3D software for background art

Yitcomics · Sun 28/08/2016 18:43:01

Okay I need some advise,i've been avoiding it for a long time but I think its time that I learn 3D for drawing backgrounds and I have almost zero knowledge on 3D.I want to know what 3D software do you use and recommend,I know what people always say "use what you feel is right and comfortable to you",I hate to admit it but i'm a "lazy ass".

But if I want to learn something I can put my mind to it,the thing is i'm too lazy to try out all of the software and then decide which is the best software for me,I just want to pick one and commit myself in learning it.So I need recommendation from you guys because I value your opinion(actually I have nowhere else to go *sniff*

).Should I learn sketch up or blender or whatever else that you might recommend.

Maybe you used sketch up and blender and found blender to be better for you "needs" in making your background art,just share your opinion that's all I need right now.

nihilyst · Sun 28/08/2016 18:59:54

I don't use it for backgrounds, but I found Blender to be quite accessible, and there's tons of tutorials out there to get you covered.

Cassiebsg · Sun 28/08/2016 19:16:59

Using Blender as well. Mainly 2 reasons "sold" me to it: free and plenty of free tutorials.

Takes a while to get use to it though.

Mouth for war · Sun 28/08/2016 21:33:08

I'm a Poser man myself! Love it! You don't have that many options when it comes to modeling yourself perhaps but being a little clever with magnets and doing some morphs there's magic to be had!

I modeled these things in Poser (Not looking for crit. Just showing that you CAN model stuff too if you take your time to learn the software)

Here's a background I did in Poser as well but I didn't model everything myself here because I was too lazy. I did a lot there too though

Quintaros · Sun 28/08/2016 22:52:56

I've used 3DS Max, Z Brush, Poser, and Sketchup and would say that Sketchup has been far and away the easiest to learn. It doesn't produce photo-realistic renderings as I initially desired but I've learned to do a lot of post work in photoshop to achieve a style I find pleasing. Sketchup also has a terrific library of models available that can be tweaked to fit your specific purposes.

Kumpel · Mon 29/08/2016 01:54:56

I am using sketchup too. It's by far the simpliest 3D design software I found until today (30mins playing around and you should understand 80% of how to create even semicomplex objects). It's for free, as far as you don't wanna do more complex stuff. One problem is the lack of light sources though, but at least there is real time sunlight if you wanna see light beams and shadows falling through windows and stuff in your rooms realistically. For that you just need to turn on the sunlight option and then you can simulate the position of the sun for every time of the day and every day of the year while continuing to design the project/room/whatever. For other light sources you'd need to install plugins like the one that connects sketchup with the small render software "Kerkythea".

Chicky · Mon 29/08/2016 11:12:56

You can get some nice renders using Sketchup and Keyshot, Keyshot has a bunch of materials you can assign to your Sketchup model and they will emulate the specular maps etc for you.

3D modelling isn't something you can generally learn half-assed as the texturing pipeline is heavily reliant on the quality of your modelling and UV Unwrapping. I use 3DS Max but it has taken me years (on and off) to get to a good standard with it. The modelling to UV Unwrapping stage is the biggest hurdle but you can skip that by using colour ID maps in Sketchup and sending your model through to a renderer like Keyshot.

I can't speak for Blender as I've never used it but a lot of people sing it's praises.

jwalt · Mon 29/08/2016 13:02:26

Feeling obligated to, at least, mention the free program I use: Anim8or. It was left unchanged for quite a spell, but the program designer has retired and is making tons of changes to the program. It is about the only modeler I've tried that seems to work for me.

http://www.anim8or.com

nihilyst · Mon 29/08/2016 13:50:09

@Chicky: Never heard of Keyshot and googles some pictures. It seems to produce really nice renders, but damn, is it expensive.

But yeah, you're right. While basic modelling can be quite easy to learn, UV unwrapping does not, and it needs a lot of practice and trial and error.

Darth Mandarb · Mon 29/08/2016 19:37:47

I'm a Blender fan.

I love Sketchup, but I can't achieve with it what I can w/ Blender.

The only thing I warn people about is the HUGE learning curve for the interface. It's insane! Once you get comfortable with it (seriously, memorize those hot keys!) you can get a truly amazing workflow going!

Here's something I modeled/textured in just about 3 hours total:

The ability to make something like that w/ a program that is 100% free? Can't beat that in my opinion!

Mouth for war · Tue 30/08/2016 11:48:44

I know this is not a thread to discuss the art and sorry for going o.t. but damn that looks nice Darth

Ryan Timothy B · Tue 30/08/2016 13:30:03

Other than the cord being too loose like a soft spaghetti noodle (when it passes over the wire itself - NES cables were way too stiff for that kind of sag

) it's amazing work! Nice use of lighting too with the blue accent.

I've used Blender before and it took me a very long time to get used to it - mostly because I used Maya beforehand and I kept getting hung up on that 3D cursor. It would be fantastic if undo would undo the movement of the 3D cursor, unless that's a preference option I wasn't aware of. Once you get used to it and can start efficiently building what you need, it definitely turns into a powerful piece of software. But I eventually went back to Maya, and when you do, you start wishing it also had the 3D cursor. I do prefer Maya over Blender, but one cannot complain about the price tag of Blender. If I ever did make anything for commercial use, I would definitely fork over the cash for Maya, in the meantime I will continue to use my "non-legal" version.

Danvzare · Tue 30/08/2016 15:11:56

Quote from: Ryan Timoothy on Tue 30/08/2016 13:30:03
in the meantime I will continue to use my "non-legal" version.

Shhhh, don't tell anyone that.

Darth Mandarb · Wed 31/08/2016 00:44:01

Thanks! I love Blender.

I have to say that I'm pretty impressed w/ what you achieved in Poser! I fiddled with it a few years back and couldn't get anything to look right. Kudos!

Yitcomics · Fri 02/09/2016 08:29:15

Thanks for the advise guys,sketchup does seems easy to learn,but I'm still checking up on blender/maya/3ds max etc.I'm afraid once I got too comfortable with Sketchup I would be too lazy to touch anything else.

Since I know almost next to nothing about 3D its really hard to judge anything,so I'm just wondering since Blender is free and lets say Maya is commercial,is the comparison like Gimp and Photoshop?

Ali · Fri 02/09/2016 10:21:18

I haven't used Maya or 3DS Max for a long while, but the gulf between Blender and its commercial rivals feels a lot narrower than Gimp and Photoshop.

Blender used to be terribly user-unfriendly (a bit like Gimp) when I started using it 10 years ago, but it's improved enormously. I suspect that Blender does not fit into a commercial animation pipeline, or allow fast/collaborative working as well as Maya/3DSMax.

KyriakosCH · Mon 12/09/2016 00:06:44

I use Blender. In the past i was using Bryce (easier to learn) and then 3DSMax for a year, cause Blender was IMPOSSIBLE to work with due to terrible interface before 2014-2015 iirc

But it now is the top choice, by far. Open-source, loads of youtube tutorials, you can't go wrong with that.

If you haven't 3d modeled before just persist, unless it seems utterly unintuitive. Start with just modeling forms you can use, familiarize yourself with the object and edit mode, try some basic lightings/settings on Blender Cycles etc.