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Modelling Software - Overview?

Ryselle-RyssaRyselle-Ryssa Posts: 146
edited January 2019 in Product Suggestions

Hello out there!

I am aware that the question can cause bad blood. In addition, I have to apologize in advance for their naivety.


For quite some time I use Hexagon. I really like the program a lot, get on well with it, and meanwhile I get the most of what I want.


I did not think so, but I believe in pushing the limits. For example, when it comes to such things as particle effects, or very high polygon numbers.


Therefore, I have considered switching to one of the premium programs. Of course, I first looked at Blender, but I spend more time searching for my tools than actually building my wishes - frustrated.

Unfortunately, there are an infinite number of competitors. Started with Maya, 3D Studio, Rhinoceros, Cienma 4D, etc ... And I do not really understand their differences, simply because I'm not deep enough in the subject then.

So I come to my question: For someone who appreciates the clear (icon-based) menu navigation at Hexagon, has no interest in animation, and one who does texturing and rendering in DAZ studio... Which program should I look at?

There is one more point I would like to have, and I'll illustrate that with an example. Some time ago I saw a video simulating water with Blender, or object destruction. Something like this, the program of choice should also be capable of.

Thanks in advance!

Post edited by Ryselle-Ryssa on

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 99,357
    edited January 2019

    Things you may want to look for, though to an extent they are supported to soem degree in most of the applications:

    • Support for morphs (blend shapes, morph maps) so that you don't need a separate file for each shape (assuming morphs are something you do)
    • UDIM support (for the mapping on the recent daz figures, for example)
    • Ability to edit mesh without losing UVs, morphs etc.
    • Ability to edit a mesh shape without breaking vertex count or order (for morph creation)
    • Ability to regroup without breaking morphs, UVs, etc.
    • Ability to bake maps from one mesh to another of similar shape
    • Retopology tools (auto and manual) for reworking mesh produced elsewhere
    • Ability to selectively apply morphs (useful for splitting them, or for corecting things like deformed eyes from a sculpting session)
    • Mesh sculpting (to deform shapes with brush like tools)
    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,744

    Have a look at 3DCoat

  • Ryselle-RyssaRyselle-Ryssa Posts: 146
    Richard Haseltine said:

    Things you may want to look for, though to an extent they are supported to soem degree in most of the applications:

    • Support for morphs (blend shapes, morph maps) so that you don't need a separate file for each shape (assuming morphs are something you do)
    • UDIM support (for the mapping on the recent daz figures, for example)
    • Ability to edit mesh without losing UVs, morphs etc.
    • Ability to edit a mesh shape without breaking vertex count or order (for morph creation)
    • Ability to regroup without breaking morphs, UVs, etc.
    • Ability to bake maps from one mesh to another of similar shape
    • Retopology tools (auto and manual) for reworking mesh produced elsewhere
    • Ability to selectively apply morphs (useful for splitting them, or for corecting things like deformed eyes from a sculpting session)
    • Mesh sculpting (to deform shapes with brush like tools)

    *Takes-notes-conscientiously* Thank you!

     

    FirstBastion said:

    Have a look at 3DCoat

    Ha... Looks promising... And so intuitive... Nice. Remembers me of Z-Brush (I dont own it) from first look, but I assume there are differences...?

     

    Physics Simulation

    This was a part that totally fascinated me about blender. Not because of animation, but, for example for illustrating debris, crashes, or a character jumping through a window... I simulate an object breaking through a window, select a still-frame and export this one as obj to DAZ to use in a scene. Is there a program that crosses your minds?

     

     

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,744
    edited January 2019

    Carrara 8 pro  has a decent rigid body physics engine,  it's also a modeller, it's also a renderer

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=Iw67NrdrDug

     

    https://vimeo.com/47387178

     

     

    Post edited by FirstBastion on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,041

    Houdini apprenctice maybe

  • RobotHeadArtRobotHeadArt Posts: 916

    I would suggest making a list of what features you want and then looking at each package and seeing how it stacks up as well as how easy it is for you to use.  Most of the high end tools free non-commercial versions or educational versions.  You can also watch tutorials on the topics to see how easy/difficult the tasks are in the tools without having to even install them.  Do be aware that since DAZ Studio is a hobbyist tool, there is generally little to no information on how to get assets from the high end tools imported into DAZ Studio.  Also, since DAZ Studio does not have all the features that high end tools have, some elements are impossible to import or render (ex: particles, VDBs, heterogenous volumes, Alembic, instances, etc.) in DAZ Studio.

  • akmerlowakmerlow Posts: 1,124
    edited January 2019
    Wendy_Carrara said:

    Houdini apprenctice maybe

    To get most out of Houdini you need to learn script language, i think?

    Post edited by akmerlow on
  • Griffin AvidGriffin Avid Posts: 3,758

    How does 3D coat stack up against Substance Painter?

  • Those ThingsThose Things Posts: 1,122

    The new Blender stable beta 2.8 is brilliant. Intuitive, icon-based interface, physics sim, particle sim, real time rendering, etc. It's an industry standard, and it's free. If you tried Blender in the past, trust me, try 2.8. It's a whole different animal.

  • BradCarstenBradCarsten Posts: 856

    If you're interested in Blender, you could look at bForArtists  which is a Blender fork that has the same functionality with an easier to understand UI

  • RobotHeadArtRobotHeadArt Posts: 916
    akmerlow said:
    Wendy_Carrara said:

    Houdini apprenctice maybe

    To get most out of Houdini you need to learn script language, i think?

    You can do quite a bit without knowing how to code but you will eventually need to know in order to do advanced things.  Houdini actually uses not one but three different languages internally HScript (a legacy JavaScript), Python, and VEX (a C like language).

  • Eva1Eva1 Posts: 1,249

    Well Blender of course is free, if you don't mind a steeper learning curve. I'm biased though in favour of Silo. I've had it for a long time. Wonderfully clean interface yet it has good modelling tools, and other features like UV mapping, normal map creation. I've used it in conjunction with Daz Studio. I found it relatively easy to learn (couldn't get to grips with Blender and Hexagon interface annoys me). Plus it's not that expensive.

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