Hi folks. Just entered the forum here, first time. Thank you for making this available to me and to others.

I'm a graphic designer/illustrator and I've decided that I need to jump into 3D modeling and I'm looking for some recommendations as to which product might suit me best. I do have limited experience in the 3D world, from a few years back, with Macromedia's "Extreme 3D" and more recently with SketchUp, so even though I've MUCH to learn, I'm not going in totally cold, either.

I use a Power Mac G5 dual (1.8 ghz), 10.4.x OS with 3 gigs of RAM.

I anticipate using the modeler mostly for 'still' illustration for print, that is, without animation. However, I do expect to do some limited animation for informational graphics which might be published to the web. I'm certainly NOT interested in "full blown" animation, for lack of a better description. Just simple stuff. I think my emphasis would be product illustration.

Currently I have demos for Lightwave, Cinema 4D and Strata 3D and have been experimenting with each of them.

At this point, I have to say I'm leaning heavily toward Strata. I'm far more comfortable with Strata's user interface than with the other two. I am under the impression that Lightwave is probably significantly more powerful than Strata, but I'm not sure I would use all of that, either. I like the way Strata integrates with Illustrator and Photoshop. I notice that Strata, however, doesn't offer layers and it doesn't appear to offer nearly as many primitives as LW or Cinema 4D.

LW's UI is, to me, a bit like going back to MS-DOS. Yes, that's an exaggeration, but it's NOT very user-friendly. Still, I'd be willing to live with it if I was convinced that there were significant advantages. I was experimenting with LW this morning, trying to model a gear, and I noticed what seemed like "bugginess" in some of the controls. Sometimes buttons wouldn't work or numeric values wouldn't take effect or seemed to change spontaneously. That makes me a little nervous.

Cinema 4D, I think, is at the bottom of my list. It looks like it has some neat features, and I like the way some of the tools and controls function, but the online support doesn't seem to be there and I don't like the UI. (though it's not as bad as LW) I don't find any online tutorials (not for free, anyway) that'll help me at least get acquainted with the software and the user guide PDF that I downloaded was, well, pathetic.

I'd appreciate any input on this decision. Will I be likely to kick myself for not getting Lightwave? Any 'objective' comparisons between the programs would be MUCH appreciated.

Thank you so much.

TRoutMac

Hi TroutMac, I don't know too much about strata 3d but I've used Lightwave and Cinema4d and both are very good 3d design softwares with robust tools that are more than enough for illustration purposes.
Cinema4D has some great 3d texture painting tools.

For modeling and illustration you may also consider Modo.

_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

Andyba:

Thanks very much for your recommendation. I was not aware of Modo and I've now downloaded the demo version and am watching tutorials. If you were to combine Lightwave and Cinema 4D, I think Modo is what you get. I like the interface and the way some of the tools work. The interface just beats the snot out of Lightwave.

Strata 3D was at the top of my list, but now Modo is, with Strata 3D in 2nd place. I'm struggling a bit with the Modo demo… seems inconsistent at times. But to a relative newbie like myself, they all seem inconsistent or buggy. Probably just operator error.

Thanks very much for your suggestion. VERY helpful.

TRoutMac

I took a look at strata 3d and it is a really nice program. It can be integrated with adobe photoshop what makes it effective for illustrations.
_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

Hi,

I have uesd Strata and Lightwave before.

Seriously, I think Lightwave is better...

i am in exactly the same situation. the problem is there's a case made for each product here! I cant decide

Hey TRoutMac, i did not finish reading the whole responses for your question, but i'll give you my part of the answer. You can definitely start with Blender, yes it is a free software but you can still create professional work, whether images or animation. To make it better you can always download the LuxRender engine to make it more photorealistic. One you get the basics dow(but remember the most important part of CG illustration is modeling and how to unwrap it correctly, they are again the most important things in the 3d world). Currently i'm trying to make a transition from Blender to Cinema 4D. The reason why the transition part its because studios require you to know the program, for some reason everyone is afraid of using free software. Also it will be easier for you to learn Cinema 4D after Blender, because Blender is very hard to master or to even learn, it has a big learning curve. Hey, but its free and professional. About Cinema 4D. It is actually the best program for CG Illustration and Matt Painting, so if you ever get it, or your trying to get it, don't have any doubt's about it. Hands down the best.