Maya vs 3ds Max vs Lightwave

I can only afford to buy one right now. Which one do you guys think has the best bang for the buck or which one is your favorite and why. Thanks for the advice in advance.

I can't say i've ever tried Maya, but from what i've seen and done on 3d Studio Max i've really enjoyed. Some really good tools on that software.

A year or two ago, Maya was making a big buzz. Now, you don't hear too much about it from anyone. Anytime I hear of anyone talking about 3D they refer to using 3D Max. From what I heard, Maya caters more to the professional 3D animators. However, many professional also use 3D Max, but word on the streets is that it's not too complicated. I can't say for sure which one is better, I use Cinema 4D.

Thanks. I was also thinking of Cinema 4d but it didn't pop into my head when I wrote this. What do you think of it? What did you pay for it? How difficult is it to learn?

About $300 bought from Studica.com. I love it. I believe it's even easier to learn than 3D Max.

i dont believe max is that difficult, i just recieved it and hell its been an absolute pleasure to be able to adapt to something so amazing as max.
could anybody tell me whats studica like ?

Max isn't hard at all, it's just that Cinema is easier.

I dont know too much about Studica. I only bought the one piece of software since I found it. The software they sale are the educational versions which means they don't update. However, at the price you pay you can afford to just buy the updated version. According to the Maxon website I saved about $500 on Cinema 4D.

Are there any other restrictions that come with the software from Studica?

Actually that's not a Studica restriction. All educational editions of software from anywhere do not update. As far as I know there isn't any restrictions concerning software bought specifically from Studica but it's been a while. It's good practice to always ask as many questions as you can until your satisfied before buying anything from a website, so, just ask them.

Alright. Thanks everyone. I think I've got the rest of the deciding left to myself now.

Which 3D Animation Software should you learn? Maya and 3DS Max are two of the most popular 3D animation software's in the world. But between Maya and Max, which software is more powerful and who will ultimately survive? Watch this short animation and decide for yourself!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd0NYe52b0E

survive? Autodesk makes both products for different target audiences...

Maya is targeted at cinema quality animation/sfx while 3DS Max is targeted at product visualization and game creation. Granted both packages can be made to do the same thing, but its all about work flow for those professional targets.

I agree with OriginNO for the average user or anyone interested in broadcast motion/animation MAXON's Cinema 4D is a much better choice especially because it integrates very with with Adobe's Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects. Neither Maya or Max are capable of that without plugins.

I like maya. Hahah that's the software I learn in school. They say maya has more functions though. Haha I'm not too sure myself.

For inorganic modelling, i really enjoyed doin it in 3DS-MAX, For organic modelling, animation, skinning, texturing, lighting, MAYA rocks man!!
I suggest you to go for MAYA...

I created a web page that compares Maya to 3ds Max. Is there a way I can post it here to see? I would really love some feedback on it.