From Maya to Blender 2.8

Support Modeling
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21

Not nice at all. Why on earth do I need to hit the keyboard two times just to delete something?
To me this is just an extra non-sensical hassle, nothing more.

22

Hmmm… I guess everyone has a different preference, for me, it isn’t more annoying than pressing ctrl + z which I don’t hear any complains. Its something that I do without thinking.

And it’s like having “ctrl z” kind of shortcut for every single operation in blender

23

You’re just used to the pain. This insane delete menu does’t exist in any 3D app, because makes no sense.

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24

Eh, pressing xd or xv is faster than pressing del or backspace. And you get a whole bunch of options while in other apps you have to remember a whole bunch of hotkeys or use buttons and menus.

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25

Like I said, once you are used to something…

26

Don’t feed that troll fellows. He’s everywhere and conversation gets nigh impossible with them around.

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27

I was used to del and backspace because of 15 years of 3ds max but the delete menu when switching to Blender was really refreshing because of its ease of use.

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28

Good for you.
The point is, when I hit delete, I expect it to delete whatever I have selected, there’s no need for extra interaction or memorize dozens of key combinations just to delete something. This makes no sense to me.

Also why on earth the dissolve options are in that menu? No other app in the planet does that. No wonder why many new users think blender don’t have dissolve functionality.

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29

Using the delete button for deleting things is pretty silly.

You need that button pretty often but it´s on the other end of your keyboard.

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30

You should definitely use the buildbot (official daily builds) blender versions. Weather it’s 2.79 or 2.80, you get the latest and greatest!

If you’re coming from Maya, you should try my setup:
2.80

2.79

The 2.79 setup is more complete, but 2.80is getting there as well.

To help you get insight in different workflows, watch some of Wazou and MasterXeon vids. There’s a lot more notable artists that demo very good workflows, but those 2 are at the very top in my opinion. And they are both developers building their own tools. Definitely worth looking into!

Wazou
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtEkh8KgCsRAivGyY9MdK0Q

masterxeon
https://www.youtube.com/user/masterxeon1001

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31

Usually applications in beta tend to change dramatically or are filled with bugs so I tend to keep away from them and wait for a full release.

32

Thanks for the offer David, if I do see the need for a training program I will keep you in mind, so far I’m only interested in the modeling side so I don’t think I’ll go too deep in it.

33

Why use Blender for modeling if you are already comfortable with Maya? Maya probably has more core modeling tools than Blender.

34

Thanks.
I’m kind of spoiled by maya’s UVs, I wasn’t fond on working with UVs until a guy made a script called “Nightshade UV editor” that worked really great in Maya around v2014, I think they implemented or where inspired by his work and added it in maya 2018, but I’m writing down those to look them up.

Edit: oh, I’m limited by 5 posts so I’ll edit this one.
To kkar:
In the original post I mentioned I will be moving to another country and won’t be able to afford the license for an extended period of time.

To Aryeramaty & Lumpengnom:
I think it’s about consistency and getting used to the same method most every other program uses, chances are we work on more than one application and having very different keys for the same result it will mess up the workflow quite a bit, that is why many people have a lot of problems getting into zbrush.

To 0rAngE:
Thank you!!, I will check those out.

35

It’s a good thing that Blender is almost infinitely customizable, you can easily make your own keymap, and even popup menus, and then it works exactly the way you need it to. Just about every other application uses delete/backspace to delete, but I still got used to it in Blender, and it’s not really a problem switching. Also if you are working with your left hand on the keyboard, and your right hand on the mouse or stylus, the X key is much more accessible. Frequently I find myself wanting to use X to delete in other apps, because of how convenient it is in Blender.

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37

Well, are other programs consistent among each other?
I came from 3ds Max and it uses a similar system for modifiers as Blender while Maya uses this history system. Does that mean that Maya is inconsistent? On the other hand Maya and Blender have pie menus while Max does not. Is Max inconsistent? Or is Blender inconsistent because Max and Maya use the delete button for deleting objects while Blender uses a different button?

You’ll allways find plenty of differences and similarities when transitioning from one programm to another.

Default shortcuts are different in all programs. But shortcuts are the smallest problem if you really want consistency because you can change them yourelf in nearly any 3D programm, VRED being the notable negative exception. In Blender you can even change the navigation to whatever you want which in Max for example you unfortunately are constrained to two presets.

Changing can be done either in the preferences or by rightclicking an option in a menu and selecting “change shortcut”.

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40

Install this to pimp the UV workflow in Blender 2.79.
https://renderhjs.net/textools/blender/

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41

I also came from Maya. Modeling wise, Blender will cover your needs but it will take awhile to deprogram some of the expectations that Maya is associated with. Some things you just have to approach differently. The use of modifier stacks, snapping and 3D Cursor behavior, floating verts and edges.

Once you can learn the way Blender “thinks”, toss in a few addons (https://machin3.io/) and adapt, you will definitely be happy with the modeling component. UV editing in Blender (from Maya) is something that’s just difficult to adapt to though. Even with the changes in 2.8, I still hate it.

We are still waiting on an Industry Standard keymap for 2.8. There should also be some behavior we are familiar with, such as double clicking to select…ect

Now if you want to just get up and running quickly with little hassle (at a low price point), I recommend looking at Modo Indie (https://store.steampowered.com/app/401090/MODO_indie). The one thing Modo does well is modeling, UV editing and retopo out of the box. There is a lot of automation that makes it easier to adapt to, and there is a maya keymap built into it. Baking is also easy.

Blender takes work to adapt, those who do are generally happy with the result but going straight from Maya can be tough. On the other hand, my transition into Modo was extremely easy. Blender has better value in the long run and more momentum going for it development wise, but if its just getting work done as a modeler, Modo Indie has far more appeal in that regard. Indie does not limit revenue you can make in it either, just polycount limit as far as exporting is concerned. Game assets are fine, and its easy to get around if its a bit heavier. There is also a VR mode if you dabble in VR.

The one thing that Modo does so much better than Blender atm, is unifying the Modeling, UV editing and retopology tools. The tools carry across all modes, so its almost as if there is no distinction, where as Blender everything is highly fragmented, which can also be seen as a design choice.

I would recommend trying Indie out first just to get going without much set back, and start learning Blender (with a focus on 2.8) over time so you can make a smooth transition over without worrying about how you are going to get work done. If you go with this route, just make sure to turn off trackball rotation in Modo’s settings as well as set keymap to maya. Additionally, in viewport options (o key) you can tell it to make non active item visible as this is what you are used to in Maya. After that its just learning to drop tools with space bar when done, using the usual ctrl+c, v, x…ect for copy, paste and cut, and figuring out that the outliner (item list) is just a set of object layers rather than separate objects themselves.

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46

By the way, here’s the link to the industry standard keymap (now called compatible)
https://developer.blender.org/T54963

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47

A year ago I was just like you a new comer to Blender from Maya, it was frustrating at first especially that blender isn’t like any other 3d software although 2.8 is much better and more welcoming to new comers you should know that it’s not production ready, you can use 2.79 as it is the official build.

Some people here gave you a scare for nothing but I’ll take you straight to what you need:

  1. Switch the Pie menu add on it’ll make your life very easy switching between modes and view shading modes and much more.
  2. Use blender shortcuts they are much faster and useful you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
  3. Ctrl + (F, E, V) to go to Face, Edge, Vertex menus, and w for the Specials menu.
  4. C for paint select, B for box select,Ctrl + left click for lasso select, A select\deselect All, Ctrl + Shift select a loop between two elements (faces, edges, vertices), Alt + Right click edge : select loop, Alt + Ctrl +Right click edge: select edge ring.
    you can limit you selection to visible with the small button in the viewport header it’s next face icon or just go to wireframe mode.
  5. Shift R: repeat last, Ctrl R + mouse ruller up & down: add edge loop
  6. When creating an object look at the left bottom menu for it’s options, don’t forget to switch the ‘Generate UV’s’ button.
  7. space bar to search for anything in blender it’s context related (object mode, edit mode, etc…)

there is a lot of shortcuts and options that make blender faster and better (in my opinion) you only need to learn them and the best way is to watch video tutorials and use Blender’s help doc to find what you need : https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/dev/modeling/meshes/index.html

good luck comrade, don’t be discouraged and remember : No pain no gain :slight_smile:

3 Likes