Maya or 3ds Max?

[Kyliee]

Hi all - I am looking for some advice on which program will best suit my needs. First, let me tell you what I need to get out of either program...

 

I am looking for a program that allows me to be able to to model, texture and light realistic room scenes (furniture, plants, etc.). I also need to be able to take drawings of products done in Solid Works from our R&D department, place them within these scenes and render them all together in a realistic looking environment using Mental Ray or something similar.

 

I have attached a file sample of what I would like to be able to achieve.

 

I would also like to have some flexibility in being able to create short, simple animations (zooming in, rotating the products, etc.).

 

 

My choices are:

1. Get 3ds Max and a brand new PC

or

2. Get Maya and a brand new Mac.

 

I am looking for as much advice as possible (and what the pros and cons are of either system) from those who work in the industry, as I don't want to choose wrong and be stuck with something that doesn't do the job I need it to...

 

Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!!

[XKP]

ok well first of all why Maya and a Mac ? I learned 3d at school with Maya and Pc and it works just as well so keep an open mind. For visualizations most people tend to use 3ds max but it's also well known that Maya is better for creating animations but since u said that it would be simple stuff I would have to say go for 3ds max and pc.

 

that's my 2 cents hope it helps.

 

[ihabkal]

get max and a pc

[cianmcgrath]

I think Autodesk support Max on the Mac through boot camp.

Don't forget Cinema 4D along with Vray;)

 

 

Cian.

[Kyliee]

Using Boot Camp and 3ds would be my ideal solution. Has anyone tried this combination? Are there any issues that people have had / are having?

[Roca]

I've used 3DS Max on my macbook pro its about a year and a half old on boot camp on xp and on 7 and although I haven't used it too much, I'd say pretty surely that you wouldn't have too much of a problem at all.

[alias_marks]

I'll chime in and say you might consider modo on either platform... for the long term I think the real time interaction and modeling flexibility of this soft is something to keep an eye on..

[itarc]

I think : 3ds Max and a brand new PC

[AJLynn]

Yes, you can use Max on Bootcamp.

 

Look, it doesn't really matter, from a technical standpoint, which of these you choose. If you say something about what sorts of files you export from Solidworks people might have experience with one or more of the programs and importing the files, but Max with mental ray or Vray, Maya with mental ray or Turtle (or maybe they even finally got off their butts and put out Vray for it?...) or C4D with Vray or Modo are equally capable of enabling you to make good renders. (That's the key - enabling you - it's your work, not the software's.) If the image you posted is typical of what you want to do, you can do it equally in any of the popular packages.

 

So, first, Mac or Windows. Which does your office use? Which are you used to? Which do you already have? These are the controlling factors, not the 3D packages, since you can get 3D packages for each.

 

Second, choice of 3D software. You can get trial versions of most of these, so see which one you like. Do you collaborate with other offices that use one of the packages in particular? That could be important, otherwise it's just about what you feel comfortable with.

 

Most people will recommend you use whatever they use, since they obviously think it's the best, but that's just human nature.