Hi all,

I would like to know which 3D program you are using for your creations. I have the big chance to get a training week in 3d Modeling, but I have to chose between 3 different programs (3DS Max, Cinema 4D or Blender). Which is the "best" ro create dresses, accessories or furniture? Could you tell me with which programs you are working and why. This would help me to take a good decision. Thanks for all replys Irene

"best" is very subjective, much depends on personal preference. 3DS Max, Cinema 4D and Blender are all good applications. Blender has the advantage of being free. It will also depend on your work environment. If you are going to work in collaboration with other artists you need to ensure that your output is compatible with the rest of the team.

FWIW I use Blender.

That's why I wanted to know the opinions of professionnal modelers. I don't know what is the easiest. I think that 3ds Max is very very complex and the other I don't know . For the moment I work with Silo and I find this very pleasant to work with, but there is no training week for this....

Hi, ICRDesign. First off, welcome to the forum, and happy holidays! Regarding your question here, I think PhilC is correct in that all these applications mentioned are excellent for modeling, and can get the job done for any of the tasks you have outlined. Of the three choices you have to work with for training week, Cinema4D is widely regarded by users as the "easiest" to learn. However, as PhilC suggests, even that opinion is very subjective, and all depends on the kind of workflow you, as an artist, prefer to use.

I've learned both Blender and 3dsmax, and have actually created a series of video tutorials which show how to create the exact same objects in either application. So far, I haven't found any limitations in Blender's modeling toolset and have actually found it quite capable of modeling just about anything I've been able to do in 3dsmax, with the only real difference being the strategies and workflows to achieve the final results.

Personally, I have made the choice to use 3dsmax for nearly all my modeling requirements, but that decision is based almost entirely on my personal preferences and modeling workflows and has little to do with the available features or "horsepower" of either application. The only real difference between creating something in 3dsmax and Blender is in the workflow, not the features. I can't speak too much about Cinema4d, unfortunately. I've never used it, but I'm sure it's fully capable package as well.

I think LuxXeon's point about workflow is an important consideration, particularly if you plan on doing a LOT of 3D content creation. Blender is quite versatile: for example, I'm currently using it to create videos. It has a fairly full-featured VSE/NLE that does pretty much everything I do in Lightworks, for which I have a subscription. But, it's a different workflow in Blender vs Lightworks, so I'm probably going to keep Lwks for a while purely for the better workflow.

I don't have access to either Cinema4D or 3DSMax, but did try Max years ago (after I'd been well-and-truly Blenderised) and so I found Max's workflow ... not to my liking. It's all what you're used to. Mind you, although the stuff out there you can study had a fair Blender representation, you'll find Max models are in infinitely higher quantities. And AFAIK, there's no easy/quick conversion tool from Max to Blender. Happy to be wrong on that point...

LuxXeon makes the most important point in that of workflow. If you're using silo and feel comfortable with it then stay with it. The aditional tools you may/would get with Blender, max, C4d only really have the potential to make things quicker.

Looking at your question from a different perspective what do you intend to do at the end of the training? You mentioned that you want to create dresses, accessories and furniture. All of the mentioned software packages can do what you have asked and as others have pointed out the main differences is in the workflow of each package but I would ask which software package can you afford to pay for or subscribe to at the end of your training? There is no point in spending a week learning how to use 3ds Max if at the end of the training you can't afford to pay for the software. Whilst a week of dedicated and structured training can be valuable it is still only going to touch the surface of the capabilities of the software so you will have to make your choice based on which software package you will be able to continue on with at the end of the training.

C4D is the one package that meets all your questions. It's easy to learn, it's used in many studios, and it's cost effective for independant users. Unlike 3dsmax or one of those outrageously expensive apps, Cinema4d has several levels of pricing, based on its different package levels.

Have to agree with PhilC..even though I use Autodesk products, All my characters I have at one time or another modelled them in Blender also just to test the workflow out ,so it is a extremely capable 3D modelling program (and I'm not a Blender artist) plus its free...you cant beat that. But there's tons of free tutorials all over for Blender so not too sure about using the training week on something you could easily find for free online (Blenderguru or cgcookie's Introduction to Blender for example) unless the training is something advanced (which wouldn't really help you if you know nothing about Blender anyway) anyway good luck with whichever you pick :)

hello, to complete and add another opinion, I ' d say that when you begin you are facing difficulties related to the fact you are begginer. Under this point of view, and because when i have started I have tried these 3 softwares, I can say that Cinema 4D was the easier one (for me), and it is the one I' d advice you to begin with. 3Ds and Blender for a beginner seems to be hard in my opinion... & it was my case. C4D is build in a way that it is really more easier to a begginner to learn fundamentals of 3D & modeling. It does not mean you cannot do it/begin with 3Ds or Blender, but with C4D it will be more fun and less 'stress' or difficulties related to the beginner in general. And then, after the time of beginning passed, when you will have the fundamentals of 3D modeling clearer, you will be able to switch more successfuly to an application like Blender/3ds Max. It was my personal experiment and I have to say (again) that Cinema 4D helped me a lot to enter to the world of 3D in general, because of its easy side. It also has all what is requiered for a workflow: modeling mode, simulations modes: hairs, particules, mechanics/dynamic, fabric; rigging, etc. You also have bodypaint wich is a mode for unwraping and polypainting. etc, etc, etc...

But I think for every beginner who ask himself this kind of questions; the best, maybe, would be to test these applications one by one. As I know they all have free trial so maybe it will be the final argument in favor for one or other application. For me 3DsMax & Blender were too difficult to begin with, but maybe for you (who already has experiment in 3D with Silo) it won' t be.

Anyway good luck, would be interested to know what will be your choice ;)

3DS Max is complex/expensive, but that is what the industry uses. You're expected to know it for a career. All three will do what you need to model though.

Since there has been no major updates or maintenance to Hexagon 3D 2.5 for several years, I'm now using Silo3D and loving the experience. So much more stable then Hex....

kenmo posted at 11:42AM Fri, 04 March 2016 - #4259228

Since there has been no major updates or maintenance to Hexagon 3D 2.5 for several years, I'm now using Silo3D and loving the experience. So much more stable then Hex....

kenmo, do you know what Silo's current version is?

I downloaded a trial back in Nov 2014 v2.3.1 . I just went to the site, and downloaded the trial again, same version 2.3.1.

Currently at work. It was the release of the 64 bit version. It's quite stable....

OK, that is the same one then.

Thought I would have decided on something by now. I've tried Blender a few times, and while I could learn it, I just don't like it, and really miss in Blender that the selected vertices don't get shaded according to the strength of falloff.

Nvil is promising, but I'm just not that comfortable with the existing interface. There is one user who has built a new interface, and it clears up in many ways how the tools are presented, but it still has not converted me.

Isn't Nvil developed by on of the Silo programmers?

If Cinema4D or Lightwave3D wasn't so expensive, I would be using one of them. I have Cinema4D 6 CE which was given away free several years ago on a computer magazine's cover CD and I like it very much...

Not sure if Nvil is developed by the same person that worked on Silo.

I tried Cinema4D a while back, I like it as well, but I am trying to avoid the additional expense of staying current with a more expensive application. I guess that's the trade off.

I believe the Blender is best. I can not afford the top Maya or 3dsmax, so Blender has both features I need for them. I be using the software for long time, and it get better every time. All modelling in 3dsmax can do too in Blender with ease. Not so the same in Hexagon or other, which limited to sometimes. Blender you must get skilled with, but just as well as any of the softwares you must learn.

I'm looking for modeling functions, and Blender seems to be pretty strong there, and it has sculpting tools similar to ZBrush. That's all good.

However when I need to make small, precise changes to an existing model with soft selection, I really need to see the falloff effect clearly indicated on the affected geometry of the model (such as a gradient shading). Unfortunately that is not available in Blender.

I have Silo 2.3.1 Professional. Never used it though because I'm using Hexagon 1.21 still. I like Hexagon's GUI a lot better. Maybe if I had learned modeling with Silo first, I would still be using it and not touch Hexagon ever? I've spent a lot of cash on modo over the years through upgrades. Still only understand/use maybe 5 percent of what it does. Nothing about modo is intuitive at all for me. I use it only for importing painted OBJ models and rendering. I do all my painting now in 3D-Coat. I have ZBrush, but again, the GUI is too alien. I can sculpt/paint in 3D-Coat without fighting with its GUI. I understand the metaphor that ZBrush is using, I just don't care at all for the metaphor. Mudbox simply used Windows' GUI. So simple from what I've seen in demos.

Hexagon 1.21 has a soft selection. Kind of limited. Hexagon 2.5.X has a much better soft selection. But it has some tool changes made that I don't like (slows done modeling for me). I try to stay away from kitchen sink 3D modeling apps now. I prefer using smaller apps that do certain jobs very well. It's the same for 2D editing. Photoshop is not the end-all be-all. Artists still have other apps for 2D as well.

I prefer Hexagon myself, but its limited in the number of polys it can handle.