Hi there guys, Mike and Pony and the rest... Hmm guess Maya is pulling me into the dark side,..... Hehe since i am a lightwaver. I am considering donloading and trying out the personal learning version of maya,,, since the real one is like very expensive. Not really plan to do any commercial stuff, just play around and maybe get some skills going.

Any thought on the personal edition? Can we like do animations and stuff? What about paint effects? Can we like do really high poly characters and stuff?

I have read the limitations, but want your thoughts on this since you guys are the ones really into it.

How about XSI|EXP 3.0 the free non commercial version? Anyone used that before?

Thanks for your valued input.
Come into the Dark Side.....
Ahhh...............
Kumar:p

Hay there Kumar, wellcome over hear !

I my self have not used the PLE. I should try it out at somepoint so Iknow more what I'm talking about.

From what I have sean being done in the PLE's there just fine. there not really watered down verstions of maya. You will just find it very hard to do any real pro work becouse of the water marks on the renders and such.

Lightwave is nice but knowing some about maya will be a benifit I think in many places.

The software is just a tool. It can't replace the Artist. So come on over and try out this paintbrush !!

Thanks Pony, i know that the artist is still the one that controls the art. But as you said i am just looking around and feeling and trying to explore till i get my own style going

Maya PLE is the full version of Maya Complete with just the watermark. If you want to learn maya, then PLE Is the way to go. XSI EXP is also similar. Heres a page that compares the two (biased towards XSI though)
https://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/head_to_head/

I haven't tried EXP because my LCD monitor cant go up beyond 1024 x 768 res , which is a requirement for EXP. It actually turns out they have layouts for 1024 x 768.
I might try it out once Half Life 2 comes out.

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I use the PLE. Some points to note:

It's limited to a single CPU (which doesn't bother me at all since I only have 1 anyway).

You can only save files with the ".mp" file extension which can only be read by the PLE, not Complete or Unlimited (just to prevent commercial distribution of stuff you make).

The PLE is based on Maya Complete (so that means it hasn't got all the stuff Unlimited has got).

The watermark is so big that it's almost classified as overkill (but you eventually learn to "see through it"). There's also a watermark that is put on all textures that you make in Maya using the paintbrush tool.

You cannot use plugins, but you can use MEL scripts although the size is limited.

Rendering is limited to 1024x768.

Other than all that it's fully functional and will run fine, providing that your computer can cope!

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Take a glance at my <a href="https://forums.simplymaya.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9428"><b>Porsche 959</b></a> WIP

Well after some time, i have downloaded, XSI, Maya, and Houdini,,, all free and educational stuff... Now,,, must find the time to explore... Think Maya has got my attention,,, because of the organic modelling i like to do,, and the nice paint fx tools and UV tools that it has. So a thumbs up :thumbsup: to alias... Really an attractive software, thanks for the value input guys. I will go into hybernation and come out once i got some stuff to show... Hehe.

Oh ya in case anyone wondering, XSI comes with full fur and fluid effects... But has render limitations,,, 400 x 400... This is really the down side... And think houdini is at 640 x 480 and the watermark is at the side. Hmm, guess i read somewhere , the animations you do with the ple, the maya watermark also moves.

Is XSI for mac?

Edit: i have just read that it isnt. You know...they should more things for mac but just my opinion

Chris

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An idea is delicate.
It can be killed by a sneer or yawn,
It can be stabbed to death by a joke
Or worried to death by a frown
On the right persons brow.
-Charles Browers