Autodesk 3ds Max

Score8.5 out of 10

37 Reviews and Ratings

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

Ron Ruvalcava

3D Illustrator/Animator at Virtual Designs Group (1-10 employees employees)

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

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology (501-1000 employees employees)

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

Walter K. Gibson, Jr.View profile

Assistant Director of Admin Systems in Information Technology at The University of Virginia's College at Wise (1001-5000 employees employees)

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

Rob Holmes

Owner / Designer at NVision4D (1-10 employees employees)

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

Jitendra Choubisa View profile

Assistant Professor in Engineering at Techno India NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur (51-200 employees employees)

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