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Design reviews
3D design, modeling and animation software - part 1 (part 2).
The following is a selection of some of the more popular 3D design packages, for both the Mac and Windows operating systems. Most of these programs are very complicated for the beginner and also very expensive (although nowhere near as much as they used to be) and we don't advise anyone to base a purchasing decision purely on our brief summaries. The aim is give a general outline of each program. For more 3D design resources, check out our creative directory.
Lightwave 3D | Cinema 4D | 3D Studio Max | Strata 3D CX | Maya | SoftImage | FormZ
Lightwave 3D |
Long running 3D animation design software
Lightwave 3D is NewTek's high-end 3D animation and rendering program. Available for both Mac and PC, Lightwave has long been a leader in it's field and is actually two products bundled into one. One part, 'Modeller', is responsible for building the elements of the job and the second, 'Layout', is where the animation project takes place. This is not as complex as it may sound for the beginner and in many ways is a very logical approach. Additionally, integration between the two programs is very smooth.
On the negative side, Lightwave has often been criticised for it's user interface - Mac users in particular might cringe it unix-like menu structure. Additionally, users have to be extremely careful about file locations - project directories have to be explicitly defined, or the program gets confused. Lightwave's strong-points include the richness of it's rendering. Although, it's animation may not be up to Maya's standards. |
Maxon Cinema 4D |
Easy to use 3D software
Cinema 4D by Maxon comes as a main program with a number of add-on modules. First developed for the Amiga platform, Cinema 4D now comes for both Mac and PC. Its strong-point is certainly its interface, with customised and pre-set layouts, as well as quick switching between modeling, animation and painting layouts.
Cinema 4D has excellent modeling tools, but some users have complained that its rendering can look shiny and 'artificial'. However, it is famous for having exceptionally fast rendering - even at a high quality - a feature that many users are happy to pay for. Cinema 4D comes in several bundled version, ranging from fairly cheap to very expensive. It's worth researching these well.
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3D Studio Max |
3D Studio Max. Let the games begin.
3D Studio Max is an acknowledged heavyweight in the 3D design world. It has a large user-base in architectural modeling and virtual walkthroughs, but is also the dominant player in 3D games development. 3D Studio Max is also the only major 3D product that has not bothered developing a Mac version. Probably thinking, not without reason, that the Mac market is already saturated.
3DS Max comes fully featured out of the box, but has gained a huge user base largely due to the enormous amount of third party plug-ins available for it. For example, it was one of the first packages to be able to export directly to Flash, as the result of plug-in development. |
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