I work in photoshop as a retoucher, now time to learn a 3D package. Whats the most common/accepted software. I’m thinking of Cinema 4D, but have had Modo mentioned. Any thoughts.

Thanks.

When I used to do a lot of 3D I always used 3dsmax, although a lot of people swore by Maya. Not sure what the standards are now though and that was a year or so ago, never got on with Cinema4D.

Is this for engineering or just visual models?

ooOOoo

Its for advertising, could be anything we can’t get in a photo shoot. I work for a very large well known London advertising agency. Will be still images only.

What ooOOoo said really: What’re you going to do with the model? Do you want to do NURBS, Polys or Solids? Do you need a render engine or “just” a modeller?

Most importantly though… who’s paying for it?

Can’t beat Alias for Nurbs/surfaces, but Maya has a Mental Ray render engine… Or Rhino. Or Solidworks. Or Max etc etc.

Ok…can’t help you then 🙂
Autodesk Mudbox looks fun though.
And Bunkspeed Hypershot is a fantastic rendering package for creating images, very easy to use if you’ve not done much 3D before. Check out some of the car renderings

Sorry this has landed in the bike forum. Maybe I should find a new career!

You’re going to need Mental Ray for ad. quality work if you ask me.
Hypershot is good (but not as good as MR) but it’s image creation only, no modelling.

What do others in your agency use for modelling? Best get something that fits your current pipeline to avoid data transfer issues.

schpleep

We work with one guy who uses Cinema 4D, so we can learn a lot from him. So many options though. I’ll check out all the programs mentioned.

PS Nice work on your flickr site.

I have always used Rhino3D for engineering stuff….

Lightwave and zbrush.

Autodesk Mudbox looks fun though.

is not a 3d modeller its a program to add detials to existing models..

lightwave? modo? don’t be silly those program’s are useless.

and gnargnar do you have any reason to say lightwave and zbrush?

i’d say it totally depends on what the 3D program is going to be used for. VFX or 3D for engineering?

and also what is you’re budject?

He’s already said it’s not for engineering.
Hypershot may be good for him if he could get models off the client

not for engineering? and the guy in the office already has Cinema4D? then Rcinema4D it is. it would be stupid to learn a 3D program when someone in the office is already familliar with using a 3D program and has it to hand.

I think you mean Cinema 4D!

I think you mean Cinema 4D!

i do! i did! i mean i do! 😀

note to self read before posting

greeble – Member

Autodesk Mudbox looks fun though.

is not a 3d modeller its a program to add detials to existing models..

lightwave? modo? don’t be silly those program’s are useless.

and gnargnar do you have any reason to say lightwave and zbrush?

i’d say it totally depends on what the 3D program is going to be used for. VFX or 3D for engineering?

and also what is you’re budject?

Lightwave is useless? Um…..really? how so? The fact that it’s a one off payment with no annual licence fee, the fact that it has what is widely regarded as the most powerful and intuitive modelling system on the market, the fact that it is cheap? The fact that it has one more emmys for vfx than any other package? The fact that it can be used as a supplememtary package for all the other major apps? The fact that it has a very powerful adaptable render engine which is free? That it has a massive pre-installed user base and a huge online support network? The fact that it is not owned by the same company like the majority of its direct competitors? The fact that it’s used on most big budget effects driven features?

Please explain how it’s useless? Or are you just ignorantly spouting something an autodesk rep told you?

I mentioned Lightwave and zbrush becuase the op asked what 3d apps people were using…you tool.

have you used anything else other than lightwave?

tool? i am i’m very useful.

come on lets see your lightave work then gnargnar?

i work and have worked for 5 years in the industry including the heart of soho for a few big companies. never have i had to use lightwave.

greeble – Member
have you used anything else other than lightwave?

come on lets see your lightave work then gnargnar?

Yes I have, do you want a list? You havent really answered me though have you? Care to justify your statement that Lightwave is useless?

I think I’ll wait to see an example of your work, seeing as your obviously a sage guru before I embarass myself. Come on then?

As I thought there doesn’t seem to be a popular/standard programme, but I suppose the end results dictates the software usage. The images we will produce will be very very photo realistic. I’m still thinking Cinema 4d, and maybe Modo for another operator here. Any one have a web site I can look at?

Thanks all.

I think I’ll wait to see an example of your work,

# 10,000 BC (2008)
# The Dark Night
# Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
# Stardust (2007)
# The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
# World Trade Center (2006)
# United 93 (2006)
# Batman begins

that enough for you?

Yeeehah, let’s have a render off!

Great list, none of those are adverts though are they? That’s what the OP wants.

Great list, none of those are adverts though are they? That’s what the OP wants.

the guy in the office already has Cinema4D? then cinema4D it is. it would be stupid to learn a 3D program when someone in the office is already familliar with using a 3D program and has it to hand.

greeble – Member

# 10,000 BC (2008)
# The Dark Night
# Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
# Stardust (2007)
# The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
# World Trade Center (2006)
# United 93 (2006)
# Batman begins

that enough for you?

And what exactly did you do on those? Particle effects? You must have some personal work, an example of something you’ve modelled, lit and rendered yourself?

This is who I work for.

http://www.fb-imaging.co.uk

*slight hijack* I’m teaching myself to use Inventor as the university I work for won’t shell out the money needed for proper training. Does anyone have some good tips apart from getting solid works or pro E?

But we do have a ZCorp Z510 printer, so any models I create I can print them in full 3D colour 😆

Do the built in turorials legspin! The skill builders give you a good overview, and there are some more tutorials on the autodesk website.
What kind of stuff are you doing? Injection mouldings, mechanical assembiles, sheet metal, machining?
Yes Z-corp models are nice, if you don’t need RP’s in production materials 8)

Rhino is the daddy.

All of those ooOOoo, we make a wide range of stuff. Anything I design I then drag into AlphaCam to get my toolpaths to make the stuff on our CNC kit.

How long have you been using it then legspin? Anything you particularly struggle with?

I have been using 2.5d stuff for years, It’s just getting my head around a ‘new’ way of drawing using parametircs. It just a matter of practice. I have bought a book and just going through it. Onto advanced modelling techniques now, wish me luck.

I’ve been around this market a little bit, used to do the big graphics show demo’s for Discreet, contracted all the big name manufacturing, architecture and design houses in Europe and many in the US and I’ve trained and taught, Maya, 3dsmax, Softimage, Studiotools and various parametric modellers.

The truth is, all these packages are the same, they are all very much of a muchness, one may have a slightly better render engine or wider availability of plugins than another, while another might have a better nurbs modeller or better export paths to cad/cam gear.

You can choose any of them.

However in my experience the easiest of these to use for importing data modelled elsewhere is Maya, and the easiest for rendering is 3dsmax, lightwave has the best soft modelling toolset and Rhino has the easiest to use Nurbs.

if all you intend doing is making 3d structures to render and superimpose into photographs then if someone else is paying Maya or Max would be my first options. If i was paying I’d make do with Lightwave.

Please bear in mind that very few hi-end studios use any package end to end, they will cad model in one, particle generate in another, animate somewhere else and the frig the entire thing visually by rendering with a renderman complaint render package that is controlled solely by a team of dedicated render programmers.

I have plenty of mates who still work at ILM, Cinesite, Rushes, Mill Film etc none of them know all of one package that’s not how the big studios do things.

mmmm text in inventor is a laugh. i need 3 service packs and a hotfix, just into service pack 2 :S its gonna be a while.

Thanks for the latest replies. Chatting with our R+D boys it would appear we will go for Cinema 4D as we have other users in our group (Mauritius) using this. Wish me luck. sq225917 I might need some training!

Cinema 4D is a decent choice, your experience of it will only be as good as whoever the distributor is in the UK. Maxon have a great rep for online support.

Get used to using the Rayracer, you’ll need it.