Is it a bad idea to learn Blender 3D and Maya simultaneously for a beginner in 3D?

Hi I just started Blender 3D last October and have been learning for just a month now. I’m currently following the book Blender 3D Basics. I’m nearing the end of the book, creating a simple island. I just bought another book Learning Blender A Hand On Guide to Creating 3D Animated Characters and plan to do that after finishing the Basics book. Since I am a student, I also have Maya 2015 and 3DS Max 2015 installed in my gaming laptop. Since Maya is the industrial standard I just can’t get off the feeling of trying Maya.

Do you think it’s a bad idea to simultaneously learn both software? Should I stick to Blender 3D? Should I move to Maya as early as possible? I’m studying a course (game development) more oriented on programming and level design in Tokyo so there’s no CG modeling and animation subject at all. But when I started Blender I realized how fun 3D CG is compared to programming. Animating a floating boat and rowing it on Blender was really fulfilling even though the animation was very simple. So I decided I want to be able to make a decent portfolio on 3D CG by studying on my own. I enjoy 3D CG and figure that learning it will greatly help me in finding a game-related job. I need some advice on this part. Many thanks in advance.

Well you can do CG in either package. I think on one hand, using both programs will force you to study the fundamental concepts more, as opposed to UI tricks, which is good. On the other hand, you won’t learn the shortcuts and features in either one as quickly, and it will take longer for you to get fast at working in 3D.

I’d say pick one and concentrate 80% of your effort on that software. The other will be useful for tasks that are hard in the first one. E.g. blender has good rigging and unwrapping, maya is probably good for some other stuff… dunno.

OP. I recommend you learn maya (general cg) or max (mostly game dev). These will give you a well rounded experience and at the very least qualify you for employment as a CG artist at any major studio. What I wouldnt try to do is learn all of them at once, so pick one if possible. I do NOT recommend focusing on blender first while you are at school, again primarily because 1) the instructors will most likely be experienced in autodesk applications, 2) many professional tutorials, books and documentation exist for those applications and 3) by the time you get out and start looking for work, maya or max will be a REQUIREMENT.

Knowing them doesnt mean you have to stick with them after, but either one should be a skillset you can put on your resume. If you just want to be a hobbyist, then it really doesnt matter which app you pick, take your time and enjoy whatever one you think is right for you. In fact for hobbyist work, I would recommend Blender most of all since you really will never have to worry about the cost of licensing the software for personal work and enjoyment.

What all these applications have in common is a fundamental process for generating cg content. The theory and concept is the same, so learning the concept in one will transfer over to the other. What will change is the approach. Applications like Max and Blender are heavily reliant on a modifier stack, this non destructive workflow generally fits in more with technical artist. Maya and Modo for example take a “right tool for the right job” approach. You pick it up, use it to get the desired effect and then put it away, its very direct. I’d argue this approach is a bit more friendly to pure creative artist. Regardless though, CG art is technical art in one way or another.

So it really depends on your expectations with career, but regardless of choice, stick with one and learn it. Learn to use a handful of apps after being comfortable with one, as it will round out your experience and help you to problem solve. (Knowing what you want, and finding out other ways of getting it in diff apps builds a good foundation. You can know what apps are good at and bad at based on experiencing a few different ones.) Also remember, maya and max are only available while you are student, so try to make use of that period as much as possible because once you are out, your options become far more limited.

Post graduation and for personal work I would recommend planning to use Blender or Modo as a general 3d package.

Learn all three; it can’t hurt and, as Kemmler said, you’ll have a better, overall understanding of 3D and its concepts.

Study MAYA. There is a saying one in hand is better than two in bush. And you can’t chase two rabbit at the same time.

Since you are focusing on game dev, you need to also cover import export - and game engine involvement. you might also want to cover related plug-in (allegro texture painter, etc). And utilize Maya viewport 2.0 which is useful in the game industry.

you can always transpose your skill later. but as a start, I’d suggest Maya.

Well people learn the best if they have fun in learning it.
And if your good at something, people might want you.
I say might because such jobs can be hard to find anyway.

If you learn Maya, and Blender, i think you get a better view overall, and where some package becomes short, you might find a solution in another package, so if your in the luxery to have time enough for both why not ?. If one of them is a school training and thus has book course of a fixed time semester or so, then i can imagine you like to extend your wisdom.

If you start at school, its also that by the time your finished, new package will be there, and you will have seen more then just blender/max/maja and even those 3 will over 4 years mean something different then they do now
(they all get increasingly more tools/options/possibilities over time)

Stop and think first about what you want to do in 3D. Don’t go picking up a table saw before you’ve decided whether you want to do wood working or welding.

If you don’t know, then consider first what the folks around you (in meatspace) are using. They’ll be the first ones you’ll go to for help, so if you’re using the same program they are, you can speak in the same terms. If you don’t have any peers who are also playing in 3D, then try to sort out where you’re going to get the most help online. All of these programs have pretty vibrant communities… though as an admin on this forum, I might have a little bias toward this one ;).

And if you still can’t decide, I’d suggest that you think up a small project - something that won’t take too long, a simple model perhaps - and do that same project in all three programs. Then when you’re done, pick the one that you want to spend more time in.

I agree with everyone else. Pick one and learn it.

What I will say is though, which ever you choose, if you can, do familiarise yourself with with the others’ interface at least at an early stage (that is of course if you want to be able to use both, like me).

After spending a couple of years with Blender I found it (and still do) very difficult to adjust to the Maya interface, so I struggle with the software a little.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I’ve just bought Introducing Autodesk Maya 2015 and got started with the book familiarizing myself with the Maya UI. At the start, it made my head ache like it’s rewiring my brain. I still sometimes unconsciously hover my finger on Blender hotkeys but am getting used to it now. I want to finish the Blender 3D Basics first before focusing most of my energy on Maya since I’m nearing the end of the book anyway.

I also bought a book How to Draw by Scott Robertson since I figured drawing would greatly help me in developing my CG skills. I still don’t know what part of CG that I truly enjoy and want to do but I enjoy CG in general especially modeling and animation (haven’t tried rigging and lighting yet) and as I progress I will find which part will suit me most.

Again many thanks to all the replies.

When learning two packages at the same time, use them for different tasks: one package for modelling and another for animation & rendering. It helps to reduce the confusion, as you are no longer comparing the packages but instead allowing them to work together…

Well, I have seen Japanese “making of” videos and I’m sure as hell they didn’t use Autodesk programs.

Pro’s and Cons of paid and opensource/freeware software. They are both good and each is driven by their own needs. Not to anthropomorphize a chunk of code, But these codes are maintained by people for people and as such they are asymmetric there will be uses each is more suited to and less suited to.

As for learning them both. Very much that is going to depend on your learning style. But each one is a tool and each one has comparable features to the other, So if you have the mental energy to do it one way in school and then recycle and abstract the lesson to do it on another software (and considering the nature of UI changes in some softwares that might be a lesson to learn sooner rather then later) Then I won’t say that would be a bad lesson. Although keep in mind it will be more demanding But the higher you set the bar in the beginning the further you will go provided you have the desire and or mental imbalances to push you that far. [INDENT=4]Paid Software
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Pro’s

-Better support (in theory, sometimes opinions differ from the user)
-Often adapted widely in industry
-It is taught in schools more often and there is sometimes an instructor that is very knowledgeable in the use and application of it, Take advantage of that. (YMMV)
-Better odds of having the latest features. May cost more though for them.

Cons’s

-Can be costly to upkeep and keep current.
-Can be problematic to keep legal and publishable work circulating.
[INDENT=2]Paid software’s tend to cost $$$ and obsolete quickly and I know many a grad who wasted years of their life to learn a software they no longer have and now works in fast-food. This is something to address and be proactive about.
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-Some software’s are subject to bureaucratic inefficiencies, Those are often the devil in the details little things that cause the end users to say “Why da frick is this different here then there, they are both owned by the same company”
-Better odds of having the latest features. May cost more though for them.

Caveat’s-People who pay for their software become invested in it, This is a good and bad thing. If spending 2-5k to get started motivates you to churn out awesome money making content then by all means keep at it. But don’t get so invested in a software that you stop growing professionally and as an artist just because you don’t have it. If you need to use freeware to grow your skills and get critiques from the community. Then eat your pride and do so.

[INDENT=5]Open and Freeware Software
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Pro’s

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-This shit don’t cost you a dime if you just want to be leacher and not give back. And it is fully legal to do that.
-They tend to be made in smaller tighter knit communities who address the needs of many many other niche communities, This gives a diverse if problematic suite of skills and features to tap into.
-You can keep an up to date and current portfolio going with little to no legal issues from software of questionable providence. Not that anyone here is a one legged pirate with a hook and eye patch. Wheres the Rum?[/INDENT]
[INDENT=3]Microsoft and autodesk tends to know who did not pirates their shit… There are workshops and classes in digital forensics for just this occasion. If you find workshop in your area it is well worth your time to sit in on it. Bring your friends and get me some reaction video please.
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[INDENT=2]-Feedback from the communities for opensource software tends to be listened to more, Of course you can not make everyone happy.

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Con’s

-People who are invested in their software tend to frown on open source softwares and by extension their users
[INDENT=2](I’m nuro-atypical myself I don’t fully understand that behavior but to me it is funny as hell to watch)
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-Training and documentation in opensource tends to be more adhoc unless you are willing to spend a little or you are not adverse to abstracting a lesson from another platform and reapplying the principle of it elsewhere.
[INDENT=2]I won’t fib, Most of the most concise and best presented body modeling courses I have found, were done in Maya. I have an insight on that, But most would find it offensive and I rather look people in the eyes when I offend them. It is more fulfilling that way.
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-stability and up to dattedness, yea…have fun. But as of late blender has been making huge leaps and bounds.

Caveat’s

-open source vs freeware is a hotbutton topic. Treat it the same way you do religion and politics. Nod your head, Smile and recite after me “every one believes crazy shit, Even me. Even and especially If I think my shit don’t stink” Do this when people present a viewpoint that triggers an emotional response.
-open source users get invested too, Nothing wrong with that but keep your skills up somehow with your paid softwares, Even if you publish your content from an opensource product. A tool is a tool and it is the artist and craftsman that matters. Just remember your paymaster might have their own investments and they tend to be thin skinned people.

Edit:

I worked in the electronics tech industry, And most techs can learn a new system and bench adequately in a month with minimal instruction and basic documentation provided they are already have the skillset to do so, And with in six months they tend to be a guru on the new system and test bench. After a few systems they tend to all look the same anyway.
Adaptability and learning are traits that most people have. Leverage this advantage yes. From watching techs after they learn their 3rd system or so they tend to have an intuitive grasp of the principles in a way that very few teachers can teach in any instruction course.