I don’t know if it’s been brought up or how long it’s been offered but autodesk if now offering 30 of their programs for FREE to students for a three year license… it may not be open source but it’s kinda cool to be able to learn different programs for free
-Tyler
it will be a frustrating experience because of how stupid these software are considering the payed development of it.
Autodesk has a knack for given away free copies of their software especially to students. When I was going to school, the Autodesk representative would come to the school and always have copies of Maya and Max on hand to give out to anyone who was interested.
learning is always good. so, go for it.
I have to agree, this is a good thing. I especially feel it is important for students to have opportunities not based on finances, but skills…this is one such opportunity…hopefully one day everyone will be using blender, but until then…go get some software guys and gals.
If you are a student. Absolutely go for it!
There is so much you could learn in that time if you take advantage of it.
my gosh… the hot keys and everything in 3DS max suck so bad… it’s making it hard to learn… like rotate grab and scale in blender is R, G, and S… which makes sense! it’s like random keys in 3ds max…
Yes, as a student Ive been taking advantage of this, its great to be able to work from home on projects where I have to use autodesk programs etc.
No, its not random keys. Its just slightly different. You can change the hotkeys to suit your own needs if you have to. Simple.
You guys may find it a bit odd…but i have every version of AutoCAD since 2006…
Of course, thats because of architectural work, but i just don’t like it. Actually i can’t stand it.
Although, i had to PAY for those (although Metricon paid about 90% of it)
I have 3ds Max & Maya installed, I think it’s a good, and bad thing.
Firstly it’s good because it allows students, who otherwise wouldn’t have access to high-end programs, to make use of them in their own time, as opposed to just using them in computer labs during the day. It also means they’ll have an advantage as they can become accustomed to industry standard applications, and this is where it’s a little bad as it locks them (in most cases) into a specific package from a young(er) age and makes it harder for the small packages to ahve any real industry muscle as the user base is dominated by a select few packages.
Either way I have them, and at some point I shall start using them again (used them in a studio a while back, but got fed up with them), for now Blender is what I’m using for my university projects, and while it’s pissing off some of the lecturers a little bit, it’s more than doing it’s job.
The reason that only a few programs are most often used in studios and production environments is because there are only a few programs that are actually the best at what they do. It has been this way a long time. The reason schools use them is because that is the realistic market for their students. Less-used programs do have a share of the market. And Blender also has a share. It is not a large share and will not be unless any one of these “lesser” programs get some serious development. That this share would stay small is not because kids are locked into them early on. It is because they are better at doing production work. You want to see Autodesk loyalty vanish among the large studios in a heart beat, actually produce a product that is far better for much less money. That has not been done. The last time it happened was with LightWave. That was the last real shake up of the industry. But still all it did was offer something almost as good as the top programs. But it was a first of its kind in that lower end market and eventually got a lot of acceptance from the industry as it was used in many TV shows which prior to that had not had the budget to do special effects of that kind. However the guys using the highend programs never took it seriously because it could not compete. Development of those high-end programs continued on to today. That is Softimage Maya and so on. These programs have come down in price over the years but they have such a longer time at the top and so much more money into development that it will take a very large and concentrated effort by someone to top them. Not that it could not be done. But no one is really even doing it. Blender has too small of a development team.
It is a very good program that I love to use. I like the Blender approach to work flow. Much of which has been copied from things such as Maya. But if I owned a studio that had to produce high-end special effects on time and with the minimal hassle and maximum toolset I am going with AD products. That is just the reality. It will not change until this reality is met. Artists are free to use what they choose. But if they are looking for realistic employment in the job force, this is something that has to be considered.
I work full time with Blender as a freelance 3D artist. It is currently my main tool. But I am realistic. Workking out in the world with another company should I choose that, would mean learning one of AD products or at least upgrading my LW license - something I intend to do. The reality is that there is more work out there with these other programs. And that is not going to change real soon.
And truth be told. If I ever come into a large amount of cash. I am going to invest in AD products for my own use. It is not about Blender loyalty or anything else. It is about what tools are the best at what they do. And as as artist of any kind, it is eventual that you will mature and gravitate towards a better instrument or tool. Not that the instrument or tool is the thing. But that as an artist looks for more control and a finer tool set to handle his needs, it is a natural progression. This is the same for quality of oil paint as it is for something such as a high-end musical instrument as it is for a computer program. A great artist can always work with any tool. But great artists also know the difference and usually choose the best tools available if they can.
I am very thankful that Blender cam along for me at a time when I need it. I love the way it works mostly. But in reality it is lacking in many areas that will not see improvement for a long time to come. That is just the way it is.
ummm… IIRC… the manipulation hotkeys in Max are
QWER
Q – Select
W – Select and Move
E – Select and Rotate
R – Select and Scale
If that doesn’t “make sense” then you don’t have a standard “QWERTY” keyboard or you ain’t lookin’ at it. 
Take advantage of the free MAya if you can.
Maya is the only app that I’ve ever heard an HR Director say “If they don’t have any Maya experience, I won’t even talk to them.”
Ha! I didn’t even notice that… thank you for clearing that up for me 
I’m using maya student version, you get a warning when opening/saving every file that has ever been touched by it but otherwise its great! If you want to work in a studio, go for it! (btw houdini have s,t,r,e for select, translate, rotate, scale… switching between apps can be painful =) )