3D Animation Software — Overview of the Top Animation Tools

3ds Max, created by Autodesk, is a popular 3D animation software used across industries, from game development and film to architectural visualization and engineering. It’s powerful and has a wide range of features, making it an industry standard animation tool and a staple for experienced animators and 3D artists. It is used to create 3D models, animations, and game assets. 

Pros: 3ds Max is an industry mainstay for a reason. It offers a range of 3D modeling capabilities, making it a versatile and robust animation tool for visualization and animation across industries. Some of the capabilities it offers include polygon modeling, procedural modeling, spline-based modeling, retopology, and character animation. 

Cons: Because 3ds Max is a powerful 3D animation software and offers such an extensive range of features, it comes with a steep learning curve. New users may find the interface of this animation tool overwhelming until they have organized it to suit their own workflow. It is also one of the more expensive options.

Blender

Maya is another industry-leading animation tool by Autodesk. Compared to 3ds Max, it is more widely used in the game development, media, and entertainment industries. That is largely due to its powerful character animation features. Some of these features make it quicker and easier to do things like rigging, which is notoriously tedious. 
 
Pros: Maya is a highly customizable animation tool. Thanks to its API, users can create custom tools to extend its functionality. As an intuitive, user-friendly 3D animation software, Maya simplifies time-consuming processes like character rigging. It also offers tools to help create complicated features like fluids and cloth. It is an essential tool for many studios because of its power and extensive capabilities. 

Cons: Similar to 3ds Max, Maya is expensive and can be difficult to learn. Some users complain about its stability, saying that newer versions of the program introduce new bugs.

Houdini

Cons: Houdini is a fantastic animation tool for creating realistic visual effects, but it isn’t the strongest 3D modeling or character animation tool. Since it’s a commercial animation tool, the version of Houdini that offers the most features has a high price tag compared to other industry-standard tools.

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Best 3D Animation Software: Game Engines 

Game engines, or real-time 3D engines, could be considered another type of 3D animation software. They are essential software in the game development industry, and they are gaining popularity in the media & entertainment industry, too.  

While some of the most popular game engines do offer animation tools for 3D modeling and character animation, that is not their primary use. 3D artists still primarily use DCCs like Maya to create digital assets. Those assets can then be brought into a game engine, where they can be arranged into a virtual set or environment. 

Game engines are included in this list of top 3D animation software because they are a fundamental piece of many teams’ 3D animation pipeline. Let’s take a look at a couple of the top game engines. 

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine, developed by Epic Games, is one of the most widely-used game engines. It’s extremely popular among game developers, but it is also quickly being adopted across industries for its real-time rendering capabilities. It’s an amazing animation tool for creating interactive 3D environments, whether they are being used in games, films, architecture, or infrastructure. Its advanced physics engine helps create realistic interactions between characters and objects within an environment. That’s why it tends to make the list of top animation tools. 

Pros: Unreal Engine is free to use until your project makes a large profit. It’s great for large teams because of its sophisticated collaboration features, like the Multi-User Editor. It offers integrations with popular DCCs like Maya and Blender. 

Cons: Unreal Engine is not currently ideal for creating highly realistic 3D models and animations on its own. Most game developers and animators still rely on other animation tools for that. Because it’s such a powerful tool, it can require a high-performing computer to use. 

Unity

Unity is another popular game engine made by Unity Technologies. A favorite for game developers, it is also used for developing 3D visualizations and virtual reality/augmented reality in other industries. Some examples include automotive modeling, architectural visualization, and medical training. 

Pros: Unity is known for having a user-friendly interface that is easier for beginners to learn than other game engines. It also has an active community of users who swap best practices and tips. There is a free version, so beginners or small teams can get started without purchasing a license. 

Cons: Unity’s limited 3D modeling features are not enough for most applications. The same goes for its character animation features. It should be used in conjunction with other 3D animation software.

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3D Animation Software for Collaboration 

Aside from the animation tools used to create 3D animations and environments, there is another category of tools that should be included in this list: collaboration tools.

Version Control 

Version control has long been used in the game development industry. It is a foundational tool for people who create 3D art, especially if they are collaborating on art with a team. In a nutshell, version control provides a centralized location to store every file, and it tracks every change to your files that you'd make in an animation tool. It allows teams to iterate on their 3D assets without risk of breaking the final build. It also helps them control the flow of changes to their files, ensuring that they don’t waste or duplicate effort.

Digital Asset Management 

Digital asset management software (DAM) is another important piece of a team’s 3D animation pipeline. It gives teams one location to store and quickly locate their 3D files. Otherwise, teams run into roadblocks when trying to find and share their files. There are many DAM tools on the market. If you’re working as part of a team developing many 3D models and animations, you will want to find a DAM with these key features: 

• Robust version control (see the previous section for reasons why you need version control)
• Collaboration features that allow teams to give feedback directly on the asset 
• Preview of 3D files
• Metadata and tagging to accurately label assets 

• Search with sophisticated filtering 

Project Management 

A good project management tool is really the foundation of collaboration while using animation tools. It is so important for any team who develops 3D assets that it’s worth considering when assessing 3D animation software and animation tools. When assessing project management, you will want to look for something that supports your team’s preferred workflow (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban, etc.). Ideally, your project management tool should also integrate with version control so you can more easily track progress on your files. 

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Get Free Collaboration Tools, Made for 3D Animation Software

Looking for solutions to support your team’s creative process and improve collaboration on 3D art and animations? Perforce is a leading provider of creation and collaboration tools for teams who need to innovate at scale. 

Helix Core gives your whole team a single source of truth for your 3D art assets. It is the version control system trusted by 19/20 AAA game development studios for its tight integration with popular 3D animation software, animation tools, and game engines. But it’s not just for game devs. Teams across industries from film to medicine to automotive rely on it to improve collaboration on 3D animation tools and get their products to market faster. 

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