chow choppe Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Hi everyone Can anyone suggest a cheaper alternative for autodesk 3dsmax which a small freelancing company can afford . we are using vary alongwith it. So it shud be vray compatible also. We cannot afford to buy 3dsmax for now and would like to try out cheaper alternative softwares. Please suggest Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Blender is the freebie alternative of choice right now, but don't think it supports v-ray. I'd pop $795 for Modo if you didn't want $150,000,000 for 3ds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyca Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 check MaxonCinema 4dXL and Rhino, they are both vray compatible you can also checkout SketchUp. I also think that Maya is cheaper then 3d Max if you take the complet version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow choppe Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 we use AUTOCAD for modelling majorly and sometimes model in 3ds max for things like assets in a scene for example a street lamp, a berm road etc, after importing the main model So we use max mainly for rendering stills and animations rendering So what wud be the best choice and easier to learn also Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 there is no 'best' choice, but peeps up there have answered your question correctly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow choppe Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 what i meant by best choice was in terms of ___easier and faster to learn ___ Rendering quality is similar to 3dsmax and vray if we use vray alongwith it Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 vray is vray. and most render qualities are similar. and ease and speed of learning is again up to you. the only way you'll know for sure is to download the demos and test for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antisthenes Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 my vote is for Rhinoceros as you can use it in place of autocad and max w/o leaving the 1 environment and even detail in it too. The cost as a student and you could have at 500$ VRay and Rhinoceros full commercial as a student of any classes. Also you would not be limited to Vray as there are many other amazing render engines that use the same RDK like Brazil the nXt flamingo, Maxwell and Fryrender among others. other options as mentioned witch i am not familiar and have not a positive view on: Luxology Modo Cinema4d Blender Sketchup formz but my experience and satisfaction is with Rhino because it is so easy to learn and transition from a autodesk background besides how good the tech support is as well as the company McNeel's philosophy (user driven worker owned). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Rhino has some very powerful modeling tools but is lacking in the animation department. As for saving money while keeping a similar set of features to Max, Cinema4D is hard to beat. Also, if you take a look at the modules for it, you might decide you don't need them all. Keep in mind that while Vray is available for a lot of platforms, as it is written now the different Vray implementations are all separate products. So if you own a Vray for Max license you must purchase another license for the vray version for whatever other platform you want to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antisthenes Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 one word response: Bongo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackb602 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 I'll cast another vote for Cinema 4D. Its integration with Vray is excellent. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 We were taught Rhino in our classes at school. It is an easy transition from using Autocad. I prefer using Max though. I feel there is not real substitute for it when working in the professional world. I've seen some really great renders from both Cinema 4D and even Blender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAllusionisst Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 I just got off the phone with Diana Lee of Maxon a few hours ago and the discussion was mainly on C4D and architectural visualization. I don't use C4D, but I have tried out the demo and thought it was a pretty nice program with a good UI and they have an architectural specific package. It and LightWave are about the only full featured 3D apps not owned by Autodesk now that I would feel comfortable saying are an alternative. I don't know what modo 401 will be like, it may be a contender as well. But, you said Vray was also a deal breaker so you don't really have much of an option.... The real question is whether you are willing to change your username? As stated before, download demos and try them out and investigate the methods of bringing in your AutoCAD files and what is reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 one word response: Bongo With all respect to the McNeel people, Bongo is not a replacement for the animation features of a Max, Maya or Cinema. Expressions, wires, physics, particles, bipeds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horhe Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Hi everyone Can anyone suggest a cheaper alternative for autodesk 3dsmax which a small freelancing company can afford . we are using vary alongwith it. So it shud be vray compatible also. We cannot afford to buy 3dsmax for now and would like to try out cheaper alternative softwares. Please suggest Thanks You can run but you cant hide... Autodesk will eventually get ya (again)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow choppe Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 suppose we buy max 2009 will we have to buy another new version when it arrives for the same price? or we dont need to upgrade at all until we wish to? Or we can get lower version like max 9 for cheaper? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 In reverse order: -No (they don't offer old versions at lower prices and people aren't allowed to sell you their old versions) Actually, they are allowed to sell you their old version if it's an asset of a business they're selling, so if you know somebody who's going out of business you can make them a bid for their company name rights and their software as a package. I know, it's not much of a loophole. -No. You don't have to upgrade if you don't want to. -No. They sell upgrades and there's the subscription service also - you pay a per year cost and get all upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow choppe Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 okay thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 You could use Blender ($ free) for modelling and animation, use something like Yafray ($ free) for rendering animations and purchase a licence for a stand-alone renderer (eg. Maxwell, FryRender) to render high-quality stills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kippu Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 why not sketchup ? theres a vray for sketchup too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Sketchup isn't all that much cheaper than Cinema or Rhino and is way less powerful than either. Also, maybe it's just a skill level gap but I've never been impressed by the Vray for Sketchup stuff I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antisthenes Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 i agree way too weak and simpletonish the animation in it is even worse than Bongo, and that is saying allot, not that i use physics particles or biped but i prefer professional animation workflow and tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Now that's not fair either. Sketchup is neither weak nor "simpletonish" (sic) but should be understood as a tool for doing a particular set of things. Which does not include animating or high end rendering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chow choppe Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 okay guys tell me one thing now. They are offering autodesk 3dsmax design a little cheaper so i want to know that is it good enough for the kind of work(architectural stills and animations that we are doing)that we are doing. or does it have limited functions Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 the main difference between Max and Max Design is that Design includes a Lighting Analysis Feature and does not Come with the SDK. They are the same base program. We use Design at my job (architecture company w/ small in-house 3d team) and it works great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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