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Blender vs. Cheetah3D

Discussion in 'Asset Importing & Exporting' started by prime31, Oct 17, 2008.

  1. prime31

    prime31

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    I'm very new to 3D modeling having only used Swift3D in the past and was wondering if someone can point out the pros/cons of Blender vs. Cheetah3D. I picked up Cheetah3D on a recommendation from another thread but the number Cheetah3D tutorials on the web is next to nil compared to Blender which prompted me to download it.

    What are the pros and cons of each as related to Unity3D?
     
  2. Bones3D

    Bones3D

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    Well, Cheetah3D does work well with Unity in a number of areas. If anything, the problems you'll likely get stuck on are with Cheetah3D itself. A number of the tools within Cheetah 3D aren't quite as intuitive as the could be, which often leaves you with a number of head-scratching "what do I do now?" situations.

    If you are literally just starting out in 3D, you might be better off using a more polished commercial, consumer-level 3D package. The documentation tends to be better and the interfaces are less taxing on the mind.

    Personally, I've been a fan of software like Carrara Studio Pro from DAZ Productions. It's not too expensive, there's a lot of great 3rd party support for the software and the software itself is a good introduction to working with important 3D modeling and animation concepts. Such concepts may prove vital when you start bridging over into apps like Unity, where you actually interact with the content you've created.

    In the meanwhile, you mentioned you've used Swift3D before. Am I correct in assuming you have some experience with Flash in some form?

    If you have some idea for a game, you might want to try using something like Flash as a means of creating a working prototype before jumping directly into Unity. This will give you a chance to flesh out your basic game concepts while you're learning more about the basics of 3D animation and modeling. Once you understand the tools and have a working prototype, it'll make bridging the gap into 3D through Unity a much simpler process. (This is something I actually do myself...)

    Unity is a great tool, but keep in mind that if you aren't readily prepared for the complexities of working with 3D content, it'll be very easy to find yourself getting lost within it and discouraged by it.
     
  3. TJB

    TJB

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    Blender has a very different interface then most other 3d modeling programs. A lot of people find blenders interface hard to learn. Cheetah has just about the easiest interface to learn. I'd say blenders biggest strengths don't really help if you're just using it with Unity since it strengths are that it can simulate cloth, hair, has a better renderer and advanced features like that that don't translate over to unity (or any external program).

    Obviously a lot of this comes down to personal preference. I could never get used to blender, and like maya the most. Try both blender and cheetah and maybe a few others and see how you like each. Also, even if you use cheetah3d, tutorials for blender can still be very useful since the concepts of how to accomplish tasks are the same the tools just work a little different.
     
  4. Eric5h5

    Eric5h5

    Volunteer Moderator Moderator

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    Blender does have tons of stuff you'd never use for game modeling, but there's plenty that does apply. Especially this past year they seem to have put more effort into that area, and the UV mapping is excellent.

    --Eric
     
  5. AaronC

    AaronC

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    you can order DVD tutorials from the C3d Website, and theres a tutorials section in the forum

    Always a learning curve. I find blender really hard to do anything, because the UI is so odd. It drives me crazy but I can manage to convert file formats with it, which is useful enough. Imagine your the pilot of a remote control plane, thats cheetah. Now imagine your an enginneer flying a 747 from BEHIND the control panel with no instruments now thats blender. one is more powerful, one is easier, but doesnt do as much. On the forum here we all feel quite different. Silo3d might be worth a google? some cool videos on their site.

    I think its nevercentre.com

    Hang in there with Cheetah!

    AaronC
     
  6. prime31

    prime31

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    @Bones, I have plenty of experience with AS3 (Flash, Flex) and most certainly have the patience to learn one of the 3D programs fairly well before embarking on trying to get things going in Unity. While I do like the idea of doing a proof on concept in Flash, it seems like a bit more work than it's worth.

    @Targos, I saw the tutorials in there for Cheetah but didn't want to drop the extra $29.00. Is it worth the extra cash for the tutorials?

    I ran through a lengthy Cinema4D tutorial and it seemed OK. Maybe if the Cheetah tutorial video is worth it I will front the $29.00 for it and run through them and some Blender tuts.
     
  7. AaronC

    AaronC

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    I would say yes as they are beginner-beginner/intermediate tutorials. I watched them after using C3d for two years and only learned a thing here and there.

    Yes, I recommend.

    Anyone else? Wheres Hans?

    AaronC
     
  8. Hans

    Hans

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    well if u are new to cheetah, the videos are worth the $29, its basic - semibasic as it should be for when u are learning any thing new its better in simple terms.


    Hans
     
  9. bigkahuna

    bigkahuna

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    For most beginning 3D artists, especially when it comes to creating artwork for Unity, I think the decision to choose between Blender and Cheetah comes down to personal choice. I use Blender and tried Cheetah, but didn't find anything to make me want to switch. Give Blender a day, and then the same for the Cheetah demo. I think it will be time well spent, and you can choose based on your own opinions.

    I also have, and from time to time use, Carrara Pro. Although I enjoy its interface (which I personally think is -the- easiest to master) I'm very disappointed in the direction Daz has taken it. No texture baking (the commercial plug-in "Baker" is a joke), lousy UV mapping tools, poor import/export facilities, etc. etc. It's clear that Daz intends on turning it into a tool that will only be useful for use with its other products. I really can't recommend it for game content creation.
     
  10. GusM

    GusM

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    The cheetah gang is very quick and active in this forum, as you allready should have noticed ;)

    But the truth is that Blender is a much more robust and mature 3D aplication, and his integration with Unity is much better than the cheetah one. Almost all the criticism you can read about Blender begin saying "I never could pass the odd UI...". Well, IMHO, if you don´t know how an aplication works, your opinion about it is not very informative, nor usefull. And if you are beginning with 3D, Maya or 3dMax UIs are equally odd, difficult and un-intuitive as Blender's one.

    I know both aplications. And I think Cheetah is a nice subdivision modeller, and now it has also a nice renderer. But it lacks a lot of other usefull features Blender offers (yes, also for game work). Beginning by a good set of animation tools (try to animate a simple walk in Cheetah and you will understand), a much better UV mapping, tons of tutorials about anything you could need to learn, and a very strong and quick developing process which has turned it into a really competent 3D suit, currently comparable to any other profesional animation tool. You cannot say the same of Cheetah.

    And the Blender integration with Untity is just perfect, I would say it is just the best currently available, better than with Maya, 3dMax or Cheetah. Note that the fbx exporter for Blender was a direct order from UT guys to one of the best Blender developers out there, and it simply rocks.

    My two cents: I like Cheetah, but you cannot seriously compare it with Blender.
     
  11. AaronC

    AaronC

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    -almost like war drums! Seriously, I wish I knew how to vertex colour in blender. As in paint the mesh, not the texture with shading...

    One day perhaps.

    :D

    AaronC
     
  12. GusM

    GusM

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    Not a very difficult one ;)

    Just select the mesh and switch to Vertex Paint mode.
     

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  13. bigkahuna

    bigkahuna

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  14. abby15bakshi

    abby15bakshi

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    Blender is a good program easy to master, before you start modelling 3d stuff i would suggest trying anim8or for getting used to working of 3d world moving objects etc. then i would suggest cheetah or blender (blender is what i use) for intense stuff and learning nodes , armatures other crazy stuff. In the end when you are a professional i suggest Autodesk Maya or Autodesk 3ds max ( 3ds max is better for gaming purposes) . Blender is good too as you dont pay a single cent to get a full version of blender 2.49 for unlimited time for cheetah you get full version too but in the end you have to buy serial number to make it fully functioning.

    Its up you man check out reviews , tutorials animations on both softwares.
    cheers man.

    + Many companies in industry uses Maya 3ds max.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2011
  15. Jessy

    Jessy

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    @abby15bakshi This thread isn't old enough to post in. Try this one.
     
  16. Melonsoda

    Melonsoda

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  17. niosop2

    niosop2

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    Lol, now I'm wondering what he finally chose and his experiences.
     
  18. arcanealchemy

    arcanealchemy

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    Blender is not hard. Do tutorials and read and you will magically be good at it like everything else. It's also free which is good for business.