3D MAX or LIGHTWAVE7

i understand that people use certain programs based upon personal preference, but i wanted to get a general direction before i buy a program. i see many references to 3d studio max, but not so many to lightwave7. is there a really big difference?

 

lightwave 7 is a more complete program straight outta the box. Max needs programs to have some of the same capiblites of Lightwave. Both are very, very good programs, lightwave has the best looking renderer(in my opinion) out there right now.

 

The absolute BEST way to decide which program you will ultimately go with is to order the FREE TRIAL versions of the respective programs. You can do so on each of the manufacturer's websites:

3D STUDIO MAX - DISCREET
LIGHTWAVE - NEWTEK


That way, you can try out each program and decide which one you are most comfortable using. Each program has it's respective advantages ... and ultimately, you can produce the same results with each.


Good Luck !!!



JediTAC
Self-Appointed Introductory 3D Program Advisor

 

I don't have either of them yet, but the one I will get is lightwave because lightwave has the most books and DVDs and VHSs and stuff if you need help. Like probably the best lightwave 7 book is called Inside Lightwave 7.

 

AWB1989:
So you think that because a program has a lot of books and such available that it will make it that much easier for you to use it? Ummmm, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, my friend, but none of that is going to help you if you are not comfortable using the program in the first place.

I would strongly suggest that you read what I wrote above and order the free demos of each program first. See which one you like ... which one you are able to work with the best (in terms of the user interface, tools, rendering capabilities and such). At the same time, I suppose you can purchase a book and see ifthat helps you.

But all the books in the world aren't going to help you if you do not undertsand the basics of 3D graphics and how to model, animate, texture and render.

Have you tried out BLENDER yet?
Do you have anything you can show us as to how your skills are coming along?


And incidentally, there are just as many (if not more) books and materials available for 3D Studio MAX as there are for Lightwave. So that kind of thwarts your theory a bit.




JediTAC
Self-Proclaimed TFN New Member Guidance Counselor

 

i agree with tac on the more book thing. Electric Image doesn't have any books and i picked it up fast. If you are just starting out, i wouldn't go with necessary go with these, i have heard they have a steep learning curve if you have never really learned another cg program. One you might really consider is the 3dtoolkit from Dvgarage.com to start out. Many members here including myself and Daftmaul have used to for us to learn CG.

 

one problem i've had with lightwave is that my renders come up with a black first frame when i take it to premire to do the blue screening, making it impossible to perform the blue screen process, any clues what to do?

 

Besides the manual, both Lightwave and 3DSMAX have excellent 3rd party documentation avaliable.

I am a Lightwave user myself, and "Inside Lightwave[6]" by Dan Alban is an excellent reference ... it can take you from almost no prior 3D knowledge to ... everything!

Either program is a good choice ... but you'll need a lot of time and patience either way.

 

thanx for the feedback. i will try the demos and the 3d toolkit from the garage. i am new at cg so any begginer program will be a good start. MAY THE SCHWARTZ BE WITH YOU!!

 

desann why are you trying to bluescreen it in the first case? just use an alpha channel

 

I chose Lightwave when I gave up on Impulse's Imagine. I decided to stick with an old Amiga developer. I can't tell you that one is better than the other, I feel like Lightwave flows better, for me, than does MAX. I've seen fantastic stuff from both. So, make a choice and then start digging in. Read books and practice tutorials over and over. It will be a long haul.

 

Personally I use 3ds MAX - I find it much more comfortable than Lightwave. Sometimes Lightwave can seem a bit more professional (hell, it is THE programme used on programmes like Star Trek) but I think MAX is easier. I find MAX much more stable....

Little tip for other people reading this (not aimed at author): No matter how big the temptation, warez is not the way to go! Especially if you're going to go posting on this forum making up excuses like "I lost the manual when I tidied my room" or something (grr, thats how I lost The Sims CD! Dont ask why it was there). Sorry, had to get that warez thing off my chest.

Mike

 

(hell, it is THE programme used on programmes like Star Trek)

almost no professional studios use a single 3d package. for example, ILM used Maya, Lightwave, and Softimage|3D (not XSI), just to name a few, on Episode II. maybe lightwave is used solely on Star Trek... i have no idea, since i hate the franchise... but it is more than likely that they use a multitude of software packages.

 

Hey Pixelito, we finally agree on something. I hate Star Trek too.

 

Well I'm sorry to break it to you, but TFN has just changed hands...
it's now a Star Trek fan site: Trek Fan.Net

 

aaaaaah!

 

Speaking as someone who has used both applications (as well as Maya), here is my opinion:

I learned 3d modeling and animation in 3d Studio Max. It is a full featured and powerful package. Although I haven't had a chance to play with Max 5 yet I have heard nothing but good things. Radiosity has been added to the renderer, the IK is top notch (using almost the exact same code as Maya, and Maya currently has the best out of box IK available), and the modeling tools are excellent.

Just today I placed my order (finally! It'll be here thursday!) for Lightwave 7.5. Why you ask? A simple, single reason: 3d Studio Max is not currently available for Macintosh OS X. Mac OS is my platform of choice, and i have made a large investment in learning and software, and cannot justify leaving it for one application.

Of the other options out there for for Macs, such as Cinema 4d, Electric Image, and Carrara 2, I found Lightwave to most "agreed" with me. This is important, because not every software will agree with every person. For example, I spent a lot of time and energy learning Maya, I even own an educational license, but I couldn't get past some things in Maya that I found very frustrating. Maya is a very good 3d software (with the exception of its crappy renderer, which no one uses anyway) but it didn't work the way I worked. JediTAC's suggestion is the most sound advice anyone anywhere can give you: Try the Demos. Don't limit yourself to Max or Lightwave either. Try every single application available for your platform. Even if you don't know a thing about 3d, you may still find one app easier to use and more intuitive for you.

Remember 3d apps are just tools. Once learned, they should feel transparent, allowing you to work without hindrance.

-tm
EDIT: By the way, in case you are looking to buy Lightwave.... Dynamic Realities is running an awesome deal on Lightwave 7.5, at only $1000 for the complete software. That is a savings of almost $600. And, lest you think this a scam, Dynamic Realities is a well known Lightwave Plugin Developer.

 

I prefer lightwave as it seems to run better on my system (AMD Thunderbird 750 mhz). Also, you can get the educational version for $395 from here

I'm not sure what the diff is between the educational version and the commercial version, but they offer the upgrade to commercial for $395 as well. Even if you had to buy both you'd still come out ahead. That is, assuming yer a student or can qualify for the discount.

 

I don't think there is ANY difference between the educational version and the retail version (although I could be wrong). I think what it is is that they hope that, when you graduate, you will continue to use their product and pay for the upgrades and newer versions.

At least, I have never heard anyone say anything about any differences.

 

There is no difference between the educational and commercial versions. I own the educational version myself. I got a great deal on it. $395 and it came with Bryce 5 for free. I don't know if they have the same deal going on right now but that's like getting Lightwave 7.5 for $300. It was at Genesis Technologies

 

desann .. alpha chennels are your friend.. also.. do you render straight to a compressed avi/mov? or even uncompressed? if u do i suggest you try rendering to an image sequence...