I am currently using ZBrush, Vue and Photoshop in my workflow and now need to look into adding either Maya or Max as well. After reading many topics and talking with others, I could use some good advice on which one would be the best to start with, given my workflow? My goal is NOT to be in the industry or have it as a full time job, this is purely a hobby for me that I enjoy. What I mainly do is very high resolution, realistic type renders for my own enjoyment. They consist of still renders, I have not gotten into animation, maybe way down the road, but not for now. However, I do some rigging in ZBrush and morphs, but would also want to know how and why to do them using either Maya or Max too. I know some say Maya is better for animation and such and Max is better at rigging and morphs for characters (such as video games), but I don’t know what is best for me? They both cost some SERIOUS money to invest in and I need to know what to use to merge with my ZBrush and others as a workflow. Thanks for any info and help.
From my understanding Max is more game oriented and Maya is more movie oriented. However the gap probably isn’t that big between the two as far as function.
My personal opinion is Maya is easier to get into and use overall. Easier to customize and understand. Max’s UI and plug-in system was a bit convoluted and messy.
It’s been about 5 years since I’ve used Maya extensively. For a professional I recommend learning the one that’s going to be used in the production pipeline. This varies from different studios.
However as a hobbyist I would recommend the open source route, Blender is a great program. It’s been very active on features and updates. It’s constantly improving and for a hobbyist it’s very comparable to the big boys like Maya and Max. There’s a Zbrush plugin for GoZ. I’ve only used it for modeling and rendering. I haven’t done any rigging so I can’t comment on that part. Best part about Blender though is that it’s free but its capabilities are great.