Best software

[zanderadrian]

After deciding to dedicate all his time to archviz and buying a 2500$ worth workstation a friend asked me what software he should choose for photorealistic renderings. A bit late but nonetheless I stuttered a little when he kept asking me all this questions about 10 different programs.

It came to this: vray and cinema 4d or vray and 3d max

Since there are a lot of people in the industry reading these posts i would ask you if there is any difference in the output quality. This taking in consideration only the software because in the end the skill of the user is the crucial factor.

 

Cinema4d has fewer tutorials but is more easy to get start.

3dMax seems to be the industry standard and there are tuts of everything you need.

 

So: is there a difference in output quality? is it easier to get to? (ex:node based material editor exclusively for 3dmax), modelling and all the usual stuff

 

I know this may have been discussed 100 times in the past, I have read about an hour about it and I still don't know what to say to him.

 

Thanks!

[Scott Schroeder]

You answered your own question. It's not the software but the skill of the user. I'm willing to be that if the same person had the same knowledge of both programs, did the same amount of post work etc on both renderings, you would not be able to tell which was Max and which was C4D.

 

The only thing that differentiates the two is price. Both can do the same thing and both can do it well provided the end user is properly trained.

 

Granted Max is going to have a wider user base, but there are more than enough people using C4D to have a decent user base as well.

[salvador]

For some reason Scott, this reminded me of a friend, years ago, who wanted to move from Max to Maya just because he saw his first GI renders in some Maya ad. He stuck with Max without even trying.

[abhaysingh]

That happened to me salvador.Some years ago i saw this famous magazine 3dWorld.I was kid so i got fascinated easily with cinema4d and maya.I downloaded maya demo right away but my poor computer was so poor that it didn't run the software.So i went to my college computer lab and learned 3ds max instead....

[Frosty]

I know this may have been discussed 100 times in the past, I have read about an hour about it and I still don't know what to say to him.

 

It has been asked 100s of times. And the song remains the same.

Download the demos and give them a spin. Find out what you like and don't like, then weigh all of that with the comments you've already made.

[matthewspencer]

Basically echoing what Steve/Scott said above, with a few additions:

 

I wouldn't let the apparent "lack" of C4D tutorials deter you; there are, in fact, vast amounts of them, they just may be harder to find because Maxon isn't an omnipresent force on the earth like Autodesk.

 

I guess what I'm saying is if a person can't master C4D with the tutorials at-hand (and the elaborate in-app help system), then it is squarely that person's fault.

 

That being said, why stop at these two apps? Since demos are available for every app, why not try LightWave, Sketchup, Revit, and Blender? Maybe something will stick out better than the others.

 

In terms of cost/benefit, do remember that if you go with a cheaper package of C4D/SU/LW, you would still have money leftover for VRay, and could even throw in Maxwell or some other library/plugin, and you'd still be under the base cost of 3DS Max. Not trying to express preference, just saying money can be an important factor.

[bilderbaurendering]

hi, i would also consider the industry where you would like to use the renderings.. architecture, animations etc. Basically you can see some nice images made in sketchup+vray .)

good luck