Best 3D Modeling/Animating Software (That isn't heavy on specs)?

I have been using Autodesk Maya 2012 for a while, but I find I need to be more portable, and I can't bring a desktop replacement everywhere I go. However, I need the 3D modeling, animating, and rendering tools with me when I am on the move. So I am asking if anyone knows a good rendering and animating program that can be used on the go without requiring heavy specs?

Thanks!

 

Howdy! I am student studying game development and also use Maya.

Just to clarify, you're asking about a 3D graphics program that has lower system requirements which you can run on a less-powerful laptop?

Blender has lower minimum system requirements than both Max and Maya, so that'll probably be your best bet. But that doesn't change the fact that you still need a powerful system for more advanced techniques.

Working with a high poly-model without adequate RAM will make your system slow to a crawl or even crash and a slow CPU will take forever to render complex scenes.

Also, having a weak graphics card might make it difficult to animate correctly in the viewport and get the animation looking how you want it to. Animation in the Maya viewport is done in real-time and is highly dependent on your GPU. Having a weak GPU may cause the animation to skip frames or play at a slow/inconsistent frame rate, which can really mess up your timing and such. It'll be tough to judge what the animation looks like once it's rendered out because you weren't able to play it back properly in real-time from the viewport

 

Although is not advanced as Maya, have you ever tried this?:

Trimble SketchUp

It can be useful for easy task on the go..

 

I'm personally using 3d Studio Max... but as you said, you need something more portable and less demanding.

Blender is completely free and a full blown 3d package... however its UI can be... confusing.

One disadvantage with 3d programs like these is that every single one has their own UI design that has the potential for confusing a person (especially if they were already using and grew accustomed to a different one beforehand).

I definitely have to get back into trying out Blender again. Definitely would be good to transfer everything to an Open source program like that.

 

I was actually looking at Blender for a while now. While it seems like a nice modeling tool, I am a little skeptical about how well it will animate. I am not familiar with the UI as well, but I can adjust perhaps.

And the specs you will be looking at:

Processor: Intel Core i5-3210M (Duo) or Intel Core i7-3612M (Quad)
RAM: 6GB DDR3 or 8GB DDR3
Graphics Card: AMD 7670m, Intel HD 4000, Nvidia GeForce GT620-640m

I believe 3DS Max will run quite well with these specs configured, no?

Or can someone suggest any other animating, modeling, and rendering software?

 

It's hard to suggest any software to use because they all do most of the same things, although, depending on who you ask, some do certain things better than others. At the end of the day, you should pick whichever one has the most comfortable workflow and allows you to be most productive. All of these 3D suites take years to learn anyway and commercial licenses cost thousands of dollars, so it's probably not in your best interest to jump around too much.

As for the specs, I would get a quad-core i7 and an SSD in addition to what you've described, although I don't know how many "Ultrabooks" come with a real i7.

 

You're quite a ways up the creek without a paddle. Maya itself has a lot of features, but performance scales with usage, not available features. There is no way around that regardless of the application you use.

If you create simple models and animations and do hardware renders, maya isn't very demanding at all. If you create giant scenes with millions of polygons, and use high quality effects and ray tracing in your rendering, then it's going to take a lot of cpu work to render your scene. Maya has the capability for both. And again, there is no way around that, even with alternative applications.