recommendation on which software for animation shorts

[eldosebabu]

Hi there, im a fresh entry into the 3d world and my interest is mainly in making 3d animation shorts. Im aware that the learning curve is pretty steep but im pretty determined to crawl my way up. What i wanted to ask was which is the best software for me to get - maya/lghtwave/softimage/3dmax? And also is there any kind of training dvd's that I can make use of for learning the software.
Im basically a film student at the moment learning the whole Adobe CS package/after effects using training dvds and ive found the expreince great. Will any of this knowledge be useful when learning 3d or will it be complimentary? As regards the cost, im thinking of taking advantage of the student discounts that are available.


Thanks
Eldose Babu

P.S Just how steep is the learning curve/like how many months will it gradually take in case of a regular amount of time spent on the software.

[i]

[snarkle]

Personally, out of the all the apps you mentioned, I think the fastest to learn is Lightwave. Maya and Softimage are somewhat expensive and more time consuming to learn. I think that 3d max has more to offer then Lightwave. If you are looking for a good free, easy to learn program, there is one called Blender. I can't really say how many months it will take to learn because everybody is different in learning these type of things.
Also, you are probably going to have to learn a video editing type of program also. For these you have Premiere, After Effects, Combustion, and a few others. If you don't want to do any tye of effects for it, you can go with Premiere or something similar to it. If you want to do effects, such as, putting in blurs or do some tracking, then go with Combustion of Affter Effects. Personnally, I like After Effects, but Combustion has some really good particle effects to it. There are demos for these programs you can download to evaluate.

Post Edited (snarkle) : 3/6/2005 1:26:20 PM GMT

[eldosebabu]

thanks snarkle...

looks like lightwave seems to be a safe bet for animation shorts..I also wanted to know two things -
one I have a G4 mac laptop..ive heard that Lightwave works better on pc's ...?Will the mac issue be a problem?
secondly, have you heard of the training dvds offered at 3dgarage....what do you think of them...

about the editing apps that you mentioned I have avid dv express and after effects..hopefully that should suit fine...thanks a lot for your help

Eldose Babu

[uncle carbunkle]

start with 3d studio max. then learn the rest of the programs, too. you'll be employed.

premiere and after effects. i don't know combustion. tracking and blurs done in post tend to look like they were done in post, imho. you need to know them i guess, but as you're learning this stuff you should be aware that even though the software is capable of something, doesn't mean it's best to do it.

just a bit of personal opinion.

how long did it take you to learn other software? use those as your timeframe for learning.

welcome to the forum.

::Don't call me Foreman, for I am your Boss::

[snarkle]

I have never used Lightwave on a Mac and I haven't seen any of the videos you are talking about, so I can't comment on those.

You might want to try a forum called CGTALK.com . Someone there might have used lightwave on a mac and saw the videos you are talking about.

As much as you might like Lightwave , I would have to agree with uncle carbunkle, and go with 3d max (it has been known to be called mini Maya).

Feel free to PM me, if you have any questions on this stuff. I'm not an expert on it, but I know a thing or two on the subject.

Post Edited (snarkle) : 3/7/2005 2:07:30 AM GMT