I am starting this discussion because the question above is driving me nuts. I have worked 2D animation and video editing(Premiere, Vegas) but nothing serious.

Now I wan't to start something where I can use all my creative power and I am willing to go all the way. With 3D I am starting from scratch, but I think that 3Ds Max is most established in film industry. Please point me to the tool that is most powerful and used in films.

Learning any one of them will be a good start to knowing all of them.
Have you seen Maya's personal learning edition? It's free and it has a pretty large knowledge base and group of people using it (to help you). Plus, it's used plenty in films. Teaching myself maya has been a goal of mine. Maybe I should make it a New Years resolution...

Or, if you want a stepping stone, check out any of the vector based extrusion 3d apps. They also make them as plugins for 2d apps like After Effects. Check out 3d Invigorator by Zaxwerks.

if you want to go the free way, you could try blender ( http://www.blender3d.org/ ). even though it may not be the best to learn, because i guess it's quite a bit different than other 3d apps (which means you'd have to re-learn them). i've been trying to learn it, but i wasn't going full force, because it's not that compatible. worth a check though.

Thank you for your suggestions. Can you name any particular film made with Maya, or other software?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nautilus,

You're kidding, right? MAYA is credited in all of theses films:
102 DALMATIANS
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ATLANTIS
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
BLACK HAWK DOWN
THE CELL
THE CHUBBCHUBBS!
DIE ANOTHER DAY
DINOSAUR
ENEMY AT THE GATES
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN
FOR THE BIRDS
HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
HARRY POTTER & THE SORCERER’S STONE
HOLLOW MAN
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
ICE AGE
INSPECTOR GADGET
THE IRON GIANT
JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE
JURASSIC PARK III
THE LIVING FOREST
LILO & STITCH
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
THE MATRIX
MEN IN BLACK II
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG
MIKE’S NEW CAR
MINORITY REPORT
MISSION TO MARS
MONSTERS, INC.
THE MUMMY
THE MUMMY RETURNS
PANIC ROOM
PEARL HARBOR
THE PERFECT STORM
PITCH BLACK
REIGN OF FIRE
SCOOBY-DOO
SHREK
SIGNS
SOLARIS
SPIDER-MAN
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON
STAR TREK: NEMESIS
STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE
STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES
STUART LITTLE
STUART LITTLE 2
SWORDFISH
THE TIME MACHINE
TREASURE PLANET
VERTICAL LIMIT
TRIPLE X
X-MEN

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joren,

Maya? Lord of the Rings, Ice Age, Perfect Storm.... nearly every CG scene you've ever seen

EDIT:

ok, either joren has a freaky ALPHABETICAL memory or he found a list somewhere, either way he beat me!

wooooow Joren I know all of that films are 3D rendered, but I am interested in 3D films and the particular software that is used.

example:
TRIPLE X- banana
SWORDFISH- orange
THE TIME MACHINE- lemon

regards!

Perry, the list is right off Alias' website. All these pro apps list what major films they've worked on--for some people, that equals clout .

Nautilus, where is Macedonia? I don't know if I've made myself clear: That list above is the list of films Maya has been used on. No banana, orange, or lemon. Just Maya. Even though it was used on those crappy movies, you should still check it out.

Just because it looks bad doesnt mean the program used to make it was less powerful. it all depends on whose using it. Southpark is created using Maya, the very same software used to create Doc Ock's tentacles in Spiderman II. Other 3d programs used for films/games include 3d Studio max, Houdini and lightwave. Another free 3d program is wings3d, you can model stuff and open files from other 3d programs (maya and 3d studio max). It's basic and you couldnt make a movie with it, but if your just starting it might help.

most people say 3ds max is alot easier then maya.

3ds max is what like Reboot was made on and it always looked off.

Maya is what the CG cut scenes for FF7 were done on (a lot of video games are done on Maya because for a while Alias could do textures a billion times better than 3ds max.

I taught myself how to model furniture and a house on Maya in about a week, spending hours in front of a 02 station my friend had. pretty intuitive, the hardest thing was memorizing the x-y-z vector menus.

i forgot almost all of it, and never learnt how to do animation or insanely detailed modelling.

anyway, I always thought Maya was industry standard for both video games and films, when did 3DS max become big?

Doesn't Pixar use modified Maya code?

maya still is the standard. there is one more, which i cant remember that is specifically for macs only, that is considered to be as good as maya nowdays.cant remember what it is called but.

im not into 3d and avoid it like the plague(i only have learnt the on-set side to 3d effects)

there's always Carrara if you're looking for something cheap and very good. eovia.com

They're all nearly the same in terms of the basic structure.

The main issue with 3D modeling is learning to think like the program - if you want to make a face, you have to start from basic shapes and work to finer detail. Also, the higher-end modeling programs are not the most approachable. Combine this with the fact that even if you are a reasonably good modeler, the models will not be good enough to look completely real in a movie, and I haven't invested a lot of time into learning 3D. Unless you become extremely proficient it won't be useable at all in a realistic project.