Community Discussions

Explore the latest discussions and community conversations related to this domain.

What is the best 3D modeling software to use?

Main Post:

Hello all! I have been in 3d printing for about a year now, and to date I have only downloaded other peoples projects to print, but I finally want to graduate to creating my own things.

My main interests are in highly detailed Space Vehicle models, and RC vehicles / Machines. I have a background in Blender and feel daily comfortable with it, however virtually every forum I see sings their praises to fusion 360.

I have tried to learn Fusion 360 on and off for a few months and I've just had nothing but struggles when it comes to anything more than simple shapes. Something about the constant frustration of trying to make the computer interpret what I want instead of having the direct exact control like I do in blender. Has anyone else shared the same frustrations as me? Is learning Fusion really necessary for the types of things I want to make? Or am I better off sticking with blender?

If fusion 360 is the only way to go, does anybody have any resources that helped them with learning it?

Top Comment: The best modeling program is whichever one works for you, and enables you to create what you want. If that's Blender for you, perfect. The technical requirements are simple: You need a software that exports a manifold mesh, in a format your slicer can read (typically STL, OBJ, or 3MF). Which is almost any modeling software! Try a few and use what you want! Fusion 360 is widely recommended because it is powerful parametric modeling, available on a free-to-use personal use license. I've tried Blender and I prefer F360. But most of what I make are functional parts that need exact measurements, so it works well for me to have every piece of my model clearly and explicitly defined from the ground up. Blender seems great if you're a little more freeform, form over function. Other folks make entire models out of code/script (OpenSCAD) which I cannot wrap my head around, and they look at something like Blender and find it completely confusing. ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄ Everyone is different and has different needs. Use what works for you.

Forum: r/3Dprinting

Best 3D Modelling Software For Beginners?

Main Post:

Hey guys!

Here's the deal, I've tried numerous times over the span of 4 years to just open up Blender and not burst into tears crying as I uninstall it but I've never been able to budge. I always cried from the horribly messy interface and complexity of the program.

As I type this right now however, I have the student version of Maya installing (well trial if you count the fact that I get an error every time I try to get a serial code).

With that in mind, what's the best 3D modelling program you can recommend me that does modelling, animation and pretty much everything I would NEED for a game yet still manages to be simple?

Top Comment: Hey guys! Here's the deal, I've tried numerous times over the span of 4 years to just open up Blender and not burst into tears crying as I uninstall...

Forum: r/gamedev

Best software for 3D design

Main Post:

What software do you recommend for design for 3D printing?

I have worked with CAD (AutoCAD and similar) before but don't use or own any software right now. Am willing to spend some money on it but probably not the AutoCAD subscription kind of money ...

Top Comment:

Fusion360 free for private use

Forum: r/3Dprinting

I Need Help Choosing 3D Modeling Software

Main Post:

Hey all, long time reddit lurker here hoping for some information to help me make my indie game. I'll try to keep it short. Essentially I need a 3D modeling software. I bought a course on Udemy for Autodesk Maya, 3DS, and Mudbox. It also teaches on C# for Unity. Very comprehensive course that I am really enjoying, however I would prefer to not spend $200+ on Maya or 3DS Max. So basically my question boils down to, can I get away with just Maya LT, and like Krita for texturing or should I get Maya LT and MudBox? I know there are alternatives to Autodesk software, but I would prefer to stick with it for now so I can follow the course. Any help would really be appreciated.

Thanks and have a great day! :D

Edit: I think I'm gonna try to learn Blender after all of the compelling people saying Blender is amazing software. Thank you all for your help!

Top Comment:

I have Maya and Blender, and I don't think you are going to listen, but Blender is my choice, and I will defend it. I'd take Blender over Maya any day.

Blender is more powerful than Maya in general, and it offers more tools out of the bat. The main thing Maya has going for it are its extensions created over the years, and that is why it is the "industry standard". Large companies can afford development of custom plugins or buy a collection of extensions to simplify their work, and that's how it usually is. They don't tend to use vanilla Maya. Unless you are planning to buy extensions, you are going to get substantially less than Blender gives you for free, and that is my main experience with Maya. Blender has features that are worth thousands of dollars, like motion tracking, that Maya doesn't have without spending thousands more. As a standalone package, Blender wins by far.

Now, while Blender is powerful when it comes to animation, Maya has the edge here, particularly because of retargeting, which is basically non-existent in Blender. Maya also has better fur and particle hair, which is pretty much useless for game developers.

For retargeting though, game developers tend to work with game engines, and all major engines have built-in animation retargeting for free. So, it ultimately doesn't matter.

Where Blender truly shines, and its main quality, is 3D modeling. While it does a lot of things, it is a master of modeling. That is hilarious, because it's what Maya focuses on by default. Without plugins, Maya is mainly a 3D modeler, but Blender is just superior when it comes to manipulating models and non-destructive modeling. Maya doesn't have a proper modifier stack for instance. The extensive use of hotkeys makes experienced Blender artists extremely fast as well. Maya just feels sluggish to me, no doubt in part because I am far more used to Blender, but also because its workflow is just less naturally slower.

On the other hand, FBX support is much better in Maya, because the format is owned by Autodesk, so who would've thought they'd make it harder for Blender. That's mostly why I have a Maya license, and in my opinion the most relevant subject for indie developers. However, as a matter of fact, I don't use Maya even for that. Blender's FBX tools may be weaker, but they have repeatedly proven themselves enough. FBX and exporting models is a pain in the ass regardless of the program you are using though.

I've seen your comment about "not being able to change a sphere's resolution in Blender". That is quite meaningless. In that case I will remind you that Maya suffers from not having a modifier stack despite its price, meaning non-destructive modeling is compromised far more than in Blender, for models that matter.

I was comparing the full Maya version to Blender there, not LT.

EDIT: Instead of buying Maya, I would definitely save for ZBrush if you want to make characters. ZBrush is the king of sculpting. Blender is likely the best sculpting program outside ZBrush, and it doesn't even come close to how powerful ZBrush is.

ZBrush doesn't animate nor anything, it just sculpts, and it does it better than any other program. It is, in my opinion, a much better investment than Maya. Even if you think Maya is somehow better than Blender, it is still definitely not better enough to justify not having ZBrush just to have Maya.

Anyway that's my opinion and experience. Take it as you will.

Forum: r/gamedev

Simple Free 3D Modeling Software?

Main Post:

Heyo.

Looking for a free and beginner-friendly 3D modeling software to create STL files like you can find on Thingverse.

Maybe someway to take two STL files, and put them together to create one?

Thanks.

Forum: r/3Dprinting

What 3D modeling software is most beginner friendly?

Main Post:

I’m a highschool kid who wants to start learning I have a student id and can get access to any program that’s free for students. I just wanted to know opinions on what you think is the most intuitive to use?

Top Comment: Intuitive and 3D don't really go hand in hand. Expect to spend a day learning the interface in whatever software you choose. Blender is free as in free and has a massive community for learning built up on YouTube. Maya is affordable for indie creators but school licensing is complicated, but it is industry standard in animation and games. Those are the two biggest options, but if you're interested in organic sculpting you might also consider zbrush, though blender can also do great sculpting for those learning.

Forum: r/3Dmodeling

Best 3d modeling software (free) for beginners? : r/3Dprinting

Main Post: Best 3d modeling software (free) for beginners? : r/3Dprinting

Forum: r/3Dprinting

3d Modelers what software do you use to create your models

Main Post:

This summer I'm planning on teaching my self on how to 3d model and how to 3d print so I'm wondering what software you guys use to create your models. I'm planning on trying to create Star wars miniatures like Sw legion etc for dnd I run any recommendations for software. Note I have bare bones knowledge on 3d modeling.

Top Comment: There's a lot of options out there but i would highly recommend blender. It's the most popular for a lot of reasons, the 2 main being that it's really good and free. Because it's so popular, you'll be able to find a massive amount of youtube tutorials on just about anything.

Forum: r/3Dprinting

Any good free/open source software for 3d modelling?

Main Post:

Title. Also, I want something light cause my laptop runs windows 7 and it is pretty old. I want to use it to 3d model a few things as a hobby. I doubt I'll be doing anything much complicated (at least I don't have the skills).

Top Comment:

Blender is a pretty powerful, open source 3D modeling application. Its workflow is pretty different from CAD, though.

FreeCAD is a newer, less mature open source application that uses a much more CAD friendly workflow. There are people that use it very frequently, but I find it pretty confusing, honestly.

Forum: r/cad