I would like to buy modeling software..however there are more choices than I realized, could many of you give me your thoughts and tell me what you use specifically for clothing.

I use Lightwave. The modelling module is top notch. I also do all my UV mapping in LW .I can control precisely the position of every point on the map so I can easily match prints and plaids across seams. I cut up my body groups, and assign my materials also in LW and export to obj where that information is retained. I build in the body morphs practically at the beginning of the modeling process, since Lightwave's endomorphs permit you to add details to the base model that get transfered to all the morphs,it's easier to tweak 100 points than 400! To save the various body part morphs to obj I use DAZ's free export morphs to obj plug-in for LW 7.5 ( my many thanks to Daz for that freebie ). It's a little pricey, but with one of the best modeller around and a gorgeous rendering engine it's IMHO the best price/quality ratio, plus a large and generous community on the internet with lots of tutorials and informative user's forums. Just my 2 cents.

Modeling apps can be a matter of taste, so try the free demos first. I did like the rhino demo, it can save a limited number of times and I was able to do some cloth just with the demo. But by now, my modeler of choice is Wings3d. It is one of the best modelers aound IMHO. And it is free, so no need for a demo. Stefan

Attached Link: http://www.philc.net

I've been using 3D Studio MAX for years, as I needed a platform for both game development and Poser. It's got a good modeler-some love it, some hate it, others swear by it for some reason-let's just say for now it suits my purposes, and I don't have many complaints. With all the plugins available for it though, MAX can be a great application for high-end development, but as PhilC said, it's all a matter of choice... My best recommendation would be to get as many demos as you can and find the modeler you're comfortable with.

thanks everybody, anybody like rhino? nobody has mentioned it any reasons?

dirk, Rhino is a good program from what i hear, but I guess that those of us who have posted so far use Box modeling and similar techniques, rather than splines and curves... They are two completely different ways to model.

I think all the ones mentioned here will get the job done in there own various ways, its just a case of what you like the most, Rhino is a superb app and i'd dare to say as good a modeler as any mentioned, but i'm with Drax on technique, i started with spline modeling and changed to poly, but its just down to taste, no one style is better, Steve..using Cinema 4d

i'll try :o).....there are, in the basic sense 2 types of modeling, one is take a box with 6 sides and 8 corners (points) and starting with that you can create anything, by cutting it to add points and polygons (sides) then moving the points or polys...now thats the basic description of box or poly modeling, but you can lump other things in to this catagory, like laying points down and welding them like join the dots to get a shape to work from.....the other is spline modeling, an example would be draw 2 circles then loft them to create a tube, or draw a profile of a vase and spin (lathe) it to create a vase, the basic idea is to create line shapes that you join to create a model, like the ribs in a boat you create them then skin the boat....there are other expressions like hypernurbs or nurbs but they are names to describe fancy variations of the two techiques....to give a practical example the police outfit was modeled in polys with hypernurbs, i had a low poly boxy looking outfit which when put into hypernurbs made it nice and smooth, sop i worked on a 660 polygon (to low for poser)shirt that when saved became 4876 polygons...the hypernurbs just saved me time and effort while working in polygons....hope that helps ;o)...Steve

Back then I was on Truespace 5, I didn't like the everything in one space, modelling and rendering and the whole scene in one working space. Also didn't care for the polygon and vertice selection tools, when you are working on complex models, selection tools become extremely important. Lightwave has so many ways of selecting stuff, not to mention those marvelous layers where you can put the figure you are dressing, and any polygons you would wish to protect from manipulation.The layers are what sold me on Lightwave. Everything has a keyboard shortcut,once you have learned them it's a real time saver.

truSpace - it's a real love or hate. I'm in the hate category. The toolbox gets in my way. Max - Same. Lightwave - I'm way behind in my training on it, but it's very intuitive for me for modelling. There's a good number of tutorials for it on the NewTek site. Rhino - This was the first modeller I ever used. I do like it, but it is kinda scary for a newbie. I attended a training class at the company and the people there are great! Wings3D - I haven't tried it so I can't recommend it but I've heard good things about it. If nothing else, it's worth trying just from the price tag. :) You might want to google tutorials for the different programs and see which ones make sense to you. Different programs use different work flows, so find the one that fits you best. Hope this helps, Cres

See if you can get a demo for Carrara. It is a fairly inexpensive program (a couple hundred bucks is better than the thousands for the higher-end packages) and it has at least 3 different ways to create models! You can try out nurbs, metaballs, polys, whatever, and see which approach you like best. Then, if you need something more, you can look at Lightwave or Maya. Note: I used to own 3DStudio (precessor to Max) and hated it so much that I sold it and officially transferred the license. $3000 buckaroonies and no product support from the most uncaring bunch of bastards you'll ever find in a software house. That price was just the beginning. I'd have had to shell out another $5000 for the plug-ins to make it do what it should have done in the core package. Yost managed to make the plug-in idea a real money-stream, though. I will not recommend Max. :ptui!: Carolly

If all you're going to do is model, then you don't need a high end app. I would suggest starting with wings. There are a few things that I don't like about it (no metaform subdivision, the may you have to make holes) but it is a good place to start. I use max and have tried just about every other app out there. So I recommend you start with wings. Then perhaps move on to another app. -Mark

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12402&Form.ShowMessage=995115

oops sorry...what a memory, they are done look for them tomorow :o)..Steve

Amapi is another app that is becoming popular again, actually. supposedly Bay Raitt himself is assisting the development team in increasing the power of it's modeler, making it work more inline with some of the modeling ttechniques he uses. In case you don't know who Bay Raitt is, he's one of the most well-known and well respected modelers out there, and was the one who modeled Gollum for LOTR.

thanks everyone, i got the free trial of amapi 7, i'll play in that for a while and see how it goes, and take it from there. Thanks Again

Attached Link: http://www.anim8or.com

yeah, anim8tor and Wings3d are both good programs. I've just started on making clothes in Wings 3d (still at the 'helmet' stage..;) but once you get the hang of it, it's not too hard. good luck.