Torn is the right word I think! I am sticking to SI till it no-longer has any juice left for the industry, like a dried up squeezed lemon. I still see that it is quite future proof in many areas, even without it’s advanced “viewport” so even after 2 years of updates and bugfixes, it should still do well afterwards a couple years - minus sculpting or realtime previz. GPU rendering and CPU rendering will still be ahead of the league with third party render-engines, you know the ones I’m talking about. It will remain future-proof for some time yet. 😉
But personally I am delving more into Blender, with it’s GPU+CPU render engine included, node based modeling addons (free) and soon node based strands and particles (in development) and other features that are progressively being developed - not to mention it’s 20 year old mature well rounded toolset - developed outside of commitees and corporation, even investment…. *Warning* My explanation is extensive and written below, needed to get it out there! Read at your own risk! Out of principle I see Blender as a powerful tool, not to mention video editing and Nuke like compositing all in the same package…. free… and open to development personally or as a community. If you’d invest cash into a software, with Blender, it is directly with a developer or into the foundation, or into a project to “test” and push and develop the software, like the Gooseberry Project. Out of conviction for future proof development in a software I’d invest hours (if not the majority of my life) of knowledge into it…. makes me want to stick to Blender. (because it’s guaranteed development by the demand of the artist, by investment directly into a developer, by open knowledge of what is being developed; and anyone has voice as to where it will go, how it will go) I see hair, bullet physics, particles, great modeling toolset (with many awesome plugins), a grease pencil, NLA animation systems, dopesheet, keyframed animation systems, shape and morph animation with corrective blendshapes optional, full body IK and FK, node based shader system for Cycles, multi-scene management within the same session, sculpting, dynamic topology in sculpting, multires mesh sculpting, advanced UV editor and unwrap with texture painting directly into it, integrated game engine with game logic (also node based in some ways), and a VERY customizable interface with few icons, etc etc.. yes, it is not optimized in many areas… but it runs on a mac, on Linux, on pc…. And it’s trying to push systems for node based manipulation, aka, ICE a la Blender. And it’s free… With a Blender pipeline, I wouldn’t need to purchase any Adobe Suite or any other software to compliment editing or post-fx, sculpting software, not even purchase 2D software (can be replaced with Krita, Gimp or Inkscape) or for anything else for that matter… just time and education for using such a software in the team… but here in Colombia (to my opinion) it’s much more popular than C4D or Houdini.. concerning compatibility with students/other studios without having to turn to Max or Maya. As a generalist studio, it would be the best bet, considering the startup and the cost of a multi-software pipeline, which we simply can’t afford every time something gets upgraded or outdated. That “feature” of being free and built by the people/foundation saves my studio thousands of dollar per seat every time we need to upgrade or expand. And unlike the death of my old pal trueSpace, my first love; and now SI, my second love… I might place my chips in a software that doesn’t depend on the economics of a business nor corporation, but of the very artists/developers/studios that use it. What happens if Autodesk goes bankrupt, or sells the entire M&E division? What if it purchases C4D, it’s competition? What happens if The Foundry turns into a cash and user base hungry Autodesk like system from huge success in the future? What if SideFX decides to retire for “personal” reasons? What if management for development in Modo suddenly changes and it’s artist friendly solutions develop to something we no-longer want or need? Concerning the “dreaded” interface, I have used Gimp and Inkscape some time, and well it’s just a “Linux” kind of mentality to the interface - just different, with it’s own logic, but not any less efficient than most other interfaces (not considering the genius easter-eggs in SI UI dominating most others, of course). I found it hard to learn, yes, but just as easy as learning Z-brush or Maya from scratch… which I tried briefly. Concerning community and tutorials, there is no short to help you out with such a thing as learning it, you won’t ever be stuck learning how to use it with it’s huge arsenal of tutorials or an experienced community. Concerning development, I do think it’s still catching up, but in other areas (even compared to AE or Premiere, or to other major 3D packages) it’s ahead of the game - even with the fact that it has a game development and engine built right into it. Think of a full modeling/sculpting/animation and 3D FX engine, flexible, node based systems in the works WITH a gpu+cpu rendering engine, that then includes NUKE/AE like compositing directly within the engine, to a full on video editing package within the same software you did all the animation in! - then add that it’s progressively being developed with or without your dollars or the management of a committee or corporation… with doors open for you or your developer to take the lead and make it more than what it already is - freely. This is just my two cents worth, that is my direction: stick to SI as long as possible, get more into Blender, out of principle and support for the idea that it, in concept, is made by the artist/developer for the artist/developer - without having to rely on a brand of software that potentially may “EOL” for X reason one day. It’s just my opinion as to know where to go, after some thought….. SI as long as I can - cause it’s the most powerful and I have some track-record with it - then Blender to the side and then future. Why? -Free. -Nearly as popular as C4D, and much more popular than Modo or Houdini, here where I am (other than Autodesk Max or Maya) -Full feature set: animation, particles, GPU+CPU render engine, compatibility, sculpting, texture painting, video editing, UV, modeling, hair, cloth, advanced rigging systems, volumetric particles, liquid simulation, strands (in development), node based compositing, node based features editing/modeling/particles for different mechanics (in development), IK/FK, blend and corrective shapes, NLA animation, keyframe animation, Animatable Fcurves for all attributes, Game engine, etc -Clear future (project gooseberry, development roadmaps/projects) -Open development (you know what is being developed and how to help/participate) -Fast and Active development (new releases and bug fixes every few months) -Direct investment into where you want it to be better (if you want to invest in it) -Large knowledge base -Large and talented community -Freedom and compatibility with any kind of OS -In the long term, less education and investment for the same productivity [as a multi-platform pipeline] -And last but not least: a unified pipeline - leaving my studio free for students, generalist or specialists to work as a team without having to invest in new areas of software/knowledge base/specialized staff/training/facilities - facilitating troubleshooting/training and managing the team under one roof and software (even development with a common and open SDK and programming language for potential in-house tools and scripts) ; all this will be much easier as I won’t have to translate between software and specialists and their unique workflows for similar tasks for the one final product - from 3D conceptualization to final edit and color correction. .. I think…. That will be my path, and the path of the studio I am working on. -Draise PH: 313 811 6821 From: Tony Naqvi Sent: Thursday, May 1, 2014 02:41 To: [email protected] Hi All, Not sure if a consensus was reached on this, but I’m torn between which way to turn in learning a new package. Want to stay away from Maya as much as possible (since I already know it pretty well) and will continue to use Soft for as long as I can, but thought it worth at least starting to look at an alternative since it will probably mean more employment options. At the moment I’m looking at the three main alternatives; Houdini, C4D and Modo. I like Houdini, having had a very brief look into it already. I also like the look of Modo 801 – particularly with the tie-up with other Foundry tools (which I assume will only get stronger in the future). But Cinema 4D also has some nice tools – particularly Xpresso which seems to be heading towards the ICE direction from what I’ve seen. I’ve also been sideways looking at Blender – although at the moment I just can’t seem to battle past the interface! Anyone have any insights into these that they can share that may help sway my decision? Again, apologies if this has done the rounds already! Cheers T.
