# Blender 3D 2.8 - DaVinci Resolve - Affinity Designer/Photo - and pssst... Reaper.



## Zoot_Rollo (Jul 25, 2019)

FINALLY getting back into my 3D work, and good timing with the imminent release of Blender 2.8.

The 2.8 Release Candidate is out and functioning well.

Super fast on my monster box.

Looks amazing with my new 32" 4K Asus.






Blender 3D is free (i am part of the monthly foundation).

Eevee realtime renderer with Cycles for Keyshot-like photoreal rendering.

KILLS!

Leaving 3DSMAX and Maya behind!

-

Went with the Affinity Designer and Photo as Adobe replacements - $50 each.

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Using DaVinci Resolve 16 beta - also free.

-

Couple that with Reaper for $60, i have a full Mobile Software Suite on the CHEAP with my Asus Laptop.

no hardware locks.

It's a GLORIOUS time.

-

Blender 3D









blender.org - Home of the Blender project - Free and Open 3D Creation Software


The Freedom to Create




www.blender.org





DaVinci Resolve






DaVinci Resolve 18 | Blackmagic Design


Professional video editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post production all in a single application. Free and paid versions for Mac, Windows and Linux.



www.blackmagicdesign.com





Affinity Designer & Photo









Affinity – Professional Creative Software


From the smoothest photo editing and design software to next-gen page layout, Affinity is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with creative technology.




affinity.serif.com


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## Crowe (Jul 25, 2019)

Honestly, the new Blender looks fantastic. I'm so glad they've finally decided to remove the Game Engine. Not that I'm into 3D design anymore ^^'

I went with Clip Studio Paint myself (on sale for 25,-) but I'm definitely going to get the Affinity Suite sometime soon for my Webwork. Screw Adobe.

Got Da Vinci Studio 15 in Humblebundle recently. It's great.

Sadly, I can't get into Reaper at all. It just looks really off to me.

You've good taste in cheap solutions


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## robgb (Jul 25, 2019)

Zoot_Rollo said:


> Went with the Affinity Designer and Photo as Adobe replacements


I'm a twenty year veteran of Photoshop. I hate subscriptions and have been using the last non-subscription version of PS for several years. Affinity Photo let me break away from the Adobe chains. It's truly a phenomenal piece of software. I started using it about six months ago and haven't looked back. I haven't missed Photoshop for even a second.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Jul 25, 2019)

Shiirai said:


> Honestly, the new Blender looks fantastic. I'm so glad they've finally decided to remove the Game Engine. Not that I'm into 3D design anymore ^^'
> 
> I went with Clip Studio Paint myself (on sale for 25,-) but I'm definitely going to get the Affinity Suite sometime soon for my Webwork. Screw Adobe.
> 
> ...




thanks!

Reaper has been love/hate for me over the last several years.

i like it with a Logic theme.

after all my DAW meanderings,

Studio 1 Pro for workflow

Cubase for MIDI - after a few months, Cubase has become somewhat of an irritant.

Steinberg in general has been a pain in the ass.

Reaper for lean and mean, and always works.


i targeted these programs for when i go on the road with my 16gb Laptop.

next - install my non-hardware locked VSTs and VIs.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Jul 25, 2019)

and FINALLY did some general maintenance and summer cleaning on my Studio PC drives.

C, D, & E are m.2 - 2tb

F is a SATA III - 2tb

G is a USB3, 7200rpm - 3tb

waiting for the 4tb drives to drop.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Jul 25, 2019)

when i need to access my Studio PC remotely for hardcore renders, i discovered

Remote Utilities






Remote Access for Finance and Banking | Remote Utilities


See how Remote Utilities can help banks and financial institutions set up and maintain secure remote access.



www.remoteutilities.com





you can get a free license for this as well.

works great!


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## MartinH. (Jul 25, 2019)

robgb said:


> I'm a twenty year veteran of Photoshop. I hate subscriptions and have been using the last non-subscription version of PS for several years. Affinity Photo let me break away from the Adobe chains. It's truly a phenomenal piece of software. I started using it about six months ago and haven't looked back. I haven't missed Photoshop for even a second.


Thumbs up! 

Wasn't it super hard to get used to new shortcuts etc.? Every time I tried something other than PS CS6 I felt immensely crippled in productivity.




Zoot_Rollo said:


> FINALLY getting back into my 3D work, and good timing with the imminent release of Blender 2.8.
> 
> The 2.8 Release Candidate is out and functioning well.


Any advice on how to make the switch from 2.79 to 2.8 smoother? I will need to do some 3D work soon too and thought now's the time to switch because Eevee might be useful for this job.
(for people who aren't aware, they basically changed the entire UI, it's a small version number increase but one of the biggest changes in the history of blender).



Zoot_Rollo said:


> Leaving 3DSMAX and Maya behind!


Thumbs up!


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## Mornats (Jul 25, 2019)

I remember learning Blender back in the 90s! Glad to hear it's still going. If I had more time I'd give it a whirl.

I grabbed Affinity Photo a short while ago and like it. I wasn't a heavy Photoshop user as I couldn't stand the thought of a subscription. I used Lightroom a lot for my photography but got burnt by their upgrade policy. They then went to CC only for it so I stuck at v5. I use ON1 for raw conversion now. It needs a performance boost but they're actively developing it so it should get better.

Been a user of Reaper for years now and I'm gaining a preference for these cheaper alternatives to the big players.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Jul 25, 2019)

MartinH. said:


> Any advice on how to make the switch from 2.79 to 2.8 smoother?



i never used Blender before the last week or so.

so 2.8 is a snap.


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## robgb (Jul 25, 2019)

MartinH. said:


> Wasn't it super hard to get used to new shortcuts etc.? Every time I tried something other than PS CS6 I felt immensely crippled in productivity.


I found most of the ways of working in Affinity were pretty much the same as Photoshop, including shortcuts. But you can also customize those to your heart's content. Really the only thing that tripped me up at first was figuring out how to clip a photo into text. Took me a moment, but not much longer than that. There are a ton of Affinity tutorials, by the way.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Jul 25, 2019)

robgb said:


> There are a ton of Affinity tutorials, by the way.




yes, TONZ of great tutorials online.

phenomenal programs!


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## tack (Jul 25, 2019)

Zoot_Rollo said:


> Using DaVinci Resolve 16 beta - also free.


Resolve is really excellent (provided you have the hardware to support it). I was using the free version for a few years but recently bought Studio. I didn't _really_ need it, but I wanted to support BMD. And I have to say h264 is _significantly_ faster in the Studio version thanks to hardware acceleration. Previously I had been generating optimized media for h264 files for the improved scrubbing, but with Studio I find that I typically don't need to.


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## MartinH. (Jul 26, 2019)

tack said:


> Resolve is really excellent (provided you have the hardware to support it). I was using the free version for a few years but recently bought Studio. I didn't _really_ need it, but I wanted to support BMD. And I have to say h264 is _significantly_ faster in the Studio version thanks to hardware acceleration. Previously I had been generating optimized media for h264 files for the improved scrubbing, but with Studio I find that I typically don't need to.



Speaking of which, can you recommend a codec that makes scrubbing through video in reaper faster, while keeping everything neatly in sync for timing audio to video? I'm using windows in case it matters.


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## robgb (Aug 7, 2019)

tack said:


> Resolve is really excellent (provided you have the hardware to support it). I was using the free version for a few years but recently bought Studio. I didn't _really_ need it, but I wanted to support BMD. And I have to say h264 is _significantly_ faster in the Studio version thanks to hardware acceleration. Previously I had been generating optimized media for h264 files for the improved scrubbing, but with Studio I find that I typically don't need to.


I recently downloaded Version 16 of the free app and find it significantly faster than 15. They also added a new quick Cut page that really speeds up the workflow.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Aug 10, 2019)

after some digging,

switching to SideFX Houdini for non-CAD work.









Houdini | 3D Procedural Software for Film, TV & Gamedev | SideFX


Houdini is built from the ground up to be a procedural system that empowers artists to work freely, create multiple iterations and rapidly share workflows with colleagues.




www.sidefx.com


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## robgb (Aug 10, 2019)

Zoot_Rollo said:


> after some digging,
> 
> switching to SideFX Houdini for non-CAD work.


Subscription. Not a fan.


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## Zoot_Rollo (Aug 10, 2019)

robgb said:


> Subscription. Not a fan.



Not my preferred, but node based procedurals echo my parametric CAD workflow somewhat.

I am an MCAD Architect/AE - most CAD software will be sub before long.

I can deal.

At my age, doesn't really matter anyway.


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## profitjudi (Jun 1, 2022)

I remember when I first tried to use Blender, I gave up almost immediately. After some motivational speeches I gave to myself, I tried a couple more times again and gradually got more used to it. Eventually, after following some tutorials closely and doing some a few times, it finally "clicked." I even put up some o my works on https://www.forgehub.net, and people seemed to like them a lot. Art is half technical skill, half seeing/knowing what you want and PUSHING yourself to get there. Nothing is hard. It just takes some knowledge that anyone can acquire given time and a lot of patience.


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## MarcusD (Jun 1, 2022)

Can't really speak much for Blender - but being able to break away from Adobes subscription model, has been a great. The free version Davinci Resolve is incredibly powerful. It performed better than Premier (at the time I switched).

Affinity suite is excellent value for money. There are some things I preferred the workflow for in Photoshop (probably being so used to them), but overall I don't miss it.


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## MartinH. (Jun 1, 2022)

profitjudi said:


> I remember when I first tried to use Blender, I gave up almost immediately.


Look for a good up to date introduction tutorial. It has really come a long way and is nowhere near as hard to learn as it was 20 years ago.


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## tressie5 (Jun 1, 2022)

I used both Photoshop and Premiere for years, and also dipped and dabbed in After Effects; however, these days, when I'm not concentrating on music, my go-to editing apparatuses are Affinity Photo (which I discovered by accident after trying out a lot of apps) and PowerDirector 20 as it renders even 4K fairly quickly on my meager setup.

And yes, at some point along the way, I did soak my toes into the Blender/3DS Max/Maya/Poser/Rhino pool only to withdraw lest I drowned.


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## Crowe (Jun 1, 2022)

I've no idea if anyone is looking for a CAD solution, but Humble Bundle has a CAD solution on offer at the moment.

clicky

EDIT: It's been a while since my last post, but I am now proud owner of the Affinity programs and have ben using Davinci for a while now. Tried my license for Vegas Pro for a while and preferred Davinci above it. I've been using Krita for simple animations, too.


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## Nimrod7 (Jun 1, 2022)

I was in Adobe / Autodesk ecosystem for many years. Maya since 0.x beta or something, before even 1.0 was out.

I am proud that I don't depend anymore on any Autodesk software. I use Blender for most of the stuff, Houdini for the sim work, Octane for most of the rendering (but I love Cycles too), Resolve and Fusion for motion graphics and compositing, Unreal 5 which I love, ZBrush and a few others.

Quite a few subscriptions still for me:

Houdini, but I am happy to pay $200 a year for this powerhouse.
Octane which is cheap on black Friday to get an annual subscription, and comes with lots of goodies (Embergen, World Creator)

Zbrush, my perpetual license will soon get no more updates, and I have to go to the other evil end, Maxon.

The Substance suite from Adobe, which I can't break out yet. No replacement for that.

But at least no more Autodesk for me!


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## MartinH. (Jun 1, 2022)

Nimrod7 said:


> The Substance suite from Adobe, which I can't break out yet. No replacement for that.


I have old perpetual licenses for the substance tools that I bought and was given several warnings that I need to download and archive the old installers till september before they take down their old site. I think I got the licenses and installers, but didn't get the substances from substance source that I purchased with credits there and I also had a lot of unspent credits left over. Now currently the substance source site doesn't work, it says "temporarily unavailable". Do you know if this might be a browser incompatibility thing or is there maybe another way for me to access the library without getting sucked into the adobe ecosystem?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 1, 2022)

I love Affnity Photo so much it's almost illegal.

As I've posted before, I didn't even know it was a replacement for Photoshop.

A couple of weeks ago I bought Affinity Designer (on sale) just to support the company. It's possible I'll use it, but so far I haven't been doing much with vector graphics, just working with pixels.

***
Preface: I truly hate working with video. It's just a huge PITA - something always goes wrong, it's time-consuming, and I find it tedious.

It's not that I mind editing once everything is inside Resolve, it's that what I want to happen is always far ahead of what is actually happening on my computer. When I have to do it, okay, but there are far more satisfying things I'd rather be doing.

Having said that, DaVinci Resolve is a fantastic program. I'm not sure how Black Magic makes it pay, other than that they sell hardware.


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## Nimrod7 (Jun 1, 2022)

MartinH. said:


> I also had a lot of unspent credits left over. Now currently the substance source site doesn't work, it says "temporarily unavailable".


all moved to:








Substance 3D Assets Homepage


Browse thousands of fully-customizable 3D assets for your creative projects. Explore and use models, lights, and materials created by specialists and world-class guest artists. Download up to 50 assets per month as part of the Adobe Substance 3D Collection plan.




substance3d.adobe.com





But its a mess. I have read lot of reports of people loosing credits and assets they owned.

do you have access to that?


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## Nimrod7 (Jun 1, 2022)

3DC said:


> If you guys are interested in learning Blender stay away from "donuts" or YT tutorials. Subscribe to https://cgcookie.com/ (CG Cookie) or buy one of CG Boost courses.


there is a lot of junk in YouTube, but also some really good youtubers.

Topology gurus such as Ponte Ryuurui and Arrimus 3D are goldmines of info.
Entagma (Houdini masterminds) slowly started producing blender content also!


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## MartinH. (Jun 2, 2022)

Nimrod7 said:


> all moved to:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is the site that tells me in my main browser:

"Site is temporarily unavailable.
_Please try again later"_

But since you said it works for you I tried a different browser and that at least shows the site. Thanks a lot, you've already helped me! 

It does show 84 credits in my account, which sounds at least close to what it was, I don't remember the exact balance.


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