i was originally going to buy maya complete, but i just noticed that C4D is 50% off with the serial number from ZBrush (that won’t affect my ZBrush license will it?), and it seems very tempting. can anyone give me some input on things like: ease of use, physics, render engines, as well as how valuable the software would be in movies and TV. thanks for the help, and if i’m breaking a rule by mention another software package just let me know and i’ll delete it.
As long as the program supports displacement mapping and normal mapping, you can almost certainly use it along side ZBrush. Maya, 3dsmax, and XSI have the largest user base in film, tv, and games. If price is a concern, Blender is free.
ZBrush works with both, and it’s not about cost so much as cost difference ($1,750 vs $8,500). i’m just trying to get input from people that know the ins and outs of the the two programs. so far i’ve heard on other forums that Maya is much better but with no real reason why. i can’t justify the price difference for what could be just hype separating the two. blender is a great program, but i’m having a tough time with the learning curve.
thank you very much for the response though, i was starting to think no one was going to comment.
I know both Max and Maya and I would say Max is better for ZBrush as it has better low poly modelling and UV mapping tools at the moment (especially with Max 2010 - the Graphite Toolset). This means you can set up a solid low poly mesh with good UV layout for use in ZBrush. You can also use the smoothing groups to control those sharp edges (Import & Crease) when importing. It has better obj export options than Maya. This doesnt mean you can’t use Maya well with ZBrush, just in my opinion Max is stronger at the moment.
Cinema 4d works very well with zbrush.
The thing is once u used it its very hard to get a transition to max/maya.
Its layout relies heavily on icons where max maya are more text orientated.
Also especially at companys using Zbrush you wont find cinema 4d as its
partner that often. Its industry use is mostly motion graphics and advertising.
Its a great programm and i love it and i hope it will become stronger and
more popular with the zbrush goZ integration and ridicolous autodesk
update policies. Cinema gets an update when its better not just to have
a new number and an extra few thousand bucks.
how is the renderer in C4D compared to Mental Ray? i was thinking about getting the XL bundle which is MOCCA, Thinking Particles, Advanced Render, and Bodypaint 3D for $1,187.50. why do people tell me character animation is really bad in C4D?
i will probably end up freelace so finding a studio that uses C4D is irrelivant, i just don’t want to waste my money or my time if autodesk is really the way to go. thanks!
Honestly, if the learning curve for Blender is throwing you off, I doubt you’ll find Maya any easier to dive into. I consider myself a 3dsmax guy, but I used LightWave at work for three years. I know it wasn’t on your list of considerations, but I found LightWave to be very easy to hit the ground running with. I’ve been using max since version 2, and I’ve gone through one of the Autodesk “Learning Maya” books in Maya PLE. Out of the three, LightWave, by far, had the lowest learning curve. That said, NewTek just threw old LW out the window and started from scratch, so who knows. It costs much less than max and Maya though.
Look at it this way. All 3D apps are kind of complex, and they all have a learning curve you’re going to have to get through - some steeper than others. If you’re freelancing and you want to keep cost down so more of your money goes in your pocket instead of to software companies, spend that inevitable learning curve time learning Blender since it’s free.
OR another consideration is relavence. Most training material, from books to video tutorials on the web are going to be geared toward 3dsmax and Maya. So if you’re using anything else, the onus is going to sometimes be on you to translate that information to your app of choice.
i mentioned Maya because everyone talks about it endlessly, and i have some minor experience with it (Maya 5 PLE), and i mentioned C4D because it’s 50% off until the end of July and it seems to be able to do some cool things. i know i need a renderer for ZBrush, but i planed to wait a little while because i’ve only had ZBrush a month now and eventually get Maya. however, if C4D is a worthwhile package i have to move much quicker to catch this sale.
…seems you must have a Zen Nurbs modeler like Moi (Moment of Inspiration ) 
(used as premodeler for C4D, Maya, Rhino etc… 
For the fun for 0$ Blender
For the new technology of Voxels 3d-Coat 
PS And for architecture for 0$ why not Google Sketchup ?
If you are an Artist, Designer, or Illustrator then Cinema 4D/BodyPaint is the best choice. It works hand-in-glove with Adobe Photoshop, like no other 3D app out there.
If you are an Animator, then any of the Pro 3D apps work well; C4d/BodyPaint, Maya, Modo, XSI, etc.
c4ds renderer is pretty powerfull maybe not as powerfull as mental ray tho.
But on the other hand its simple material editing will be much easier to
use than hypershade which seemed to be rocket science everytiome i looked at it.
The biggest thing c4d is missing from a zbrush pov is a multilayered
quick skin shader
hey disco stu, how bad is the scaling issue in C4D (how certain object have to be a certain scale which then throws off the scale of everything else)? also does C4D have enough NURBS tools to get by, i’ve been hearing that it’s got far fewer than Maya and i want to know if it’s still workable?
i’m very close to buying the C4D XL Bundle and i wanted to get some more input real quick. Thanks! and Thanks to everyone else for helping me make my decision, you’ve all been a big help!
I was considering Maya Complete or C4D Studio. I opted for C4D and it’s working well with Zbrush, particularly with the Riptide Pro plugin for C4D.
Walter
i guess youre the one with the thread at cg talks c4d forum too?
Sreks answers are all i could say too 
yeah, i found cgtalk yesterday so i decide to ask them instead of bugging you guys. thanks very much for taking the time to answer my questions, i really appreciated it.