I am looking to do a little cg modeling sometime in the near future.  Specifically, I need to create CG models of some vehicle and some building designs I am working on.  I need them to get good perspectives and good scale for artwork I am going to be producing.  

My question:  can anyone make a recommendation on a good computer modelling program?

Some details to consider:

- I have had some experience with 3dMax on the PC
- I only have a P3 500 - but I also have an Apple G4, so either platform is good
- I am not going to be doing any major texture work or creating lots of tiny little details necessarily, so the program doesnt *have* to be fancy (though its ok if it is).
- Most of the work will be of stand alone models (ie no entire environments), though I may group some of the building models together.
- While it is not a requirement, it would be nice if I could include the model of a human or two for scaling purposes.  In addition, if human models are available, it would be nice to be able to manipulate their poses.

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So - given these variables, does anyone have any recommendations as to a modelling program or two which might fit my needs?

Thanks in advance.  

The only one I really have experience with (using it in school) is 3DSMax.  It'll definately do what you're looking for, but it sounds like you want something cheaper...  Maybe Blender... I never used it, but as far as I can remember, it was reasonably powerful and free...

No - I still have 3dMax, so - if you think that is the best thing, then great.  But what about programs like maya or lightwave or poser, or something else entirely?  Overkill?  Or not what I need?  etc?

well if you want top of the line, i think lightwave or maya are the best... but that'll cost you a s**t load!

Maya is pretty much the high-end modeling program, you also have to shell out $$$ for it. There is also blender and that's free (as in freedom).

agent, whatever happened with your cop car model?

Well, the maya learning edition is free.  It puts a watermark on images and saves the file as a non-standard maya file, but those things dont matter to my needs.  As far as I know, everything else about it is the same as the pay versions.

As to blender, how does it compare to something like maya - or even 3dmax?  What are some of its faults?   How is it better (iff it is) than the rest of these programs?  Can I import existing models for blender, and are there alot of them available (mostly people or cars etc for scale perhaps)?

One would only have to go to Blender3d.com and find out.

Quote (6of1 @ Jan. 08 2005, 5:07 pm)

Well, the maya learning edition is free.  It puts a watermark on images and saves the file as a non-standard maya file, but those things dont matter to my needs.  As far as I know, everything else about it is the same as the pay versions.

Humm when I tried it, it placed a watermark on not only the rendered images, but also on all 4 viewports.    I couldn't stand glaring around watermarks while modeling, so I uninstalled Maya...

Quote (Peaceable Frood @ Jan. 08 2005, 3:11 pm)

One would only have to go to Blender3d.com and find out.

I had visited the site the first time blender was mentioned.  I don't see a comparison between it and other programs though - and that is what I was asking for.  As such, going to the site doesnt help much.

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As to maya and watermarks - I guess I can understand their reason for doing that.  No screenshots that way.  But that does seem to be a quite annoying feature to deal with.  I'll have to see how bad it is myself now.

Update:  Just tried the educational version (6) on the mac.  It may be different than the version you tried - or it may be different on the mac, but the views (single or four views) simply have a very small 'not for commercial use' text in the bottom right hand corner.  It doesnt obstruct the view or interfere with the modelling at all.  So looks like it should be okay.