what’s the best tool for animation and modeling, maya or max?
Maya is probably best for animation Max for polygon modeling.
At the end of the day though, It’s whichever UI feels right for you. All 3D apps mostly do the same things but they approach them in different ways. An artist just needs to try all the tools and find one that has a working method that they feel most comfortable with and get the best results in a timely manner with minimum headaches.
Kind of like Acrylics vs Oil Paint in traditional painting. They can both produce similar results and have work arounds for their weaknesses. You just have to see which one you like to use best.
With Max and Maya you get free 30 day trials, so you can try before you buy and figure out which one suits your needs. As far as Unity goes, they are about the same since they are both essentially exporting to Autodesk FBX format and both Max and Maya are Autodesk products and come into unity pretty much the same.
But which is the easiest to learn?
None, Best tool for modeling is Zbrush and best tool for animating is motion builder for solid objects like sword… or car animations particle system, base meshes, rendering…max and maya are awesome
I think 3dsmax it took me 3days to learn.
If I remember correctly you brought this up before. Zbrush is not the best tool for modeling because it is for SCULPTING. Sure you CAN model in it with Zspheres and what not but it’s not ideal. I mean, have you tried hard surface modeling on Zbrush?
Either way, I do agree it is AMAAAZING. Especially for adding detail to organic stuff.
Also I can’t help but notice your reply being kind of useless, seeing as he asks which is best between Maya and Max, but oh well.
@ OP - Yeah, it’s all down to personal preference, there’s no way anybody can help you make that decision. Check them both out and you’re bound to prefer one to the other.
i’d say Maya, i’ve been using it for years and i still have no idea what it all does. ZBrush is a must (i’m also clueless at most of ZBursh but does stuff i need, when i need it)- i wouldn’t us ZBrush for modeling myself, but… 3DsMax is cool for stuff, i used it for a few years, but mostly everyone is moving over to Maya (better modeling job options I expect).
I told my opinion which i believe it’s true
Easiest to learn just depends on the person and how their brain works. Some people will find either more intuitive than the other one. Just like learning a new language. Just make sure you give both a chance with the UI’s and in game dev for 90% of the work you do you will probably only need to use 20% of the application. For modeling, even less. So if at first your a bit overwhelmed, don’t worry about it, thats normal and you will probably never use vast chunks of the features and UI available. Especially for an engine like unity which has fairly limited scene import features compared to some other engines. (Ofusion or Ogremax for Ogre3D).
Unity is pretty simple but It’s great for bringing in models and simple pre-assembled hierarchies or rigged models, but most of the scene setup is going to happen in the Unity editor itself.
Easiest to Learn? Between Maya and Max.
for Poly modelling = Max
for Nurbs = Maya
But learning Nurbs will fuck with your head as you try figure out where your lines are going in 3d space all the time. Start with Poly modelling, means START WITH MAX.
Max has a stack. You will grow to love the stack. And the plugins. Max has the best plugins. By a long way. Plugins make life easier. Much easier.
And Max has the best tutorials, best docs and better workflow for Polys.
Maya is superior for character animation, but these days the gaps a lot closer than it used to be. And different.
Go with Max. Don’t look back. You must learn one 3D app before you can figure out another. Especially Poly work.
btw I think the shortcut keys for Max are better for Poly work also. Much better grouping. Except P and Z, they should be closer together.
Watch these vids for an idea of how Max Poly works for non organics.
http://vimeo.com/10941211
That should be enough to convince you… go with MAX!
I use maya and I can’t tell you what it is like in comparison to 3d max but I can tell you that it is a very good application. Modeling and animation are really great. I learned animation skills rather recently and it was pretty quick to learn, and now I know more or less about all the animation tools in Maya. The only real negative thing I can say is that the UV tools are a bit limited, and even then they get the job done.