Shopping Cart
Maya or 3Ds Max ?
October 4, 2011 - 1:19pm
- 21911 reads
Witch one is better to build a career on, 3Ds Max or Maya ?
Am new at both, but i will be 6-month period program at night school to learn more about one of them yet i haven't decide witch one is better for me. I would like to know what is the difference between them first like what 3Ds Max can do and Maya can't or what Maya can but 3Ds Max can't ...
Also would like to know what Maya is usually used for, and what 3Ds Max is usually used for and what Maya/3Ds Max can't do ..
since am trying to build a career on them, i really need the answers fast ^^
Thank you.
I would spend 3 months with Max, then 3 months with Maya. Just enough time to learn the basics, yet not get too attached to form unbreakable habits. I've worked at places that used Maya, and placed that used Max...I've also worked at a place that started with Max, moved to Maya, then decided it would be cool to switch back to Max again. ARGH!! But in the end, I know both pretty well so I guess it turned out all right. Anyway, in a nutshell, learn both but not at the same time...but not too far apart either.
Here is what I mean about bad habits. Once I learned Maya, I LOVED the navigation style. So much so that when I switched back to Max, I HAD to get the Draster plugin for the Maya style navigation. I dug myself into a hole using Maya navigation in Max, luckily I'm out now. haha /end
No one even mentioned Softimage....
It can compete and was used for Half-Life2.
I used to like Maya but found that the pipeline for gaming in Sfotimage to be much better as you have nondestructive editing ability.
If you want to see if it would work for you you can do as jakejohnson suggested but it will be 3 more months added for testing.
There is a softimage mod tool that you can download for free and try it.
Also you can use it and not have to buy the full package for games for free. Max has a tool as well but you will have to get it from Turbosquid. its called Gmax. Its free for game use as well. Maya has the PLE version for testing.
Most important is what the end product will be. Games will typically require less rendering and film requires more.
Remember these are tools and you shold know the basics of proper modeling techniques and not force yourself into a position of any tool. Be versatile!
I recommend maya .
The good old question - one I had years ago too. The answer is rather like a weapon of choice. I started with 3DS, went to Maya for a bit and dabbled with SoftImage. All of them are great, though 3DS Max ended up working best for me due, as said, because of it's modeling tools (which, by the way, is something SoftImage shares with 3DS). With SoftImage, it was a dual question of: it's not as often used, so it's more specialized (that can be good), but it was also one of those that made me nervous if it was going to be around due to it's smaller user base. It always did seem odd how AutoDesk keeps 3 very similar programs stringing along, but it really isn't possible to pull the cord on any without trouble at this point.
3DS Max has a long history. Softimage has been around longer than most even know. Maya is rather new kid on the block but has roots deep in the industry.
All three will be around for at least the next 5 years as far as I can tell. The most important aspect of working in 3d is to not settle with a tool but rather the process.
Get a good process going. A tool will always be there. If you like Max and can get the job done with it then use it. Don't get bogged down on opinions of tools and those who use them. Just use what will get the job done.
The only reason I mentioned Softimage is cause its a solid tool used in movies and games. It has a lot of very nice features and there is a huge community for it. It may not seem like it but believe me there is. When Autodesk aquired it after the release of 7.5 there were thousands of complaints from customers about it. Some were so angry that they left. I was supprised myself.
Anyway evaluate then decide. Do not take anyone's word for it.
I have uesd all 3 mentioned. Max, Maya, and Softimage.
I choose Softimage in the end as it has what I wanted for a 3d tool.
Just pick a tool and stick with it.
Ironically I also use Zbrush for detailing and sculpting organic forms.
I tried mudbox and 3d-coat but still find myself in Zbrush as it has a more natural feel.
You do not need the latest tool to get the job done.
I still know companies using 3DS Max version 3 for their stuff.
Good luck.
It doesn't matter learn both like said before, i mean most studios i worked used both, and it not like the old days that they didn't work together. most things are swappable ( models textures and animation ) specially now that Autodesk bought it all (and yeah you might get some problems with dynamics or other special things. but again its what you like. Worked in both but ended up using maya. and yes i see my colleague doing things during modeling i wish Maya had. but o so many times i have the 3ds guys standing next to me going " wow we don't have that in max " So ...
Yeah, it depends on you. Our company uses 3ds max and is used to using it.
Sorry for reviving this thread, but I find myself in a similar position. I am looking for a modler I can uses for game design. I have more of a programmer background and wont do heavy modeling but I have a need for levels and game assets. I am currently looking into both maya and 3d max. The more I look into them the less I am able to decide which one to use. I agree that in the end you can do anything in either maya or 3d max. However, I also have the impression that maya is more for animation while 3d max is better suited for architecture and level design. So here is my question...
Where do you think you will spend more time when creating game assets. In level design or in creating and animating characters?
Personally I feel that I tend to use Zbrush more often as it has some excellent tools for creating not only organics but nice hard surfaces.
Use the tool that best suits your pipeline and prefrence.
Personally I feel that I tend to use Zbrush more often as it has some excellent tools for creating not only organics but nice hard surfaces.
Use the tool that best suits your pipeline and prefrence.
Why do I feel like this thread is going to be around for awhile? lol
BUMP!
i want to know which one to start using before its too late!
@Anon,
Both Max and Maya are great. You won't go wrong either of them.
If your doing things like Games then 3dsmax is good to go for that.
If your doing movies or CG elements in film then Maya would be a good choice.
Does that help?
I think they are the each have an advantage, mainly is yourself.
I've seen renders in both Max and Maya that are film quality but I guess it's all about the workflow. I've done perfect and professional animation in Max and don't see any reason to use Maya but I do have some of the eat3d Maya DVDs which means I'll probably learn it. For organic modelling I've used both Zbrush and MudBox but it seems as though Zbrush has more going on. For animation I just started using MotionBuilder which took not even an hour to pick up and get working with motion capture.
Anyway, I'll have a better opinion once I do that one Unreal/Maya DVD.
hi , im switching my career to interior designing... i hv started learning autocad........... cn ny1 help me out... what all other softwares are useful in my field according to industry standards...thnks!
You can do modelling in max then export the mesh to maya
anyone have a comment about cinema 4d?
I think everyone is working with Max but Maya did not.
Thank you.
Which of these two tools are best for designing 3d models with the final output being 3d printing?
Yes that one...
3ds Max has an STL checker and can export to STL
Maya you will have to use a tool like Netfabb Studio to check your model.
As far as I know Maya does not export to .STL. (Unless you can find a 3rd party plugin)
To export STL just use one of the many free tools such as NetFabb.
Hope this helps.
I would say stop using the Major 3d programs if you are a Modeler...
Ok... An advice. Listen well please. "i want to know which one to start using before its too late!"... No!
If your mind is set like that you will not going anywhere. To understand 3D programs and enter in 3D art you have to do many sacrifices. You have to learn gradually which is best for you to use. You don't have to think "...before it's too late!" You can have 20 years, like 50 years... If it's a passion -and I highlight "passion"- you don't have to worry about nothing. But if you take it with speed, think you can do best in little time... stop it right now and look around you, and how much people with more passion, that sacrifice himself for this job and is more motivated. I'll call it job, but it's more like a lifestyle. You have to know not only the programs but the world around you as well. You have to study not only how the modeling tools or the render plugins works... (this is the minor part... trust me). The best thing you have to know now is: have you or no the passion for this? Anyone who take a manual can learn a program. It's the creativity of the person that make the difference. A 3D Artist have to know much more... much much more.
Sorry for my english...
3DS Max is good for modeling and Maya is great for animation. 3DS has a different set of terms compared to Maya and the UI functions for both of them are different. HOWEVER, 3DS MAX 2013 allows you to change the mouse buttons so it works like Maya.
MAX has been unwrapping than Maya, it's modeling tools are very good, less buggy.
Maya is typically better for rendering, film, tracking, plugins, etc. It has a little more support as far as community is concerned. On the flipside, some of those plugins that are developed by users for Maya are already in Max. People who use max tend to do game modeling; yet, recently, there has been an increase in Maya over Max for game modeling.
If you wish to use more buttons and have generally easier shortcuts, Maya is the way to go, but Maya has and extreme amount of menus. 3DS MAX is more simple and possibly a little easier to navigate right off the bat.
I'm primarily a Maya user, but I would suggest learning both. Do not invest time in Blender (Blender is never used in game companies... or rather, it's used very rarely).
So to sum up:
Zbrush over Mudbox
Maya AND 3DS MAX (both are good)
xnormal, UVlayout, crazybump, ddo, ndo are all good side programs to learn as well.
No matter which one , all have very good development prospects, i think.
I'm most proficient with Blender at the moment due to my past budget (nothing, nothing at all, so it fit the bill perfectly) but I want to go into the gaming industry and am currently learning BOTH Maya and 3ds Max 2013 versions. with Blender 2.66, I seem to have an easier transition into Maya then 3ds Max, but it's not too bad thus far. Blender has recently accepted a ton of import and export formats, and is fully compatible with both Maya and Max from my experience. I feel I have all the time in the world to do this and certainly have the passion for it, so I have set myself to learn Blender, Maya, Max, the UDK, Unity 3D, and maybe someday Source or Frostbite, to make things easier being well-versed in several of the current programs and to help with speeding up my adaptability. any recommendations for a new 3D artist?
Didn't I hear that MAX is on the deadrow? Rumors...
Hi,there everyone!
I would like to ask is 3DS max 2012-2013 or MAYA 2012-2013 good for Flight Simulator design 2D and 3D VC(Virtual Cockpit) with real-photo image and fully animated with complete system functions?
And How the hell do you even start to model this ?
I'm just a newbie but have allot of time to practice and learn exactly ,if someone can point me in the right direction to create this .!I love aviation Allot...Please HELP
blender.org
-Hi, that was not the answer I'm looking for ,where are the people to respond to my question/s?
my question is ...Is 3DS max or MAYA good for this kind of design just like the upploaded pic??
Max, Maya, and even Softimage can do what you show in that picture. However, what is this for? Are you going to animate it for a movie or game? will there be people interacting with it? You need to outline your intentions so as to get a good answer.
If your going to have it look realistic and such it will take you a while to do. Also if its for a game then you will want the final result in a good game engine like UDK.
Max, Maya, and even Softimage can do what you show in that picture. However, what is this for? Are you going to animate it for a movie or game? will there be people interacting with it? You need to outline your intentions so as to get a good answer.
If your going to have it look realistic and such it will take you a while to do. Also if its for a game then you will want the final result in a good game engine like UDK.
I agree with everything up to UDK. It would be really hard to get a flight simulator game to work in UDK, not impossible, mind you, just hard. I know someone who is trying to create an RPG in UDK and, though it looks pretty, the game play is severely lacking due to how difficult it is to get what he wants to work in it. The other issue is that the world would have to be scaled down considerably for UDK, as it can't handle really large game areas (or so I've been told). On the flipside, it'd be really cool to see a flight simulator in UDK, it, truly, would be beautiful.
If that cockpit is actually going to be in a game, like you [schematicsman] mentioned, you might want to try Unity, UDK or something from here http://www.indiedb.com/engines. I hope what you want to do comes to you easily. Short Films can be long, arduous projects, if you don't follow a set path, especially with that kind of detail.
I heard that years ago. It's being used more overseas for games now, whereas Maya is beginning to gain more ground in games in the USA (at least from what I've observed). It's not really on the deadrow, it's just being used different. You could probably assume that MAX is going to get more film like over the next couple years while Maya gets more game like!
That aside, Anonymous-person, MAX is still really great for game creation and Maya is still really great for film/ animation. People should really learn both, even if it's difficult to do that.
It all depends on what you want to do.
UDK is used mainly for FPS games and has a lot of strengths there.
Unity is a bit less on the FPS but has a good market in the web and mobile phone areas.
Torque engine is a bit between and is free now.
Just research your tools and pick what will do the job.
Does not matter if you use Max or Maya. Either one will create what you need.
Some have preferences toward one or another but I just say pick the one that has the tools you need.
Your not going to use a screwdriver for a job that requires a wrench... Right?
Good luck.
Thanks heaps for answering my question/s guys.What I really want is to design from scratch is my own custom Full System functions Simulator using real photos,just like Captain Sim and Commercial Level Simulations have done, but for my own custom B747-200 Classic avionics instrument panels just like on the real plane(complete Cockpit internal variable access for my own use. Now to elaborate further---->I want to create and use it for testing and connecting it to real instruments and have it react in real time...now what I would like to know is how to get started?Which dvd/s tutorials do I buy starting with DVD=1 Max 101,dvd=2 ect to make what I want and why do I need UDK game engine? is that whats in CLS,Captain Sim ect simulation packages? also I would like to create just the complete cockpit 2D and then 3D Virtual Cockpit with %100 function (gauges,switches,ect) and I keep hearing that Blender is for this type of design ,kind of not 3DS Max nor Maya?I'd hate to believe that because from what i have seen(pics) Top graphics can be made with 3DS Max .....Now I hope you know what I'm trying to get at,and I know it wont happen over night,but no rush I have plenty of time to learn and get creating + with your help guys.So once again I thank you alot for the quick response.
I used to work for a company that did that only they used a $300k computer system to do all the real time interaction.
It was used for a tank. The Army spent the money to have it made and used it to train troops to save costs.
What you need is a blade server and some type of realtime engine.
UDK and Unity will not work for what you want.
Another company I worked for used Quest3D to do virtual worlds that had real time capabilities with human interaction. You can set up and connect external devices for controls.
You will need to seek out another that has the correct features.
It will not be cheap either.
something like this:
http://quest3d.com/product-info/ <---- I have worked with this one and they can do what you want.
http://www.quantum3d.com/solutions/real-time/real-time_visual_simulation.html <-- this one is another but I do not know much about them or the costs.
Other usefull information:
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_96/journal/vol1/kwc2/article1.html
My personal experience is with Quest3D. It uses Lua and will do what you need.
The showcase section of the site is very interesting.
Again Good luck.
I forgot to mention that if you decide on the engine first it will dictitate the 3d modeling software you need to use.
Quest3d works with 3dsmax well and if you go that route then it will be your choice.
Another suggestion would be to go to kickstarter and post there for donations for funds to get the money to buy the equipment and software. Again its not cheap.
Also you should seek a programmer to help with anything you are trying to hook up to the 3d engine.
HI,there thanks again.now I would like to go the Quest3D with 3DS Max route after seeing the Quest3D info site .Exactly ...So which dvd/s Would i need to get started ? and everything else...?
Well first off, of course, download 3DS MAX.
You're going to want to not only get use to MAX's interface, but know and understand where everything is located. I'd suggest either trying to buy some Gnomon Tutorials or Digital Tutors Tutorials (they can be good, but are generally really quiet in volume). Here's a free tutorial from eat3D labeling how to build a tire in 3DS MAX (would be great if you decided to mess around with the proportions and create some airplane tires 
) http://eat3d.com/free/tire_model. Not only that, this small tutorial should be able to help you learn how to use some of MAX's UI!
I assume you've worked with 3D modeling before, but if not, it's important to learn the fundamentals of UV mapping/ unwrapping and texturing (diffuse, normal and specular mapping) as well as how to optimize a mesh. Since a flight simulator doesn't exactly have animation in it (unless you have arms or moving people), you won't really need to worry about certain aspects of rigging and animation.
Gnomon Workshop DVDs (these are generally for advanced users, but...) -
[$49 Introduction to MAX] http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/565/Introduction-to-3ds-max#.UWAii5OG18E
[Free] http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/category/204/
Not sure where to find Quest3D tutorials. Google is your friend for most everything you're looking for... Unless you want to go to College/ University. 
Goodluck Schematicsman!
As was suggested Learn how to use the tool.
Google is good at finding free tutorials.
Read up on the docs for Quest3D and talk to them. They will help you get setup as well.
Even if your not ready to buy just yet you can still start communications and let them know what you have in mind.
Just be aware of the difference between the sales dept and the techs that know a great deal more.
I would start with the Quest3D people and they may have tutorials you can view to get you started.
Learning 3ds max is not hard. just takes time and patience.
Hope this helps.
Hi,guys thanks allot. Now my question is I checked the GNomon workshop and it's great I had a look at the introduction DVD for $49,but theirs also a $79 MEL:101 Fundamentals DVD and I don't know which is better or which do i learn first and then second? Also why can't I buy Eat3D 101 dvd to teach me ?
Also I have a laptop(Toshiba L550) computer with WinXP pro SP2 -Intel Core i5 CPU-M 430 @ 2.27 GHz / 4CPUs / 2.99Gb RAM Physical Address Extension /DirectX 10.0 installed. and it plays all the games ,like Call of Duty 1 & 2 ect How can I get the graphics of 3DS Max to maximum smooth /sharp ect?
I do not see any use for Mel scripting at this stage.
you need to learn the basics first. Then if needed you can go back to Mel and learn it.
quest3D does not use Mel. it uses LUA and that is something you should focus on if quest3d is your choice of engine.
Learn how to put things in the engine and work with the demos.
Otherwise you will spend a lot of cash on things you do not need right now.
Oh ok, I can't thank you enough guys ,the best help ever, by the way Why can't I use the EAT3D Dvd/s like Autodesk 3DS Max 101 Dvd for what i need? and how can i get a copy of Quest3D is it free download or ? also Would the specs that I wrote about my laptop computer be able to handle and produce top quality graphics?
Hi,there guys..I would like to know which of these two dvds a better for my avionics system creating Learning in 3DS Max 2013***
1) Eat3Ds Autodesk 3DS Max 101 $65 or Gnomone $45 introduction to Max? And is it wise to buy Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended tutorial DVD over 9.5 hours for this fightsim application?
And then are there any other dvds i need after these and also can the specs of my laptop I have mentioned above be great for high graphics in 3DS max ?
My graphics card is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 1024.0MB ..........
Hi, there guys I haven't heard from use for a while or my questions answered?
I would like to know the right choice before I buy...thank you
So I started a topic that turned out to be useful not only for me. I took the answer i needed and never looked back lol
I learned 3Ds Max as a start, in Syria. Didn't have the opportunity to learn how to do animations with it, since you know how it is there in Syria at the moment. So far I know the basics of Modeling, I can model environments, in other words, it was a "decorator" lessons. I learned how to design everything but humans, or machines, complicated machines.
Also I've developed my experience in light effects, and rendering engines as well. Still waiting for the right opportunity to continue my lessons, and learn the rest of the 3Ds max program. Also, I've learned more about Photoshop, and now using it more than i use 3Ds Max. I haven't used 3Ds Max in like 3 months sober. My computer can't handle the program, therefor can't use it to make big projects.
The answers I've read in this topic back at the time when i started this topic really helped me to decide where to do and what to choose. Now all i need is a better computer to practice the program more.
It depends what you want a arrears in
Generally Max is used more for games and Maya for film work, though there is an increasing amount of studios that has started to use Maya.
The general consensus is that Max has better modeling tools, while Maya has better animation tools.
In the end, you can use both or either and will do fine, I suspect
www.metalliandy.com | Twitter | Knald Open Beta | 110 Free Custom Bolt Alphas | Barbed Wire Baseball Bat