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[aeiowu]

Alright. I'm so sick of "shopping around" for the "solution" to all the headaches I get when I work with 3D. I know it's my problem but I'd prefer something that was simpler and just worked more intuitively. I've used Maya and cinema4d primarily but am just getting back into it and find this to be an opportunity to possibly make a switch for the better.

I'm looking for an app that would be like Adobe Illustrator but with an added Z axis. Is there anything out there like that? It just models stuff, it doesn't have hair, live painting, dynamics, a timeline or materials shaders or any of the other BS i don't need. It's just really good at one thing: point-to-point modeling and doing it easily and as simply as possible.

For instance, splines in c4d are total shit, snapping is bonkers and doesn't make any sense because it's tool specific, not global and everything else under the sun i can't stand about it. I don't care about industry standards, as long as it can export an .fbx i can manage the rest.

Which one do you recommend? Any help would be appreciated.

[Chman]

If you need a "simple" modeling tool, I would recommend Silo for polygons, and MoI for nurbs (don't stop at the ugly frontpage, it's a very powerful and fast tool).

Or maybe you need to look into CAD tools if you want a "3d illustrator". Might suit your needs, although CAD interfaces often are clunky...

[it_is_coming]

Here's a very simplistic polygon modeler. I haven't done much 3D modeling, but this is what I would use. It's supposed to have some pixel shaders or something.

Edit: I could have sworn I put the link here.
http://www.anim8or.com

[Chman]

I think you forgot the link...

Aeiowu : Wings3D might interest you as well (and it's free).

[RayRayTea]

I'm looking for an app that would be like Adobe Illustrator but with an added Z axis. Is there anything out there like that? It just models stuff, it doesn't have hair, live painting, dynamics, a timeline or materials shaders or any of the other BS i don't need. It's just really good at one thing: point-to-point modeling and doing it easily and as simply as possible.

SketchUp. I think there's a thread in the art forum about it already... Anyway, here are a few video tutorials.

Personal version is free.

[aeiowu]

Aeiowu : Wings3D might interest you as well (and it's free).

ah yea, i tried that out, it looked promising but I wasn't too keen on the context-menu heavy stuff.


BTW, I tried out Silo per Chman's recommendation and I have to say I'm very happy with it so far. I'm pretty sure i've found what I'm looking for in that program.

But yea, keep the recommendations coming, this thread could serve as a jumping off point for neat 3D apps for others to try/stumble on.

[Squiggly_P]

I guess I may as well say it if no one else is going to:

Blender?  www.blender.org

I use it.  That's all I'm going to say on the subject.

[partymetroid]

I guess I may as well say it if no one else is going to:

Blender?  www.blender.org

I use it.  That's all I'm going to say on the subject.

I can't wait until the complete rewrite in 2.5

[jackf]

As a first-time user I found Blender fairly easy to use, but haphazardly put together.
I'd only worked on Autodesk Inventor before, so my perception of quality was higher, as well as my approach to modeling (I'm just doing small parts, basic geometry right now).

I'd go with Blender, it is free after all.

[Jolli]

i also recommend blender. isss grape

[Eclipse]

Modo is the best

hands down.

no questions.


Silo is pretty nice too but the Undo is broken, and it has several other bugs.
Modo has the same customization of Silo but it's much more professional, and it has also a freaking good rendering engine.

Blender has really a gay interface and it's so clumsy compared to both Modo and Silo :\ but at least it's free.

[skaldicpoet9]

i also recommend blender. isss grape

Wow, why have I never heard of this? Open source, Linux build and free?

Sign me up, it's about time anyways, I've been wanting to start doing some low-poly work lately.