Hi all,
I know this question has been asked over and over but I wouldn't mind some opinions before I take the plunge with one or the other!
As part of a new years resolution I am determined to learn one of these programs to add to my arsenal. I'm currently a designer/artworker and a high end user of Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign/Premiere/After Effects but really want to add 3D to my skills. I am a Mac user but I also have a high end Windows machine should that be the way to go. I am well aware (and slightly intimidated!) of the huge learning curve ahead of me ...
About 8 years ago when Lightwave first got ported to the Mac I used it and got quite good with it, no problem creating models and doing animations etc (at least at a beginner/intermediate level). But it was very unstable on the Mac back in the system 8 days and it really put me off. I'm leaning more towards Maya or MAX as they seem to be more 'industry standard' than Lightwave and as I'm starting from scratch I guess this doesn't really matter.
The modelling/texturing/material side of things is more important to me than animation at this stage.
So what are peoples opinions about which is better from the following points of view:
* Ease of learning. From the research that I have done MAX seems to be slightly easier to get to grips with, as Maya seems to have a slightly unconventional interface.
* Power and flexibility. They are both extremely powerful, but once again from my research it seems that Maya has more flexibility/better renderer etc. The materials editor in particular in Maya seems extremely flexible.
* Stability. I have read of people having problems with stability problems with MAX - not sure how true this is but I have read of no such problems with Maya.
From what I've seen, i'm leaning towards Maya as the modelling tools seem a bit more straightforward, MAX's look powerful but slightly unconventional and limiting in certain ways - am I way off the mark here?
Are there any recommended courses/training DVDs that would help get me started with one package or the other?
Thanks all for any replies/opinions.
I know this question has been asked over and over but I wouldn't mind some opinions before I take the plunge with one or the other!
As part of a new years resolution I am determined to learn one of these programs to add to my arsenal. I'm currently a designer/artworker and a high end user of Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign/Premiere/After Effects but really want to add 3D to my skills. I am a Mac user but I also have a high end Windows machine should that be the way to go. I am well aware (and slightly intimidated!) of the huge learning curve ahead of me ...
About 8 years ago when Lightwave first got ported to the Mac I used it and got quite good with it, no problem creating models and doing animations etc (at least at a beginner/intermediate level). But it was very unstable on the Mac back in the system 8 days and it really put me off. I'm leaning more towards Maya or MAX as they seem to be more 'industry standard' than Lightwave and as I'm starting from scratch I guess this doesn't really matter.
The modelling/texturing/material side of things is more important to me than animation at this stage.
So what are peoples opinions about which is better from the following points of view:
* Ease of learning. From the research that I have done MAX seems to be slightly easier to get to grips with, as Maya seems to have a slightly unconventional interface.
* Power and flexibility. They are both extremely powerful, but once again from my research it seems that Maya has more flexibility/better renderer etc. The materials editor in particular in Maya seems extremely flexible.
* Stability. I have read of people having problems with stability problems with MAX - not sure how true this is but I have read of no such problems with Maya.
From what I've seen, i'm leaning towards Maya as the modelling tools seem a bit more straightforward, MAX's look powerful but slightly unconventional and limiting in certain ways - am I way off the mark here?
Are there any recommended courses/training DVDs that would help get me started with one package or the other?
Thanks all for any replies/opinions.