Comment by rayalez | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rayalez | Hacker News Reader

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Hy Lisp is a really awesome and exciting project. And programming 3D stuff in it is really cool. Huge props to the author for a fun video.

But I'll go against other commenters here who are saying that blender is an amazing piece of software. For a long time I was really passionate about CG, and even worked as a 3D artist in a few stuidos, and guys, if you want to start learning 3D - do not start with blender.

If you want to get into modelling - check out Nevercenter Silo, it is the most convenient 3D modelling tool you'll ever use, it is amazing.

If you want to understand the basics of all the CG, and learn how professional VFX are done - learn Maya, it is used for everytning, and is the absolutely best way to get started with 3D, once you understand it - you can do whatever you want and easily switch to any other app if you wish. It is the industry standard, and the best way to learn the foundations.

If you want to see how the perfect CG software looks like - check out sidefx Houdini. It will blow your mind, it is like linux/emacs/lisp of CG world. It is elegant and brilliant and perfect in every way(except that you can't really model in it, that's why you need Silo).

Also take a look at Zbrush, it is a sculpting software, looks alien but is really brilliantly done. You can look at the gallery here - http://pixologic.com/zbrush/gallery/, it's amazing. If you have a tablet and some solid drawing skills - you can start creating amazing things in it really quickly.

If you want to try compositing - use Nuke from The Foundry.

All these packages have free trial versions. Silo is cheap, Hoidini has an apprentice version that you can use for free, indefinitely, with no limitations except for output resolution(and maybe a small watermark, I don't remember).

Compared to these packages - blender is a horrible mess. It is worse than what gimp is compared to photoshop. Just like gimp, theoretically you can use it, and even make some good things with it, but you really, really don't want to.

Maybe it's a gem of open source software, and I respect that. But if you are getting into computer graphics and want to learn and understand how it works - hell no, use something else.

Can I ask what exactly do you find is a "horrible mess", and why is it bad for beginners to start with Blender? Also, when did you try it?, because it changes considerably fast (to the better).

I started learning CG with 3d Studio Max, and then with Lightwave finally followed by Blender. I haven't tried Maya, but I don't really see that much of a difference between those programs and Blender. (Sure the interface may be a bit worse because it is mostly keyboard driven, but once you get used to it it's very fast)

I know someone who started learning CG with Blender, and even tried other programs and found them worse than Blender so in my anecdotal experience it's good for beginners.

If the issue is that it lacks some features from professional programs, that shouldn't really be a problem for someone learning. If what you're arguing is that the better way to start learning is with the software that is used professionally I don't really see why that should be the case.

You're comparing some specialized packages with Blender, which is not really fair, the comparison there should be Maya vs Blender.

Zbrush for example is an amazing program, and Blender even has a similar sculpting mode although it is obviously much more limited because it's not a specialized program.

> Compared to these packages - blender is a horrible mess

Which version of blender you are referring to? pre 2.5? I get the feeling that most people got a bad impression in 2.49 and below and never came back. The UI improved a lot since then (there was actually a full rewrite of the UI code, all in Python). The UI discussion is always controversial in the blender community, though.

That's right, Blender has made a lot of strides in recent years. I was a Blender sceptic, having tried it many years ago. But recently I tried it again and had my socks blown off! I've since started using Blender exclusively for all my modeling/rendering needs (I don't do animation, so I can't vouch for it), whereas before I had to rely on several packages (e.g. Softimage for hard surface/ZBrush for organic) and never looked back.

If you only know Blender through its older versions, I highly recommend taking another look and even doing some tutorials - it's become an amazing piece of software!

I know that Blender is great, but does it really replace ZBrush? I've used it only for the tasks you would normally use 3dMax for or something like that, but ZBrush is quite specific. Is it actually possible to efficiently emulate ZBrush workflow in Blender?

yes, it is: http://blendernews.org/xe/Feature_Articles/8524

You know what? I think I damn near completely agree. And I'm a pretty big fan of Blender. I think there's still a lot of us excited by how far it has come and may not focus enough on how much more excellent it could be. Originally, Blender was almost completely unusable (save for the few who divined some of the interface philosophies). Today at least there's hope. Personally, I'm hoping for more projects like this extending Blender out and maybe bringing it a bit closer to parity with the more elegant and professional suites.

And I think way back when Blender was just getting its foothold as FOSS, there wasn't a lot of free modeling software, just very limited demos. Today, there's so much choice it's overwhelming. So thanks for the recommendations! (I just hope someone clever tries them out and works some their goodness into the Blender base :)

Add Mathematica to the list of Houdini alikes. I wonder why it is not more famous, it's such a masterpiece (a tiny bit above that old friend Maya).

"it is like linux/emacs/lisp of CG world"

Actually, Blender is like Linux of the CG world, and I agree - Blender is a horrible mess!

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