Cheetah questions

[macmac]

This is an honest question, as I haven't spent time with any modelers yet (other than finding my way around the interface a little) but want to get started. What would be the differences/good points between C3D and ones such as Strata, Silo, Hexagon... (I'm not referencing Modo, LW, Maya, etc.). Or is it aimed at being a first modeling program, as from the demo, it only has a few textures (materials).

I would like to know its strong points or how it approaches modeling as opposed to those. You can be specific.

Even though many people use more than one, I'd like to get comfortable in one that won't limit me when I learn more than I do now. I read something about version 5, but also that the UV unwrapping works easier than in other apps. How is that?

Thank you!

[mr. mumbo jumbo]

I would say that Cheetah is an extremely good program to learn modelling and it is also great for the tools that it has once you've learned. When I started out, I had no idea what I was doing. But using cheetah, would say that I am at least halfway decent now. And from what I've seen, it's just as powerful as most of the other programs you mentioned (with a few exceptions ). I don't know about UV, but the modeling tools in cheetah are every bit as good as the other apps you talked about.

Happy Modeling!
Matthew

[Russ]

C3D is incredibly intuitive and fast. For the materials, choose add material/material. That has many options (e.g. transparency and adding images) so you shouldn't be limited. Also C3D has an excellent built in renderer.

[alvordr]

Take some time to play with the demo. I did, but it took me only a day to render a fly-through sequence within a model of two rooms that I did with bookshelves, pictures on the walls, carpet, a couch, two lamps and two different types of ceiling lights. After that, I bought it and I've been hooked ever since.

[podperson]

C3D is a basic "all purpose" 3D package (it does modeling, texturing, animation (including character animation), and rendering). It has a modifier chain and strong polygon modeling tools (with some major missing features such as no bevel tool).

Strata is a more capable and mature "all purpose" 3D package (it does everything C3D does and more, including particles, volumetrics, hair, metaballs), but it was originally written in the 90s (I was a Strata 1.4.2 user in 1991) and its user interface has not kept up with the times. I can't bear to use it (in fact I bought an upgrade and demanded my money back recently). Strata also doesn't have good output options for game developers.

Silo is a dedicated modeler. It's mainly used by specialists to model high poly count figures for games and very high-end rendering. It assumes you'll do your texturing, rigging, animation, and rendering somewhere else... you can't even pose your figures (which means if you're not an experienced animator, expect quite a bit of angst reworking a model's topology to deal with joints).

Hexagon is abandonware. I'd avoid it. Aside from that it's kind of like Silo, only with a lot more features but a lot less stability.

All of these products offer free demos.

[macmac]

Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate your going into depth. I'm the kind of person who likes to see how far I can get intuitively in a program to determine how easy/comfortable it is. We all know how some programs feel natural and others do not. Recently I took a mesh I had to separate so that I could modify one piece to fit a render, so this was an interesting test for me. I'm embarrassed to say I've had a license for Strata for years and upgraded a couple times, but I could not figure it out easily. It does have a good render engine though. Podperson, what was about it that made it unbearable for you? I wonder if it's the same thing I feel. I had also bought Hexagon and Carrara during sales, but they feel awkward in some ways. I don't own Silo but have heard good things about it, and did try the demo. I'm not sure on that one.

I heard of Cheetah and some good things like being very Mac-like, the UV unwrapping was easier. The lack of bevel is a concern. So I took a little project--making a box into a chair. I finally figured some things out, but I didn't know how to connect the chair back and seat, or how to take one box and make a back and seat out of it. So I tried this in those other apps, and also Sketchup (I do like the tools in that one). I've watched tutorials and learned things there, and am very aware that once I learn what the tools do, or which tools to use for what task, how to do things will become much easier for me (like how to divide the lower portion of an upright rectangle box, and pull out that face as in a chair bottom, for example). The only one I could figure that out in was Sketchup where I drew a line where I wanted to divide, then extruded that section. But I'm sure Cheetah does something like that; I just don't know what it is yet. But of course, I wouldn't do a good chair looking this way, but I'm using this as an example for beginning modeling to learn the tools.

I know every 3D app has a learning curve, and I plan on devoting time to study. I would like to pick one to spend the time on, and that is why I ask, because you guys DO know how this works in comparison, and I know very little so far. I know that what I have is capable even though I'm not up to speed with them, and of course I don't want to go backwards; so I wonder if I should just grit my teeth and learn the best app of my bunch if it is that good; or go with a new one that feels better, is easier, capable, and a good renderer, because I don't want to spend the time only to look back and realize that what I chose was just plain hard or awkward to begin with. I hope that makes sense, and I really am helped by your comments.

For Cheetah, are there more textures that come with it than I see in the demo version 4? There was only one wood, etc. In the long run, is the usage of modifiers easier/better/etc. than programs that just pick a tool and interact with a face/edge/vertice? Plus with version 5 coming out, you know better how that fits in. So that is why I ask. Oh, I don't intend to do animations.

[fused]

Get it bought. But really, macmac what you're asking is really difficult to answer. We're all so different and the applications we use are chosen for a bunch of reasons. Any piece of software in the right hands can produce a masterpiece and some people with more money than sense can produce rubbish with the most expensive equipment. 3D in general is a massive subject and one which I love to explore Cheetah3D provides as good a access point as any software out there. This is just my personal opinion so make your own mind up.

Andrew

[podperson]

For Cheetah, are there more textures that come with it than I see in the demo version 4?

It's easy to make new materials, and there's always my sample set:

http://loewald.com/c3dstuff/

It would be nice if C3D v5 shipped with a decent number of useful presets -- it's a huge deficit for new users.

[Martin]

Originally Posted by podperson

It would be nice if C3D v5 shipped with a decent number of useful presets -- it's a huge deficit for new users.

It will. And it will be very easy to extend it with new materials and effects.

Bye,
Martin

[macmac]

I am happy to say I just bought Cheetah! Thank you for all your help, everybody. At first using modifiers (instead of directly using the tool) were new to me, but now I see that because of them, you have control over everything you have done to the model. So here I start!