What is the best 3d animation software for beginners?
You are a newbie and want to learn 3D animation? You found some software names on the internet, but still don’t know which one is suitable? This article is for you as it provides some of the best 3D animation software for beginners and breaks down its pros and cons.
Table of Contents
Blender – The best free 3D animation software
Blender is always the first one when you think about free 3D animation software. Blender is so popular and versatile, as it can serve from novices to professionals, from video editing, motion graphics, modeling, rigging, simulating, rendering, animating, compositing, etc. Although some stages cannot be on a par with other paid software, the fact that one software can do all of them in such an easy and free way is very impressive.
Blender is on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It’s completely free, but some add-ons for it may cost. The built-in render engine is Eevee, and Cycles supports both GPU and CPU rendering. You can also use third-party render engines for Blender (the most famous one is Octane, and it’s paid). Don’t worry if you find the learning curve steep, because Blender has numerous free tutorials on the internet and strong community support. The only con of this software is that it’s still not the industry standard, but don’t worry, as Blender is slowly going into the 3D pipeline now.
Cinema 4D – The best 3D animation software for motion graphics
Cinema 4D is software from Maxon that is favored by many 3D artists and studios. This software is one of the best when it comes to 3D animation or motion graphics. It provides many tools or features that make it easy to make great and visually stunning animations, such as text animation tools, particle effects, and mograph templates.
The built-in render engine of Cinema 4D is Redshift, one of the fastest GPU-accelerated renderers. Other third-party render engines, such as Octane, V-Ray, Arnold, Corona, and Cycles4D, are also supported with a subscription. The community and learning tutorials are abundant for any beginners. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates with After Effects or Red Giant, making it the perfect choice for a complete 3D pipeline.
This is not free software, and many plug-ins or add-ons may cost. And if you are more into character animation or game design, it’s not suitable.
Maya – The industry standard for 3D animation software
While Maya is not really a software for beginners due to its steep learning curve and high cost, you should consider it if you are serious about your 3D journey. It’s the software used by many big studios and professionals in film, animation, and game production.
Maya excels in character animation and rigging. Combined with its standard render engine, Arnold, you can achieve the most realistic result, which easily goes into production. If you are a student who wants to work in 3D studios, learning Maya will be useful for the future.
Unreal Engine – The best choice for game production
Unreal Engine is very famous among anyone who works in the game industry. It offers powerful tools and abundant pre-made assets from Unreal Engine marketplace to help you create cinematic and complex animations.
Unreal Engine is free to use, with a 5% royalty if you make more than $1 million USD in gross revenue. Its ability to create complex scenes and render in real-time with fast speed is very standout. If you want to start your career in game development, don’t miss this amazing tool. The only downside is that it doesn’t support multi-GPU rendering.
Wrap up – What is the best 3d animation software for beginners?
Each software above is for a different purpose. And in 3D, it’s not about the tool you use, what matters is the skills you learn and use to do the project. Just choose one of them, and start your journey without hesitation.
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