3ds Max 9 vs. Maya 8???

Hey all,

I'm thinking about getting one of these 3d Rendering software packages for school, and I can pretty much get an insane discount that is within my budget if I get only one of them.

I've used 3ds Max, but was a long time ago. I've never used Maya. So, has anyone used either or both? What are the advantages/disadvantages of both packages?

Thanks,
night

 

Basically, preference. Both have their fanatical fan base. Depends mostly on what you want to do with it. 3DSMax is usually for game modeling and such, whereas Maya is often found in movie houses and such. Both will make 3D models though, and take a long, long time to learn to use proficiently. Check out what people in the field you want to go into use primarily, and go with that.

 

Alias has a Personal Learning Edition version of Maya which you might want to check out; i t's completely free, and the only limitation is that it watermarks your output. But it should be enough for y ou to get a sense of how comfortable you feel with Maya.

 

I'm not an artist, but I've worked with a few on some small game development projects, and while it's most of all a matter of preference, there is a tendency that *most* modellers use 3ds, while *most* animators prefer Maya. Both are excellent programs though, so you can't really go wrong with either.

 

Maya is one of the easiest programs to learn that I have used, I don't have experience with Max but I do have with Softimage XSI which I am kind of a fan of but Maya is also a favorite of mine.

honestly you can't go wrong with either...

 

I have worked with both 3ds and maya. I would say, get maya. I learned on 3ds max and personally in the end I liked it more however I could see that maya was much more powerful. You can always dl the trial version of both programs and play around with them.

But like I said, I would go with maya and this is being said with a strong bias towards 3ds

 

have you looked at anything else? several programs i have used and love are modo201 ( www.luxology.com), zbrush, the ever popular and free wings ( www.wings3d.com), and blender (also free). i own copies of maya, 3ds, xsi, modo, and zbrush and honestly my current workflow is wings for roughing it out quickly, then modo and zbrush for adding loads of details and then blender or 3ds for rendering.

 

I can only get the academic discounts for these two programs. Both come in bundles that cost a total of around $400.

BTW, it is Maya 8 Unlimited...if that makes a difference.

 

Are you sure you need the extra stuff in Maya 8 Unlimited? If you don't, Maya 8 Complete should be fine too, and is a bit cheaper even in the academic pricing.

 

a couple of the extra's in unlimited are what I'm looking for...hair/fur, cloth, and fluid effects. i've wanted to do that for a long time. i'd spend the $400 for that rather than $300 for Complete and miss out on those features.

as far as I know, 3ds Max has the same stuff too...

just out of curiousity, is there ANYTHING that you can do with one but NOT the other? it's been a few years since i've worked with either suite, so IDK.

 

Like I said, figure out what industry you want to go into. They will both work equally well, for the most part. It's about 50% personal preference, and 50% what everyone else in the industry uses. You're the only one who knows those things.