3Ds Max and Combustion

i'm planning on getting 3Ds Max, and when i went to their main site i found a program called Combustion. I was wondering what anyone has heard about it? It looks like it would be really good. Can anyone tell me about how it works or what exactly it can do? because the site doesnt do a very good job, although it is a good desc.

It's used for compositing with film. It's 2D application. Go to descreet and read about it! It'll cost you a fair bit though..

first of all, its discreet ^_^ and when i read the desc. about it and i couldnt quite tell if it can be used as a still shot image creator/renderer or if it is only a video rendering program.

there's not really a point to using it for non-moving images. its something like after effects (made by adobe), the simple explanation is that its photoshop on a timeline

chris (who's learning after effects now)

Combustion is the standard for compositing and stuff. after effects is too, but after effects is more video editing/altering. Like chris said, it's like a photoshop for movies but with very technical stuff too. If you're serious about buying it, DIscreet will help you, don't worry. You'll be paying enough..

doesnt adobe produce Premiere? the video editing prog.

o, see. I just inherited a good sum of money and i am looking to spoil myself with a whole bunch of sweet ass software. Now back to the topic, i'm getting the program for stills until i learn it well, then i'm gonna make little movies so i can have a "portfolio" of stuff for later. So, should i buy Combustion now or later? [later as in when i'm starting the movie part]

yup, adobe also makes premiere. personally i'd pick after effects over combustion as its cheaper and there's a lot more training material availble for it (tons of books and stuff), but after combustion's recent price drop you'll probably be seeing it more widely used and talked about. combustion does also integrate really well with max if that's what you're planning to use. i don't know if you want to get it immediately or not, but more experienced folks i've talked to say knowing a post-production package like either ae or combustion is essential.

if you do have a bunch of cash to spend (want to share?) i'd do some shopping around before you get anything, figure out what it is you're wanting to do (games, tv, film, architecture, etc.) then see what the primary packages are in that field and try them out. there's demo versions available of just about everything, they're a great way to try out a package and get a feel for the workflow before you buy. i'd prefer lightwave to max for example, but that's just my personal opinion and everyone takes to different packages differently. hope that helps.

chris

Well what exactly do you want to DO with it? What will you be using film for? And i wouldn't buy it now, you're better off waiting until you need it and getting the latest version.

Sorry about that, i should have mentioned my intentions in the first place. I plan on doing several thing, but the main objective i have is to become familiar with an advanced 3D gfx program in order to create videogames [videogame creation is my main goal]; and possibly some animated movies, as well as some stills. I'm only 16 and i want to start learning now so when i become of age to work for some company [probably Pixar since my friend's dad does the voices for a whole bunch of movies for pixar - he did the voice for the pig in Toy Story. Cool huh!!^_^ and he could "hook me up"]. So, would it be better to get Max or Gmax? I looked at that and that seems to be the one i should look at first, but i assume 3ds max would be needed as well. I dont know. I only discovered this program about 3 or 4 months ago, and i wanted to check it out and get som opinions about it and what i should do. So, does that help you guys in helping me? ^_^

well, you've got 2 very different things there. game work is very different from pixar work. game work is dominated by 3ds max, tho maya is coming on there as well after their price drops, and there's several different areas within it that are pretty specialized. on the art/animation side you've got texture creation, level design, low-poly modeling, and character animation, then there's cinematics which are a whole other area more related to film and tv work (there's technically more than that but those are the loose breakdowns).

working for someone like pixar is a whole different ballgame. maya and softimage xsi are prob the most widely used for film work, lightwave is used a lot in tv/video work, and 3ds max is starting to get some film and tv exposure as well. a lot of high end visual effects/animation studios (pixar included) actually use primarily custom software. photorealism is the focus here, you've got people that do modeling, lighting and surfacing, visual effects (smoke, fire, particles, procedural animation), and character animation.

my personal recommendation would be to pick up something like the 3d toolkit from DVgarage. its cheap (like $199) and is an older version of electric image, and it comes with a ton of tutorials designed to jump start you in animation and visual effects. play with that and see what you like and don't like, then in a few months you can invest in a package that's used in the area you decide you want to focus in. hope that helps...

chris