Hi guys just curious for some opinions - not looking to start any "which is best" flame fest, but a rational discourse on the current state of 3D tools many of you use in conjunction with AE.
As a little background, I'm currently looking to pick up and teach myself a new program, but don't really want to invest hours of training into something I'll never use on an actual job. As a caveat, I would already consider myself an intermediate to strong Maya / Mental Ray user. Maybe it's all I need to know, but I have a new computer and I'm itching get some new software under my belt. I've started some of the basics of Cinema 4D, which seems to be a relative standard in terms of fast workflow and easier learning curve in motion graphics.
My question is: what would be the best use of my time to begin picking up, or should I just further my investment in Maya?
here's sort of a rundown of the current state of things as I see it. I'm sure I have some inaccurate preconceived notions
Cinema 4d: easiest to use, fast workflow, something of a "standard" for motion graphics? Is it still being actively developed etc? Is it something every studio is using?
Maya: used a lot in film / high end commercials - steeper learning curve but very flexible. shaders are complicated but powerful. Good dynamics engine
3dstudio max: used mostly for games / particles work?
Houdini: largely programming / expression based workflow, shaders are a nightmare, most powerful rigging / muscles / particle system. learning curve is like a cliff (took two months of instruction, barely scratched the surface)
XSI / softimage: don't know much about XSI, good particle systems?
zbrush: specialized modeling, used a lot in games and creature design. confusing GUI (imo) and strange workflow. very fun to use though...
blender: used it extensively five years ago, have seen some great work out of it. Very different paradigms, and was never very user-friendly.
again, I know the line is "whatever you can use to do the job" but I'm wondering what would make the most sense to be competitive and compatible with most studios as a freelancer. I'm sure there are things I'm overlooking as well.
