Maya Vs 3DS Max

Comparison of 3d tools
Technical details
 
Package 	Platforms 	Supported Video 	Extension Language(s) 	Price with stated Functionality 	   
3ds Max 	Windows 32/64 Bit 	Direct X, Software Rendering, OpenGL, Heidi 	MAXScript 	3,495$ 	   
Animation Master 	Windows, OSX 	Direct X, OpenGL 		299$ 
	   
Art of Illusion 	Any OS that supports Java 	Software Rendering, OpenGL 	Beanshell, Java 	Free/Opensource $0 	   
Blender 	Windows, OSX, Linux, FreeBSD, Irix, Solaris 	Software Rendering, OpenGL 	C, Python 	Free/Opensource $0 	   
Carrara Pro 	Windows, OSX 	Software Rendering, OpenGL 		549$ 	   
Carrara Std 	Windows, OSX 	Software Rendering, OpenGL 		249$ 	   
Cinema4D 	Windows 32/64 Bit, OSX PPC/Intel, Linux 	Software Rendering, OpenGL 	COFFEE 	2,995$ 	   
Houdini 	Windows, Linux, 32/64 bit 	Software Rendering, OpenGL 	HScript, VEX, Python 	7,995$ 	   
LightWave 3D 	Windows, Windows 64-bit, OSX 	OpenGL 	LScript 	795$ 	   
Maya 	Windows, OSX, Linux 	Direct X, Software Rendering, OpenGL 	MEL,Python 	6,999$ 	   
Modo 	Windows, OSX 	OpenGL, Software Rendering 	Python,PERL, LUA 	895$ 	   
Silo 	Windows, OSX 	? 	? 	109$ 	   
Truespace 	Windows 			595$ 	   
Wings3D 	Windows, OSX, Linux 	OpenGL 		0$ 	   
XSI 	Windows, Linux 	Direct X, OpenGL 	VB Script, JScript, Python 	6,995$ 	   
ZBrush 	Windows, OSX 	Software Rendering 	ZScript 	489$ 
	 

Modeling Tools
 
Package 	NURBS 	Patch 	SubD 	Polygon 	Smooths 3gons 	Smooths ngons 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	No 	No 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	   
Blender 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	   
Carrara Pro 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Carrara Std 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
LightWave 3D 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Modo 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Silo 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Wings3D 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
XSI 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 
	 

Workable Polygon Limit (3GHZ p4 (or equivalent), Average 1gb ram, quad polys)
 
Package 	10,000 	50,000 	100,000 	500,000 	1,000,000 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	   
Blender 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Carrara Pro 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
LightWave 3D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Modo 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Silo 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	   
Wings3D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 

UV Unwrapping
 
Package 	Basic 	Pelt 	LSCM 	ABF++ 	multi uv sets 	subsurfed uv 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	No 	No 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Blender 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	 ? 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	 ? 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
LightWave 3D 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	 ? 	Via Plugin 	No 	Yes 	 ? 	   
Modo 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Wings3D 	Yes 	 ? 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 

Texturing and Painting
 
Package 	Node Based
Texturing 	2d paint 	3d paint 	Paint Simultaneously Across
Multiple Objects 	Layer Based
Painting 	Paint Simultaneously
Multiple Materials 	Vertex Paint 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 
	   
Blender 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	   
Carrara Pro 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
Cinema4D 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	   
Lightwave 	Yes 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	No 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	No 	 ? 	Yes 	   
Modo 	No 	 ? 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	No 	Yes 	   
Wings3D 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 ? 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 

Animation and Simulation
 
Package 	Simple 	Character 	Particle 	Physics 	Softbody 	Cloth 	Hair 	Fluid 	Smoke 	Flame 	Crowd 
	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
Blender 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Via Plugin 	   
Carrara Pro 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	No 	 ? 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	No 	 ? 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	   
Houdini 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Lightwave 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	   
Maya 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	   
Modo 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
Wings3D 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 

Rendering
 
Package 	Primary Renderer 	RIB Support 	Other Renderers 	Net Render 	# Net Nodes 
	   
3ds Max 	Scanline, Mental Ray, Light Tracer, Radisosity Engine (Lightscape) 	Via Plugin 	Brazil r/s, VRay, finalRender, finalToon, Illustrate! 	Yes 	Unlimited 	   
Art of Illusion 	Raster, Raytracer, Vector Renderer, Advanced Renderer 	No 	No 	No 	None 	   
Blender 	Blender 	Via Plugin 	YafRay, Mental Ray, Sunflow, Kerkythea, Indigo 	Via Plugin 	Unlimited 	   
Carrara Pro 	Raytrace, Hybrid, NPR, Toon II 	No 	ToonPro, WireframePro 	Yes 	5 	   
Carrara Std 	Raytrace, Hybrid, NPR, Toon II 	No 	ToonPro, WireframePro 	No 	None 	   
Cinema4D 	Internal 	 ? 	Final Render 	Yes 	Unlimited 	   
Houdini 	Mantra 	Yes Import/Export 	Renderman, Mental Ray, Air 	Yes 	5 Distributed 	   
LightWave 	LightWave 	 ? 	FPrime, Kray 	Yes 	999 	   
Maya 	Internal, Mental Ray, Vector Renderer, Hardware Renderer (OpenGL) 	Via Plugin 	Renderman, FinalRender, Turtle, VRayBeta 	 ? 	 ? 	   
Modo 	Internal + OpenGL 	External script 	None 	No 	No 	   
Wings3D 	 ? 	 ? 	YafRay 	 ? 	 ? 	   
XSI 	Mental Ray 	Via Plugin 	Indigo, Renderman 	Yes 	8 	   
ZBrush 	ZBrush 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 

Interface and Customization 
 
Package 	Screen Layout 	Key Bindings 	Mouse Bindings 	Menus 	Buttons 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
Blender 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	   
Carrara Pro 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	No 	No 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	No 	No 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
LightWave 3D 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Modo 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Wings3D 	 ? 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Silo 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	 

Supported File Formats
Import
 
Package 	OBJ 	3DS 	DXF 	FBX 	LWO 	Q3D 	VRML 	MB 	MA 	x 	Collada 1.4 	JPEG 	TIFF 	PSD 	AEP 	BMP 	GIF 	PNG 	EXR 	HDR 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	No 	No 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	   
Blender 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Carrara Pro 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	No 	Via Plugin 	No 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	   
LightWave 3D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Modo 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	No 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Wings3D 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 

Export
 
Package 	OBJ 	3DS 	DXF 	FBX 	LWO 	Q3D 	VRML 	MB 	MA 	x 	Collada 1.4 	JPEG 	TIFF 	PSD 	AEP 	BMP 	GIF 	PNG 	EXR 	HDR 	   
3ds Max 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	 ? 	Yes 	No 	No 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Art of Illusion 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	   
Blender 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Carrara Pro 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	   
Carrara Std 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	No 	Via Plugin 	No 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	   
Cinema4D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Houdini 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	   
LightWave 3D 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Via Plugin 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	   
Maya 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Via Plugin 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	Yes 	   
Modo 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	No 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	 ? 	 ? 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
Wings3D 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	 ? 	   
XSI 	Yes 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	Via Plugin 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes 	   
ZBrush 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	No 	Yes 	Yes 	No 	Yes 	No 	No 	No 	No