I was wondering, does it really matter what software you use in modeling? The reason I ask this is because sometimes I think its the software like Blender, 3dsmax or maya, but then I think it has to do with the rendering using things like mental ray, renderman etc. will each of those give a certain look and it doesn’t really matter what software you use for the modeling and animation and compositing? does it have to do with the rendering software? i would like to get into making things like Disney or Pixar make and wondering if you can do that with Blender but may need a certain software like renderman and textures from things like substance painter and such and compositing will do the rest of the light, color grade effects?
The look of the final image comes from rendering and comp, so you can model wherever you like. Depending on what you model it can be easier to do in certain software (zbrush for heavily detailed organic sculpts etc) but these are just the tools that make some operations faster and easier. Models themselves are essentially the same, whichever soft you use to make them.
Btw, a very rough rule of thumb is, if you have to ask if you need software x, y or z, you probably don’t.
Unabashed “computer geek” that I am, I suggest that it is always most-valuable to look at these things from a purely technical perspective.
“From the point-of-view of the computer(!), what is ‘your model,’ exactly?” Uh huh … it is “a file.” A file that contains certain contents … “sure hope that I know how to interpret it!” :rolleyes:
… and so it goes™, “right down the [entire …] p-r-o-d-u-c-t-i-o-n(!!) line.”
The production line, in any and in every digital project, consists of many separate(!) steps, and it is crucial to your understanding of the whole thing that you clearly understand how-and-why these steps are “separated.” Even though many possible “pieces of software” might be involved in a particular manifestation of this technical process, the technical process, itself, is largely the same:
- Modeling: The geometry of the “actors,” and the definition of the specific technical parameters necessary to animate them.
- Animation: The creation of a visually-compelling performance, in terms of physical-motion parameters in an imagined 3D space.
- Rendering: The creation of RGB (or, CMYK) bitmaps based on this information.
- Compositing: The merging of many such bitmaps into a single “frame of film.”
- Editing, etc: The transformtion of all these wonderful elements into a thing that you’d buy popcorn for, while snuggling with your sweetie, in a darkened theater, on an otherwise impossibly-muggy summer day … :yes:
I’m afraid you’re setting yourself up for failure, if you think that Disney and Pixar’s results depend on their tools. Yes, they do use what they feel are the best tools, but for generations Disney entertained with just pencil and paper. An true artist will create an amazing work with whatever tools they are given. If you want to get into making things like Disney and Pixar, then the art has to come first. Un-compelling characters and stories can’t be saved by a cutting edge render engine.
… and just look at what people have done “with Blender.”