Well I wanna make my way on 3d modeling(mostly characters), and I wanna know which 3D software could I use for someone as poor as me lol. Seriously, I cant afford neither Maya or 3DSMax, so I come here for some help. If this was asked before, I apologize. For my defense, I did made a search but I couldn’t find a post related to my question. IF there is, I apologize once again =[
There’s about 100 similar posts But Blender is a great choice, it’s powerful, it’s free, and there’s tons of tutorial videos out there. When learning make sure you’re looking at tutorials for the correct version though. There’s 2.49 and then there’s the 2.5 series. 2.5 changed the UI and a lot of other stuff so the 2.49 videos might confuse you more than they help you if you’re using 2.5.
Ah, sorry then guys, I was looking for “cheap 3d modeling” and “best free 3d modeling” and thats probably why I couldn’t find those posts. I’ve always suck at looking for stuff on forums.
Anyways tho, I have of good things of blender. I was even looking at a few models made with blender and they look pretty neat. I will also try Wings3D and see which one works better for me. One last question tho, I see that there’s a few things with blender and Unity about exporting and importing models. Should I be worried of which version to choose?
Also thanks for the replies and help,I really appreciate it =]
If you want to drop a blend file directly into Unity, some people have issues w/ versions of the converter script. But you can always export as OBJ or FBX and drop those into Unity and they’ll work just fine.
Check out blendswap.com to get an idea of some stuff people have done and for some free models (they’re under various CC licenses I think). Also check out Elephant’s Dream and Sintel for an idea of what can be done with Blender if you’re really good.
Hmmmmm ok, so I can transfer models with no problems right? I am a complete beginner on 3D software, so I’ll have to look into it deeply and I think It’ll work out.
I also took a look at blendswap.com and I must say, my mind was blown by the awesome models. Thanx a lot for sharing the link =]
I wouldnt recommend Blender for modeling as long as it still lacks of N-Gon support. Everything else yes, but not modeling. Thats the weakest part of it. When you search for a cheap modeling alternative for characters, then Silo could be a good bet for you. Even the free Wings 3D could be an option as a substitute for Blender modeling. There is also cheap stuff like Hexagon from Daz around.
Please cut out you N-Gon support obsession already. It’s not necessary and in no way a needed feature. It encourages sloppy modelling and only hides triangulated tesselation. N-Gon support can be useful if you know what you are doing. Still it’s all just hidden triangles. If your modeling workflow is clean and structured there is no need for NGons.
In fact I could not recall a single ocasion where I really needed NGons even though Cinema 4D supports them very well. To the contrary - I convert NGons pretty much instantly because sometimes they can become a great hassle in the process later on. You miss one and suddenly your edgeloops don’t work any more or you’ll have to put a triangle somewehere you don’t actually want or need it. It’s one of the annoying features for me that C4D has “create NGons” activated yutomatically. You get cuts and extra verts where you just don’t expect them by accident and there you have it…
Blender has been and probably still is a very capable modeling tool. For free there’s nothing better out there feature-wise. NGons are a plus if you know what you are doing but in no way needed.
I’ve never used NGons and I’m not suffering. I prefer creating a clean topology as I go rather than cleaning it up later.
I don’t know much about Wings 3D but I think Blender has better support and a greater number of tutorials. In fact, here are just a few websites with free tutorials:
I don’t say the things I do to bash or flame people. I say this because I’ve made the experience over the years that some people rely on things like NGons to make the modeling process faster in the beginning untill they know where the model is going. It’s a little like adding to many divisions in Zbrush early on: you get distracted in details fast and lose track of the big picture of your model.
That’s why I say n-gons can help you. They should not be and are not at all necessary for a good workflow, though. If someone prefers polymodeling over sculpting then it’s good practise to start out blocky as well. Again it’s still good practice to keep it clean and structured and you don’t run into many ocasions where n-gons become anoying.
… Which still doesn`t give you the proper tools, because they are all made for the old architecture, the Non N-Gon one …
The toolset to take N-Gon support into account simply does not exist yet. In Blender you model by dividing faces. Not by manipulating edges and vertices too as i can do in my favourite modeler. I guess even with full implemented BMesh it may need two or three years until all the tools are fitted to work with BMesh. Maybe even more.
Its not that i want N-Gons. Its that i NEED N-Gons for proper state of the art polygon modeling. Being limited to Quad and Tris for poly modeling is outdated since around 10 years. Well, you can work that way. But it is cumbersome. I had situations where i wouldve to remodel the mesh because Blender didnt let me reconnect an edgeloop. Which is three clicks in my favourite modeler. As told, polygon modeling is the weak side of Blender.
This has nothing to do with the result but with modeling itself. It`s all about the tools. No N-Gon support means limited stone age workflow. Because the tools are not there to deal with N-Gons. Delete a edge in Blender and try to reconnect it into another direction. I wish you happy battling.
Well, yeah, you may not miss anything when you never learned something better. And you can also hammer a nail into the wall with just a stone. So there is no need for advanced modeling tools really, right? Some even still model their meshes with Milkshape, which has just the basic point edit tools. Or you can use Pov Ray and shape your mesh by code. Everything is possible, heh.
But even some Blender user uses other apps for poly modeling. For good reason. Wings 3D for example is still popular.
Nearly everything is better than Blender for poly modeling. Because of the N-Gon limit. Thats a fact. It doesnt mean that Blender is bad for modeling though. Just that there are lots of better apps out there for poly modeling. I could never do human modeling in Blender and achieve a useful meshflow there. Not that i haven`t tried. But the toolset is simply too limited.
By the way, im a Blender User. Its long part of my pipeline, and i use it for more than one job. Its just that Polygon modeling is the weak side of Blender. And i simply use something better for that job. Something where i dont need to sit down an hour first, need to plan how to achieve my needed geometry, and how to go around the Quad and Tri limit pitfalls. I simply shape it.
Please don’t say that. For you it might be that way but it isn’t a “fact” at all.
N-gon are not necessary for modeling and are oftentimes only a crutch to get to the proper results. If it’s your workflow and you feel you need n-gons: fine! But please stop advertising something that is personal taste in workflow as the truth.
As you say - you simply jump into shaping without wanting to think and plan your model first. That’s the thing right there: Thinking about what you want to shape is vital for a solid and clean mesh - at least if you want to create it in a fast amount of time. As I was saying: n-gons can help if you know how to use them. When I was starting out I was using them too. I was also complaining about programs that did not have n-gons at first. That changed after I found out just how often I had to rethink and rebuild large parts of my meshes because I missed a damn n-gon that I used to “shape the model fast”. I rarely use n-gons any more and don’t rely on them either.
It’s personal taste and if it fits for you that’s fine. But please don’t advocate something as hard fact that isn’t.
I even go that far as to say: as soon as I’ve understood blender’s modeling (after I attended a talk from Andy Goralczyk about blender’s tools to be precise) I switched from Cinema4D’s tools to blender for LowPoly modeling for quite some time because it allowed me to create models in 25 - 50% less time (!).
So again: But please don’t advocate something as hard fact that isn’t. Personal preference: okay. Hard fact: no way!