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Having trouble figuring out which 3D aplication to choose? Read my article on how I went about the process and what I came up with...
How I chose a 3D application
By Jamie Cunningham I was just like you. I desperately wanted to get involved in the world of 3D graphics and create things that could only be imagined. I hunted and hunted for any good advice on choosing the right 3D app to use, and that’s where the confusion began. There are so many 3D apps and there are as many people that stand behind the choice they made with a passion. They will tell you that the app they use is the best one for you. The problem is - They all say that! So how do you choose? Maya, Lightwave, 3D Studio, Blender, Anim8tor, Poser, Bryce, Vue, ZBrush, Teragen, Modo, and XSI, just to name a few of the apps I was told are the best for me and what I wanted. With all those choices and all the recommendations, how is one to choose? Some people told me to download the demos and try them out myself to see which app I liked. After about the third “try” I was so overwhelmed by the interfaces and totally confused, to say the least. Honestly, that got me nowhere, and wasted a lot of my time. I doubt that anyone has the time to download and really try all of the 3D apps out there. One problem with that idea is that you really need to learn a fair amount of the app before you’re really using it, and again, who has the time to learn and go through hundreds of tutorials just to try out an app. I don’t. Everybody offers their advice on what 3D application you should use. What I’m offering is the method of how I came to choose Newtek’s Lightwave 3D. Now I’m not trying to push Lightwave in this article. It’s just the one I chose and I am about to tell you how I did it. Here’s my advice to you; · Figure out what you want to do in the world of 3D graphics. Whether it’s creating models, animation, cartoons, landscape work, motion graphics, compositing, etc… · Figure out which apps you can afford. Most people can cross a few apps off their list right off that bat because they are just out of their price range. · Go look at the galleries of work out there for each particular app. Don’t look just at the manufacturer’s website, and don’t just look at what the professionals can do, as they are going to put the very best of the best on their site. For me it was more important to see what the amateurs were producing. You are looking for work that rivals what you would want to do yourself. · Go find a forum and community for the app where you will have all ranges of skill level, from amateur to pro. I feel that the help and support that the ‘new’ guys get in the community is very important. When you are just starting out, it’s really nice to have a community that you can turn to for advice, tutorials, and critiques of your work in progress. That’s it! It’s as simple as that! You should be able to search on Google things like “Maya Gallery”, “Blender Community”, “Lightwave Forum”, etc… to find these things I am suggesting. As a side effect of my process, you will already know what communities to go to when you need help once you start working in your 3D app of choice, and you should also be inspired by all of the work that you will see in checking out all of the galleries. Once you figure out what 3D application is right for you, introduce yourself in the community right away, stating that you’re new and have decided to use [fill in 3D app here]. If you did your homework, you should be well received and people will probably forward links to tutorials and other resources to get you started. To summarize, I believe it’s more important to see what kind of support from the community you will get as a ‘newbie’, and what are the other newbies outputting from the app of choice is equally important to me, because it’s what I should be able to produce as well. My last bit of advice… Whatever you choose, stick with it! It will be a frustrating road in the beginning, and it takes time to learn and get proficient with any application, but it is so worth it. Use the community, and follow tutorials, soon you will be creating space ships, alien landscapes, animations, product visualizations, and so many other things that you only have to imagine!  -Jamie-
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