Deciding to learn a modeler...is it better to invest time in Hexagon or Blender?
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Hi. I made a working morph target in Hexagon and now I'm hooked and want to learn modeling and uvmapping. But would I be better served working in Hexagon or Blender? I do have zbrush...but I'm not ready to dig into that yet.
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I prefer Blender, hate (hate might be a little strong, but I'll go with it) Hexagon.
The reverse also applies to some people.
Try them both, see which you prefer.
Blender has so many turorials available, so maybe start there; Hexagon does have some but fewer I believe.
Many of the skills learnt in modelling are software agnostic, so you'll be able to take some with you.
Of the two, I'd recommend learning Blender. It has a steep learning curve, but it is MUCH more full-featured and powerful, has a HUGE userbase, and tons of tutorials available. Hexagon does have the bridge to DS, but has a lot of lackluster updating and considerably fewer features. Carrara is also an option. But I'd still recommend learning Blender of the three.
(Personally, I prefer Lightwave3D, but not everyone can afford it.)
Try a few out, see which one(s) makes 'sense' to you, UI and workflow wise.
Yeah, I would say blender as well. I kinda hate their backwards clicking schemes, and UI, but you can change and custoomize a lot. The probelm with that is most tutorials are teaching using the default settings, can get a bit confusing and frustrating. Nothing beats ZB for organic modelling, but making base shapes is a lot easier in blender, then sussing out the fine details and textures in ZB is a solid workflow.
I agree on Blender. It has a ton of other features (compositing, video editing, fluids, etc.), and will take you way into the future. From what little I recall of Hexagon it had a nice UI, but otherwise was very limited compared to what's out there. On the other hand, it depends on what you need. Hexagon might just fit the bill.
As TheKD said, Blender is insanely customizable, and you can even make your own buttons that do whatever you want with some fairly simple scripting. And there are tons of add-ons available for free.
Oh, and ZBrush? The worst UI ever developed in the entire universe since the beginning of time, IMO. Though some people like it.
Try both, since both are free, and see what works best for you. Subjective opinions by others can't really help in this sort of situation.
ZB took some getting used to for sure lol. Like blender, it gets a hell of a lot better if you start customizing though, or at least learning the essential keyboard shortcuts.
I think they have Stockholm Syndrome.
Honestly after all the caterwauling about Zbrush I was prepared for a nightmare.
But after initial weirdness, I’ve found it not that bad at all. And better documented than a lot of other apps.
Mind you, it’s hard to tell how much of that is personal take, but it’s not inherently terrible.
Amusingly, I found Hexagon and Blender’s ui to be intolerable.
Yeah, the documentation is a godsend.
Oso3D, have you used the ZBrush polygonal modeller? I noticed there was one, kinda hidden away, but never really tried it.
I’ve been mostly sucked into fibermesh, which is 9 kinds of awesome. I’ll let folks know when I dabble more widely.
...if you are looking a programme primarily dedicated to 3D modelling, I would give Hexagon a try. Daz has made it more stable than it was in the past and a major development update is currently underway which will give it even more stability more features useful for modelling, and best of all 64 bit support.
It is free now so nothing to risk by downloading and installing it (I paid 70$ for 2.1 many many many years ago). Personally I feel Hexagon has a much more intuitive UI for those new to modelling that doesn't involve a steep learning curve like Blender's (which is primarily keyboard instead of pointer driven). It also has a two way link with Daz Studio. The other part is getting it now most likely will be the "foot in the door" for upgrading to the 64 bit version when that is released this year.
Here’s a quick thing I did.
The center plant, result of fibermesh. Woo.
https://willbear.deviantart.com/art/Fiberplant-723570735
Zbrush's ui is an abomination (as always personal tastes may vary) but it simply does things no other program does so it doesn't matter
To the initial question, I'll add a vote for Blender, along with some of the already mentioned advantages in features, and in addition to loads of tutorials also has a gorgeous, gorgeous, reference manual
But as also mentioned modeling ui can be a very person by person thing, so if you've tried it for a few days and still can't navigate the view or delete the cube, it might just not be your wavelength and I won't hold it against you. For instance, I've now actually tried Hexagon and... argh! constantly having to select different tools. It makes me want to throw my computer out a window
...I find changing tools in Hexagon to be no worse than doing so in Daz. Of course coming from a visual artist's perspective, pointer driven UIs just feel more natural than having to key instructions in all the time.
Granted I have the advantage of a high resolution multi button ergo trackball rather than a mouse.
5 mounth ago I had exactly the same question. I decided to learn blender and I don't regret it at all. It has almost everything and once you know how the program is structured it is really user friendly. DAZ itself (not Hexagon) is really hard to control and manage in comparison I my opinion. I got no experience with Hexagon but I would highly recommend to learn the basics of 3D modeling by learning blender.
...again it comes down to what works, and what doesn't for the individual.
In my experience with both programmes, I find Blender's UI to get the way of learning the concepts of modelling because it's keyboard centric nature demands more attention on its own. On the other hand for myself, Hexagon's seems almost "invisible" in comparison and I've come along a lot further in developing modelling skills with it than in Blender. If Daz had the same UI structure as Blender (well, it actually does, as well as Hexagon, but those key commands are optional and not thrown at you from the get go), I'd be downing Advil like M&Ms (and dealing with all the destructive side effects) to continue holding a brush or pencil firmly and steady enough in my hands and commenting on painting and drawing forums instead.
You've already voted for Hexagon. :)
I was looking for a 3D modeller; I wasn't just wanting to learn, but understand what it was possible to do and then how to do it.
I then started looking for tutorials I thought would help; I found lots for Blender along the lines I was looking for.
You might consider doing the same finding tutorials for what you want to learn - perhaps first see what it is possible to do. IMO end results hint what is possible but can also be misleading, which is why I was interested in the processes.
If you prefer to stop working on an item, consider what you're going to do next (and vice versa), then select via a menu (or possible sub menu) the tool you need, then Hexagon might be the one for you.
If you like keyboard shortcuts, and find that using them is intuitive and doesn't break your train of thought (you just press a key with one hand and manipulate vertices (or whatever) with the mouse - then Blender might be a fit.
One thing to note about Blender, everything is available via menus and sub menus - the vast majority of users prefer shortcuts. I've no idea if shortcuts (some or all) are available for Hexagon.
Yeah, I think in Blender pretty much anything you want to do is available via menus or buttons. In fact I just finished making an object and UV'ing it and did it all using menus and buttons. The only exception is panning the camera where you need to use a Shift key (although there are 3D navigation buttons on the side panel). And I'm so used to selecting/de-selecting everything with "A" that it's second nature (though you can do that via menu too).
Personally, I'm guessing that most people are like I was when I first started long ago, and didn't make a handful of crucial (IMO) preference/configurations that would have made things so much easier. Like selecting with the left mouse button instead of the right, which I suspect drives most new users insane.
But again, it's mostly about personal preference and what you're used to. Clearly Blender takes a lot of learning, mainly because it has so many features, but also since a lot of things are IMO counter-intuitive.
Blender has lots of tutorials, although I use Hexagon because of the bridge between Daz and Hexagon. But I have seen alot of blender tutorials on YT. Both are free (or were last time I checked). I guess you could use or try both, and see which is most comfortable.
I agree you should try out both. When I first started learning to model, I tried Blender. Hated it, couldn't figure it out. I got Hexagon and managed to do some pretty decent, simple models. It's a nice starter program and easy to understand. There are quite a few video tutorials where you can actually see what people are doing in the modeling process. That being said, since then, Blender changed is UI and made it a little easier for me to understand. So, I went back and tried Blender again. I get it more especially after having done some modeling in Hexagon. What fits one person may not fit another and things change. You might hate one now and get it later when you go back. Both are free, do a beginner video for both and see which one fits you more.
One mistake I made when I was first trying to learn blender, is jumping into the deep end with the sharks, before learning how to doggy paddle. Trying to go along with advanced tutorials, when you can barely work the navigation and do the basic stuff is a great way to get frustrated and discouraged. I guess that's true with any software though, not blender specific.
I vote for Blender too.
People are going to tell you that Blender's UI is very difficult to learn but that isn't really the big problem. The big problem is 3D modeling is difficult to do well and time consuming to learn. When you add that Blender has so many peripheral things to learn in order to produce animations or games in addition to strict 3D modeling and it quickly becomes a LOTR & Hobbitt very thick manual of things to potentially need to learn and/or look up to use Blender effectively.
Then take your average person trying to learn Blender with free time here & there and it's going to be slow to no progress for many of us. I'm just now picking up again a tutorial I started in early December. It can be frustrating when the rest of your life interferes enough to stop good progress.
As an mildly embarrassing example of how how difficult it is to box model (for me personally) here is a screen shot of my progress of the tutorial I'm doing now:
I mean I'm looking at the mess and I'm thinking how is that going to amount to a cartoon 3D model that's anything like the clipart or even a decent 3D model? So then, I'm using ready made clip art I purchased at another website to use the learning process some and demphasizing the 2D toon tactic of exaggerations features used in an expression to emphasize them but even then you can see the box model is nowhere close to the clipart. So now I'm like OK I will finish it and rinse, lather, & repeat the learning process and eventually get to be OK at it but I don't really think this effort is going to look like a 3D version of that clipart, even when dialing in blendshapes so that they'd have the same expression.
So be ready for some poorly made models by yourself and the demoralizing effort it can have on your motivation but keep plugging.
Blender for me, hands down. I only began to get to get to grips with it in July, but only after making myself stick with it when past attempts had gone nowhere - it took less than a day for it to finally click and I love the program to bits now. Apart from how easy I find UVing to be in Blender, my favourite things about it are the vast amount of addons and help available out there. If you encounter one of the few things it can't do or can't do well, it's pretty certain that someone will have created an addon to remedy it. You won't get that with Hexagon. If it can't do something then it just can't do it. If you've got a Blender question then an online search will see it resolved, usually within minutes - someone else will already have asked it and someone will have answered.
For me, Hexagon is way easier to learn and use. However, I want to learn how to use Blender because of all its extra features. That's probably the best reason to start with Blender. I just wish the UI was more geared for using just the mouse rather than keyboard shortcuts. I have limited use of my hands because of my disability so one handed modeling with the mouse would be ideal.
The UI can be used with a mouse - there are plenty of long menus. You should reenvaluate using shortcuts if you have arthitis - shortcuts does not equal typing by any stretch of the imagination. You will use your arthitic joints less knowing shortcuts then using a mouse. Also the UI is improve with 2.79 and getting better all the time. Not a fanboy time but that's the reality of Blender.
That's a great start nonesuch00!
I use Hexagon, but I have only created non-organic objects.
Though to be fair, I have not spent much of any time learning the UI for Blender.
The set in the following render was modeled and uvmapped entireley in Hexagon, then imported into Daz Studio for shaders lighting and rendering.
Thanks.
Hexagon is simpler to learn, IMO, but Blender is much more powerful. It also has a learning curve like a cliff, because there are a bazillion options and widgets and add-ons and customized interfaces and modules and panes, etc., etc.
Also a consideration is what computer type you are planning on using. I'll do much of my modeling in Hexagon on a laptop and it fits comfortably on a 17" screen, which is an exercise in frustration with Blender. At minumum, you need a 3-button mouse and a full keyboard with number pad, and a fair amount of screen real-estate to use Blender efficiently.
That said, Hexagon's UV mapping is rudimentary compared to Blender, so I'll usually wait until I can get on a desktop and use Blender to do my mapping.
In short, both tools have their plusses and minuses, and both (being free) are worth trying out.