in an economical tool set for us hobbyists. They aren't difficult to use once you learn the UI's which range from odd to just different than TS.

Hexagon is Daz's modeler. It might be acceptable for your low poly modeling. It has some nice modeling tools that TS doesn't. It is best for modeling single objects or a few (20 or 30). Terrible for large scenes with many objects or mega-poly items. Applying materials is difficult in Hexagon if you need different ones on different parts of one object. You export objects to Studio or Bryce and assemble scenes, apply final materials, and render there.

Daz Studio is their main program. For me the great thing about it is the awesome 3Delight renderer it uses. Unfortunately their interface to 3Delight is limited so many of its abilities are difficult to reach or unavailable which lowers it from awesome to good. DS's purpose to pose and dress their characters, assemble scenes, and render them. No modeling abilities other than a few primitives.

Bryce is like Vue but much less powerful. It makes landscapes and trees. It can import TS scenes and objects. It has a nice renderer and can do GI (they call it true ambiance). The renders usually have a painterly look. Marcel has done great art rendered with this in both realistic and paniterly looks. The user interface is strange and takes effort to get used to.

Steinie · Post by **Steinie** » 05 May 2015, 01:04

A picture is worth a bla bla bla....

If I have an Icon I use it.
No drooling allowed!

3dfrog · Post by **3dfrog** » 26 May 2015, 00:05

Mainly using Modo now. I'm using Maya for a class I am taking, the educational version, can't afford the commercial version. I am happy with Modo, been using it a while now. Not sure I'll be able to upgrade to 901 when it first comes out, but eventually will.

For video editing I use sony movie studio and it does all I need so I stick with it.

I do painting in 3d in 3dcoat.

For photo editing I have serif photoplus and i have photoshop subscription too. But I end up using photoplus more anyway. Think I'm tied into the photoshop subscription til august then I will let it go.

For web design and page layout I also use the serif apps, webplus and pageplus. They are really good. Highly recommended.

Oh yeah, on my tablet i use silo to model. It is only 32 bit so modo cant run on it. So I dug up my old silo license and got it running again. Its quite nice.

pugman 1 · Post by **pugman 1** » 26 May 2015, 08:51

Blender because i can do somthing like this in 15 mins .
zbrush because once you have it all updates are free .
these two work perfect together ,
i have modo but dont use it blender is better .
i leart over the years you dont need lots of different softwaer to do 3d
i wasted alot of money on apps now i stick to the above 2 they do everything .

Draise · Post by **Draise** » 26 May 2015, 13:07

Wow, the fur on that bear! I'm impressed. Is this the new 2.74 and 2.75 hair/fur? How long did that take to render? Very nice!

I hear good things of Blender. I dove into it a little, but the workflow is a bit odd to me still. But one of these days I'll master it.

Modo 901 looks good to me. Much better viewport and rendering, that does make me wish Cycles had similar rendering features of Modo 901.

But anyway, I guess it boils down to ones skill in any software no?

pugman 1 · Post by **pugman 1** » 26 May 2015, 13:23

Blender 2.72.
to me it dosent come down to the skill its the price of upgading .
maya max 2000. vue 2 time a year cant remember how much .modo 500 a year .
blender 0 zbrush 0 , and alot of maya and max are moving over to blender because its free
and just as capeble of doing the job .

Draise · Post by **Draise** » 26 May 2015, 13:28

True, the pockets does define the tool.... (and trying to be legal)

I guess that is why I stick to trueSpace though, being free and that I'm relatively good at it.

Should get more into Blender.

@Pugman, do share your stuff on the forums more? That teddy was awesome.

BNG · Post by **BNG** » 29 May 2015, 08:29

Blender does look like a very cool option, and I've been tracking it over the years, but still find the interface a bit odd. The developers are doing a pretty good job of making it more user friendly. I know a few people that have written some XSI exporters that make Blender for those who understand the scripting end of Python. I still find Truespace especially hard to part with altogether though. I've imported a few models into blender, but get lost when trying to edit the models in the Blender interface.

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 29 May 2015, 09:01

I use a right hand to move a mouse and a left hand to eat at the same time.

MANXIE · Post by **MANXIE** » 30 Aug 2015, 20:32

I know this is a pretty old thread but just wondered if most still use Truespace as their main modeller / renderer or not?.
I am trying out maxons c4d visualizer edition non vray at the moment but I still prefer to model in Truespace I guess it's
what I am used to.
I have added a practice render of a wood texture which is as about where I have got to so far LOL.

Draise · Post by **Draise** » 30 Aug 2015, 23:47

Good wood.

I still mainly use trueSpace for my freelance stuff, rendering in realtime and basic animations, and mostly modeling with SDS, but will soon pass to Softimage for animation (I am a bit of a necrophiliac when it comes to software).

I am trying to get into Blender more.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 31 Aug 2015, 03:43

I'll be moving to Blender as my main CG program. That is because it is free and has modeling, rendering, animation in one package and many plug ins. If I had money I would consider Modo or other "big boy toys".

Currently, I use the Daz products, Daz Studio, Hexagon modeler, and Bryce. I use them because they are free or cheap and I already know how. I don't recommend these programs for use instead of TS or Blender or similar. I use TS model side when I can't get Hexagon to do something. I use Daz Studio for rendering in Iray (gpu/cpu unbiased realism) and 3Delight (results can look much like TS lightworks).

MikomDude · Post by **MikomDude** » 31 Aug 2015, 06:55

Manxie, I still use trueSpace workspace for modeling and the model-side for rendering. As long as tS still functions I don't see a reason to switch. tS was and is a powerful tool, your renders prove that. (good job on those by the way).

If at some point a similar but more up-to-date program comes along then I can see myself switching away from trueSpace. Currently I have found no such program though.
Blender's UI is horrible and doesn't work well with my workflow. The UI for 3Ds Max looks like it's stuck in the 90s.

I sometimes use Sculptris and I also own Hexagon, Daz 3D and Bryce. Picked them up when they were free like many here.
I use Bryce from time to time, I like it but has some questionable UI elements. Hexagon keeps crashing for me so modeling in that is no option, tS is faster anyway. Daz 3D works for posing stuff I guess, needs a lot of tweaking to get the render engine set up right.

So yeah... still using trueSpace here. Love that program.

BNG · Post by **BNG** » 31 Aug 2015, 07:46

MikomDude wrote:Manxie, I still use trueSpace workspace for modeling and the model-side for rendering. As long as tS still functions I don't see a reason to switch. tS was and is a powerful tool, your renders prove that. (good job on those by the way).

If at some point a similar but more up-to-date program comes along then I can see myself switching away from trueSpace. Currently I have found no such program though.
Blender's UI is horrible and doesn't work well with my workflow. The UI for 3Ds Max looks like it's stuck in the 90s.

I sometimes use Sculptris and I also own Hexagon, Daz 3D and Bryce. Picked them up when they were free like many here.
I use Bryce from time to time, I like it but has some questionable UI elements. Hexagon keeps crashing for me so modeling in that is no option, tS is faster anyway. Daz 3D works for posing stuff I guess, needs a lot of tweaking to get the render engine set up right.

So yeah... still using trueSpace here. Love that program.

Ditto, I've yet to find a better option and plan to use Truespace for a very long.

Question, is there a scene editor like the one on the model side? I've been wanting to switch over to the workspace side, but have found it somewhat odd when compared to the model side of TS. Thanks, Leroy.

bitkar · Post by **bitkar** » 31 Aug 2015, 09:59

i still use trueSpace as the only modeler and if possible i render it in VRay, coz its the easiest workflow. I can use dribble plugin if some displacement is needed for occasion. If i want to render some hardcore light/glass things etc. I export tS stuff to Kerkythea.

But ya - trueSpace 7.61 (modelside) + vray is still what i use and what is capable of doing everything what I need to make.

MANXIE · Post by **MANXIE** » 31 Aug 2015, 11:24

I tried Blender but I just couldn't get my head around it, and like most of you guys I am still using model side of Truespace plus Vray for rendering.
It would have been great if we were now using Truespace version 9.5 with a load of different renderer options. Just a pipe dream I guess !!!...

I have used Truespace since it first came out on the Amiga loved it ever since. That's it I am on a downer now.

RAYMAN · Post by **RAYMAN** » 01 Sep 2015, 16:39

When it comes to replacement of Truespace I found out the past few years...
that very good practice is to go the polygon .....tspline..... nurbs route or in case of
architekture Sketchup.......
When Im talking about polygon... tspline.....nurbs I dont nail it down to any specific
brand!!!!
It saves you days of work in som cases!
In my case its Silo which I own for more then six years.....and still works like day one...
but if you use Blender or whatever anything that works for you is great....
as the tspline converter I use Fusion 360 which is free for non profit use and for startups...
and I use Moi 3d as Nurbs.....also
something I use for years....
But you can use anything that works.......
I make the organic shapes in the poly tool........ export it to Fusion and convert it to nurbs...
once you have nurbs you can trim and cut the object to you liking...
WHY? Because booleans dont work well in a poly modeler..while they do work well in nurbs enviroments....Making fittings in poly modelers.... like holes or in case of cars the lights or
the wheelcuts....is tons of work!
That way a car is done in a day rather then in a week if you only stick to poly modeler by itself...

The render engine boils down to your taste or budget....!

seppgirty · Post by **seppgirty** » 01 Sep 2015, 23:28

What type of work are you doing BNG? Objects for games? Animation? General 3d modeling for cover art?

For games i model in TS 6.6 Rig and animate in fragmotion or milkshape 3d.

For animation i use Iclone.

bitkar · Post by **bitkar** » 02 Sep 2015, 13:45

need to say Silo was the closest to tS / my taste. But i tested it once only and it crashed after 10 min. of modeling :) maybe i will give it a shot again.

RAYMAN · Post by **RAYMAN** » 02 Sep 2015, 19:16

bitkar wrote:need to say Silo was the closest to tS / my taste. But i tested it once only and it crashed after 10 min. of modeling maybe i will give it a shot again.

Silo is prone to crashes but it does autosaves all the time so you dont lose your work.. its just a restart of the app from time to time...
But what i said was that its not that interesting what poly app you use,, there are lots of good ones out there including old licenses
of the big Players ... what is interesting is to switch from poly to nurbs via t spline that is in some cases a real treat !
Not on character modeling but cars... planes .. trains ... and especially ships-----you name it ... its worth looking into !
Peter

bitkar · Post by **bitkar** » 04 Sep 2015, 14:27

i know... everything has its advantages... i just like SDS modeling. That is also very sweet in therms of workflow and offers great possibilities.

There are indeed lots of 3D apps... but its the workflow and UI what is the most important to me, thats why i love tS so much.

RAYMAN · Post by **RAYMAN** » 04 Sep 2015, 20:53

bitkar wrote:i know... everything has its advantages... i just like SDS modeling. That is also very sweet in therms of workflow and offers great possibilities.

There are indeed lots of 3D apps... but its the workflow and UI what is the most important to me, thats why i love tS so much.

I made this model today as you can see one can use sds pretty well and fast in a poly app and then cut the model when transfered to nurbs...
very effectiv method !

BNG · Post by **BNG** » 06 Sep 2015, 07:46

seppgirty wrote:What type of work are you doing BNG? Objects for games? Animation? General 3d modeling for cover art?

For games i model in TS 6.6 Rig and animate in fragmotion or milkshape 3d.

For animation i use Iclone.

Presently an old video game by Activision called Battlezone II Combat Commander. I mainly use the old X exporter to export to 3d Exploration for conversion to Softimage's old version 1x XSI format. Leroy.

pugman 1 · Post by **pugman 1** » 06 Sep 2015, 13:44

Blender is the best choise for modling ,rigging animation and much more .
i dont use ts anymore .
blender for the above ,zbrush for fine detail and painting and creation off maps.
render in blender, thea studio, marmoset tool bag .
i would like to update modo 501 to the latest because it can now rig organic models
but the price tag is too heavy even for the update .so ill stick with blender..

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