Thinking of buying Maya !!

[enpstudios]

Anything I should be made aware of ?

Is it worth the money ?

[gerbick]

yeah, I say it's worth it, but I wouldn't make a decision to purchase it until I felt as if I truly wanted to keep it after I played with the Maya Personal Learning Edition (free download at Alias|Wavefront)...

But then again, the Unlimited version does have some cool things, like the fluid dynamics that are only available in the more expensive version. Also, Unlimited has cloth and fur as well, where the Complete version does not.

I take it that Maya has got your attention, eh?

[enpstudios]

Yeah, I looked at the gallery on their site. WOW that is amazing stuff.

I'm going to buy a book to try and learn the program, any suggestions ? ( Wanna write one for me ? )

[gerbick]

lol... yeah right. me write a book on Maya will never happen. You need people like theMatrix showing you more about Maya

I've not heard anything too good about Maya 4 Fundamentals, but for some tutorials and information, CGTalk.com and Highend3d.com will be great places.

I'll ask around for the good Maya books.

[WMLeeBo]

Maya is highly complex. No matter how long you use it, there is always one more thing you can learn. Signing up at www.3dbuzz.com for free will give you access to some awesome video tutorials.

[EXILED ARCHANGEL]

Maya is definatly a good investment if you are starting a cg buisness( although I dont use it anymore) but you must ask yourself what vertion will best sute your needs and wether or not it will pay for its self.

[mouse111]

the best tutorials to get would be from alias|wavefront

if you are gonna buy a book, DVD, or VHS - check out Alias's online store - their tutorials are awsome

[enpstudios]

Thanks for all the info guys !!

[MadHaze]

Maya is the most powerful Animation software out there. Its price tag is a lot higher than any other 3d programs. I have found that Maya is best for organic modeling where 3D Max is better at mechanical modeling. 3D Max is a very powerful program and is cheaper than maya.

I love maya. If you can afford it, go for it.

[Johnny Shiro]

Consider it as an advanced 3dsmax

I came from working with 3D Studio to going to Maya cause it is simply more FANTASTIC hehe
I worked with 3dsmax simply because it had more exporting possibilities than Maya had at the time, but that has changed in the 4.5 release. Tons of exporting options, good for us web-designers, media engineers

Really love the new fluid system, you can create photo realistic water.. even add a storm particle upon that which dynamically changes the water too...
I love Maya , need to buy a book or something... ive just been trown right into the program. Contact Alias|Wavefront they sent me a CD with tutorials and everything....free of charge.. thats what i call customer support !

[bustback]

Originally posted by Johnny Shiro
Consider it as an advanced 3dsmax

3DS Max is a great application, but it's primary use is in the game industry. It doesn't have the feature set, the usability, or expandability to be utilized as an application for motion picture development, like Maya is.

If you're into games, Max is the way to go. If you're into highend, commercial or motion picture animation, Maya is the way to go.

All packages have their positives and negatives. Maya isn't nearly as good as Houdini in procedural animation, but it is much better in the dynamics that it can support.

$2500 bucks is a lot of money and I highly doubt many of the people that post about Maya even own it. Most are college students with access to it at schools, or actual professionals that use it in a day to day scenario. To justify the expense of the application, you should have a real good reason. Maya is an application that, unless you've got a big bank roll, you learn before you buy.

My 0.02.

[WMLeeBo]

So I guess discreet was lying when they said there product was used in these films.

http://www.discreet.com/products/3ds...leffects.html#

[bustback]

As with most 3d software companies (especially Discreet), they tout that their product did a certain thing. In the case of the link you provided, the Max contribution to the films was minimal.

Max isn't often used in film work. It's a 'side package' used to get a certain aspect of the job done because it has a certain feature. In a majority of situations, the application of choice is Maya.

You're not going to find any completely CG films made with Max, probably ever. Maybe rendered with MentalRay (discreet's rendering system), but even then it's probably piped out from Maya.

It's just the way the wind blows in the motion picture industry.

[WMLeeBo]

So the juries in. estudiowork...if you decide to make a motion picture you will have the right software.