Ok, here's the situation. I'm doing a scifi movie. I'm using Poser and Bryce. I'm thinking about using 3ds Max because of it's reputation, and I've seen all animations done using it, and also because of particle effects and light fx, but I've never used it before. I've heard of Konan's Poser-to-Bryce and Poser-to-Max apps, and also CL's Propack that lets you export the animations to Max. Which is going to be my best solution? Should I go with Max and it's extreme learning curve, or instead spend my time telling my story (which is my main goal) in something I know, love, and can produce the movie in a very short time? (I haven't started any of the final rendering yet...) Thanks for any and all comments and advice!

As Max's learning curve isn't all that steep, it will take alot of time and dedication to reach a stage where you can produce with acceptable (professional) results. I would recommend learning the application regardless of your production, and depending on your time constraints, you could use Max as you progress. If you're strapped for time, go with what you know and keep Max on the burner as you learn it, for future projects. Good Luck

Attached Link: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/nigeljan/brycegallery/index.htm

I'm a Bryce user so I can't really comment on 3DMax. All I can offer is: What applications are using now? What sort of story do you want to do? There's a heck of a price difference between Bryce and 3DMax. Even though I'm a Bryce user, I'd suggest you check out Truespace. There are some wonderful animations done with this at www.calagari.com Also Animation Master is very reasonably priced and has high end capabilities. Check out Killer Bean 2 at www.jefflew.com to see what Animation Master is capable of. And then there's Bryce. There are some animations on my site: http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/nigeljan/brycegallery/index.htm My goal is to get really good with Bryce before moving on to a more capable program although I really like Bryce. Hope this is of some use. 3DKiwi

Thanks, sounds like I'll probably learn MAX for a future project. 3dkiwi, I am working on a scifi epic, actually spanning a couple of movies, possibly some short episodes, and comics. Long-term thinking for sure! I'll be using Daz figures and a cast of photorealistic characters from the Marketplace as the basis for these. My biggest issue is the overall look of the renderer, I just want it to look good. It doesn't matter what it's done in. I have been using Bryce since 1994, so I'm well-versed and familiar with it. Poser since 1996, also deep roots there. So I tend to get irritated with other "harder" interfaces. I've owned Electric Image, Infini-D, Strata Studio Pro, and I just keep coming back to Bryce and Poser. Maybe I'm lazy...LOL. Anyway, there are other movies and comics I have planned, in both sf and fantasy genres. I want to learn the program that will last me years, because it's going to take that long. I do have Animation Master '98, but have never really used it. So maybe now is a good time to do so. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply. Ah I see where you're coming from. I have Truespace 2 & 3Se but mainly work in Bryce. It's what I'm familiar with and can achieve quite good results in a reasonable time. From your post I wasn't sure whether you were starting from scratch or had few years under your belt. Sounds like 3DMax is the way to go. The review and images I have seen of the latest version of Max in magazines look awesome, particularly with gas and vapour. Sound like it renders quicker than Bryce also. Cheers 3DKiwi

Attached Link: http://www3.sympatico.ca/dkrupicz/rocketmen/index.html

I started out using bryce and gradually moved over to 3D max, first by modeling objects in Max and importing them into Bryce, then when my scenes started to get too complex for Bryce to handle reasonably fast I went fully into 3D max for rendering. The hardest thing you might find is the transition between the way the two programs handle materials. (But of course, MAX is the more flexible of the two. And easier to understand IMHO).

Anyways, you might also consider 2D compositing of your 3D elements, using a program such as After Effects or Mainactor. If you have a scene that is a static shot, you can render one frame of the background, and then just render the character in the foreground. Slap one layer on top of the other like a modern day Chuck Jones. It cuts down on A LOT of rendering time... to the point where you will start to be limited more by your ability to animate and edit than by CPU cycles. Not to mention that special effects are a lot ersier to do in 2D... smoke, fire, rain, etc...

anyways, check out my link above for some examples how I've used layers and such in my recent scenes...