#1 speed of modeling - It can take a minute, but once I developed the muscle memory, I can model very quickly #2 rate of updates - new features and bugfixes come out quickly and are usually available for testing immediately. #3 customizability - tight python integration enables you to develop and apply custom addons seamlessly. #4 cycles - very robust rendering engine with viewport preview #5 open source - if you care about that sort of thing
I got into blender because it was affordable, and I continue using it because it is quality. I could afford more expensive software, but I have 5 reasons why I wouldn’t switch over.
Haven’t been in it long so far but I’ve found it pretty easy to learn (except for some menu layouts that don’t make much sense to me). Also the UV export and weight painting functions are really no-brainers, and anything else I can work around. Node editor works really well for me having come from Photoshop, that visual layout is nice and allows for more rapid experimentation since I can just drag things in and out of the surface/displacement inputs for example. Complaints about the actual program are limited for me b/c I 'll see what I can do with it, decide if that’s enough, then either pay for a program that does more or reduce my expectations. KISS is probably the best artistic advice I ever got and it certainly applies to Blender as much as anything else. I do think that programs like Maya are much better but those programs also do a lot more than I need.
For some stuff like sculpting, which I didn’t like in Blender, i’ll check out other small programs for my next project and maybe get Zbrush.
I like sculpting in blender.
Blender is the jack of all trades, but an expert of none. It still has a long way to go.
Sure, Zbrush is far better at sculpting, but blender has as much as I need and more. Also, I prefer not to jump around between software.
In general I started 3d as a hobby, so I thought blender was the best choice as it is free. But then I started using it for real, cg became my work and blender never let me down in terms of features I needed.
Now at the new studio where I work I am using maya. Of course it is new for me, so there is this to keep in mind. In general I can see that Maya in some field can get further than blender in terms of features, or particular tools (not in all the fields). But so far, I never had to use these particular features. Apart from that I find that in comparison with blender, maya has a really slow workflow, especially for modeling. It looks like they did not know exactly how to put all these tools together and with the time things got a bit messy.
I have also to say it is quite buggy…
But then again, maybe is slow just because I use it only since some month.
On the other hand blender is imho one of the best and fastest modelers out there.
Moreover you can do almost everything you need without leaving the program, which in my opinion is a great thing. And the various tools are working great! Of course I do not want to compare blender sculpting with zbrush to make a superfine sculpt with millions and millions of polys, but still it will do the work in most cases. And this goes for the majority of the tools. Right now I think blender is developing at an amazing speed, and I am sure it will soon fill what is still lacking in some area.
Last thing. A short story . I had to create two CG shots of a firebird. I was doing everything in blender. Everything went smooth until I started the smoke simulation. It was behaving weird. So after a week of getting grey hair and desperation (it was for a client and I was starting to be out of options, apart from moving to fumefx et similia), I started to thing it was a bug in the code, so I sent a message to the guy who developed the smoke simulator in blender, telling him my problem. He answered me during the same day, he said that yes, there was a mistake in the coding, he fixed in a couple of days and he made available the patch soon after that. By the end of the week my two cg shots were finished and the client was happy.
I always wondered if something like this could happen with, for instance, autodesk
I would think that the Softimage news today should remind us of another great, GREAT reason to choose Blender: no individual or company or anyone else can ever just decide to kill the software that you’ve spent years learning.
13 years on maya, max and XSI, Blender is fast, free, powerfull and really simple !
We have lot of free renderers and others like octane, Vray.
We have a lot of renderfarm and a free one like sheep-it.
Cycles is really easy to use and blender is a all in one with compositor, VSE, game engin, python scripting…
Blender is not perfect for everything, but the development is really fast.
As someone who likes to both make 3d things and also program 3d-making things, Blender is the best. Almost the other 3d software programs I’ve worked with have been pretty unwelcoming to coders, whereas Blender is extremely welcoming. (The other good one was Wings3d.)
1.- Continuously growing with every release (Is like christmas on every new version).
2.- Huge community.(Always wanting to help new users).
3.- THE fastest toolset for polygon modeling (a bit hard to learn it but is worth it).
4.- Developers open to the community and suggestions. (All my reported bugfixes are now fixed!! :eyebrowlift:).
5.- Can do a lot of things! Modeling, Sculpting, Motion Tracking, Video Edition (Basic), texture painting directly to the model, game engine (not as advanced as a dedicated engine but good enough to create prototypes).
All that IMHO and as a former 3dsMax-Zbrush Fanboy. not meaning that now I’m a blender fanboy…
For me, when I first decided to dive into a 3d application one of my biggest concerns was putting in all that time and wanting to be able to take that knowledge with me. What if I get another job and they just happen to use another software?
I can use Blender anywhere I go, just like an artist with his paint brush:) It’s cross-platform so I’m not locked into an OS, actually I use it on all 3 main OSs (Win, Mac, Linux), it doesn’t even need to be installed it runs right out of the folder.
The development speed is just mind-boggling and the incredible amount of knowledge that’s freely distributed in the community raises everyone up. The quality of work that’s becoming common place in the top row is testament to that.
As it’s been said before, it’s a huge plus that no person or corporation can kill it. No shareholders, no CEOs, no BS.
I have been working with 3D software since 2003 now - started with Cinema4D, used ZBrush, Silo, Topogun, then switched to Maya as my main 3D app 2007, then switched to modo due to Autode$k’s subscription madness. I have worked with V-Ray and Maxwell Render. Then I tried Blender and it was love at first sight and used it more and more. Recently made the decision to use it as my main 3D application and fully dedicate myself to Blender and even opened a new website for it and will be offering videotutorials etc. for Blender.
My reasons why I chose Blender:
impressive feature set, permanently growing at a fast pace
great modeling tools
I love the Cycles render engine and it’s simplicity compared to other render engines
no subscription, I will be able to use it forever and will not rely on a company’s license servers (look what has just happened to Softimage - Autode$k has officially killed it!)
even better: Blender’s free
easy “installation”, easily to install everywhere on a stick, without license keys, dongles etc…
I first started using Blender because of the integrated game engine. I know that there are better game engines out there, but as a game engine/3d newbie it was much easier for me to model something inside of Blender and then hit p instead of exporting my scene every time I wanted to try something new.
This was not my original reason for chosing Blender, but after having invested almost a decade in learning it, this becomes a huge reason. If AD can kill XSI, they can probably kill Houdini, Modo, C4D, or whatever. If AD dangles 100 MUSD or 1000 MUSD in front of the owners, they will probably sell out - I know I would. The beauty of Blender is that Ton can not sell out, and even if he does, somebody else can just create a new branch.
Fast work-flow for modeling, uv mapping (Pressing tab enters edit-mode, for lightwave this was a separate application)
Good Python integration, ability to script/automate lots of stuff, flexible API (you can do crazy stuff like video editing from python on a headless server… or render or run simulations).
others…
opensource (hackable)
portable
doesn’t try to be too smart and second guess the user
@Authentic1: You just need to ignore “@abc123”. He is for some unknown reason very upset with Blender.
For me, I can do EVERYTHING in just one package (to rule them all).
Nobody mentioned here, but Blender also have Tracking abilities, Video editor, his own Game Engine and lately also CNC machining export capabilities!!!
You don’t need to bother about if is running on your OS of choice, Blender is running on Windows, Linux, OSX. I’m a multi-platform boy, I’m using all this three big OS-es almost everyday without worrying about if my 3D package of choice will run on it or not.
With Blender I have the FEEL of Liberty! Literally. Its hard to explain, you need to have this kind of experience by your own. Don’t need to worry about nothing. No worry that I lost my serial number for something, no need to worry that tomorrow the company that is developing some bought piece of software will decide to close the doors…
I have ZBrush license from some years now, but I used mostly Blender sculpting abilities instead… With Zbrush I needed to call Pixologic support to swap my licence from OSX to Windows. Now I can’t swap back to OSX! If I need to use into another kind of OS they are charging me for every switch decision I make.
I spend 500€ for a licence of FryRender and after some time randomcontrol, the makers of Fry has decided to just make another render engine… without the possibility to sell my license or get a refund for this… Oh, and this was just Windows only… On the other hand, Cycles is running on any OS I use today.
I just invested some time to learn ONE package software and that is! I will never be forced by EXTERNAL circumstances to switch to another package and re-learn everything…
If I want to try for myself latest development features, I just download some build from graphicall.org and playing with them. I can personally talk with the developers, they are helpful guys.
Periodically there are open projects that are proving the viability of Blender tools and workflows. The latest one is the Project Goosebery.
Ton Roosendaal, the founder of Blender, is a very nice guy.
Simply I just can’t find another tool to fill all my needs.
. I had to create two CG shots of a firebird. I was doing everything in blender. Everything went smooth until I started the smoke simulation. It was behaving weird. So after a week of getting grey hair and desperation (it was for a client and I was starting to be out of options, apart from moving to fumefx et similia), I started to thing it was a bug in the code, so I sent a message to the guy who developed the smoke simulator in blender, telling him my problem. He answered me during the same day, he said that yes, there was a mistake in the coding, he fixed in a couple of days and he made available the patch soon after that. By the end of the week my two cg shots were finished and the client was happy.