What is the EASIEST 3D Modelling Software?

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  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,878

    How is Rocket 3F with UV creation/alteration?

     

  • FauvistFauvist Posts: 2,038
    AllenArt said:

    Here is an example of an EASY 3D program:

    Let me preface this by saying that I know how to model...most of you folks already know that. I'm not great at it tho...lol. But I've had Rocket 3F for three days and was able to make the cable pictured just by following a video. There is no manual for the software, but it has not only tool tips when you hover over the tool that says what it is, it also tells you HOW to use it. VERY nice. I'm loving this software...a LOT. LOL.

    FWIW, I've never made anything like this cable. Ever. So that too is a watershed moment for me. Hehe.

    For a reference, I've watched vid after tute after vid about Blender - for years - and still can't make something like this in it. I watched one video one time for Rocket 3F and made that cable.

    Laurie

     

    Wow, that's very intricate. 

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    edited September 2017

    How is Rocket 3F with UV creation/alteration?

     

    It doesn't do UVs....lol. For me tho, not a problem. There is a bridge to 3D Coat from inside the program. It could be an issue for someone else tho. But for me, rarely do I do the uvs in the program I model in. I will admit though that uv mapping is a better argument for Blender. However, Blender is nowhere near "easy"...not in any universe and the OP asked for easy ;).

    Laurie

    Post edited by AllenArt on
  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    Fauvist said:
    AllenArt said:

    Here is an example of an EASY 3D program:

    Let me preface this by saying that I know how to model...most of you folks already know that. I'm not great at it tho...lol. But I've had Rocket 3F for three days and was able to make the cable pictured just by following a video. There is no manual for the software, but it has not only tool tips when you hover over the tool that says what it is, it also tells you HOW to use it. VERY nice. I'm loving this software...a LOT. LOL.

    FWIW, I've never made anything like this cable. Ever. So that too is a watershed moment for me. Hehe.

    For a reference, I've watched vid after tute after vid about Blender - for years - and still can't make something like this in it. I watched one video one time for Rocket 3F and made that cable.

    Laurie

     

    Wow, that's very intricate. 

    The hardest part was the mesh covering :P

    Laurie

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,518

    Nice work Laurie!! Great work! i feel ya on Blender, same here. I really want to get Blender to click and no matter how many times I try it, it never does.

    Does Rocket 3F have UVmapping capabilities?

  • GlenWebb said:
    RawArt said:

    Wings 3d  ....very basic program, simple logical interface

    Wings has been the easiest for me. Love using it...at least with 'rigid' models such as buildings, pottery, doors, windows, etc. Perhaps geometric models is a better term. 

    I used Amapi too. I think Wings is easier, but Amapi once you get used to it was pretty easy. Sad to hear it's no longer around. 

    I've never been able to get Hexagon to work, regardless of what computer I had. I sneeze, it crashes, I blink, it crashes, I breath, I move, basically I exist, and Hexagon crashes. I was hoping with a new computer there would be no issues, but they were only worse. Waste of money and time all those years of trying to get it to work right.

    Blender...I just stare at it. I refuse to ever allow it on another computer. I watched and read tutorials and still couldn't make sense of it. Seriously, I just don't get the hype. Perhaps it is meant for those who are already well versed in modelling and experienced at modelling. And perhaps for some of us, these things are way over our heads and we'll never understand it. I can't begin to think of the number of times I've tried Blender over the years. 

    Blender is a great program but it is too keyboard reliant. I think the problem is most users don't have the time to get an education just to use a piece of software. Most of us just want to get things done. Blender is the type of software that needs extensive learning and alot of spare time which most people do not have and this is hurting it's user base. I wish someone would take the interface gui from Hexagon and hack it to the Blender modeler. I use Silo, I would use Hexagon but it is too full of bugs. I used the modeler inside of Lightwave and it is ok but I prefer Silo. In a modeler a simple interface with plenty of onscreen buttons that make sense is what people need. You need a degree in geek to figure out Blender. I use it because it is free but it is not user friendly. Daz would sell Hexagon like hotcakes if they would scrap the buggy 32bit code and hack some 64bit goodness into Hexagon. Carrara  is also a great program that just needs a little tender loving care. Heck don't reinvent the wheel just use get Iray to work in it and make the bridge between the Studio and Carrara work well. Just my 2cents

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    edited September 2017

    Nice work Laurie!! Great work! i feel ya on Blender, same here. I really want to get Blender to click and no matter how many times I try it, it never does.

    Does Rocket 3F have UVmapping capabilities?

    Nah ;). Like I said above, not a problem for me (the software has a bridge to 3D Coat which I own and which is great for uv mapping), but may be a problem for others. Probably the one argument for Blender, except that there are a ton of 3D modeling programs (a lot of them free) that are way ahead of Blender in ease of use and that do have uv mapping capabilities. LOL. Blender is a trial by fire for sure. Then again, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? :P

    Laurie

    Post edited by AllenArt on
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,878

    Carrara is really pretty awesome. I keep trying other stuff and drifting back.

    I wish it just got a little tlc to extend a few features a bit. Like, the UV mapping is pretty decent but I could use numerical scaling or placement of UV bits, and sometimes it does slightly buggy stuff with seam lines.

    3d painting in Carrara isn't as advanced as many other apps, but with a little improvement it'd do a few things really well.

    Ah well.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,517
    GlenWebb said:
    RawArt said:

    Wings 3d  ....very basic program, simple logical interface

    Wings has been the easiest for me. Love using it...at least with 'rigid' models such as buildings, pottery, doors, windows, etc. Perhaps geometric models is a better term. 

    I used Amapi too. I think Wings is easier, but Amapi once you get used to it was pretty easy. Sad to hear it's no longer around. 

    I've never been able to get Hexagon to work, regardless of what computer I had. I sneeze, it crashes, I blink, it crashes, I breath, I move, basically I exist, and Hexagon crashes. I was hoping with a new computer there would be no issues, but they were only worse. Waste of money and time all those years of trying to get it to work right.

    Blender...I just stare at it. I refuse to ever allow it on another computer. I watched and read tutorials and still couldn't make sense of it. Seriously, I just don't get the hype. Perhaps it is meant for those who are already well versed in modelling and experienced at modelling. And perhaps for some of us, these things are way over our heads and we'll never understand it. I can't begin to think of the number of times I've tried Blender over the years. 

    Blender is a great program but it is too keyboard reliant. I think the problem is most users don't have the time to get an education just to use a piece of software. Most of us just want to get things done. Blender is the type of software that needs extensive learning and alot of spare time which most people do not have and this is hurting it's user base. I wish someone would take the interface gui from Hexagon and hack it to the Blender modeler. I use Silo, I would use Hexagon but it is too full of bugs. I used the modeler inside of Lightwave and it is ok but I prefer Silo. In a modeler a simple interface with plenty of onscreen buttons that make sense is what people need. You need a degree in geek to figure out Blender. I use it because it is free but it is not user friendly. Daz would sell Hexagon like hotcakes if they would scrap the buggy 32bit code and hack some 64bit goodness into Hexagon. Carrara  is also a great program that just needs a little tender loving care. Heck don't reinvent the wheel just use get Iray to work in it and make the bridge between the Studio and Carrara work well. Just my 2cents

    ...yes

  • Hexagon is the easiest to learn and use. It is unstable, outdated, unsupported, and limited in light of Blender and Zbrush. But it's a good place to start learning and at the price available here, a bargain. You can always use it for kitbashing and custom material zones, so it's a good pickup.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,517
    edited September 2017

    ...there are several PAs here who use Hexagon in spite of its instabilities and do excellent work with it.

    Until Blender gets a UI that is as elegant, easy to learn, and simple to use as Hexagon's (as well as is modularised so if all you want to do is modelling and sculpting that is all you need to instal), I'll deal with Hex's instabilities (though it would be nice if, after a decade of ignoring it, Daz would finally give Hex some love, they've known about these issues all along). 

    ...unless one of those "blow our socks off" moves mentioned a couple months ago would be integrating Hex's modelling functions into Daz Studio and including a good UV mapping tool.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    edited September 2017

    Oh, I sure hope Daz doesn't decide to integrate modeling tools into DS....it would risk becoming a behemoth like Blender. Better they just fix Hex as the modeling tool that was intended. A bridge is enough...it doesn't need to be included in the program. For as handy as Hex is, modeling is not something that fits with the purpose of Daz Studio. On the other hand, dynamics and hair IS, so I do hope we get those ;)

    Laurie

    Post edited by AllenArt on
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,878

    As an aside, Instant Meshes and UV Mapper are excellent, free, tools that help with modeling.

    Instant Meshes is a retopo tool and nothing else. Takes a few tries to get used to it, and you get a mesh with no UV map.

    UV Mapper has a bunch of good, if basic, UV tools.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,517
    AllenArt said:

    Oh, I sure hope Daz doesn't decide to integrate modeling tools into DS....it would risk becoming a behemoth like Blender. Better they just fix Hex as the modeling tool that was intended. A bridge is enough...it doesn't need to be included in the program. For as handy as Hex is, modeling is not something that fits with the purpose of Daz Studio. On the other hand, dynamics and hair IS, so I do hope we get those ;)

    Laurie

    ...on that point, I agree, that's why I'm not a big fan of the "Swiss Army Knife" approach to software. However, based on the fact they've just let it sit and rot on the vine for nearly ten years, it may be the only way to save it and get it into the 64 bit world.

  • I tried tons of modelling software and the only one that clicked with me was Lightwave. To be honest, it's one of the few where you can just select points and do something to those points right away. Same with polygons. I've heard countless stories of studios having to go to Lightwave if a project fell behind or if they were simply short on time from the start. As a programmer, I also like that if it doesn't do something I need, I just write it (you can use scripting or a regular compiler to build plugins). For example, it was lacking a tool to make my UV's square or aligned to a grid. I've only heard of UVMapper having this tool. So I wrote it up and put it on the Lightwave site for free for others to use. Tons of free plugins available in general for Lightwave. Oh, and the plugins by 3rd Powers are amazing though they are commercial. The amount of functionality in Lightwave is just amazing. Rigging, animation, physics, fluids, etc. I still haven't used everything in it.

     

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,517
    edited September 2017

    ...apparently though they haven't updated it for a couple years as the most recent version available is LW 2015  Also still a bit pricey at 995$

    ----------

    ...OK that was a bit odd, after I clicked on Post Comment, I was routed to the Daz contact page.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • FauvistFauvist Posts: 2,038
    edited September 2017

    Well, I just bought Carrara in today's sale for $22.75 so I guess I'll being trying that for modelling.  And I seem to have got a ton of free content with it.

    Post edited by Fauvist on
  • FauvistFauvist Posts: 2,038

    As an aside, Instant Meshes and UV Mapper are excellent, free, tools that help with modeling.

    Instant Meshes is a retopo tool and nothing else. Takes a few tries to get used to it, and you get a mesh with no UV map.

    UV Mapper has a bunch of good, if basic, UV tools.

    What does a retopo tool do?

  • DustRiderDustRider Posts: 2,691
    Fauvist said:

    Well, I just bought Carrara in today's sale for $22.75 so I guess I'll being trying that for modelling.  And I seem to have got a ton of free content with it.

    Welcome aboard, and definitely head over to the Carrara forum. They are a great group, and more than willing to help new users along. You can also find a bunch of great resorces there too.

  • nemesis10nemesis10 Posts: 3,239
    Fauvist said:

    Well, I just bought Carrara in today's sale for $22.75 so I guess I'll being trying that for modelling.  And I seem to have got a ton of free content with it.

    Carrara is awesome; I suspect we may finally see the big update this year with any luck.... I have very fond memories of meeting a French or Frech Canadian developer when it was first up for pre-order... I bought it on the spot.  It is great as a gateway to modelling and does a lot of fun things.

  • I will give the classic answer

    None of them.    

    No matter what program you use, you will be doing almost the same functions with a few minor differences.

    Find the differences and pick the most useful for your work.

    or download blender for free.

    I use hexagon

     

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 8,528
    edited September 2017
    Fauvist said:

    How is VWD dfferent than just exporting a piece of conforming clothing from Poser as an .obj prop - then importing it, and using it as dynamic clothing in the cloth room?

    Try to use a Genesis 8 or Genesis 3 based character and use dynamic clothing on it in Poser and you will see the difference.

     

    Post edited by Artini on
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,878

    'Retopo' is short for retopolograohicification... or something. Retopology?

    Basically takes your object and creates a new mesh that defines that shape, ideally more evenly spaced and nicer.

    Think about a sphere's mesh, which normally has a bunch of triangles at each pole and might have some stretching.

    If you retopo it, you end up with mostly squares (if that's what you set it to) and it's all evenly mapped.

    If you stretch a shape a lot, retopo will take those wonky long facets and redo them nicely.

    The downside is that once you do that, you get something that might not be symmetric, UV mapping can be annoying. Also, there are many cases where you want meshes to be uneven, to follow shapes

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140

    Retopology is usually for taking a high resolution mesh/sculpt down to a more realistic amount of polygons such as a Zbrush ultra hi res mesh to something you can use in other software by creating a lower resolution mesh and baking the fine details onto a normal/bump/displacement map.

    Laurie

  • McGyverMcGyver Posts: 6,995
    edited September 2017
    Fauvist said:
    McGyver said:

    That depends on what you want to make and what your budget is.

    Just simple props for your own use... nothing too organic... SketchUp. My kids learned how to use it when they were 7 or 8... The big thing to remember with SU is keeping with quads (avoid Ngons) and watching that it doesn't flip the surface normals on you.

    For more complicated stuff... Hexagon if you want to wait until doomsday for a new version, or just bite the bullet and learn Blender... It's really not that hard if you don't already know how to model in other programs... If you do, just ignore what you already know.

    Silo is also pretty easy and it's often on sale for $20-$40.

     

    Sketchup doesn't offer the free version anymore - does it?  Or you can't save or export models or something?

    The free version is now called "Make"... There has been a bit of a change since Trimble purchased SketchUp... Previously SketchUp had two download options, A fully functional eight hour Pro trial version (but 8 hours of actual use... You could take years to use those 8 hours) and plain old Free version...

    The difference between free and pro was that "Free" lacked the full exporters, the ability to author dynamic components and another application called "Layout" (for 2D presentations of projects)... As of version 7 the free version included a DAE exporter (initially it only exported geometry, but by 8 it also exported textures too).

    I haven't upgraded my version of Make (free) for a while so this bit may have changed because it was confusing a lot of people, but apparently up until at least last year, clicking on either Pro Trial, or Make, would give you the Pro trial... The only difference being was that if you chose Pro trial, that would expire after 30 days and ask you to upgrade... If you downloaded the "Make" version, you it would work as Pro for 30 days, but after the 30 day trial it would give you the option of upgrading or continuing as the limited free version.

    The 30 day trial period is like most trials, in that once you use the software, you start a countdown timer to expiration... So if you use it once it expires after 30 days regardless of whether you use it again.  When Google owned SketchUp, there was no countdown... It just subtracted the use time from the total... A lot of people would use an old free version to model and a new version of Pro to export models in OBJ or 3DS. You could get a lot of export mileage out of 8 hours, if that's all you used the pro trial for.

    More info than you probably asked for, but yes, there is still a free version.

    The free version's only non native export option (.skp) is the DAE format... I find models made in SketchUp import much better to Poser/DAZ if you export them as a DAE into Blender and export them back out as an OBJ and then use them in DS or Poser.

    There is also an excellent free OBJ exporter plugin by a guy named TIG, available at: https://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33448

    You probably have to register at SketchUcation's website to download that though. It's free and they are a good site, and they are a great source of free plugins and SketchUp related information.

    Good luck.

     

    Post edited by McGyver on
  • AllenArt said:

    Retopology is usually for taking a high resolution mesh/sculpt down to a more realistic amount of polygons such as a Zbrush ultra hi res mesh to something you can use in other software by creating a lower resolution mesh and baking the fine details onto a normal/bump/displacement map.

    Laurie

    People also retopologise Marvellous Designer exports as the basic exports tend to be a bit messy, but that's getting beyond the theme of this thread.

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,518
    McGyver said:

    The free version is now called "Make"... ...............

     

    Good info, thanks for thet. I used to use Sketchup awhile back along with Ultimate Unwrap 3D which supports the .skp file format, but haven't used it in awhile.

  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,714
    Fauvist said:
    ebergerly said:

    Here's an example of a very quickly done pair of shorts I just modelled in Blender and then did a cloth sim in Studio. Yeah, it's not the best cloth sim, but as much as I love you guys it's dinner time and I'm not going to spend all night on it.

    First image shows in Blender the very basic, boxy shorts model I hand made, using a G3 OBJ as a model to fit to. Next image I simply applied a subdivision modifier (two clicks...), then exported as an OBJ. And the third image is the result of the cloth sim after applying a scale of like 70%.

    So as far as modelling, if you can make a box like that with only 6 or 8 faces, you can make some natural looking shorts. 

    Thanks for posting those!  I was interested in VWD, and I emailed the developer, and it doesn't work on a MAC.  I have a cheap PC laptop that runs Windows.  How much memory does the VWD program take up?

    It's a 32bit program so it wont access much; it does like cores though, so the more the better it seems

  • There's also Photogrammetry,  if we're talking the easiest modelling option.  Take a couple hundred pictures of an object,  let the software do its thing (ie calculations),  and voila,  end product is a 3d model, with the pictures even providing the textures.

     

  • QuixotryQuixotry Posts: 894
    edited September 2017

    I used to use Cheetah3D before I talked myself into buying Zbrush. It's a Mac program and it appears to have improved immensely since I last used it four-or-so years ago, so any Mac folk out there might consider checking it out. I may update my version and start playing with it again. I found it pretty easy to navigate and I enjoyed being able to model things from scratch. 

    Post edited by Quixotry on
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