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Seeking insight/opinions on Hexagon vs other 3D Apps

WsCGWsCG Posts: 391
edited June 2020 in Daz Studio Discussion

Hi all,

Been debating endlessly with myself over which tool to focus on to create content for DAZ Marketplace. I keep changing my mind between Blender, Hexagon, or Lightwave.

I'm not looking to do any kind of animation. Just modeling and texturing of props, perhaps clothing (I haven't ventured into that yet).

Blender I know is very powerful, has a lot of tools and features, and is free of course. I've used it, very "hobby level", since its 1.6 era (the days of no undo.. Fun!). These days I feel like it's gotten super bloated with a ton of features and new workflows that seem superfluous; a bit like taking a sledgehammer to a thumbtack for my purposes. Do I *really* need to learn Blender's material/node system to produce good results for DAZ Studio? Is all that interface and all those extra tools, which tend to "get in the way" for me, really necessary if a more streamlined, purpose-built tool can do the job just fine?

Hexagon seems to fit that more purpose-built, and more streamlined element missing in Blender (for me). Its UV and texturing tools aren't as advanced as Blender's, but then do they really have to be? There's lots of very useful and intuitive tools in Hexagon. And, of course, it seems to have received DAZ's full endorsement as they've begun updating it, improving its interfacing with DS, etc.  I already have and am fairly familiar with Hexagon, so I'm not sarting from scratch.

Third option is Lightwave. After SoftImage (RIP), I've always liked Lightwave's set up. It's more robust than Hexagon, not as much as Blender, and has things organized in a very "task-focused" way, which I like. However, it's $1000, and may be overkill.

I'm leaning most toward Hexagon. Or at least I'd *like* to use it over the other two. It seems to check more boxes than not for me. But then I've not ever done any serious work with it, so I don't know what shortcomings might crop up.

I guess what I'm wondering is if anyone can provide any definitive drawbacks to using Hexagon, or would otherwise recommend against it? For example, I know its UV tools aren't as robust as Blender's (not sure about LW), but if they get the job done, then it's really a non-issue. I've seen people recommend external tools for UV mapping, and so that would always be an option. 

And so on.

Any insights or opinions on this are much appreciated.

Thanks!

Post edited by WsCG on

Comments

  • Catherine3678abCatherine3678ab Posts: 8,556

    You do not have to use only one ;-) Could model in Hexagon, UV map in Blender for example. Texturing best done in D/S IMHO. So no, don't need to be concerned about learning Blender's shaders. Shaders tend to be program specific.

     

  • WsCGWsCG Posts: 391
    edited June 2020
    Catherine3678ab said:

    You do not have to use only one ;-) Could model in Hexagon, UV map in Blender for example. Texturing best done in D/S IMHO. So no, don't need to be concerned about learning Blender's shaders. Shaders tend to be program specific.

     

    I could do that. I have in the past, and it's almost always ended with less-than-great results.

    Something inevitably gets broken, or corrupted or lost at some point, because one program doesn't interpret something correctly, or something doesn't get exported correctly from another, etc. It was more headache than help.

    So, I prefer to keep it to one or two apps max, with the majority of the work being done in one. For example, modeling in Hex, and UVs in UV Mapper would be fine (absent other issues or limitations I may not know about).

    And really, if I'm going to learn multiple different programs, I may as well just stick with Blender and get used to navigating its cluttered interface.

    Post edited by WsCG on
  • LeanaLeana Posts: 12,762

    Hexagon is a very nice program, and very capable. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other programs, but it's definitely usable to create content.

    Development is not very active though, so don't expect it to get all the new shiny tools you could get in a program like blender which is very actively developed.

  • WsCGWsCG Posts: 391
    Leana said:

    Hexagon is a very nice program, and very capable. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other programs, but it's definitely usable to create content.

    Development is not very active though, so don't expect it to get all the new shiny tools you could get in a program like blender which is very actively developed.

    Yeah, it is a very capable program. Lots of cool little tools that help with a lot of tasks. Some things that I miss from Blender, like some of the modifiers, but definitely great for modeling stuff.

  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,715
    edited June 2020

    I tried it and didn't like the lack of short cuts and features; there are PAs that use it.

    ... Find one you like - doesn't matter what others say.

    Post edited by nicstt on
  • TheMysteryIsThePointTheMysteryIsThePoint Posts: 3,229

    Some observations I made that led me to the decision that was right for me:

    1. Life is too short and there is too much stuff to do to learn multiple modeling tools well.
    2. I will eventually come to be most proficient in, and prefer, whatever tool I keep using.
    3. Blender is already ready, and is improving at an accelerating rate. Seen the Blender Today episode on 2.9?

    I chose Blender and it just doesn't happen anymore that there's something that I can't "fix" or create from scratch relatively easily. There's a lot to learn, but everyone and there uncle has a tutorial or a list of tricks on Youtube. One thing I did was to commit to at least viewing the daily tutorials on Blender Nation. Then, when I've got a modeling problem, all it takes is to vaguely remember a technique I saw on Blender Nation, and I can find it and review it in detail. How many step-by-step tutorials on obscure techniques that when you need it, you need it, does one find for Hexagon?

    This was right for me, but I can't imagine not choosing Blender; it's just too good and too free :)

  • WsCGWsCG Posts: 391
    edited June 2020
    nicstt said:

    I tried it and didn't like the lack of short cuts and features; there are PAs that use it.

    ... Find one you like - doesn't matter what others say.

    The final decision would have to be mine, of course.

    However, insight from others with more knowledge and experience with a given program can only help make my decision a more informed one.

     

    Post edited by WsCG on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 40,097

    I personally love Carrara for 90% of my vertex modeling 

    not a common choice but the only thing that gels with me

    I have Zbrush and keep trying Hexagon and Blender on occasions 

    but

    always go back to Carrara and do in minutes what I struggled to do for hours elsewhere 

    the point it you need to use what works for you and it might not be what works for others heart

  • WsCGWsCG Posts: 391
    edited June 2020
    TheMysteryIsThePoint said:

    Some observations I made that led me to the decision that was right for me:

    1. Life is too short and there is too much stuff to do to learn multiple modeling tools well.
    2. I will eventually come to be most proficient in, and prefer, whatever tool I keep using.
    3. Blender is already ready, and is improving at an accelerating rate. Seen the Blender Today episode on 2.9?

    I chose Blender and it just doesn't happen anymore that there's something that I can't "fix" or create from scratch relatively easily. There's a lot to learn, but everyone and there uncle has a tutorial or a list of tricks on Youtube. One thing I did was to commit to at least viewing the daily tutorials on Blender Nation. Then, when I've got a modeling problem, all it takes is to vaguely remember a technique I saw on Blender Nation, and I can find it and review it in detail. How many step-by-step tutorials on obscure techniques that when you need it, you need it, does one find for Hexagon?

    This was right for me, but I can't imagine not choosing Blender; it's just too good and too free :)

    Good points! Blender is a great program, and is always moving in a better direction. I just find navigating its different tabs and such to be annoying. Also, a lot of little "gotchas" that can throw me off for a time (like being unable to find a render option, only to realize I was looking for an option specific to Cycles, and not realizing I was using Evee, etc). It's not major issues, but just enough to add up and be frustrating over time lol.

    I've been doing A/B testing with some different objects, and am finding a lot of things that are readily accessible in Blender that don't have an equivalent (or at least not an obvious one) in Hex. 
    I just wish there was a branch of Blender that eliminated all the "other stuff" and concentrated only on modeling, texturing and sculpting.

    I wish there was a more direct bridge between Blender and DS, like what Hex has. I've seen one thing, called GoB, but it seems to only work with 2.79.

    Post edited by WsCG on
  • TheMysteryIsThePointTheMysteryIsThePoint Posts: 3,229
    edited June 2020
    TwoCats said:
    I wish there was a more direct bridge between Blender and DS, like what Hex has. I've seen one thing, called GoB, but it seems to only work with 2.79.

    Such a bridge all but exists already. The Diffeomorphic plugin has reached a pretty good state that gets you pretty close, right out of the box. Materials has vastly improved, and subd results in a mesh pretty darned close to what you get in Daz Studio.

    Edit: Err, not really a bridge, but a one-way conduit.

    Post edited by TheMysteryIsThePoint on
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