No longer can you claim to be a part of an established educational institution to gain access to the free educational license for the Maya software. If you want to use Maya, you will have to open up your larger piggy bank to do it. But are there other objects out there that can replace Maya?
Blender is often the most compared software with Maya as it is similar in its feature set and far more accessible, making it a great alternative to the Autodesk application. Blender 3D has a lot of similarities to Maya that allows the software to be used in many similar workflows from 3D animation to game asset design.
While Blender 3D has many similar traits to Maya, some key differences can determine which of the two 3D applications you choose to use for your projects.
Why Is Blender Considered To Be Like Maya?
Maya is classed as a creative 3D modeling and animation suite. Its main purpose is to allow an artists to create single models or even entire scenes for digital projects such as game design, while also allowing the artist to animate those models for use in games and in 3D animation.
Blender 3D has the same primary purpose and while it is capable of performing many different tasks its primary function is to be the tool that creates 3D models and scenes for the same scenarios that Maya does, 3D modeling and animation.
Will Blender Allow Me To Complete The Same Projects?
Blender is designed to complete similar projects to other creative applications like Maya and Autodesk 3Ds Max, so using it should not prevent you from completing the same projects if you decide to transition from one software application to another.
Of course, it is not identical to those applications so a degree of learning will be required so that you can get used to the software, for example, there are always going to be differences when it comes to the user interface and general user experience.
The location of tools will be different; even though the applications will house the same tools, they won’t be organized similarly.
This channels the workflow style and may require an experienced artist to adapt to the new software, but in general, the process will remain largely unchanged.
Blender can complete projects to a similar standard as Maya, provided that the software is used to its full extent.
Which Is Easier To Learn?
You may not fall into the category of an experience Maya user looking to transition from the AutoDesk application to the open source software. It may be that you are a complete beginner to 3D modeling and are trying to compare the various options available to you, and you have been left with Maya and Blender.
It should be noted that 3D modeling is not an easy skill to learn by any stretch of the imagination, and animation is an even more challenging skill set because it is likely to be so different from anything you are used to.
Even 2D drawing and photo editing workflows like Adobe photoshop are completely different from 3D modeling, so for most people, it really is like starting from scratch.
Any application can become easy to learn if you have the right learning resources, and there are few applications in the field of 3D modeling that have as large a library as Blender.
You will find plenty of written article websites like this one to answer any questions that you have about the software, and there is even an easy-to-read online manual explaining the use of every tool.
Dozens of new video tutorials on YouTube are released every day, and hundreds of Youtube tutors can learn from them.
Or you can go one step further and enroll in an online course from a 3rd party platform like Udemy or Skillshare, or even a dedicated Blender site such as the BlenderBootCamp or CGBoost.
Maya also offers these learning resources, but it has to be said that there is just more out there for Blender users than there is for Maya.
What Is The Biggest Difference Between The Two?
There are as many differences between these two applications as there are similarities, but the biggest difference is the accessibility factor.
Maya is not an easy application to acquire for your typical home-based artist. A license is required to use the software for a set period of time, such as a one-year license or a three-year license.
The one-year license alone will set you back around $2000, and the three years is close to $6000. Once the license expires, you will be unable to use the software unless you purchase a new one.
In other words, Maya is built specifically for production rather than personal use as it has production level value.
You do have the alternative of buying flex tokens which allow you to trade a set number of tokens for a day’s use of the software, but this can still set you back $1500 with the lowest number of tokens you can acquire.
To clarify, you get enough tokens here to use Maya for a good year if you use Maya 80% of the time, so it’s probably a better value overall.
Compared to this, Blender is as easy as breathing. All you need to do is go to the blender website, choose the correct operating system, download the software, install it onto your device, and begin using it. No registration is required, and no licensing or fees to pay for the application.
Thanks For Reading The Article
We appreciate you taking the time to read through the article, and we hope you found the information you were looking for. If you are interested in learning more about Blender and how it compares to other applications, check out some of the related topics listed below.
