Modo
Modo
I learned Modo recently when I heared the rumors and found that it is still too young to be called a full fledged 3d app. I don't like the modeling in modo at all. This is not just me though. Maybe you heard the name Mike Nash before, he was another genius at modeling who uses softimage like Vitaly Bulgarov and he also asserts that modo is not intuitive and now he is looking at Maya. I want to hear some opinions from you guys who uses Modo as a Modeler. What do you think about the workflow, I found it really awkward. Could you compare both?
Re: Modo
I'll try to take it from positive side, for Modo, also I'll be free to go a little bit further. Let's say that Modo shines as 'best bang for bucks' app, having a very very very good general purpose renderer - and a bit of everything else. For getting in, discounts are frequent, upgrade policy is comparable to what we remember from XSI Foundation.
When Foundry and Luxology merged, Modo users got message from Brad Pebbler, having a good words about Modo renderer. I don't remember that he mentioned modeling.
Back to modeling, I think this depend of user's previous experience, where Modo tries to achieve something better than Lightwave. People who used to use stack and operators/modifiers, like me for example, obviously won't be impressed by Modo modelling. Another problem is, that Modo does not have strength of SI or Maya view ports. Yet another ( again it's personal view) it's 'expected' workflow - it seems that user should exactly follow what Modo wants - somehow insulting for my arrogance.
IMHO, there are two factors. Strength and stability as first one. Second, set of very different tools, where user is absolutely free to combine them in any way, non-destructively through the stack (at least some of them), or convert different types of geometry.
In practice, while ago I've worked with XSI, together with Lightwave guy, same hard surface subdiv stuff. To be honest, stronger application was one, driven by user who spent yesterday evening healthier
When Foundry and Luxology merged, Modo users got message from Brad Pebbler, having a good words about Modo renderer. I don't remember that he mentioned modeling.
Back to modeling, I think this depend of user's previous experience, where Modo tries to achieve something better than Lightwave. People who used to use stack and operators/modifiers, like me for example, obviously won't be impressed by Modo modelling. Another problem is, that Modo does not have strength of SI or Maya view ports. Yet another ( again it's personal view) it's 'expected' workflow - it seems that user should exactly follow what Modo wants - somehow insulting for my arrogance.
IMHO, there are two factors. Strength and stability as first one. Second, set of very different tools, where user is absolutely free to combine them in any way, non-destructively through the stack (at least some of them), or convert different types of geometry.
In practice, while ago I've worked with XSI, together with Lightwave guy, same hard surface subdiv stuff. To be honest, stronger application was one, driven by user who spent yesterday evening healthier
Re: Modo
Thanks Mathaeus, I don't like Modo's workflow sadly and I think Maya is the way to go for now but I want to emphasize I HATE AUTODESK and if there will be any other solution, I would gladly take that course without a second thought. And finally I don't like the grand finale, not at all. AFAIK heroes die when another brave soul defeats them but I couldn't see anyone who fits into that category sadly:)
Re: Modo
I don't like modo too, but everyone has different appeal.gaboraa wrote:I learned Modo recently when I heared the rumors and found that it is still too young to be called a full fledged 3d app. I don't like the modeling in modo at all. This is not just me though. Maybe you heard the name Mike Nash before, he was another genius at modeling who uses softimage like Vitaly Bulgarov and he also asserts that modo is not intuitive and now he is looking at Maya. I want to hear some opinions from you guys who uses Modo as a Modeler. What do you think about the workflow, I found it really awkward. Could you compare both?
Mark Nash can be a genius, but his feeling can be a lot different by your or/and mine.
I suggest you to try yourself, force you to use it and follow some tutorials.
In particular:
http://community.thefoundry.co.uk/tv/tr ... spx?id=530
Toolpipe is the first things for avoid some bad default choice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GGjfOTQQZM
http://cgi.tutsplus.com/tutorials/quick ... 1--cg-2361
Macros is not a so revolutionary idea like Luxology marketing said, but can be useful
and also this page for modo fast modelling, with a lot of nice tips and suggestion:
http://henningsanden.com/2013/03/31/how ... -modeling/
Modo is not exactly a great tool out of the box, indeed has a bad and convulsed workflow, but customizing it worth if you like some of the features inside the package
it is a precise choice by developers, modo is a rough tool, ready to be customize by the user and without a predefined workflow, because must adapt as much as possible to user workflow, not a bad idea on paper. So giving a try, can be the tool you need.
On side note, IMO, is better remain sticky to softimage, and take a look at blender world (and maybe support with some sporading donation), the development is fat enoght to catch big names in the next few years. Also Blender cannot be acquired by ADSK, cannot bankrupt or terminated for corporate interest.
Re: Modo
And Blender has a better 'workflow'?Nizar wrote:On side note, IMO, is better remain sticky to softimage, and take a look at blender world (and maybe support with some sporading donation), the development is fat enoght to catch big names in the next few years. Also Blender cannot be acquired by ADSK, cannot bankrupt or terminated for corporate interest.
It has a strange model of interaction, too, and what I read there's little will to change it to accommodate anyone outside the already existing userbase.
Re: Modo
I don't want appear like a blender fan, I'm not a fan of nothing (even XSI), I only evaluate a tool for my needs.
You need to select some preference.
Going into file>user preference, under Interface, select "rotate around selection", on Edit select "release on confirm", and under input select "Select with Left"
After this, what is so alien like in blender?
- Deselect all need a hotkey, A by default, in all others software you need to click on viewport. This because you can drag any selected items (face, vertex or edge) independently where is your mouse cursor, simply click and drag.
- Raycast selection in blender is an hotkey, C, when you use it viewport freeze, the some for box selection. A independent developer actually work on a particular build, called Preselection build, this introduce some nice solution (standard for softimage)
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthr ... e-surface!
- inexplicably, axis are inverted. Z is the vertical axis and y is the deep axis.
- select and deselect are on the some key, SHIFT.
- Delete a component open a menu, with a lot of options (delete face, delete vertex, delete edge, delete fade edge loop, collapse vertex, fade vertex etc), this slow the process.
- Is present the usual handles, but, i.e., don't appear a rotate handle when you press rotate, or scale handle when you press scale, you select the handle you want work, and this appear every time you select a component, and disappear during the operation. Many navigated blender users don't use at all handles and press hot key during transformation, so if you want rotate around z axis, select the component you want use, click and drag, during the transformation press Z, or middle mouse button and select where constraint the transformation, if you don't press nothing the transformation is constraint to actual view. What is really weird is the axis have not standard representation (is hard, in my mind, make Z in vertical position...), when you are in local must doing some attempts before find the right axis, and when you want use the local coordinate must press two time the axis you want constraint (if you press only one time, even you are in local mode, the constraint is on global coordinates). When you want constraint two axis must press shift+ the axis you want exclude by your transformation. You can use the handles (and have all three activated at some time, as you can have activated all the components (axis, face, and vertex) at some time), but handles cannot constraint to two axis. Appear very weird, but after a bit can be used without too much issue.
If you can live with this difference in a day by day work flow, you can use blender. Other difference like the use of the 3d cursor appear weird only before you are accustomed to it.
The real blender problems are:
- no render pass, at all, the actual, render layers, is a joke compared to XSI
- No animation layer
- the explorer (outliner) is near useless, and layer visibility system is horrible (some free addon mitigate a bit)
- Viewport during edit mode had bad performance (but better than modo)
- Cannot edit two or more object at some time
- The software is closed in separated rooms. So if you want use a brush (blender sculpt is nice, not zrush or mudbox but again better than modo), you must exit edit mode and enter in sculpt mode. In modo you can call every tool (brush, retopo tools etc.) independently what is the tab (modo is separated into tab, Rendering, Layout, Animate, Model, Retopo etc).
Again, if you can live with this issue (from my point of view), the software is enjoyable, logic, consistent and with a lot of tools and potential, the best is the ability to do all inside blender without leave the logic and shortcust (all identical inside the whole package).
Here a work done by my friend Max, he was an enthusiast XSI user, migrated from XSI to blender after ADSK acquisition:
Sculpt in blender/zbrush, retopo in blender, uv in blender, texture paint in blender/photoshop, rendering in blender (cycles) and compositing in blender/photoshop.
Here the (long) making of:
You need to select some preference.
Going into file>user preference, under Interface, select "rotate around selection", on Edit select "release on confirm", and under input select "Select with Left"
After this, what is so alien like in blender?
- Deselect all need a hotkey, A by default, in all others software you need to click on viewport. This because you can drag any selected items (face, vertex or edge) independently where is your mouse cursor, simply click and drag.
- Raycast selection in blender is an hotkey, C, when you use it viewport freeze, the some for box selection. A independent developer actually work on a particular build, called Preselection build, this introduce some nice solution (standard for softimage)
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthr ... e-surface!
- inexplicably, axis are inverted. Z is the vertical axis and y is the deep axis.
- select and deselect are on the some key, SHIFT.
- Delete a component open a menu, with a lot of options (delete face, delete vertex, delete edge, delete fade edge loop, collapse vertex, fade vertex etc), this slow the process.
- Is present the usual handles, but, i.e., don't appear a rotate handle when you press rotate, or scale handle when you press scale, you select the handle you want work, and this appear every time you select a component, and disappear during the operation. Many navigated blender users don't use at all handles and press hot key during transformation, so if you want rotate around z axis, select the component you want use, click and drag, during the transformation press Z, or middle mouse button and select where constraint the transformation, if you don't press nothing the transformation is constraint to actual view. What is really weird is the axis have not standard representation (is hard, in my mind, make Z in vertical position...), when you are in local must doing some attempts before find the right axis, and when you want use the local coordinate must press two time the axis you want constraint (if you press only one time, even you are in local mode, the constraint is on global coordinates). When you want constraint two axis must press shift+ the axis you want exclude by your transformation. You can use the handles (and have all three activated at some time, as you can have activated all the components (axis, face, and vertex) at some time), but handles cannot constraint to two axis. Appear very weird, but after a bit can be used without too much issue.
If you can live with this difference in a day by day work flow, you can use blender. Other difference like the use of the 3d cursor appear weird only before you are accustomed to it.
The real blender problems are:
- no render pass, at all, the actual, render layers, is a joke compared to XSI
- No animation layer
- the explorer (outliner) is near useless, and layer visibility system is horrible (some free addon mitigate a bit)
- Viewport during edit mode had bad performance (but better than modo)
- Cannot edit two or more object at some time
- The software is closed in separated rooms. So if you want use a brush (blender sculpt is nice, not zrush or mudbox but again better than modo), you must exit edit mode and enter in sculpt mode. In modo you can call every tool (brush, retopo tools etc.) independently what is the tab (modo is separated into tab, Rendering, Layout, Animate, Model, Retopo etc).
Again, if you can live with this issue (from my point of view), the software is enjoyable, logic, consistent and with a lot of tools and potential, the best is the ability to do all inside blender without leave the logic and shortcust (all identical inside the whole package).
Here a work done by my friend Max, he was an enthusiast XSI user, migrated from XSI to blender after ADSK acquisition:
Sculpt in blender/zbrush, retopo in blender, uv in blender, texture paint in blender/photoshop, rendering in blender (cycles) and compositing in blender/photoshop.
Here the (long) making of:
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