Experiences with Maya or Modo?

[ianmoran]

Hello everybody,

 

I have been trying to create 3D architectural work on a Mac. So unfortunately 3DS Max is not really an option so I have been experimenting with alternatives. I have been using Maya which I am quite comfortable with now. However, I am concerned that the subscription costs are getting too high. So I have been thinking about Modo as another option.

 

Does anybody on here have experience of using Maya or Modo for ArchViz work? And if so, what were your experiences? Also, has anybody tried Vray for Modo?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Ian

[Justin Hunt]

Modo is a very capable package. I am assuming that you have looked at the modo forums which have some good arch viz examples. The biggest shortfall is getting a pre-made library models. Although this is getting better.

 

Vray for Modo is fantastic and very well integrated, the native renderer is very good too.

 

Modo's modeling philosophy is quite different to Max and Maya so that may take a little while to get used to. Now that it has finally gotten a "non-destructive" workflow it will make things a bit more flexible when it comes to design iteration modeling.

[ianmoran]

Modo is a very capable package. I am assuming that you have looked at the modo forums which have some good arch viz examples. The biggest shortfall is getting a pre-made library models. Although this is getting better.

 

Vray for Modo is fantastic and very well integrated, the native renderer is very good too.

 

Modo's modeling philosophy is quite different to Max and Maya so that may take a little while to get used to. Now that it has finally gotten a "non-destructive" workflow it will make things a bit more flexible when it comes to design iteration modeling.

 

Thank you so much for responding, Justin. Your information helps a lot. I am happy to hear that Vray for Modo is well integrated. I was concerned about this. I have been using Vray for Maya and am comfortable with it now.

 

I believe that Modo's shading workflow is quite different though. In Maya, you connect a bunch of nodes in the Hypershade. I believe that Modo's texturing workflow is more similar to Photoshop layers, correct?

[Justin Hunt]

in concept yes, but its a lot more than that. the shader tree is probably one of the hardest workflows to get your head around, some love it some hate it. Once you understand it you can see how useful it can be.

 

personally i found modo to have a steep learning curve, mainly because it follows its own workflow logic which can be quite different to other DCC apps. It can take a while for their logic to be clear. There are quite a few paid tutorials available which will really help get under the hood. Granted most are not archviz oriented but are still very relevant and the concepts can be adapted for archviz.

[Francisco Penaloza]

Well let me give you the other point of view.

I tried MODO for a while, I own MODO since 201, but I didn't update since 802 ( I am selling it if you are interested)

I think it all goes to the way you work, for me MODO it is none useful for Arch Viz. Most of my work start from REVIT or Sketchup. That's what Architects or designers send me. MODO can't handle REVIT models, MAYA does a little better work with FBX but, everything gets transformed to single mesh and this is a killing in object count in any 3D Package. Layers and Materials get really messy too.

 

Believe me I have tried and tried, scripts, plugins, different approach, I really try to like MODO, but then I realized that the time that I spend 'fixing the model' it is not worth it.

Working with 3D Max I just link the FBX and start working on the render right away, yes there are some quick here and there, but nothing comparing to flipping polygons on MODO it is just ridiculous. I think our time should be spend in imagining how to make great images and not dealing with technicalities of how to make the software works with each scene.

 

If you model from scratch, then any 3D Software will do. My recommendation will be still Maya over MODO.

 

Now If you really want to enjoy doing Arch Viz in a Mac I would recommend Cinema 4D instead. Cinema 4D community is large, full of already build assets for Arch Viz, several plugins, scripts and render engines, just as many like for Max. Cinema 4d may fall short when working in very large projects tho. Then you need divide your scene in a more smart way, but over all, I had way better experience working on a Mac with Cinema 4D that I ever did with MODO. Grabbing any FBX from REVIT, do the import on MODO if didn't crash, it came all model flipped and most of Polygons in the wrong direction. Same model on Max or Cinema 4D you are ready to go. Maya is a great software, but for Arch Viz. Not sure if it is the best choice. With Cinema 4D you get assets, and large community dedicated to Arch Viz.

My two cents.

[Justin Hunt]

I have had pretty much the same experience with Modo, I like it but its just too click happy for me, it's one of the reasons I dont use Modo in production. The other is that it just cant handle the size and complexity of models we work with, think huge multi-story shopping malls built in Revit for documentation, even Max has issues with them.

 

For a one man band doing freelance / medium scale projects I still think Modo is an option

[ianmoran]

Thank you to both of you for your honest opinions. It is certainly making me rethink things a bit. I have not really considered Cinema 4D before but I will certainly look into it. I know that one of the animation studios here in Perth uses it, but I remember reading years ago that it did not have the power of Maya. However, for ArchViz, it may end up being a step forward. I have certainly seen some great ArchViz work posted online that was made in C4D. It appears that Max is certainly still the best option for ArchViz, and I am thinking that my reluctance to move from Mac to Windows may end up being my own downfall. After using Mac for the last 16 years, it is tough to let go - not the mention the cost of a new system right now is not really possible. I have tried Max on a Windows emulator, but the results were not good. So I will have another think about this one. For now, Maya works pretty well for me as I make all of my projects from the ground up, but I am put off by the monthly subscription fees. There is also a lack of pre-made assets etc. I am still studying and learning so I do not get paid for my 3D work, and it is not at the standard of you guys yet. I have done a few projects for a local builder, but they were unpaid just to get myself a bit of experience, which I am happy about.

[James Vella]

I agree completely with Francisco Penaloza on this one.

 

While I use 3dsmax as my main 3d package, If i was in your shoes - I would pick Cinema4D - hell some days I wish I was using it as my main package, but its been 5 years since I used it and would need some benefit to our workflow (such as working on in a mac environment...) Plus I think its a great software package in general, and gives u access to some fairly new technology and syncs well with adobe. My 2 cents