Quote: "Looks like a cool workflow sep, but why so much complexity? You could simplify that down to two, even 1 tool and save a lot of time. Blender can do all of that, wings 3d can model and UV map, then you would just have to make a texture in gimp or photoshop, and export the model as .x Why use 4 tools? "
I dislike Blender.
In fact, I could model, UV map, texture, rig, animate and render all inside of Carrara 8 Pro, but this is down to preference and the features of each tool. Silo3D's model tools are more ergonomic and I'd say its modeller has better tools. Plus, it's a joy to use. Then 3D Coat, not only does it have better 3D paint and texturing tools, its UV mapping tools are pretty damn good, unmatched by any affordable UV mappers I've tried.
3D coat is like a cheaper ZBrush alternative.
Then Carrara? It can export to .x for a start. But it is a 3D rendering package too. It has decent rigging and animation tools as well. But Silo3D and 3D Coat do what they do better than Carrara IMO.
Believe it or not, it's actually a quick process, it doesn't take much to export and import a file. Using the .obj format is extremely friendly between 3D formats and you really needn't do any tweaking. The time saved in using tools like Silo and 3D Coat speed up the process because their tools make the modelling/UV mapping/texturing process than most other applications.
I wouldn't say it's unusual for folks to use multiple applications to get an asset workflow they're comfortable with. I was just picking something I can afford and prefer using. My ideal toolset is a lot more expensive - it's pretty much the same except 3DCoat is replaced with ZBrush and Carrara is replaced with the more expensive version of Cinema 4D.
Cheers.
