3d motion app?
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- talpedagog
recently, i've become more and more interested in experimenting with motion graphics, and i feel like i've mastered after effects to the extent i need. so the next step would be to move into (simple) 3d motion work. q: which program is the industry standard? i'd like to know what programs to look into, i already have a few simple ideas i know can't be done without involving 3d...
thanks
- sajets_v20
After Effects connects well with Maya - or thats what i've heard. I myself use 3ds Max but it is best suited to use with Combustion.
But then again it depends on what do you want to do. How complex animation? How realistic? What kind of renderings you want?
And most of all - how much money you have :)
- johnjoe0
I can recomend learning Maya, but be warned the learning curve is immense. Having said that the learning curve of any 3D app isn't going to be easy.
If you can spend a little cash on an introduction DVD I would start off with DigitalTutor Maya Basics ..
http://www.digitaltutors.com/sto…
You should do it.
- Winstan0
I've used both MAX and Maya, they are about the same for exporting to After Efects i have found, but MAX is better for combustion,
personally i have found MAX is easier to get around.
maybe have a look at combustion, it has some nice features additional to after effects.
- Short0
I'm thinking about learning maya, because I heard you can combine it better with AFX...
aahhh... Good luck
- sajets_v20
I've heard that you can import camera data from Maya to AE to get maximum effect with combining 2d with 3d. But havent found (not that i've been looking for it hard enough) the same thing between Max and AE
- talpedagog0
"can import camera data from Maya to AE to get maximum effect with combining 2d with 3d" - basically what i'm looking for, for the thing im working on right now, i need to insert a static 3d model into a short filmed sequence
- fusionpixel0
Personal Learning level
Lightwave
3DMax
MayaI would stay away from maya if you want to do only basic stuff, yeah it can import camera data, and do motion capture and blah blah blah, but in reallity how much of that are you going to use or you really need?
Now, money should not be the #1 factor for learning any piece of software, there are a lot of 30 day try outs out there and other stuff that you can do to have fully functional software that we wont cover here.
And the learning curves are different for everyone, i have found some pieces of software that I can "learn" in a day while other people takes days or weeks to learn. So it just has to do with how much experiece you have with computers and how willing you are to learn, remember that all professional piece of software follows the same standards, that is why if you use MACs you can use a PC and vice versa (at least the basics to get you up and runing)
now, what was I doing? oh yeah working
:-P
- illroot0
fusionpixel speaks the truth.
I use 3dsmax and find it more than able to what i need it to do.
XSI is also worth looking into although the workflow between the 2 is very different. As for Maya, don't waste your time...
- theplanet0
I agree with the last couple of comments. Maya is super powerful, industry standard, pixar uses it, etc.
But the experience I have had with it, It seems better suited for a team. It is more complex a difficult to grasp than some of the other apps. I use lightwave alot, but as has been stated xsi, max, and even cinema 4d are in my opinion better suited for the designer than Maya.
All the 3d apps have their pluses and minuses, but it is really only a few hardcore users even know the difference.
- sajets_v20
IMO Max is the easiest of Maya, Lightwave and Max. I tried learning LW but it just wasn't logical at all. Tried maya once bvut didn't have a clue what to do. But when i first started playing around with Max about 10 years ago (was a kid back then) and somehow it all made sense .
Anyway it's all very personal - which program suits you best. But i have really missed the option to get my camera movement from Max to AE. You can make really shit-hot things with it.
- theplanet0
sajets_v2 - Yeah man, I realize alot of people dont think lightwave makes sense. I only learned it beacuase that was what was offered as a classs when I went to grad school. But Im like it now.
I have messed around with alot of the other apps, but it is hard to see the immediate advantage.
Do you use Maya regularly?
- sajets_v20
Maya - nah... didn't get it the first time i tried to use it and haven't touched it since. Max all the way. Still learning, prolly gonna look for some classes to improve myself. To this time i've learned it all by myself with the help of internet and some logic.
Every project i do is learning some new stuff :) Endless
- bilbo3d0
maya's by far the most versatile tool, which is probably why it is the most expensive. everything is scriptable. everything. xsi is a close runner-up. just remember that a 3d package is only as good as it's renderer - maya was near useless until there was renderman support (mtor=$$) and they integrated mental ray. i'm not famiiliar with many people doing mograph work with max or lightwave. some use cinema4d.
- talpedagog0
thanks everybody for the input. i'm not aiming ait doing complete 3d work (e.g. pixar), mostly i'm interested because of this tiny little idea of mine which involves inserting a (static) object into something i've filmed. this could be done in the matter of seconds with a fixed camera angle and no movement, however, what i had in mind requires a pretty shaky hand held camera.... i'm well familiar with the camera functions in after effects - so how does ae function when it comes importing 3d models and such? is this a built in feature? like i said, i'm not really used to working with 3d in this sense... however, i must also point out that i am a (very) fast learner when it comes to software, especially when i have a concrete goal to work after - which is why i'm involving "my idea" all the time, i thought it would be a great opportunity to learn some new stuff.
sheeesh, i'm really rambling here... i don't really know what this message was all about. again, thanks. i will look more into these different programs first thing in the morning (it's getting late over here)
- illroot0
so you're trying to add a 3d object into your shakey footage?
I think you need to somehow track points in your footage and then import that data into a 3d package at which point you place your object. Then render out that object and comp it with the footage. Of course, i've simplified the process a bit, but i think that's what you're getting at. (Am I rambling now?). Anyhow "boujou" is some good software for camera tracking and importing that data into just about any 3d package. Hope this helps.
- twooh0
I don't think it really matters. All the 3D applications have the same/or similar tools. They're just placed differently within the API.
Max is not necessarily easier. It's just that MEL seems to bug everyone out, and because Maya doesn't have Brazil, or V-Ray, yet.
Just pick one and give it a shot, because none of them are doing poorly in the industry.
If you were talking about Modo, or ZBrush, then that's another story.
- theplanet0
another idea:
If you just want to composite and object into video. Mess around with AE 2d tracker. It would be alot fater and more practicle than learning a 3d app just for one project, and to be honest, camera tracking and seamless intigration is kind of advanced stuff. Just a thought.
Josh
- slowpoke790
Some may slate me for this, but i strongly recomend blender3d. It's open sourse, which means it's 'free', has some hefty features in theres (SSS, HDRI to name the two funkiest) anmd it has a very active developer base, which means by the time you've grasped it (and all 3d apps are tough cookies to crack) there will be about 100 new features for you to get used to. It's extendable with python and as such, pleanty of people are adding their own features every day. The GUI may look wierd if you've looked at Maya or 3DSMAX but I swear I found it easier to grasp from a standing start. Wikipedia has a growing knowledge base on the app and YAFFRAY (you'll learn about renderes later) is again opensource and being activly developed. I strongly reccomend it, at least as a starting block to get used to the 3d world.
- aka0
Blender3D is good.
- eggo0
integrates with AE:
Cinema 4D
easy to learn: