what is the best content creator program: hexagon, Carrara, sketch up, etc??
archangel1802
Posts: 0
After three years of browsing, Im finally getting to the rendering programs and im loving every minute of it.
However i would now like to start creating some of my own content.
i want to be able to do buildings, furniture, small props and clothing (maybe people later) and i would love for them to be posable at some point.
so what is the best, most user friendly (preferably cheap) program out there?
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Hexagon is a good modeller, though some people find it can be unstable on some systems. But you can do quite a bit with it. And there are plenty of tutorials available for learning. You can't beat the price for what it does.
http://www.daz3d.com/hexagon-2-5-download-version/
You're probably going to hate my answer, but the best one is the one you're most comfortable with.
Free: Blender, Wings3D, Sculptris
Cheap: Hexagon
Take a look through this list: http://alternativeto.net/software/3ds-max/
My favorite...Blender.
But I've used and like Wings3D, K-3D, Anim8tor and Hexagon.
And it really is true, if you aren't comfortable with the UI then it doesn't matter how 'good' the program is.
Yep. My advice, get all the free ones, try a basic tutorial in each, see which style of interface you prefer and which you find most stable/bearable on your system.
I use Blender (free) 3dCoat ($350) and Zbrush ($800) to create my products, and the vast majority of work I do is in Blender - the others are mainly used for texturing and 3d brushes to add some details.
I really love what I've seen of Hexagon in various tutorial videos (it seems very much like an off-line version of the Second Life creation tools), but have heard it isn't at all stable in Windows 8.
Google Sketch Up looks like it would be, but the only way I've seen to export things within it to something Daz Studio can use, involves something to do with third-party software, like Blender... A designer friend of mine would love a Hexagon-like WYSIWYG user-friendly interface to create vehicles like planes and spaceships, which I could then import directly to Daz Studio and artistically pose for them.
OK, its not cheap, but it is on sale for a third off, $1000 vs normal $1500. Lightwave is one of the more widely used programs and I believe it is respected for its modelling in particular. I have an older version, but I am not a modeller and use it for animating the occasional LW scene I run across. There are lots of training items at, e.g. Amazon, a 30 day free trial, and a YouTube channel plus thousands of other videos.
https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialLightWave3D
https://www.lightwave3d.com/buy-lightwave/
A friend of mine is part of a team planning a feature length animation with a mocap studio, etc. He just bought Lightwave which is the main program for the project. He has no 3D experience at all, but he wants to be a team player and will learn from the others.
Thanks for the advice, there are some programs mentioned here i'm going to try over the next few weeks.
sketchup is great for creating static props, but once built you cant do anything with them except rotate or re-size the whole thing. so its not really that useful for posing.
i will defiantly buy hexagon or carrera or another daz product at some point, but right now i still don't know how much i will be getting into this whole thing. so im going to start cheap with blender and see where i can go from there.
thanks again.
Well i have created my first cup, and successfully moved it into daz in a little over two hours including time to download the program.
blender was pretty easy to follow a guide, now if i can just memorize everything the tutor said.