So I've been using blender 3d for quite a while, but I recently recieved a Maya disk. There are a few people here who probably use Maya (as they may be taking a course in animation) so I just wanted some feedback. What are the merits of Maya 2014 over Blender 2.6? Is the render quality better? Is it easier to animate and model?

I Think Blender is better than Maya because i'm using Blender 2.63 for making 3D things and i never used Maya before.

Quote from Hanif13

I Think Blender is better than Maya because i'm using Blender 2.63 for making 3D things and i never used Maya before.

Then please don't compare what you're using to what you've never used before.


I think Maya is better as it offers more features than Blender. I'm not that knowledgeable with 3D animations but I've seen both Blender and Maya before.
Both seem to complicated but 3D is complicated compared to 2D anyways.

Totally Maya.

Quote from 420Ace Drake

Totally Maya.

Thats nice. care to state why?

Generally, if you've received a Maya disk, I would go with Maya for sure. Maya's great for serious 3D animation stuff, and there are loads of tools and resources to use. It also has tons of great plug-ins and features. Of course, not that Blender doesn't.

To get to the point and this goes for anyone: If you have Maya, go with Maya. If you don't have the money to buy Maya, go with Blender. It's free and has lots of capabilities.

If you're a student, you can get a free license for maya. Student maya version has all he capabilities the full version has but you can't publish content for commercial purposes.
As of which one should you choose, depends on the level of work you're looking for. Let me say this right away, maya is better, its heavier and its professional.
Blender is a great choice for amateur 3d work and even some pro jobs. I've seen great things that rivalize autodesk and xsi, but it's simply not industry standart.
Maya on the other hand is, and most probably will continue to be for years to come, industry standart. I would not say it's "easier" to do anything in maya, I find it complicated, but the capabilities and level of work you can achieve can greatly outdo blender's.

Maya is a heavy piece of software though, if you have a crappy pc I would not recommend it. Also if you're going to animate models fighting without any major light, texture and color work just stick to blender, it will please your needs better.