3D Max 6, Maya or Combustion 3


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I know this is a long question - but you guys know what you're talking about ;)

I'm currently studying MultiMedia & 3D Animation (Degree), and I've always been interested in special effects and so forth. I want to be able to do what I see on TV some day (especially being a great Star Trek fan)...and hopefully this will give me a start in the field.

Specs (when I save up):

20" iMac 1.25GHz

1GB DDR333 RAM (PC2700)

Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (64MB DDR)

Mac OS X 10.3.2

Adobe Photoshop 8.0 (CS)

Purposes:

3D Animation

Special Effects

Sci-fi

-- creating starships

-- particle effects (ship weaponry: phasers, torpedoes)

-- starship explosions (self destruct or hit)

-- animating the above

* just like in Star Trek, Star Wars, Andromeda, Babylon-5, Stargate-SG1 etc.

** I would ask about CGI...but I bet that's expensive

Which Software?:

1.) Discreet 3D Studio Max 6

2.) Discreet Combustion 3 (released early 2004)

3.) Alias Maya 5

* still confused about 1&2

Basic Experience (via tutorials):

Adobe Photoshop 7

Discreet 3D Studio Max 5.1

Macromedia Director MX

Macromedia Flash MX

Macromedia Fireworks MX

I know that Shake 3 is used in some special effects...but I'm not paying ?3000 for a piece of software, that's way too high for my liking.

Thanks in advance everyone.

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umm combustin doesnt do CG work, its for video editing. The diffrence between max 6 and maya 5 is neglibable, get a demo of each and decide which one you like the best, there both great software. I persionaly think maya UI sucks and MAX UI is awsome but that my opinion. Why are you getting a mac, they seem a litle pricy for what you need it for. Also on a PC your open to many more software options like lightwave, or umm other stuff...

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I've always wanted a Mac because they're so much superior to PC's (in my opinion anyways).

But are you saying that the iMac won't be able to handle 3DS Max..? (I'd rather not fork out for a PowerMac mind you). Also, are you saying the software is cheaper on a PC (legally of course).

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lightwave has been out for years on the mac and with the specs on the imac it should be able to handle everything you throw at it.

Don't know how fast the rendering should go but I wouldn't think it would be that slow with the amount of ram in it

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I definitely recommend doing the demo thing and trying them out. Someone else's opinion of two very similar products probably isn't going to help you out, as it will just come down to personal preference.

Also, for the Mac, I'd very much recommend getting a refurb 17". The 20" is quite a bit overpriced, and I can vouch for their refurb quality. I bought a refurb iBook for my girlfriend for christmas (it's installing Panther right next to me, right now), and the unit looks just like a new one (in case you're worried about quality). The 17" should be more than enough room to work with (I know, I had a 17" iMac :p), and it should be just as fast :)

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I tried out the StudioMax 6 demo a couple of weeks ago. I like the interface a lot better than Maya's, making it easier to get into the program. Overall, I like it better than Maya, but that's just my opinion ;)

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If it's a mac you are going to buy, as it could seem like then 3D max would not be a good idea to get since it's only for the PC so maya 5 would probably be the better choice here.

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The diffrence between max 6 and maya 5 is neglibable

DUDE! wtf?!!?

anyways, as you are most likely well aware most 3d apps have fully functional demos, so download them first and study them before throwing in $3000+ at least at an app.

i believe combustion 3 is already out because i got it off some ftp ;) but it is indeed for movie editing and is nothing like maya nor 3dsmax.

if you want to go pro you better get Maya 5 right away, most studios use Maya and Softimage and 3dsmax is mainly gor games developing so it really depends on which area are you going to focus.

i went for Maya and never regretted it.

and btw, what are you doing here searching for that kind of information? :)

head to cgtalk.com right now and check out this topic Which 3D App Should I Use?

good luck! :)

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Thanks for the quick responses guys. I also prefer Max because we use it in uni and I'm grasping it nicely.

3D max would not be a good idea to get since it's only for the PC.

I thought Max was available for the mac..?

head to cgtalk.com right now and check out this topic Which 3D App Should I Use?

I'll check out that link when I get home from work :)

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This is my area of speciality as you can tell from my name. First of all, if you want to get into 3D, Windows/PC is the only way to go in terms of price, features, and performance. 3DSMax is for PC only. I pretty much don't care what OS I use, whether its Mac, PC, Linux, or whatever. I chose PC because Maya runs best on it. Alias does make Maya for OSX, but it's a joke compare to the PC version. Trust me, I know this since I've been using Maya from version 1.0 beta, which was back in 1997 when it was on SGI Irix only (Unix). Learn maya if you wanna do special effects for featured movies or television. Learn 3DSMax if you are into making games. This has nothing to do with the power of the softwares, its just a fact that most companies use Maya for movies and 3DSMax for games. And you need to know the right software for the job, so they don't have to retrain you. As for visual effects such as explosions, there's a lot of technical knowledge behind it. You pretty much need to spend a lot of time learning the softwares. Good luck. :)

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Thanks for the nice feedback guys. To sum up:

Maya - best to use this (PC & Mac), used for movies (major industries are turning over to it).

3D Max - best for games (PC only).

Combustion - for visual effects in movies (PC & Mac).

* Sound/Music - soundforge is what I use to edit music, but not sure how to create it. I think it can do that too.

I'm also looking into games aswell, but Maya will cover that just as well as 3D Max I'm guessing. I use to have the Alias Maya PLE version, so I'll go and get it again and this time I'll download both the PC & Mac versions. In February I can then decide which one I think runs on the best platform (PC/Mac).

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theres another piece of software out there, called SoftImage. Its a non-linear type i believe, but yea... personally I like maya 5 unlimited. discreets software is very good too, but lightwave, by far i have seen many amazing things come out of it! i think they're coming out with an 8.0 version soon for it. keep checkin it out. good luck.

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from my prefrerence, maya cuz it is industry standard and alot of companies are switching!

How can it be an industry standard and being switched to at the same time? :laugh: :rolleyes:

Anyway, what was said is correct.

3ds max is Windows only since it is very powerful for game development (trust me on this one ;) ) and holds it's own in the movie realm as well.

Maya is another excellent program for many platforms and is a program that is gaining great momentum and would be the program I would suggest if you are firm in your stance on the Apple platform.

Combustion is a compositing application akin to After Effects and has its place in the special effects arena (which won't be shipping for OS X until next year).

Now for some of my own commentary:

If you are serious about this sort of stuff then either get a PowerMac or higher end PC (which doesn't cost a whole lot if you do it yourself). Do not go with the iMac as you'll be disappointed with the performance with these types of programs.

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Anyway, what was said is correct.

3ds max is Windows only since it is very powerful for game development (trust me on this one ;) ) and holds it's own in the movie realm as well.

Maya is another excellent program for many platforms and is a program that is gaining great momentum and would be the program I would suggest if you are firm in your stance on the Apple platform.

Combustion is a compositing application akin to After Effects and has its place in the special effects arena (which won't be shipping for OS X until next year).

Now for some of my own commentary:

If you are serious about this sort of stuff then either get a PowerMac or higher end PC (which doesn't cost a whole lot if you do it yourself).  Do not go with the iMac as you'll be disappointed with the performance with these types of programs.

Building a new high-end PC would be cheaper than buying a decent PowerMac I guess.

CPU: P4 3.0GHz ?217(P4 3.2GHz ?315)i>

Mobo: ?100

1GB Memory: ?Total: ?(?565)5)i>

iMac 1.25GHz: ?1,499 (LCD inc.)

PowerMac 1.6GHz (256MB DDR): ?1,399

PowerMac Dual 1.8GHz (512MB DDR): ?1,899

PowerMac Dual 2.0GHz (512MB DDR): ?2,299

hmm, building a new system is over 3 time:unsure:r :unsure:...but still with WinXP instead of Mac OS X - which I really wanna' try/use. Plus, all the software is XP ready (Combustion / A-Effects / Maya / 3D-Max etc.) I'm now really considering a good upgrade (like the above), and maybe get an iMac another time for diffe:rolleyes::rolleyes:.

I guess using a Mac primarily isn't such a good idea for me :(ter all :( (unless I want to spend a fortune on a top PowerMac).

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Maya - best to use this (PC & Mac), used for movies (major industries are turning over to it).

3D Max - best for games (PC only).

Combustion - for visual effects in movies (PC & Mac).

Tons of special effect studios use max6 for movie effects. I cant name any right now, but i recall a bunch of major cinema acheivments done with max as many great games were modled in maya too. It doesnt realy matter what you use. Its like picking a racing car in a game, some people prefer the car that handles like crap and goes 200mph, while others like the 160mph car that corners on a dime. Its all a matter of prefrence, download the demos and try them before you go spending $2k and up on it.

I would highly recomend an intel P4 system, as the hyperthreading will blow your mind away in rendering. Also combustion intergrates EXTREMLY well with max, where there is less intergration with maya. With CG software, the software is very rarly the limiting factor, 99% of it is the artist. Its like asking an artist what the best medium is, pastels, oil paints, pencil etc

Also a few others you might want to try>

lightwave

cinema 4d (i realy likes this one check out ethans work with it http://ethan-.deviantart.com/, but im a max man)

XSI (HL2, need i say more?)

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XSI - I have the free version of this too.

Lightwave - I'll look into that right now, and try and get a demo/free version.

Cinema 4D - I'll look into that right now, and try and get a demo/free version.

I read that cg link page on the best to choose from, and you're right - 99% of the renderer result is the artist, and the 1% is the renderer. I'm no artist, but I'm willing to learn. I don't know if I'll have time to try out the top 3 (3D Max, Maya & XSI). I've used 3D Max and I'll learn Maya, but don't know about XSI quite yet.

Mind you, the new Max 6 has a new ragdoll piece of software that creates a biped automatically and also creates all the bone linkages for perfect biped movement/animation.

So basically, they all do the same job - it's just done differently and at different prices. It's all down to preference, but anything can be done with 3D-Max/Maya.

Am I still correct in assuming I will still need a 2D art software (Photoshop 8.0)..?

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XSI - I have the free version of this too.

Lightwave - I'll look into that right now, and try and get a demo/free version.

Cinema 4D - I'll look into that right now, and try and get a demo/free version.

I read that cg link page on the best to choose from, and you're right - 99% of the renderer result is the artist, and the 1% is the renderer. I'm no artist, but I'm willing to learn. I don't know if I'll have time to try out the top 3 (3D Max, Maya & XSI). I've used 3D Max and I'll learn Maya, but don't know about XSI quite yet.

Mind you, the new Max 6 has a new ragdoll piece of software that creates a biped automatically and also creates all the bone linkages for perfect biped movement/animation.

So basically, they all do the same job - it's just done differently and at different prices. It's all down to preference, but anything can be done with 3D-Max/Maya.

Am I still correct in assuming I will still need a 2D art software (Photoshop 8.0)..?

Yup, Photoshop will be needed to create those sexy sexy materials/textures for your creations. :cool: :yes:

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That's a good point, use the PC for rendering and modelling etc. and use the Mac for everything else:

- music

- video/dvd

- email/net

- work etc.

But...shall I buy Photoshop 8 for the Mac or PC? They are interchangable aren't they? (I'm guessing 95% yes), as in, if I save a "PS8 Source File" on the Mac - I can still use it on a PC that has PS8 installed right.

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That's a good point, use the PC for rendering and modelling etc. and use the Mac for everything else:

- music

- video/dvd

- email/net

- work etc.

But...shall I buy Photoshop 8 for the Mac or PC? They are interchangable aren't they? (I'm guessing 95% yes), as in, if I save a "PS8 Source File" on the Mac - I can still use it on a PC that has PS8 installed right.

Yup, the files are interchangable--I only wish the install cd was.. :(

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Yeah same here, it's a shame they can't put it onto a DVD (or multiple CD's) so that when you insert the disc it'll auto-read your OS and install the correct version accordingly.

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