Does anyone know of the transition from Blender to 3DS Max? The college Im looking into uses Max, and I’ve never even really seen it. Should I begin to learn it now if possible??? Thanks for your 2-cents.
I’ve been using 3DS since way before MAX. It can do a lot, especially if you have all the plug-ins. But what keeps my copy of MAX9 rotting in a closet while I use Blender is Max’s horrible user interface. I suspect that if learning MAX is necessary, they will have a beginner class for you. The fundamentals that you have learned on Blender will serve you well.
danke Artkansas!
File / Export / obj
Make sure that LMB in blender is for selecting. MMB for panning.
[a]drien: no. i need to actually USE the program. I wanted to know about the learning curve. I know how to export…
bigbad: heh???
A better approach for Blender to Max is FBX file format. This preserves animation.
The FBX plugin is free for Max http://www.maxplugins.de/
Unfortunately, Blender does not support FBX import. (Which it will probably need to do in order to become a more viable 3D option for users.)
So you can go Blender to max, no problem, but going Max to blender is more of a challenge if you are transfering an animation. Getting model from Max to blender is no problem at all. Simply user the OBJ format.
I too have used 3DS since before Max and I still love the program, but it crashes all the time. I have spent the last year learning blender (still learning). I recently went back into my Max 7.0 and tried to do something simple and it crashed. Now I remember why I was seeking another 3D alternative…
learning curve for max is terrible. I downloaded (illegally) max and it wasn’t worth the trouble because the UI sucks. I still use blender
Max has a large selection of parametric objects that you can quickly throw on the screen and adjust in a parameter panel, and their booleans work better than Blender booleans (or if they don’t, Max hides the messy details.) This leads to a different approach to modeling than you’ll be used to. You can get Max to do things that are simple and quick in Blender, but in Max they are tedious and complicated. Max beginners wind up doing a lot of what is basically box modeling. Poly by poly modeling is an advanced skill in Max, rather than a choice between two equally straightforward methods as it is in Blender.
The biggest learning curve hurdle is giving up trying to get Max to be Blender. You’ll have to learn the interface, and that means taking all the baby steps in Max that you took in Blender ages ago, and producing junk models and junk images for awhile, until you get used to the Max way of doing things. And it does crash a lot. And freezes. And sometimes functions simply stop working until you shut down and start up again. Make friends with the tech support people in the computer lab, and make sure your workstation, at least, has all the latest patches and bug fixes.
I’m now taking an animation course using 3DS Max, and they tell you everything from the beginning, so don’t worry.
By the way, my teacher thinks Max is the greatest program around, but even he admits that Blender has better modeling tools. He even says Blender’s NURBS are better.
For converting geometry, I recommend using the COLLADA format. Blender’s COLLADA i/o is quite good, and there is a great COLLADA plugin for max at http://www.feelingsoftware.com/content/view/65/79/lang,en/
I also wrote a script for exporting Blender’s 3D curves to Max via COLLADA, since it’s not supported in Blender’s COLLADA exporters: http://mke3.net/weblog/exporting-blenders-3d-curves/
Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just make sure you find your autobak directory.
edit: Also the difficulty is if you plan to switch back and forth between Blender and Max. The gap between interfaces would drive you mad. You can take some time beforehand to prepare some Autohotkey script that you compile as an exe running automatically when Max is on from your USB key to get more similar workflows but always with a panic escape key for when the instructor wants to touch your keyboard so that he doesn’t discover… your hotkey monstrosity… (Actually it would give you a faster Max workflow).
And most important:
You’ll feel faster when using NGons, you’ll be. The temptation will be there, the big Pole, always lurking from behind the screen, waiting for your moments of lesser attention to ruin your mesh… Go, Quad Bearer, and stay alert! For your purity of mind is the last chance for the edge to flow free and alive.
Hum! uhh…, do you get the point?
As stated above, blender to 3DsMax is best done with .obj
And max has really kick arse booleans since version 8 (it included powerboooleans to fix there native boolean).