I planning to buy softimage XSI foundation

[moxstudios]

Im planig to buy softimage XSI foundation.

Is better that carrara pro, mabey, no ? Any one here have that 3d software I wanna be sure to make a good decision.

[medeamajic]

I have an eye on XSI also. You would have to try the demo and see if it is better for you than Carrara. XSI is very poweful just like Animation Master but if the GUI is not in sync with your brain then Carrara might still be your best option.

[moxstudios]

thanks, I have carrara 5 pro, but I want some thing more powerful for animation, Im going do download the demo to play with it

[Thomas]

XSI is a very good choice, with strong features. It's a program I own myself and I'm happy with it.
The only problem is that you need to have a strong memory. A lot of stuff to remember (shortcuts!)
But I think it will be a good choice for a user like you!

[moxstudios]

Thanks Thomas, Im getting a new computer to, so XIS is on the list .

[diego1968]

What about cinema 4D ? It seems to be quite good for animation and moddeling…and FX !!!!
And it have (of what i red) a good integration for post-production ! And work both PC and Mac !
I think that i will give a try to Cinema 4 D (personnaly i'm working on Mac and don't want to work under Windows and this reduce considerably the choice for a 3D application)
What like with C4D, it's the interface that looks closely to Hexagon (a lot of icon)

[moxstudios]

Character setups on cinema 4d are very dificult, beside that is awesome software.

[Grendel]

I just bought XSI about two weeks ago after posting a similar thread at subd.com asking for comparisons between XSI and Project Messiah. There are some free videos and courses over at www.mesmer.com that I reccomend you download. That is why I have not been posting much lately.

The thing that has been hardest to me is the nodal render tree, it's just very different than everyone elses(Carrara, C4D, lightwave, Max). I wish they made a simpler shader ball version as an option.

I have C4d and it is great but you have to get a bundle to be able to use it (Advanced Render/Mocca) and then the price jumps alot so I have stopped upgrading.

[moxstudios]

now I see looks like Project messiah shader node.Thanks for the link Grendel, By the way what you use to download the videos?

[Grendel]

I used a screencapture software to snag it.

[medeamajic]

My main reason for using Carrara is the fact that it can do great landscapes and also do some decent figure animation and render in toon style mode if I need it. I would like better animation previews ASAP. As far as I know C4D, Maya and XSI do not have landscaping and atmosphere features like Carrara, Bryce and Vue. C4D did have a mountain generator thing but not much more than that. I have not used a demo in years. Do all the other programs do landscaping now?

[Pete Exxtreme]

as far as i've seen, e-onsoftware provide a thrid party solution to have landscape in c4d (and others) : http://www.e-onsoftware.com/products...stream_bundle/

.. but obviously this is not for free

[Narration]

You're not kidding: 'not free'.

USD 995.

[medeamajic]

Thanks for the info. Carrara does have the market for an all in solution. I even think the Vertex Modeler is decent.

[moxstudios]

I think Carrara need more powerful character animation tools and a real hair system

[Reactor]

XSI is a great bit of software (quite amazing for the price) and Carrara doesn't even come close to giving someone such amazing control over things like rendering and animation. The modeller also beats about Carrara, in my opinion, quite easily. However, complexity comes at a price, and setting up things can take a while (such as landscapes or a GI solution) so I feel the program is best left for those who like getting their hands dirty. If you like things simple, or you lack experience with 3D, stick with Carrara.

For me the only thing I dislike about XSI is the lack of upgrade path for Foundation. I think it's a silly move by Softimage not to offer one, so they missed out on me picking up version 5, and they may miss out on me picking up 6 as well. Thankfully though, 4.2 will be a solid version for a fair few years to come. Great software, but I don't think Softimage appreciate the non-pro community.

[Nichod]

I'm sticking with Carrara. They've hinted in chat sessions and the like that animation improvements are coming for version 6. And I'd expect since they haven't really focused on the rigging much for awhile, I'd expect improvements there. And I'd expect that some sort of cloth and/or hair will be in C6. Especially since Daz talked about some cloth dynamics ability coming to Daz Studio. I'm crossing my fingers.

[medeamajic]

Reactor,

Please post a small animation clip of a figure you modeled and animated in XSI for us? I want to see the power for myself.

[Jolran]

I know this thread is a bit old. But I made the switch to XSI, and boy do one get lost in there!!

Setting up materials with all the node stuff is much more complex then "layerstyle" texturing in Carrara. Not so intuitive when power is not needed.
That goes for all things in XSI compared to Carrara. But you can do almost whatever you want, animationwise. Foundation has no hair though.

There are costumizable rigs in XSI but this one is better:

http://3dquakers1.com/webroot5/review.php?id=10

Modeling is great in XSI. But it is adifferent style then I was used to in Hex. Move around vertices/boxmodeling style.

I think that the problem with complex software as XSI you get sucked in
thinking that you have to grasp everything there is. But one cant at first.
So it gets overwhelming. Like Reactor says, I to wouldent like to set up a
landscape and render it in XSI.

There still some quirks with Z-brush displacements. Mentalray issues..

Great thing with XSI is that it is very costumable. You can organize layout like you want. Make buttons that do this and that with simple drag and drop expressions.

I was heading for C4D but thought it was overpriced, and CA is better in
XSI anyway. Even if you have to buy the foundationversion at every upgradelevel(you dont have to) it still is a good bargin.

I qoute Reactor:

If you like things simple, stick with Carrara

[Sketchy]

I think that the problem with complex software as XSI you get sucked in thinking that you have to grasp everything there is. But one cant at first. So it gets overwhelming. Like Reactor says, I to wouldent like to set up a landscape and render it in XSI.

That's the problem I see with these complex 3d apps such as XSI. They have features that, to me, is unnecessary or, at least, should be hidden in the UI. You're spot on when you say, "...you have to grasp everything there is. But one can't at first." Seems that you have to get familiar with every nook and cranny of the app before even coming up with something basic. That takes a lot of time and great patience. Sub-d is fairly a complex thing if you are a newcomer. But when you know how it works, all you want are simple tools such as starting from a cube, subdividing it once or twice, apply a subsurface level, extrude faces, tweak some verts, split an edge or edges here and there, navigate your way around, and so on. XSI's equivalent tools aren't so obvious like Hexagon, for example.

IMO, the way I look at it, these kinds of programs will soon become 3d apps of the past. Their future is bleak. Why go for something complex when you can do it simply and the output is basically the same and sometimes better? I just can't see anything different from a model made in Hex and another in XSI.