I need help and advice on the various programs available, i am used to working with photography and know photoshop quite well but would like to be able to use another program for buiding 3d effect on my compositions. I know some people start out using one then perhaps change at a later date, so what would be a good starting point that i can develop my skills and grow with without having to change at a later date?

Thanks
Phil.

It really depends on what you want to do - if you want to merge photos of people into digital landscapes, that's one way; if you want digital people and objects into photos - that's another. If you are not a very technical person and want to be as close to the art as possible, I'd suggest some of the simpler, more intuitive art programs - Vue, Poser, etc. If you want to be able to create anything you want, however you want (and don't mind a steeper learning curve), go for Lightwave or 3DS MAX. It's really all about what your artistic inclinations are. -Zak

Agree with Elminster ZK: it depends on what you want to do. The high end 3D packages, such as 3DS Max, Maya, Houdini allow you to model, animate and render at a professional level, but the learning curves are steep and the prices are even steeper (thousands of dollars). If you're interested in rendering 3D human figures that you don't have to model yourself, Poser and DAZ|Studio (free) are interesting options. For landscapes, there's Terragen (free), Bryce, Vue, Mojoworld. For modeling, there's Blender (free), Wings (free), Shade, Carrara, Truespace, and many more. I'd suggest downloading demos and free software and just trying out what suits you.

My advice is Lightwave. You can do anything you want to do in that app. If you really want to start animating - get Animation Master (99$). There's also an animation set up plugin for LW - sl pricey but the combo is way less than Maya (shudder), 3D Studio Max (horrors). or Rhino. AM uses nurbs to make chars, BTW (similar to Maya in that area). If you want to get confused - try Bryce. Yikes! The other apps mentioned are nice and the price is right but they all fall short after awhile. It all depends on what it is you're trying to do. I tried them all - settled on LW and never looked back.

Hard to give advice without sounding like a commercial for the product. I'm a photographer too (product) - started w/Bryce (fun, simple, a little restricting), I'm now on Vue5Inf (love it for simple but good quality results!), I've used 3DS Max6 (friend has it and lets me play - love it, though complicated and $3,400), I bought XSI Foundation ($500, and there's $2k and $7k versions - again, love it but complicated - and some things stripped from the $7k version - YA THINK?), Poser6 (only limited use so far, but I like it a lot), Strata 3D CX (to go with product photography - none of my clients have figured it out yet that some elements are from that and not photographed), and I finally bought Cinema4D (many magazine reviews suggested it was great and didn't have as high a learning curve) and haven't had time to really get into it but I like it so far. Haven't used Lightwave (around $900 now and bundled with Vue5Inf)or Maya (2 versions - $2k, and $7k)- but we've all seen AWESOME results in the right hands - and both have more of a learning curve. As with ANY 3D app, if you don't know it well, it's going to look amatuerish. With just about any of them you can get great results after getting to know them and practice. Hope that helps- -Lew ;-)

"If you want to get confused - try Bryce. Yikes!"
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HEY!! Quit knockin' BRYCE! It's a SUPERIOR program for highly detailed cartoon-styled models! And with it's 30 yr outdated,render engine, You'll be done in no time!...C'mon...all ya have to do is go take a break while it renders....Might I suggest reading, cookin' breakfast...Lunch, and supper,writing a short story to go along with the College application for Your -Doctorate- in movie production...And while You're halfway finished with that render, You can actually USE IT when completeted for story boardin' Your strieght-to-video block buster for public access tv!

....OH, who am I kiddin'? Why, oh why didn't I get VUE instead!?...LOL ;^) If you seriously want a 3D app for models, and enviros then You should consider Vue!

Message edited on: 11/21/2005 13:41

Message edited on: 11/21/2005 13:42

Pre-order LW 9.5 and get Vue 5 for free

"Pre-order LW 9.5 and get Vue 5 for free "

Correction, it's VUE 5 INFINITE, different from plain Vue 5.

Anyway, my vote goes to Lightwave. I've tried the demos of all the biggies, and still nothing has come close to making me want to leave LW.
It's not particularly hard to learn, and there's a gazillion gigabytes of tutorials available for it, not to mention many good, inexpensive books.
And it's already got one of the best render engines on the planet, but according to Newtek, LW 9 will be quicker.

Message edited on: 11/22/2005 04:57

How is VUE 5 Infinite different from 'plain' Vue 5? I would assume that they're basicaly the same except that V5I would have more whistle's and bells.

yes, but those bells and whistles make Vue Infinite about as different from plain Vue 5 as a Porsche is from a Model T.

Yes - well I got it because I pre-ordered LW 9

Number 1. Thanks alot for the info! ============================================================== Number 2. $795.00{$800+ inc tax} for both LW full vers, and an additional $500+ vue inf for free only pertains to people with money to burn!----One day...When I sell osama's soul to satan...Heh,heh..Errr,On second thought I'll probably only get $20 out of the deal.... Thanks alot however, if I had the money, This would be an EXTREMLY kick-a$$ deal...But It took me awhile to save for bryce5 original, let alone $800 woth of kick-a$$ progs! Sigh I can still dream! Thanks again!

On the bottom end, but DEFINITELY not the bottom end program, I have immense respect for Lightwave. Some of the most impressive 3D I've seen has been done in Lightwave. Myself, I'm a Max user. If you're talking about compositing, you might also check Combustion, though it's a little high end if you're not going to do it professionally