The Two most popular 3d software are Blender and Maya though there are Cinema 4d, Houdini, and 3D Max, an average 3D Artist has either tried out or has been using Blender and Maya. This brings up the unending debate between both software capabilities, Maya Users feel threatened as Blender Updates keeps closing the gap between both Software Pros and Cons since Maya is paid and Blender is Free, it's not new for Maya users to consider switching. Here are some key differences, Advantages, and disadvantages both software share.
Table Of Content
Blender
Open Source - Huge Community
Blender is a free and Open source 3D Software that supports - Modeling, Rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, Compositing, and Motion tracking. The Blender Foundation founded in 2002 is an independent Public benefit organization, Blender is Licensed as GNU GPL and owned by its contributors which makes it free forever. The result of this is a huge community on basically every platform, Blender Tutorials are everywhere on the web and Youtube, and you hardly get lost in the software.
Advanced Modeling tools and Addons
Blender Boasts great modeling tools and Boolean Operations, which gives Blender a higher leverage over Maya when it comes to Modeling, Blender Modeling Addons like Hardops and Box Cutter are so great that you can create complex models in no time with their Boolean operations. It's clear that Blender is ahead of Maya in terms of modeling however Maya wasn't traditionally created for modeling as it has its brother 3D Max which has great modeling tools compared to Blender.
Compositing
Although there is great compositing software like Davinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro, one would wonder whether to Compose with Blender, it's easier to work with your pipeline on one software than multiple softwares, although Blended Compositor is still lost compared to Davinci and Premiere advanced tools, This is still an advantage for Blender Users since you not only can Compose videos, but you can also compose and Edit your renders with nodes in Blender.
Animation
While Blender is leading in Modeling and Compositing, Maya is Ahead of Blender in Animation, Maya focuses its development on animation and VFX. Blender is a Full 3D package so you won't be left out in Animation but the tools and capabilities of Maya is better compared to Blender.
Rendering
Blender Native Render engines are Eevee and Cycles, Eevee is a raster real-time render Engine while Cycles is a Ray-trace Render Engine, these two Blender Render Engines are faster compared to Maya's Arnold Render Although Arnold's long render time is compensated with its Quality compared to Cycles and Eevee. Cycles is a Ray-trace Render Engine so the Quality difference won't be outstanding.
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| Blender Splash Screen |
Maya
Paid - Big Studios and AAA Game Developers
Maya's Paid plan includes a monthly tier of $235, a yearly tier of $1872, and a 5-year tier of $5635. For a newbie still finding his way around the 3D industry it might be a huge challenge to pay or continue to pay for this subscription plan, this is the biggest leap Blender gets ahead of Maya as it's completely free. The result of this is a small community with majorly professional animators from big studios and Game developers.
Animation
Maya is the king of Animation and VFX, it is the industry standard software for Animation and VFX. Maya boasts great animation tools and plugins Although some argue that Houdini is still a better choice for VFX than Maya this doesn't change the fact that Maya is the industry standard for Animation and VFX. Maya has been used to develop popular Games and Movies including - Call of Duty, Gears of War, Avatar, frozen, and Avengers.
Rendering
Maya Uses a High-level Ray-trace Render Engine called Arnold, it Produces hyper-realistic render results, one of the most widely used render engines with over 300 leading production studios incorporating it into their pipeline. The Quality is top-notch compared to its counterparts.
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| Autodesk Maya Splash Screen |
Blender and Maya Side-By-Side Comparison
Blender Maya
- Free Paid
- Huge Community Small Community
- Indies, Hobbyist Big Studios
- Full 3D Package Animation and VFX
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