3D Animation Software Applications Comparison – Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max and IllusionMage Review
With the advancement of the technology, design experts and animators in this modern world don’t have to create sketches and drawings by hand. There are many personalized 3D software applications to help them achieve the optimal and allied results with unbelievable speed. These 3D animation software applications are now commonly used by most individual project managers and animation studios which make rendering 3D projects easier and more effective.
The popular 3D software applications these days are the two giants, Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max, while the new popular software application is IllusionMage. Let’s take a closer look at these three popular 3D software applications.
| Comparisons of Top Rated 3D Animation Software Applications | |||
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Read Our Detailed Product Reviews Below |
Autodesk Maya |
 Autodesk 3DS Max |
Illusion Mage |
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Features |
- Maya Fluid Effects – Maya Classic Cloth – Maya Fur – Maya Hair – Maya Live – Maya nCloth – Maya nParticle – MatchMover |
- Slate Material Editor – Quicksilver Hardware Renderer – Modeling and Texturing Enhancements – Local Edits to Containers – 3DS Max Composite – Viewport Display of 3DS Max Materials – User Interface Customization – In-context Direction Manipulation UI – Character Animation Toolkit (CAT) |
- Ease of Interface – Advanced 3D Modeling – 3D cartoon animaton – Real time 3D game creation – 3D editing and compositing – Enhanced 3D rendering – Complex 3D shading – Interactive 3D rigging – Realistic physics and particles |
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Guarantee |
- 30 day trial period – Purchase within 30 days – Subject to terms and conditions |
- 30 day trial period - Purchase within 30 days - Subject to terms and conditions |
- 60 day trial period of full version – 100% money back guarantee – Hassle free 100% refund |
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Pros |
- Faster skinning workflow – Enhanced character animation – Non-destructive live targeting – Clever camera sequencer – Updated dynamics – Customizable user interface – Good addition to rigging and animation – Support for Windows 7 |
- Offers improved performance – Offers productivity – Huge number of very useful tools – Highly specialized software – Provides great results |
- Allows user to create 3d animation in less time – 6 hour detailed video tutorial – Complete 3d animation production – Full-featured animation software – Ideal for beginners and intermediate users – Very low price – Very easy to use |
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Cons |
- Lacks enhancement on 3d painting system – No major addition to Nucleus system – Needs update on Maya Hair – Needs update on Maya Fur – Needs update on Maya texture and painting – Not ideal for students or beginners – Very expensive |
- Lacks some basic tools – Eats up your system resources – Incredibly difficult learning curve – Not ideal for beginners or students – Very expensive |
- Takes fair amount of time to download – Only available online – Not really as powerful as Maya and 3DS Max |
Read Our Detailed Reviews
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Autodesk Maya Recommendation: Recommended Effectiveness: 4.5 / 5 Autodesk Maya 2011 software is 3D modeling and 3D animation software application used for visual effects, simulation, matchmoving, modeling, compositing and rendering and offers artists with an end-to-end creative workflow. It is used in major motion films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, Avatar and District 9 and in TV shows such as American Idol and Heroes. Maya software is used for television, game development, film and design industries for higher level of control over the 3D content workflow and pipelines. |
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Autodesk 3DS Max Recommendation: Recommended Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly known as 3D Studio MAX, consists of rendering, compositing, animation and modeling package with flexible plug-in architecture, modeling capabilities and is usable on Microsoft Windows platform. It is commonly used by TV commercial studios, video game developers and visualization studios and also used for movie pre-visualization and movie effects. Moreover, it also features dynamic simulation particle systems, shaders, normal map creation and rendering, customizable user interface, radiosity and its very own scripting language. |
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Illusion Mage Recommendation: Highly Recommended Seth Avery, the creator of IllusionMage boasts that this software is the complete solution for high-end 3D production at a very affordable price. IllusionMage allows users to get the best of the very expensive animation effects of Maya and architectural power of 3D Studios Max. IllusionMage also helps users to create cutting-edge Hollywood 3D animations like Pixar and Dreamworks within the next two hours of having this software. |