Noob softwares question

[Shawn Miller]

“If money is no object, then I would suggest Maya for 3D work.”

Just out of curiosity, why would you suggest Maya over C4D for motion graphics work?

Thanks,

Shawn

[Ian Bailey]

“Just out of curiosity, why would you suggest Maya over C4D for motion graphics work?”

My apologies, I misread the thread, thinking the requirement was for animation rather than motion graphics. Cinema 4D would be more than adequate, indeed its After Effects integration makes it highly recommendable. Personally I would use Blender, which also has AE integration, but I know people are suspicious of free software.

[Shawn Miller]

” but I know people are suspicious of free software.”

Unfortunate, but true… I haven’t used Blender myself, but people seem to be doing good work with it.

Shawn

[Walter Soyka]

[Ian Bailey] “Personally I would use Blender, which also has AE integration”

I had a great conversation with Cory Petkovsek about Blender, C4D, and AE a few months ago in the Motion Graphics forum. Cory practically wrote an article in response to my questions. It’s really in-depth collection of information and resources on Blender, and some good real-world information on its use. Here’s the thread:

C4D, Blender and others [link]

Looking back at the original post, I don’t think it’s clear if Jordan was more interested in 3D motion graphics or traditional 3D modeling. I think C4D’s Mograph module makes it the best package for 3D motion graphics, but for straight modeling and re-use of existing assets, I would look seriously at Maya, 3ds Max, and maybe Blender.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Jordan Whittacker]

How does lightwave or Cinema 4d integrate with FCPX? I like the feature in lightwave where in renders progressively immediately to preview the scene. Does Cinema 4d have similar features?

[Walter Soyka]

[Jordan Whittacker] “How does lightwave or Cinema 4d integrate with FCPX?”

There is no direct integration between any other applications and FCPX. You can render movies from your 3D apps and bring them into FCPX.

Many designers use a different workflow, though — it’s very common to render to a multipass image sequence, then composite the multipass in a tool like After Effects or Nuke. This gives you a lot more flexibility in adjusting your image outside of your 3D app, often dramatically lowering rendering time.

[Jordan Whittacker] “I like the feature in lightwave where in renders progressively immediately to preview the scene. Does Cinema 4d have similar features?”

C4D has an Interactive Render Region, but it’s not comparable to LightWave’s Viewport Renderer (VPR).

If you have more in-depth questions like this on C4D, you’ll probably get far more comprehensive answers in the Cinema4D forum [link].

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events