Best modelling program

[[Dragoon]]

I've decided to try my hand at modelling, but I'm not exactly clear on what I should use. Preferably something easy, and newb friendly, while still powerful.

 

[FictiousWill]

xsi for HL2.

 

[Epyon]

Well, i personally think 3ds max is the most user friendly program. Of course, this is just my opinion. Though, this and the other highend powerful programs cost money. 3ds max is somewhere around 2500 US dollar i think. So if i was you i would first try useing a free program to see if you like 3d modeling. The free programs that i know are Gmax and XSI. I heard XSI is good, but i couldnt try it becuase my monitor is to small so it didnt support the resolution that it needed.

Here is the site for XSI http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/

and Gmax http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/

Good luck

 

[Lupus]

Maya PLE is a free version of Maya, another fine choice.

 

[[Dragoon]]

Well, i personally think 3ds max is the most user friendly program. Of course, this is just my opinion. Though, this and the other highend powerful programs cost money. 3ds max is somewhere around 2500 US dollar i think. So if i was you i would first try useing a free program to see if you like 3d modeling. The free programs that i know are Gmax and XSI. I heard XSI is good, but i couldnt try it becuase my monitor is to small so it didnt support the resolution that it needed.

Here is the site for XSI http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/

and Gmax http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/

Good luck

Thanks, downloading XSI now. The HL2 version if fully functional, right?

 

[FictiousWill]

For making HL2 media, it's supposedly all that you need. I've not used it myself much. I have 3ds max and I'm loathe to change, especially because valve has promised a converter.

 

[IchI]

I will say again as usual. Its not down to what is the best its down to personal preference.

They are so many threads about this....

 

[Murray_H]

Best modelling program is probably clay version 2.3, only works on the Real Life OS mind...

Anyhoo, it is preference, make sure you sample all the big boys so you don't miss out on the perfect tool for you

 

[Epyon]

They are so many threads about this....

Yes, we need to make a sticky saying what programs their are, some information about them, and a link to the programs site.

 

[Stormy]

I will say again as usual. Its not down to what is the best its down to personal preference.

They are so many threads about this....

Agreed.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Best modelling program is probably clay version 2.3, only works on the Real Life OS mind...

Anyhoo, it is preference, make sure you sample all the big boys so you don't miss out on the perfect tool for you

clay 2.3 is great, except there's no undo. And while I admit it doesn't crash ever, it does sometimes fall over and your model ends up flat on one side. Which can be a bit annoying.. And its got no symmetry options neither.


Ok I've quickly run that joke into the ground, I'll get me coat

 

[ukfilmer]

personal preference, no such thing as a best one. i found maya easiest and most powerful after trying max, gmax and milkshape and xsi

 

[Murray_H]

clay 2.3 is great, except there's no undo. And while I admit it doesn't crash ever, it does sometimes fall over and your model ends up flat on one side. Which can be a bit annoying.. And its got no symmetry options neither.


Ok I've quickly run that joke into the ground, I'll get me coat

You have to literally bake stuff into the model, that takes a while

/me also gets his coat and runs as fast as he can home as if he is being chased by shadow people

 

[Dalith]

I have tried, Maya, 3Dsmax and XSI.
And personally I just love XSI!

And I thought it was easy to learn.

 

[Death.Trap]

Anyone else get extremely angry at the fact that XSI requires some super high resolution. My monitor/video card can't go that high, so part of the fing program isn't even on my screen. That really irritates me because it looks like a nice program, but I can't use it because my hardware doesn't support that resolution..grrrrr

 

[Andy]

Animation master is a great one, really good for organic modeling and fantastic animating. Problem is it uses patches not polygons, so converting it for Half-Life2 use is a pain in the ass.

 

[IchI]

/me leaves his coat and runs into the door. BANG!

 

[Lupus]

Death Trap you can get layouts for XSI that work at other resolutions. When I was having a go with it I was using the 1024x768 layout as that is the monitor resolution I use. It just means that a couple of options that are normally visible in the full resolution mode have to be accessed by switching the menu.

 

[Andy]

/me leaves his coat and runs into the door. BANG!

Was it something I said ? :E

 

[Death.Trap]

Death Trap you can get layouts for XSI that work at other resolutions. When I was having a go with it I was using the 1024x768 layout as that is the monitor resolution I use. It just means that a couple of options that are normally visible in the full resolution mode have to be accessed by switching the menu.

Really? Awesome, how do I get those?

 

[Death.Trap]

Does anyone know if theres an XSI plugin that will let me export in .PSK for unreal?

 

[Lupus]

You'd have to do a search for XSI 1024x768 layout, I think the edharris site has some, can't remember the actual address though I'm afraid.

 

[feener]

very nice, is there any good tutorial sites for creating ure first character , or any help where i cud start moddeling ?

 

[Death.Trap]

What directory does the layout go in? I dragged it into one of the windows like it said but now when i start up the program it tells me theres no default layout in the installation directory. So all i have is a gray screen with the menu up at the top.

 

[Sprafa]

Anyone else get extremely angry at the fact that XSI requires some super high resolution. My monitor/video card can't go that high, so part of the fing program isn't even on my screen. That really irritates me because it looks like a nice program, but I can't use it because my hardware doesn't support that resolution..grrrrr

If you Google, there's trillions of apps to make it 1024x768 isntead of the default 1280x1024...
Google is your friend.

 

[Scotchy]

I'm a max modeller first and foremost. I started in maya and after taking a number of it's fine tutorials, I came across gmax. It was a very easy transition. I bought (student discount ) 3dsmax 5 and recently upgraded to 6. I have XSI EXP and am in the process of trying to learn it, but I've heard that learning XSI is like climbing a cliff face.

Rhino is a very simple program to learn as well, and there's also Caligari Truespace, a free modeller which is very decent and pretty functional.

 

[Lupus]

With XSI exp you have to reinstall the layout each time you run the program. I can't remember exactly how to do it, I'm sure you can find instructions if you do a search. Basically you install it (doesn't matter where you have the file since you browse through to find it). Then you go the 'layout' I think on the menu and scroll down to the 1028x768.

 

[feener]

Scotchy , u know of any tutorial sites for gmax ? i dont see how its done as all u can create is cubes etc

 

[Aike]

With XSI exp you have to reinstall the layout each time you run the program. I can't remember exactly how to do it, I'm sure you can find instructions if you do a search. Basically you install it (doesn't matter where you have the file since you browse through to find it). Then you go the 'layout' I think on the menu and scroll down to the 1028x768.

Have you tried simply dragging and dropping the xsiaddon file into the interface?

 

[Lupus]

I think you can do that too but I read that EXP doesn't keep it saved each time, so it won't automatically load the layout each time you open the program.

 

[Death.Trap]

Yeah you have to reinstall each time you start the program. cough gay cough

 

[Ames]

Ahahahah...fools...

It saves for me. I'm special.

 

[Lupus]

You mean "special"

 

[Death.Trap]

The Thing obviously hacks.

 

[Ames]

However, I obviously do not.

 

[eyesore]

People who say its a personal preference, that's ulitmately true. But If you want it to become your job to model, etc. Then its not personal preference, once apoun a time, it was all 3dsmax. That's being phased out and Maya is being used for just about everything, but XSI is really coming in strong.