Taking FormZ to the next level

[d-rockZ]

I knew that such an open ended question would open a can of worms. Its kind of hard to ask someone, which software they prefer. Its not like there is some guy in this forum who has been using max as well as c4d 50/50 for 20+ years....hehe.

 

I will say this... I'm not actually wanting what is the most popular industry software. But I do want software that is progressive and will help me to remain competitive in the industry in future years. I really do like formZ as a modeller.... but like most of you have expressed its not so hot as a rendering option.

 

So my options are:

 

1.) Stay with formz and try to use maxwell render. but.... from what I've heard in formz and cga forums is that maxwell takes for ever-and-a-day to generate. But it does put out some nice images.

 

2.) Try to transfer models from formZ into another modeling program such as C4D or Max and then use another renderer such as V-ray/Mental Ray. but... are there problems in transferring of the formZ to these other modellers. To me (and I could be wrong) its seems like a waste to transfer one model into another modeller that essentially does the same thing.

 

3.) Start over again and learn a new modeller because of the benefits of the rendering software associated with them. but.... as I mentioned before I am comfortable with using formz as strictly a modeller.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post your responses. This is a great community of professionals. ~ Derek

[BillyElNino]

2.) Try to transfer models from formZ into another modeling program such as C4D or Max and then use another renderer such as V-ray/Mental Ray. but... are there problems in transferring of the formZ to these other modellers. To me (and I could be wrong) its seems like a waste to transfer one model into another modeller that essentially does the same thing.

 

You'll be surprised at how popular it is to use a third party modeller (Rhino, FormZ, SketchUp, AutoCAD, etc) stick it into Max, C4D, Maya etc, then get the old third party renderer fired up on top of that. (Vray etc) It appears at first a bit of a round about way of getting the desired result but its really about using each piece of software where it excels and moving down the list when something else does it better.

 

I find it a lot quicker outline model a building in SketchUp and add detail and components in Cinema later. I could do this in Cinema but I don't believe that even with a lot more practice I would achieve the same results in the same time.

[Frosty]

Taking personal opinion and preference out of the equation you would have to reason that for Autodesk to have commanded such a large industry usage a large amount of this would have to be down to the desirabilty factors you mention - support, features, compatibilty, stability etc.

 

I believe my wife, who is a researcher, would call this correlation not causation. The market dominance of 3D Max may not in anyway be related to its feature set/price/performance/usability. Do people choose Max simply because its popular thereby making it more popular? Is it the easiest to acquire? Was it the first available/production ready? What were the historic market influences? This is partially how AutoCad has retained its stranglehold in North American architecture for so long.

 

I'm not anti-AutoDesk, nor intentionally trying to sway anyone from 3DMax to C4D. I have nothing at stake in anyone's selection of software and there are valid pro's and con's to each selection. I just do not think popularity is a valid argument EXCEPT for compatability and access to learning materials. As you state most platforms have pretty significant learning resources online, including this forum. It would be hard make an argument Max having the most resources though.

[martyc]

"1.) Stay with formz and try to use maxwell render. but.... from what I've heard in formz and cga forums is that maxwell takes for ever-and-a-day to generate. But it does put out some nice images."

 

I've been using FMZ for 12 years, I use it in the office and at home on my own projects. I use it to import Dwg files, because that's what is used at work, and now shetchup. I model detail in FMZ, but recently with AO, architectural ornamentation I export to Lightwave. I find myself using that combination, LW is is the best sub patch modeler I know. FMZ is lousy at organic modeling, LW fills in that gap. I use Maxwell (the materials databse on line is fantastic) to do the rendering, the plugins are for both programs, so I get more or less the same output with both, but I prefer Lightwave surfacing and UV abilities, has much better plugins, for UV and offsets in organic shapes. I do renders when I leave the office, when I get back to my desk I have a very good render in 12 hours. I don't notice the time on that, it still is better than radiosity, and that seems to take as long to render. I like the FMZ - LW - Maxwell pipeline.