Blender for game art.

edited in Questions and Answers
Hi guys,

I have a questions regarding Blender.

Now I know that 3DS Max and Maya are the leaders in the 3D work but atm I do not have 36K to pay for it :P so I was wanting some input regarding using blender for cresting game assets, character and props. Do any of you use it? How does the new update version compare to ur maya and 3ds max?

One of the main reasons I want to use belender is cause if I do some day publish a indie game I don't want to have done it on illegal software(Ethics and all that ) now I have used 3ds and maya quite a bit and I do really like them, so yesterday I decided to try out blender and see if its worth it. Some of the things I have seen so far in it is quite impressive and so far I'm liking it, I just don't want to waist time on it if its not worth it :).

Another point I wanted to ask, when I was at rAge I spoke with Lars Espeter fron Friends of Design ( game course manager) and he swore by blender that he switched from 2ds max to blender and he loves it, any comments regarding this?

Comments

  • @DeadPixel,

    I can't really comment on any specifics for art as I'm not an artist. What I can (maybe) say is that it doesn't matter as much as you might think. Use what works. If you try out Blender and find that you have a good workflow in it, then use it. It's not so much finding the best tool as finding the best tool for you.

    Another thing I want to suggest is to not decide I'm going to learn Blender and then be an awesome 3D modeler. Learn the fundamentals. If you know the fundamentals of 3D modeling the choice of tool becomes more of a choice and less of a crutch. (When you know the fundamentals of hitting nails with a hammer you can choose the most comfortable hammer for you :P)

    *Disclaimer...anyone with experience in the software please correct me if I'm wrong. :)
  • @rigormortis Thanks for ur comments :) I do understand what ur saying and I have learnt the fundermentals, my questions was mainly can blender do most things that 3ds max and so on can do :)
  • @rigormortis Thanks for ur comments :) I do understand what ur saying and I have learnt the fundermentals, my questions was mainly can blender do most things that 3ds max and so on can do :)
  • edited
    Disclaimer: I'm a programmer.

    @DeadPixel I use Blender and I love it to bits and pieces. It has one of the best communities out there and tutorials and guidance are in abundance.

    If you wanna learn a bit more then I suggest looking at:
    CG Cookie
    The blender artists forum (specifically the tutorial sub-forum)
    Blendswap if you're just looking for placeholder art or something to base your own stuff off of

    EDIT:
    DeadPixel said:
    @rigormortis ...can blender do most things that 3ds max and so on can do :)
    Most definitely!
    Thanked by 1Fengol
  • @stray_train thanks for ur input :) it helps :) ill def give it ago and see how I like it, I do really like the animation section of it tho :)
  • Blender's UI may seem a bit erratic at first until you realise you can bend it to your will. And yes, lots of tutorials, great community.

    For game asset creation it can do whatever you need, including retopographing meshes, normal map rendering, animation etc. It also has some camera tracking abilities, so in theory you can stick a bunch of tracking dots on your face, record a video of you talking and then map the dots to deformation controllers for some insta-mocap.
    Thanked by 1AntiVoid
  • edited
    Blenders awesome. At Retroepic we use it in our asset pipeline and it's getting better everyday. Now with the valve initiative, better game support has already begun being implemented such as PSD support! read here: Valve give blender money
    I'd argue that it's also one of the better packages to animate in. XSI has some really neat graph editor tools, but blenders curve manipulation is consistent with the normal interaction in the 3d view port!! It will take you approximately a week to get to grips with it if you coming from another package, and then you won't look back, even the right click select is actually a very clever design choice for reason explained here: http://vimeo.com/75992488

  • Blender's UI may seem a bit erratic at first until you realise you can bend it to your will
    @rustybroomhandle - so it is more like bender than blender :)
    Thanked by 1WelshPixie
  • Im also not an artist but I took a great interest in Blender and know my way around it. I think it is absolutely fantastic but I have never done intense stuff cause I am not that skilled yet.

    +1 for CG Cookie one look on that site then you will know Blender can easily compete with the big boys and it comes down to the artist

    Here is some amazing stuff done in blender Blender Gallery
  • Thanks @pomb that artical from valve is awesome I love the fact that a huge comapany such as valve is showing interest in the indie scene so much I like them more now :) and from all the comments iv heard so far I'm very happy to give blender a real try and start learning it as much as I can :) it seems that it is getting really good these days, the only reason I have been hesitant is I tried it a few years ago and back then it was not so good :P but I'm glad they have improved it a lot :)
  • Blender kicks all kinds of ass. It's constantly being updated, it receives updates according to user feedback, and releases beta builds super regularly, and you can open it up and fix stuff yourself if you know some python. The pro packages have kind of lost the plot, where they're adding new (often unnecessary) features (because these look good in marketing), take several months to release updates, and feel bloated.

    About the only time you'd ever need to switch to something else is if (1) you're working in a pipeline that uses a proprietary format like FBX (in which case blender can't export out of the box, although you can track down custom builds that do), or if (2) you're looking at working at a big studio AND you're going to be involved in animation. (This is true in general though; when your team uses different software you always get a few headaches.)

    Out of interest, there's an "indie game developer" Maya license, from what I remember, if cost is your only concern. It's significantly cheaper, but it's also gimped. You can't run MEL/python scripts (this, to me, is a HUGE disadvantage), and you can't use external renderers (meh. Not sure if this affects baking maps).
  • edited
    @Elyaradine
    (1) you're working in a pipeline that uses a proprietary format like FBX (in which case blender can't export out of the box, although you can track down custom builds that do)
    in the next update, 2.69 they are releasing FBX support
    FBX Import support has been added and FBX/OBJ can now export split normals (without the need for the edge split modifier).
    <- from the release notes :) and yes there is a indie version of Maya, its not to expencive.
  • Oh, nice.

    I didn't think FBX was ever going to get in because of blender's being open and FBX having some nasty crap in their licensing.
  • I'm happy about it :) but ill see how it works once it releases :)
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