Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

General questions and troubleshooting SOFTIMAGE©
Post Reply
xZOOMx
Posts: 2
Joined: 27 Jul 2012, 22:42

Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by xZOOMx » 28 Jul 2012, 00:15

Hi guys,

This is my first post here.

I want to learn to make 3D character animations. I'm currently trying to learn to use Softimage as I liked the Face-Robot and i thought it was fairly easy to learn. So it started out well. But now i have spent about 2 weeks with the rest of the program and I'm not learning much. i have looked at all tutorials available but i just get confused and don't know which function I'm looking for. I'm getting headache. GIVE ME ICONS, please. I'm terrible to remember words, names etc, but I can easy remember things if i can relate it to a picture like an icon or equal. I also think it is a daunting task to learn all 900 SoftImage keyboard short cuts, especially when same key combination can have 6-10 different functions depending where in the program you are at the moment.

I can hardly be the only one who have these problems. I'm very efficient in many other programs like Solidworks, SolidCAM, Autocad, MS Office, Photoshop etc. But i will soon give up Softimage. But before i quit i have to ask, are there any custom made icon button based "skins" to Softimage out there that would help me?

I have read that Maya is larger and more complex but easier than Softimage to learn. Should i go for Maya instead?

I NEED help...

Thanks,

User avatar
bottleofram
Posts: 355
Joined: 17 Aug 2010, 11:21

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by bottleofram » 28 Jul 2012, 02:32

    >Hi guys,

Hi

    >I think it is a daunting task to learn all 900 SoftImage keyboard short cuts

Sure, but you only learn those you need. Same as any other software, really.

   >GIVE ME ICONS, please.

You can use shelves and make custom ones. Also, I've seen a couple of customized UIs that incorporate more icon-based buttons but never seen them being shared.

    >I have read that Maya is larger

Nope.

    >more complex but easier to learn.

That's contradictory, isn't it?

    >Should i go for Maya instead?

Absolutely. Always try all the options available.



Cheers

luceric
Posts: 1251
Joined: 22 Jun 2009, 00:08

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by luceric » 28 Jul 2012, 05:01

if you found some toolbars with icons out there and didn't learn the real menu structure, then you wouldn't be able to follow the user guide, tutorial and documentation. so that would just make things a whole lot worse because you'd be isolated.

try 3DSMax.. the ribbon and various animated tooltips were made to get learners up to speed on modeling and animation -- and then you have CAT for character animation.

Maya... if you do go that way, please come back later and tell us how well that went..

User avatar
owei
Administrator
Posts: 840
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 17:25
Location: Siegen/Germany
Contact:

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by owei » 28 Jul 2012, 09:37

Hey..!

You will have to consider that most 3d apps for DCC will not follow the same logic and workflow as the CAD software. Each package has it´s own type of logic. 3dmax is pretty much old school in comparison to soft, or even maya, I guess and in my eyes the worst choice you could make. The UI is so ugly and messy and sometimes you will have to scroll for ever in certain windows to get the info you need.
Find a person that is familiar with soft and let him or her explain it to you, that will always help a lot, I guess ;)

cheers,
oli

User avatar
gaboraa
Posts: 314
Joined: 16 Apr 2010, 23:14

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by gaboraa » 28 Jul 2012, 10:23

Cmon Softimage is the easiest to learn software out there, I learned it about 1 month so if a dumb like me can learn it within 1 month you could do better:) Joking aside, there are no icons because there is no need to, you don't want to memorize stupidly crafted icon for a tool, you should learn their names and thats all;)

User avatar
Rork
Posts: 1359
Joined: 09 Jul 2009, 08:59
Location: Close to The Hague, Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by Rork » 28 Jul 2012, 10:41

want icons, get an iPad:
http://www.123dapp.com/sculpt
SI UI tutorials: Toolbar http://goo.gl/iYOL0l | Custom Layout http://goo.gl/6iP5xQ | RenderManager View http://goo.gl/b4ZkjQ
So long, and thanks for all the Fish!!

Pancho
Posts: 659
Joined: 19 Sep 2010, 11:28

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by Pancho » 28 Jul 2012, 12:32

Icons? Could anything be more confusing than small pictures compared to a word? The lack of icons is one of the things which makes working with SI a pleasure.

gfxman
Posts: 92
Joined: 28 Mar 2011, 15:14

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by gfxman » 28 Jul 2012, 17:42

Icons are for maya and max user, softimage doesn't need them, really :D

User avatar
3DTutorial
Posts: 52
Joined: 12 Sep 2009, 21:59
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by 3DTutorial » 28 Jul 2012, 18:10

UI Icons?

No thank you.

Cheers,

J
Certified Softimage Instructor & Old Timer
Follow me on Twitter
http://twitter.com/JoeSaltzman

ChrB
Posts: 55
Joined: 10 Jun 2009, 13:26

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by ChrB » 28 Jul 2012, 18:31

I have a strict "No Icon" Policy... I mean just look at that HUUUUGE select arrow eating up the top right of the UI... Who the h*ll put that there? Did anybody ever click it (apart from out of curiosity...)....
Arnold for the masses!

User avatar
bottleofram
Posts: 355
Joined: 17 Aug 2010, 11:21

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by bottleofram » 28 Jul 2012, 20:53

ChrB wrote:I have a strict "No Icon" Policy... I mean just look at that HUUUUGE select arrow eating up the top right of the UI... Who the h*ll put that there? Did anybody ever click it (apart from out of curiosity...)....
I've seen people use icon-buttons to navigate around the scene in C4D and Max. It was the weirdest thing ever, but than again, not everyone spends 6-12 hours a day in front of a 3D package.

User avatar
AceMastermind
Posts: 160
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 00:57
Contact:

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by AceMastermind » 29 Jul 2012, 01:22

ChrB wrote:I have a strict "No Icon" Policy... I mean just look at that HUUUUGE select arrow eating up the top right of the UI... Who the h*ll put that there? Did anybody ever click it (apart from out of curiosity...)....
I've been using XSI for almost 6 years and I think I clicked on that button about four times, twice by accident! :))
Whenever I dabble in an application with lots of icons I can't remember what half of them represent. I usually have to hover the mouse cursor over them until a tool tip or something pops up. :)

EricTRocks
Moderator
Posts: 754
Joined: 25 Nov 2009, 01:41
Contact:

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by EricTRocks » 29 Jul 2012, 01:58

Since this thread has mainly been poking fun and Maya / Max bashing I'll post some links that may be helpful:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/in ... D=12544118

http://www.youtube.com/user/AceMastermi ... eos?view=1

http://softimage.wiki.softimage.com/ind ... :Tutorials

https://vimeo.com/groups/softimagetutorials

http://www.digitaltutors.com/training/s ... -tutorials <- I feel dirty for putting it on the list but it may be good for getting started.


Definitely go through the help documentation as it is really good and should get you going quite well. Even without icons I think most of us just use our reflexes to go to the correct menu and select the correct item. You get used to it. Also if you have icons for all the menu items in Softimage then you'd then have a problem of seeing the different between them. :)
Eric Thivierge
Lead Kraken Developer, Fabric Engine
http://fabric-engine.github.io/Kraken

User avatar
gustavoeb
Moderator
Posts: 587
Joined: 21 Jul 2010, 00:33
Skype: gustavoboehs

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by gustavoeb » 29 Jul 2012, 06:29

Having little to non icons feels very akward at first sight, but in a app with a gazzilion different commands you soon will start feeling it is a good choice. Ok we could use some icons for commands that are used all the time, and that people have absolutely no doubt what they mean.
When you get into maya the first time you need to hover every single icon to find a certain function.
That said animation is a totally different thing run cad. I for one never used a cad program and if i were to do so I surely wouldn't start modeling a car, for example.
Rigging a face or a human body may be ridiculously complex, depending on how good you want the result.
Try some easy stuff first, not to get frustrated easily
Gustavo Eggert Boehs
Blog: http://www.gustavoeb.com.br/

xZOOMx
Posts: 2
Joined: 27 Jul 2012, 22:42

Re: Softimage so hard to learn... GIVE ME ICONS

Post by xZOOMx » 29 Jul 2012, 09:51

EricTRocks wrote:Since this thread has mainly been poking fun and Maya / Max bashing I'll post some links that may be helpful:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/in ... D=12544118

http://www.youtube.com/user/AceMastermi ... eos?view=1

http://softimage.wiki.softimage.com/ind ... :Tutorials

https://vimeo.com/groups/softimagetutorials

http://www.digitaltutors.com/training/s ... -tutorials <- I feel dirty for putting it on the list but it may be good for getting started.


Definitely go through the help documentation as it is really good and should get you going quite well. Even without icons I think most of us just use our reflexes to go to the correct menu and select the correct item. You get used to it. Also if you have icons for all the menu items in Softimage then you'd then have a problem of seeing the different between them. :)
Thanks. I found some new interesting tutorials in your useful links. Thanks again.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests