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I always like to start with PureRef to build out my reference board. HIGHLY recommend it.
What is your dream pipeline?
Discussion started by Project-obj
Hi everyone, assuming that each of us has different roles in the 3D world, I would like to ask you what is your current pipeline and the one you would like to have (that you don't have due to financial reasons or lack of skills).
I'll start: I love Blender for many reasons, otherwise I mainly use Substance Painter managing to complete all models with only these two software. I won't hide that I am very attracted though to software like Zbrush and Houdini which I am slowly studying.
For compositing I use Nuke, which on the one hand I love and on the other hand, because of the prices, I would have difficulty using it outside the studio where I work.
For editing and compositing Davinci is obviously a very valuable ally that I exploit often.
Sorry if my English is not perfect, I am waiting for your reply and I hope this is a topic that may be of interest not only to me!
Answers
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3DCargo, this is all good of course but only before calculating the cost of all licenses and subscriptions. :- )
In addition, in my opinion, jumping between different interfaces and having hundreds of various hotkeys in my mind is not a good option for a good productive creativity process.
I am of the opinion that in an ideal/dream pipeline there should be as few editors /other software as possible.
absolutely agree regarding the interfaces, however after 15 years you get used to it, they are all pretty much the same after awhile - the buttons just have different names. Regarding license costs, I have about 10 perpetual licenses' and while it was expensive it has paid itself 10x over at least. I don't really consider the price these days to be honest because I know that in a month that license is paid for and I don't have to think about it for the next 5 years. I still rent some because some software doesn't have perpetual anymore (thanks Autodesk!) but really when you add it up at the end of the year its basically less than half a months income from selling 3D stock alone. If you have multiple incomes like I'm sure many of us do, then its really a drop in the ocean.
In general, yes. If you have skills and time payment and payback of subscriptions and licenses is not a problem. Autodesk can be treated in different ways but the modeling and retopology tools in the latest versions 3ds max are very good according to reviews.
But with Adobe (for example) and their Substance 3D Modeler everything is not so clear. On the one hand everything is cool but on the other hand I doubt that VR modeling can replace a tablet or an interactive display and that VR modeling in the future will actually be used as a real part of a pipeline. As for the simulation I think it is necessary to mention RealFlow. This is magical software.
I have to agree about Substance in terms of VR, however I'm sure each generation see's things differently and they probably want to cater to those who prefer sculpting/painting in VR, who knows it might take off eventually and from a company standpoint better to be on the bleeding edge if you can afford to. Also with new mediums come new tools, like anything you venture into you start to see things from a different perspective which can create a new market just based on a new experience. People like us who work traditionally with a mouse/keyboard probably dont see that option as very interesting but having the choice is better than not even though I'm sure that will have an effect on the overall price hikes as does any investment. Realflow is great, a bit slow though when you get into the finessing. Phoenix for 3dsmax does excellent liquids which is quite fast as an alternative, Houdini too but Houdini is one of those things that is easy to setup but very difficult to finesse without some serious understanding of the software. More control = more knowledge but each to their own. Last time I used Houdini was back in 2012 for some tvc/film projects and as much as I love it I just dont have time for it these days. Thats where Phoenix/Realflow can be a great option for liquids - they dont require a PHD to tailor to art direction. Art direction is where things get tricky, I can hear my old boss now "Make the water swish up like this, curl around, splash down and have 3 droplets move slowly in mid air, make the water less chunky and more natural..." please, shoot me now =:::(
Yeah, I imagined the scene of an office in which a team of designers is working and everyone has VR glasses instead of monitors and tablets and everyone is waving their hands (maybe their feet) in all directions. Well, that's cool. :))
Houdini is just legendary software considering how many movies, games and other projects have been created with it. In addition, I think we can mention Clarisse iFX (editor for true polygonal maniacs) if you add to it MARI with 32К texture support I think can create something absolutely indescribably great.
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I agree with @Project-obj that its subjective, however I disagree that there is nothing much to discuss @jaguarbeastproduction. Its a good topic to discuss in my opinion.
modelling/rendering/lighting - all main DCC packages are similar (3dsmax/blender/maya/c4d etc)
unwrapping - rizomUV , its extremely fast and has great automatic tools and is multithreaded
texturing/materials - substance painter/designer
photogrammetry - realitycapture + zbrush. Capturing the 3D model with a good camera, reduce polygon count/quadrify and reproject textures in zbrush.
compositing - natron (free). Similar to nuke, good tools for automation.
cloth - marvelous designer
particles - tyflow (3dsmax only)
simulation (heavy duty) - houdini
scattering - forestpro, chaos scatter
parametric - railclone, rhino + grasshopper
motion graphics - cant beat c4d for its mograph/animation tools in my opinion
video editing - davinci resolve
scripting - python. Its a good language for automation and swapping between different software.
general tasks - adobe photoshop
file naming/conversion - adobe bridge
mood boards - pureref (free). Great for collecting references/creating mood boards
Some of these I don't use anymore so I substitute with built-in tools with the software I own perpetually or rent them on occasions when I need them (like when doing a batch of photogrammetry models). I'm just listing the ones I think are best suited for each workflow in my personal experience and would use again when renting the software for each particular job/task. I've tried many others in commercial environments and I just think these tools saved me a lot of time/money.
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In my opinion, there is no dream pipeline. The software is selected to perform certain tasks. Which one depends on the budget and personal habits of the designer/studio.
There is a choice for almost all types of operations.
for installations: from Rigify in Blender to Ziva VFX in Maya,
for texturing: from ArmorPaint to MARI,
for modeling: from Blender to MODO (for example).
In addition, there are a huge number of CPU/GPU engines for rendering, paid and free. From Cycles and Bella to Redshift and Maxwell, etc.
In general, there is nothing much to discuss.
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