#1 most frequent
United States of America
23.5%2,953 installations of 12,561
What is Autodesk 3ds Max?
Autodesk offers 3ds Max, 3D modeling and rendering software for design visualization, games, and animation. The vendor states that users can produce professional-quality 3D animations, renders, and models with an efficient and flexible toolset to help create better 3D content in less time.
Categories & Use Cases
Product Demos
Who Buys & Uses Autodesk 3ds Max
#2 most frequent
India
20.3%2,550 installations of 12,561
#3 most frequent
China
13.0%1,631 installations of 12,561
Autodesk 3ds Max the original ground-breaking software
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I create 3D illustrations and animations for a living. I use Autodesk 3ds Max almost daily. I use it from modeling for concept and final design, to final render quality finished images and animations.
Pros
- Quick polygonal modeling mock-ups and easy edits with non-destructive stacks
- Endless plug-ins and scripting to automate some and complete other tasks faster
- Capable render engine, and plenty of third-party options
- Incredible interface that I think most programs adopted from
Cons
- Rotations have some math errors, and sometimes skew an object because of transform errors.
- The programming error that never allowed it to be ported to Mac computers.
- The subscription based model for the little guy, sole-proprietor is really a hardship.
Return on Investment
- Having to take comments on and re-render a set of single multi-camera shots wastes a lot of time, as there is also an error "batch render." Slows down my completion of a job, even for the most minor image updates.
- Not being able to offer my freelance/contractor services period in-house on studios that are exclusively Mac. They don't even offer Autodesk 3ds Max as an option because they have never been able to see it in action. Huge loss of potential hires, with my 33year 3DStudio/Autodesk 3ds Max experience
- When most current version is needed I jump onto the subscription temporarily and this eats severely into my profits. As clients want lower and lower prices with international and AI competition. Especially when I know many International houses for a fact use pirated 3D software.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Autodesk Maya, SketchUp, Blender and Cinema 4D
Other Software Used
Adobe PhotoShop, Procreate, Adobe After Effects, CorelDRAW, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Premiere Pro, Midjourney
Great Modeling Tool
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Our engineers use it for animation, modeling, and rendering. It has wide variety of animations. Results are very realistic. It takes awhile to get use to it but all worth the time and effort. The evolution of the software is constant and it adapts to the different needs that we use it for.
Pros
- Rendering
- Modeling
- Animation
Cons
- Ease of use
Return on Investment
- Ease of use is an issue with our new users
- Price a bit high for new licenses
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Creator
Other Software Used
Creator, SOLIDWORKS
Autodesk 3ds Max has come a long way since it was Discreet's 3D Studio MAX but it is still the same great program!
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I began using 3ds Max when it was on Windows NT as 3D Studio MAX. I used to make 3d animations for web and advertising for a Graduate Program in Computer Animation & Graphics Design back in 2000. I use it today to help the Marketing Group at the University I work for to create 3D images for Print and Marketing Campaigns. I use it to create 3d animations and graphics for web sites and recruiting web spots and tv ads we run in local markets to attract students to new programs of study we have coming to the University. I also create ads for local evens for web and tv with it. The business problems it addresses are the need for flashy and snappy graphics and ads that attract attention and gain "word of mouth" on the ads to help drive the message we are trying to get out there, like an upcoming event, is on the horizon and you should get info NOW. We use it in tv ads to help get those prospective students who don't spend every second on their phone/internet. It works good for our needs.
Pros
- Creates 3D images for print
- Creates 3D animations/graphics for web and media
- Makes Photo-realistic images and animations
Cons
- Adding AI to images and animations could be easier to create/begin
- The learning curve for the product is steep, it could be easier.
- The price is high, it could be cheaper
Return on Investment
- It has had a great ROI for us, because we use a education license to create content that would cost us thousands of dollars yearly to do.
- It is easier or me to use since I have used it since early 2000's so ROI is great, because I don't need training on the software
- The Education License is inexpensive so low amount to get good ROI
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Blender and Autodesk Maya
Other Software Used
Blender, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator CC
3ds Max is as capable of a 3d software package as you can find.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
When a client seeking 3d visual assets asks, "can you...." I can interrupt them before they finish the sentence and answer, "yes" before I even know what they need. 3ds Max allows me to do that with confidence. It's amazingly powerful and mature. Like all powerful software, to get the most from it you need to drive it with better than average hardware and there is a learning curve, but all powerful things require some knowldege to get the most out of them. I use it everyday in my business.
Pros
- Hardsurface modeling
- 3d Lighting
- Material creation
- Import and export of common formats
- Animation and particle simulation
Cons
- Some interface windows don't expand large enough requiring unnecessary scrolling
- Some processes are not multi threaded
- Backup of customized user interface is not handled well
Most Important Features
- It's one of the most used by professionals so I can share my files with 1000s of other studios.
- It's mature and there are 1000s of plugins, scripts and tutorials to augment it.
- It is very powerful and capable. Even after using it 25-years, there are things I've never touched or used. It's just so deep.
- It's updated periodically with patches and fully every year which provides new features as well as necessary fixes.
Return on Investment
- It has allowed me to build an entire 3d studio around it. It is the foundation of my entire business and even as I've had to reinvent and reshape my business to changes in the industry, 3ds Max has never failed to allow me to adapt and prosper.
Alternatives Considered
Autodesk Maya, Blender and Cinema 4D
Other Software Used
Adobe After Effects, Adobe PhotoShop, Unreal Engine
Usability
Autodesk 3ds Max - A simple yet Powerful tool for creating 3d Contents
Pros
- 3ds Max includes some of the inbuild modifiers which can be very good in the case of beginners.
- 3rd party Rendering support makes 3ds Max a powerful software for rendering out realistic images.
- Autodesk 3ds max in comparison to its rivals is lightweight and fast, also the animation case also.
Cons
- Autodesk 3ds Max can't be used on old or low-end PC's, this kind of results in very low performance when we use i3 or low processors.
- Inbuilt rendering of the software is not up to the mark and Keeping in mind the size of the software on the disk, it must have something great in it to create good renders.
Most Important Features
- For my organization its ability to take up external addons is really helpful for us.
- We use EON Reality add on in 3ds max to export our ready models to the cloud server of EON for creating AR/VR content.
Return on Investment
- Right now we are having all the positive impacts only, Our app (i3 Monuments) made through 3ds max was APP OF THE MONTH by Jio and we earn a cash reward of 15000 INR.
Alternatives Considered
Blender
Other Software Used
Blender, Autodesk Maya