[yanada]

"It Sounds Like Modo"

Yes it does. Hear it yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCrmkP_HJEQ

gay

[yanada]

Solidworks is one to consider, the people I work with use vectorworks for 2D right now. FormZ, I used in the past and loved it but don't have access to it for now. Their bonzai3d looks very promising.

VectorWorks2009 Switching to Parasolid= could became as powerful as SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Microstation + the ONLY On Os X Till Now...
So VectorWorks>Cinema4D>BodyPaint>Maxwell=$$$$$$

[fv]

Vectorworks is great, have been using it since 1989. But I no longer model in 3D in VW anymore since I use Sketchup. I have made some amazingly realistic models of all kind of subjects with Sketchup rendered in Maxwell. The latest plugin works for me rather well.
I am not sure how Vectorworks does now with VW2009. I know people who model in VW and render in C4D.

[Burnum]

I have issues more with textures in Sketchup than modeling in it. Other than it being a surface modeler that requirers you to redo stuff if you want to change the number of facets on an extruded cylinder, etc. (and simple ways of adding rounded edges and corners and fillets and stuff...)


so far, I can't figure out so far in any app how to get a UV map to work like a cylinder map but tiled along the length of a bent pipe or wire. (circle extruded along a 3d bent curve.)

[KurtS]

so far, I can't figure out so far in any app how to get a UV map to work like a cylinder map but tiled along the length of a bent pipe or wire. (circle extruded along a 3d bent curve.)

Isn't this pretty basic in most modelling apps?

[Kevin Olson]

How about Silo?

http://www.nevercenter.com

And also, modo is really good at modeling, texturing and rendering.

[Burnum]

I would love to see your maps for that steel rope! beautiful!

And no, SketchUp likes to do Flat projected UVs on everything but a cylinder, as far as I can tell... I'll have to experiment some more with extruding a circle along a bent curve line. but then again, you can't make a bent curve line in SU either without some weak plug ins...


Hmmm Silo is a new one I haven't seen before. Modo is looking nice as well, especially if the Maxwell plugin rumor is true.

[jo]

I have my eyes on Modo and Bonzai3D.

I'm waiting for Bonzai too!
I'm scared that SketchUp is somehow destined to die ('cause of Google).

Ciao, Gio

[KurtS]

I would love to see your maps for that steel rope! beautiful!

thanks Burnum,

it's just a material i found in the MXM-gallery: steelrope by kurt

[Calico Jack]

I use Rhino 4.0 and Modo 302. What is good for you, depends what kind of modeling you are going to make. My task in our company is to make more concepts and visualizations so Modo is good tool for it.
I think I'll start to practice Maya in the future because it's very useful to have poygons and nurbs in the same package. But like I said, it depends what you are going to model.
Rhino and Modo are relatively cheap but Maya has it all.. of course it costs twice as much than Rhino and Modo.

[creasia]

I am a Sketchup user and am very pleased with it's ability to model. I am not however impressed with it's connection to Maxwell. I understand that Sketchup is a difficult program to hotwire rendering apps into. Pelias has made some great headway in that department, but Sketchup has limitations. Two of them are mapping and exporting large scenes.

I recently have been exploring the Rhino/Maxwell plugin, as it is my second favorite modeling application. They make fine jewelry and manufacture cars with it. It does precision big time.

It's support for Maxwell is incredible! Motion blurring, animation and UV mapping. There are toolbars there for Maxwell features I didn't know about, and it is designed for standalone usage with or without Studio.

Having used 3DSMax for years I do not recommend it as a precision modeler. It has purposely been limited, I believe, so that people will have to buy AutoCAD.

[Mr Whippy]

I have an old friend who has been doing 3d since the late 80's and having used imagine for so many years was keen to find a decent 3d app to replace. He chose Cinema which is praise indeed - I cant comment as havent used it myself.

As for Max I have just been institutionalised having used it since it was started by Yost and then kinetix after being taken on by Autodesk as a money printing device - i.e I know it too well to move on.

Unfortunately this horrific company will not stop and has already bought Maya and more recently Realviz, both hotbeds of software innovation now destined to the same sad devolution.

Hehe, after they went from Kinetix to Autodesk it did feel to become somewhat less special with every further revision.

Ie, NURBS in the early versions was limited, and even now in the current versions it's still limited.

Booleans on meshes were lame back then, lame today.

Fundamentals like edit poly in stacks not arriving until version 7 or 8...

Some really really crazy issues. And I too have used it so long it's hard to jump out and learn something new.


Rhino is my next port of call, slowly but surely... I still love Max for modelling certain things of course, it is still a good app, but the fact it's nurbs is clearly going nowhere, and it's integrated mentalray is still almost impossible to use well without hours of setup time and material development (why i use maxwell) that it's just not worth starting with... I agree there

Dave

[wimver]

Steve,

I asked the same question half a year ago in this forum. I have been using FormZ for the last 15 years, and although it is a very good program, it falls short when it comes to UV mapping, and a few other things.

so I did the math, and decided to go for Modo. this program tends to become something like an "industry standard" if I can be so bold, at least that is what I hear from fellow modelers around.

I will certainly keep FormZ as a technical modeler, I just upgraded to the latest version, but I now feel more comfortable with a new state of the art modeler.

Although I haven't done much with Modo yet, (I have no time now and coming from FormZ the learning curve is a bit steep) I am impressed about the documentation that comes with it. gigs of video tutorials, more of that online, and a very useful user forum. that counts too, I think, since trouble always shows up when you least expect it, and that is right before a short deadline.

but, it is said in this thread before, it all depends what you want to model. so depending on other people's experience is not the only factor you should concider. look for results in galleries, try the demo's if you find the time, then decide. and read some threads in specific software based discussion groups, then you will see where the pitfalls are.

good luck.

Wim

[Becco_UK]

Shortlist the ones that interest you and then be sure to try the demos before parting with cash.

[Bubbaloo]

Modo. this program tends to become something like an "industry standard"

I have never seen a modelling job ad that reads "must be proficient in Modo".