[colecampbell666]

Well?

[Topgun]

Maya is better for rendering and animation but max is better for modeling.

[Nuke]

never used maya

[Scooby_Doo]

Me neither... always kinda wanted to.. that and lightwave.

[Turambar]

i kinda learned max in february, and i like it .

i'm taking classes in maya now, and i guess its ok, but i prefer max now simply because i know it better.

[jaedub51]

Max can make some pretty awesome renderings.

[colecampbell666]

Is Max hard to learn?

What features does Max have over open-source programs like Blender? (having to do with modeling)

[jaedub51]

I still haven't learned Max really, and I won't until I take the computer rendering class for it at school. But, it is pretty difficult, as far as I can tell.

I don't know Blender, but Rhino was much easier for me to pick up. Max has a lot of Solids vs. Meshes things that, AFAIK, free programs don't go in-depth with. Of course, I only know 'professional' programs, since I work in a 'professional' field..... lol.

[colecampbell666]

I have an uncle who could get let me borrow his copy (he too works in the industry) but I am wondering if it is worth it to learn Max,or stick with Blender?

[Scooby_Doo]

If you have the opportunity to learn max... then do so by all means.

[jaedub51]

If you ever plan on doing rendering: learn Max. OR use Maxwell plug-in. Maxwell is outstanding. Otherwise, there really isn't much reason to learn another program: they all do the same thing, more or less, and you'll end up using one of them way more than the other.

[Scooby_Doo]

It all depends on which game your editing or helping to build... some use blender, some use milkshape, others maya.  I've noticed that Max seems to be commonly used for gaming.

[colecampbell666]

I want to mod FS ATM, probably won't go much farther.

EDIT: I'm wondering if it is harder to learn Max than something like Blender?

[nubbles526]

Hmmm...never heard of maya, so 3DS for me.

[Roanoke]

....Otherwise, there really isn't much reason to learn another program: they all do the same thing, more or less, and you'll end up using one of them way more than the other.

 

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

This thread needs a few corrections.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that Max and Maya are the only choices out there. They aren't. And don't think that just because software X was used to produce the effects for the movie Y means that it's the tool everyone should use.

There's only one good advice anyone can give to people choosing their first modeling tool: try out the demo versions and see what works the best for you. Ignore the comments claiming any specific program is the best for rendering, or modeling, or anything else.

If you ever plan on doing rendering: learn Max.

I still haven't learned Max really, and I won't until I take the computer rendering class for it at school.

Heh.

[Water]

I want to mod FS ATM, probably won't go much farther.

EDIT: I'm wondering if it is harder to learn Max than something like Blender?

It's harder to learn your first modeling program. Once you understand the concepts the second one is easier.
For some Max will be easier, for others Blender...
The main thing that makes the difference is how much time you spend using the modeler, and how much effort you put into learning more about it. The more you know about the modeler = faster modeling = less frustration

Blender is very much mouse and hot keys. If you prefer a buttons/icon interface, chose something else.

[colecampbell666]

Don't make the mistake of thinking that Max and Maya are the only choices out there.

They are my only choices.

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

Maybe as far as commercial applications go. If you've used Blender before it's still a very good choice, and I've seen people doing cool things with Silo and even Sketchup too.

[TopAce]

I don't know Maya, but I do know Max a little bit. I think it's hard to begin with Max, but it may be because there are too many features, and you don't know which ones to use all at once.