I have been browing through the website and I came across softimage. I have taught myself alot of Maya and am getting pretty profesh at it now and I like using the program and what it can do butttttttt....

I looked at the softimage website and saw how amazing the stuff it could do looked.

- It uses Mental Ray
- It has realtime rendering
- It can modell

and so on....

Now I have been making alot of models for games etc in maya, why should I bother with Maya and 3DS max etc when Softimage appears to do the same but more?

Is it worth moving to SoftImage?

well u know what even i had the same question
before seeing to xsi i was loving maya
but after getting intouch with more features and xsi tuts
i changed my mind i also in a favor of giving good grades to xsi
it is i think one level above maya

but at the end i cant manage to start with xsi tools

i think maya will come in few yrs almost equivalent to xsi
there are some features like paint effects and fluids which are not in xsi.

so stay in touch with maya at the end only cg skills are considered not software tools
Thanks!.

MAYA My love

If you call a consistent, user-friendly interface “more"…

Softimage is definitely not the leader in terms of features and plugins, but what it has is integrated tightly and logically, and you can get the job done with it. Very powerful and unique: GATOR, ICE.
I know max quite well, even gave lessons at a media school, and had to work with Maya (2008) for half a year in the game industry recently.
I left max after many years because it’s basic architecture has stagnated for long now, and everything new is somehow “stacked on top”. Max 2010 was hyped, but is the same old shoe with new laces.
Maya is a powerful and well-established software, but it’s user interface is disgusting, inconsistent and awkward. It almost killed my joy in working with 3d.
Some of my favourite workflow-spoilers in Maya:
- Select components, leave component mode, enter it again: ups, the component selection has been forgotten!
- Surround selection? Nada.
- Rotate the viewport with a mixed selection does not rotate around the selection’s center!
- Open the Hypergraph in a complex scene (which I sometimes had to when some shader assignment got stuck again) and try to find your way around…
I made a bug/missing feature-list back then which filled an A4-sheet…

Softimage’s biggest downside would be that it is still somewhat exotic. The user and third-party developer community are quite small compared to those of it’s Autodesk siblings, but it is definitely the most modern, elegant and far-sighted of them! Curve tools could be better, some modelling features are still missing (decent extrude operator like max’ Sweep modifier).
Nonetheless, I never regretted my changeover for a second!
Best,
Eugen

Maya Guru 21 June 2009 06:03 AM

i think maya will come in few yrs almost equivalent to xsi
there are some features like paint effects and fluids which are not in xsi.

so stay in touch with maya at the end only cg skills are considered not software tools
Thanks!.

In XSI we use ICE for these things… ;-)

Don’t forget:
The time is Now!

Non-Linear Workflow was all I needed to hear. The way my brain works, I would be in hell if I had to jump through hoops, risk breaking things and possibly lose work just because I decided I wanted to tweak my blendshapes, rig or UV’s while animating.

I suspect there would be a mass exodus from the Maya community if they saw how elegantly the Shape Manager works! LOL

I do wish I had Maya’s Paint FX though, that is stunning stuff!

I like both, but is way harder to use Maya after you have been working with XSI for a few days. Maya interface look ugly and clunky.

My only concern is the lack of books available since version 5. Maya have solid documentation and tutorials that XSI dont have. Im not sure why they gave us ICE without some nice tutorials like Maya or 3dsmax does inside the documentation if they want people to try their software. (Surfing “The Area” or Ed Harriss web page do not count as tutorials from Autodesk Softimage)

If anyone can link a webpage for a book from version 7+ I will be very grateful (DvDs from Digital Tutors are nice but expensive if you want to learn every major area of the software)

Hi,

Softimage has a great workflow.
Though it lacks some features which are taken as a matter of course in other software packages.

For example: modeling in XSI is a bit different.
It has great and fast tools for organic models, but if you do a lot of CAD or architectural stuff you might miss a unit system which allows you to work with Centimeters, Inches etc.
Also, the procedural deformers (Bend, Taper etc.) and the curve tools are a bit awkward compared to MAX or Maya.
But if you don´t try to “simulate” modeling concepts from other softwares to Softimage/XSI you are good to go. There is always a “workaround” for everything you would like to achieve.

When it comes to animating, especially characters it is unbeatable in my eyes. The concepts are chrystal clear and easy to understand.
It has very well layed out tools for character animation which you might not find somewhere else.
As far as I know Maya you have to programm or script certain tools from scratch.
Softimage delivers a great character toolset, which allows you to start immediately with no knowledge of scripting or other TD stuff (perfect in my case).

ICE, MOTOR and GATOR are cool features which makes it worth a try.
The overall performance is another plus.

Cheers

Bibo

Hi to all.
I must add another app at my workflow (I use silo for modelling). I like very much softimage but before put the big effort needs to learn a so complex software I would sure about it destiny.
Softimage look a power and complete software, with powerful and robust tools (Rendering, ICE and Animation firsts of all), but it look like the poor maya brother in autodesk catalogue. It is describe like “a powerful maya companion”, no an authorized SI course by autodesk in my country (Italy, and in Italy Autodesk catalogue SI was not added to catalogue) and no new books (maya and 3dsm has many books for any new release) when in SI 2011 documentation is not updated… So, I like very much it, but I don’t want put so much effort in a software who can become not supported (or totally death) in a near future. I understand if software work well, is mine and I don’t need new release and so on, but study and master an application is really a big effort (not only money, but time and, really important, when you master an application, migrate to another software is really a pain...) and if tomorrow you must move on another all the time, money and other you put to learn it will (o major of it) lost.
I don’t work for other company, but I work for my own illustration on my project and in a near future I wont animate my work.

For example: modeling in XSI is a bit different.
It has great and fast tools for organic models, but if you do a lot of CAD or architectural stuff you might miss a unit system which allows you to work with Centimeters, Inches etc.

for those who works in architectural or interior design (like me)
you can use this simple tool i made it as ruler with video to show you how to use it
just drop it to softimage screen to work or import it in model menu
it is not perfect but good enough to work with it

http://rapidshare.com/files/419442595/softimage_ruler.rar

i tried both in a production environment. maya is definetly the better choice for the most tasks. for film/vfx i recommend maya and houdini. ice is nice but to be honest.... maya fluids, ncloth etc. will do the job better.

The default Unit system in Softimage is in Centimeters, i.e 1 Softimage Unit = 10 CM. It is clearly stated in the documentation. And if you wish you can set it to any unit system of your choice. Can’t understand why people keep saying the same old thing that SI has no Unit system. Getting tired of reading this same stuff???

And yes it is worth learning Softimage. I myself did and I am very very happy. WooHoo.

Caveman 31 January 2011 01:41 AM

The default Unit system in Softimage is in Centimeters, i.e 1 Softimage Unit = 10 CM. It is clearly stated in the documentation. And if you wish you can set it to any unit system of your choice. Can’t understand why people keep saying the same old thing that SI has no Unit system. Getting tired of reading this same stuff???

The 10cm is for dynamics: “Both the PhysX and ODE dynamics engines have been tuned so that 1 Softimage unit is equal to 10 cm.”

Otherwise, a Softimage unit means whatever you want it to mean.

StephenBlair 31 January 2011 05:56 AM

Caveman 31 January 2011 01:41 AM

The default Unit system in Softimage is in Centimeters, i.e 1 Softimage Unit = 10 CM. It is clearly stated in the documentation. And if you wish you can set it to any unit system of your choice. Can’t understand why people keep saying the same old thing that SI has no Unit system. Getting tired of reading this same stuff???

The 10cm is for dynamics: “Both the PhysX and ODE dynamics engines have been tuned so that 1 Softimage unit is equal to 10 cm.”

Otherwise, a Softimage unit means whatever you want it to mean.

Yeah! that’s exactly what I meant ;)

Softimage is Exotic, the program is good but I find some users Egocentric.

FalconCrest 02 February 2011 09:55 PM

Softimage is Exotic, the program is good but I find some users Egocentric.

Lately I have come to realize that I am an egocentric too ;o

we walk 10 feet above ground, cuz we got a reason:p