3D Development Software

3D Development Software
3ds Max
Maya
Blender
Cinema 4D
Lightwave
Swift 3D
Bryce 3D
Milkshape 3D
Modo
Hexagon
Carrara
Catia
SolidWorks
Silo
Animation Master
trueSpace
ZBrush
SoftwareimageXSI
Wings 3D
SketchUp

3ds Max is a full-featured 3D graphics application. It is developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment, (formly Discreet). The original 3D stuido project was created for DOS. After 3D Studio Release 4, the product was ported to the Windows NT platform. 3ds Max is one of the most popular 3D Development Softwares. It is commonly used by video game developers. It features MaxScript, which is a built-in scripting language, and is used for functions in MAX. Plugin modules can be created entirely in MAXscript. Also, it has Character Studio, which makes it easier to animate virtual characters. It is commonly used in the games industry, and is the most popular games production and development tool.  It is used by studios such as Silicon Knights, Epic Games, Ubisoft and NCsoft, for games such as Too Human, Gears of War, Assassin’s Creed and Lineage II. It is also used in TV and film, examples being Hellboy, Minority Report and X-Men 2. 3ds Max is generally seen as one of the top 3D modelling programs and is quite expensive, (3ds Max 2008 will cost around £1449).3ds Max official website – http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=5659302&siteID=123112

Maya is a full-featured 3D graphics application. It is developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment, (formly Discreet).It was originally developed by Alias System Corporation, (which was previously known as Alias|Wavefront). It has evloved from Alias’ PowerAnimator and Wavefront’s Explorer. It is a popular piece of software and is often used for video game developers. It is known for its openess to 3rd party software, which allows it to be very customisable. Maya is popular in the games industry and has been used in games such as Halo 2, Jax and Daxter, The Legend of Zelda and Tomb Raider to make the main characters. 46% of North American games studios use Maya. 50% of the 3D tool licenses within the top eight games studios in japan are Maya. Studios such as Bungie, Infinity Ward, Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment, Bizarre Creations and Lionhead Studios use it. Maya is also used in movies and tv, examples being the Sky adverts, Transformers, Surf’s Up and King Kong. Maya is generally seen as one of the top 3D modelling programs and is quite expensive, (Maya 2008 (basic version) will cost around £1449, and the Unlimited (ultimate version) will cost £4899).

Maya official website – http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=7635018

Lightwave is a computer graphics program for 3D modeling, animating and rendering. It was was one of the first high profile industry standard 3D packages featuring a built-in radiosity render engine. It is actually comprised of two seperate programs, Modeler and Layout. Lightwave is commonly used in TV and film. It has been used for many popular televison programs, such as Babylon 5, Star Trek Voyager, seaQuest DSV and Battlestar Galactica, as well as the film 300. Lightwave is generally seen as one of the top 3D modelling programs and is quite expensive, (costs around £1000).

Lightwave official website – http://www.newtek.com/lightwave/

Blender is a computer graphics program for 3D modeling, animating and rendering. Dutch animation studio NeoGeo and Not a Number Technologies. The difference between it and many other programs, is that it is free. Although it is free it is not a low end piece of software, it is mid to high end. It was used in Spider-man 2 and Friday or Another Day. Blender is not very well known, so there is not much has been done with it. But it with every new version it becomes better and better.

Blender official website – http://www.blender.org/

 

Cinema 4D is a high end 3D graphics application. It is developed my MAXONComputer GmbH. It was originally developed for the Amiga, but later moved over to Macs and Windows. Cinema 4D’s programming language is called C.O.F.F.E.E, which is a referance to another computer language called Java. Cinema 4D has been used for many films, such as Polar Express, Open Season and Monster House. It is popular amongst Matte painters in films because of its BodyPaint 3D function. Cinema 4D is relatively well known and costs quite a bit, (£2290 for the ultimate version).

MAXON official website - http://www.maxon.net/pages/dyn_files/dyn_htx/htx/welcome_e.html

My Comparison

Price is an important factor when comparing products. Blender is free and thus for somebody not wanting to spend a lot of money, it is the better choice, as it will teach the basics. The downside when comparing Blender to the rest is that it has smaller community. The other 4 have large companies behind them and will most likely see better support. Even technically, Blender is not as advanced as the others, because it is free, meaning less to spend on development. The other 4 are similar in content and price. Each usually have an area, in which it is superior. Cinema 4D has proved to be a popular choice anomgst animatied film studios. It is a pricey piece of software and the cost is justifiable for its content. Lightwave is popular for cgi on television. It is cheap than the other 4, and since television had a relativly low budget compared to film, it makes sense. 3ds Max and Maya are seen as the best 3d modelling programs. They are the most popular and are both common amongst many types of media. They both have multiple versions of software, at varied costs. 3ds Max and Maya are seen as the standard, so in general it would be best to go for one of them if you were going to purchase one. They are both similar technologically and even have similar GUI’s. Studios tend to have one or the other.