Today, I’d like to share a bit about the technical part of my next movie. Specifically, I'd like to talk about the software I’ll be using. As you might have guessed already, this time around, I’ll be animating in Blender.
For those who don’t know, Blender is an open-source software, hailed as a free alternative to the paid 3D tools. I animated my last movie (watch here) in Autodesk Maya, which is an industry standard (even Disney uses it to make their movies). I’m fairly familiar with it and it would make a perfect sense to make another movie in it. Blender, on the other hand, is not exactly in my wheelhouse but I knew it can do much of the same things as Maya.
The thing that led me to Blender was the blank price tag. As a father and husband, I feel like I need to be mindful of the financial aspect of my animating. Maya costs about $300 per year. That price is well-worth it but still, there’s about gazillion of things we, as a family, could buy for that money. Full disclaimer here, my wife would be happy for me to get me the Maya license but I just don’t think it’s very fair.
What I was not sure about were Blender capabilities. Can it do the things I need?
The short answer is yes. A couple of months playing with it and I’m 100% sure it’s got exactly what I need. Yes, the animation toolset is a bit limited but with a couple of add-ons, the job can be done just fine. In fact, Blender offers so much more besides animation. Maya can’t compare with that, in my opinion.
At the moment, I’m crazy in love with Blender and I'm trying not to get lost in all its buttons and workspaces. It’s big, complex and sometimes tiring. But the feeling of figuring out a thing or two is just so addictive.
So yes, Blender all the way! As my wife says, the best things come for free. This time around, Blender is proving her right.
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