1. Are all 3D programs alike in the way of "skinning" ? 2. Can you apply the same techniques you use in one program to another. for example: If I had a clay model of a character and was great at 3D studio max "God I wish" could I apply those same techniques in another 3D program like true space or maya? If my compiler was voice activated with the voice of my mother-in-law....there would be no errors!

Just double checking....sorry if this was the wrong section to place this in.

If my compiler was voice activated with the voice of my mother-in-law....there would be no errors!

Modeling techniques are always similar (splines, nerbs, patching & etc.). It doesn't really matter what program you use, if you know the technique you should be able to move from one to another with a little time to learn the tools and format. I'm not sure about truespace, it's quite different than say LW, 3Dstudio, Softimage or Maya.

~There's always comfort in anonymity~


Edited by - LadyAnon on December 4, 2000 1:30:10 PM

Well, it''s what I keep saying in those "my paint program is better than yours" threads. If you are a real artist, it doesnt really matter. Programs are tools that need to be learnt. The adaptation time might vary, especially when programs use different methods ( I am thinking especially of B-splines based programs against CSG programs ) as their "main" method of work.

As for the skinning. Well, it''s a technique just like modelling and others... once you adapt to the program, you should be able to use your old habits again, or get new ones.
For instance it took me a while to get used to the concept of layers, mainly because my work was mostly on paper, and I never really liked collage. But after a year of practising, I am now totally "fluent" in Photoshop

3d programs like max, maya, softimage are complicated things to control. While it is true that ones you do know the underlying rules of concepts like NURBS and polygons you can really use any of the programs without to much trouble after learning the new interface, it does seems that quite often artists do not actually know the rules. They think they know the rules but have infact formed an oppinion of the rules by observing what the software does. This can lead to problems when switching software because the rules appere to change since the program needs the user to take different actions to achive the same result.

Mayas interface for example gives the artist the feeling that the actions (extruding a face for example) are separated from the object the action is preformed on while the 3dsmax interface collects most of these actions in a fashion that makes it look as if the actions themselfs are part of the object.

The big differences are in how you plan the project, but mostly your average artist doesnt have to worry about that part since the lead artist should know the software already.

In short. Yes, given enough time and the propper motivation any artist can use any of the top software packages. However i would not recommend starting a project on with new software if non of the artists has completed project with that software before.

For the record i dont beleve in all that ''a real artist can use any software'' crap. I know plenty of ''real'' artist that can hardly use their own computers for anything... It may be true for drawing software, i dont know, however a technical side is nesseray for complicated 3d packages such as maya.