Blender
Hello,
I am looking at making my own 3D models out of some 2D pictures and possibly editing STL files, what is the best program to use to do this that is fairly easy to use?
Blender
en....
You can use Blender 3D. It's free and has lots of tutorials to learn.
Try each one and take your pick or... use several and complement. in a nutshell create your workflow.
Recommendation choose a powerful software, if you choose an easy one, then you will find that it cannot do everything you need and then you will start again.
"Best 3D Software" is religion. If you´re a religious person you know your own religion. If not, you´ll get different answers from different fanatics. The biggest conflict between religions occured for 3dsmax versus Maya in the past years. But this is all dust since there´re so many software packages out there currently. Just pick something that suits your requirements and what you like and keep working with it. After you´ve worked 20+ years with it, it becomes your own religion.
Most 3d software packages todays are already standarized in terms of editing tools and export formats so you don´t lose anything picking something maybe not so popular. If you have enough money, go for 3ds Max or Maya, and if you´re going to develop for the movie industry go for Houdini. XSI, Blender are also options. Everything else should be just a secondary software (Zbrush, Mudbox, Substance packages, etc.) - pick your main software first. If you have troubles try everything out in terms of GUI and user experience, pick what suits yourself the most and what you like.
I'm a 20-year Maya modeller (fanatic) myself. But I still recommend Blender for everyone starting out. (We're not all "religious" - LOL) Blender is extremely powerful - full of features. It may be that you discover model-building is not for you. So, if you invested in Blender and learn that model-building is not something you are interested in, all that you've lost is your time.
I myself started with 3dsmax AND Maya. After some years I´ve tested Softimage, Blender and many other packages. Blender become over the years a serious 3d toolkit, it got a serious ammount of modifiers and editing options. Hence, there is no difference between the learning curves of each software. Each software appears to be quite complicated for beginners. "Powerful" are by the way all options on the table here. The most powerful are however definitely 3dsmax and Maya in my personal experience. Furthermore, each brand is offering a 30 day trial, every beginner can use it to test which package suits him the best, so no need to "burn money" all along.
BeeGraphy Online Node Editor
Cinema 4D
nicee
In order to post an answer, you need to sign in.