Is hexagon good modeling program?

wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
edited December 1969 in Hexagon Discussion

I'm thinking about buying hexagon. Just wondering its a good program and its ok to use for commercial/indie use.

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Comments

  • mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
    edited December 1969

    Yes, it can be used commercially.

    As to how good it is...it does what a polygon modeling app needs to do. I use Blender, myself, but lots of folks don't like its UI. Hex is decent.

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Does hex provide any powerful tools that free software does not?

  • R1CH1R1CH1 Posts: 80
    edited December 1969

    Hexagon is good for simple projects, but I have experienced tools locking up when pushed. I still like it though because it's easy to use and easy to learn. I tried Blender too. Blender UI reminds me of a flight simulator... a bit more intimidating than Hexagon.

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    wburton72 said:
    Does hex provide any powerful tools that free software does not?


    The short answer is no.

    Blender has many more tools than Hex, and it also has several render options as well. Blender is an all round full package, similar to Carrara (for example), but Hexagon is a modeller, pure and simple.

    The advantage of Hexagon, is that it is fairly cheap, and it has a Bridge built in to DAZ Studio. It can be used to create morphs for DAZ Figures and Clothing, and the bridge is really useful for that. It also bridges to Bryce if you use that as well.

    There is no render engine in Hex, or rigging system for models, as a modeller, I have always liked it's simplicity. It is quick to learn in my opinion, and there is a manual, and many good tutorials scattered around the web.
  • BerBuzBerBuz Posts: 64
    edited December 1969

    I love Hexagon too, more or less for the same reasons evoked above. My opinion, the big problem of Hex is not the lack of important functions but the fact that it is locking pretty often and is not commercially important for DAZ who doesn’t makes necessary investments to really fix the bugs.
    I bought it, and I’m happy with. It is handy and easy to use. I tried many other modellers (Blender, Modo, 3DS etc.) I, personally, do not have enough time to get the same expertise with those products.
    I hope you’ve downloaded the trial version which you can do everything with, except saving your job.
    Good luck ;-)

  • Wee Dangerous JohnWee Dangerous John Posts: 1,605
    edited December 1969

    wburton72, I do not know how long the sale will last but at the moment Hexagon is $11.17. It does crash now and then, and it may not have the tools other modelers have but it is easy (ish) to use so the learning curve aint as steep.

    Give it a go :)

  • cdordonicdordoni Posts: 583
    edited December 1969

    If you are using Hex on Windows 32-bit OS, LAA http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/large-address-aware.112556/ will allow Hexagon to use up to 3Gb of Ram which can help a lot with crashes due to memory issues. On Windows 64-bit, the 4Gb patch http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php essentially does the same thing.

    Its unlikely that Hexagon will be updated to run as a 64-bit app so if you anticipate working with millions of polys, it would be better to look at programs that do. Blender and Wings3D are free, and have 64 bit versions. Nvil, is low cost, and has a 64-bit version in development.

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    What is Wings 3D? Ive heard of it being good but never really looked into it.

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Also is there a trial for hexagon somewhere? If do please post the link.

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    I don't think that there is a trial for Hexagon at the moment, but you could ask Support by clicking on the Help link at the top of the page, I'm sure they can advise you.

    If you Google Wings3D, you can find a download link for both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. It has been around for a long time, and there are many tutorials available for it online.

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I looked at wings 3d and did not like it. The program is slow and slow to use. Is hex anything like Carrara? I hear good things about Carrara.

  • cdordonicdordoni Posts: 583
    edited December 1969

    Although I have Carrara, I have only used Hexagon for modeling. I guess its a personal preference, but I find Hexagon easier to use and it does not separate the modeling tools into a Spline Modeler and Vertex Modeler like Carrara does.

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    wburton72 said:
    I looked at wings 3d and did not like it. The program is slow and slow to use. Is hex anything like Carrara? I hear good things about Carrara.

    Hexagon is a modelling application only, it is nothing like Carrara.

    In addition, Carrara has a render engine, rigging facilities, it can use and create shaders, and it can be used for setting up scenes and animations. Hexagon has none of these things

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Two more questions. Does hexagon have keyboard shortcuts like extrude and move? How many polygons can it handle before becoming slow or crashing?

  • cdordonicdordoni Posts: 583
    edited December 1969

    There are many keyboard shortcuts. I just checked the manual to see if it has a list but did not find one. However, there's a diagram attached that shows the shortcut layout on the keyboard.

    The max number of polys can go over 1 million if you are using LAA or the 4G patch. If not, its difficult to work with models getting close to 1 million polys.

    Keyboard_shortcuts_QWERTY2.jpg
    2000 x 723 - 245K
  • cdordonicdordoni Posts: 583
    edited December 1969

    There does not seem to be a shortcut for Extrude. Move (object) used the manipulator or "T" on the keyboard.

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited March 2014

    Thanks for letting me pick your brains.

    Post edited by wburton72 on
  • Wee Dangerous JohnWee Dangerous John Posts: 1,605
    edited December 1969

    Extrude. With a face selected, hold down CTRL and use the mouse to extrude the face. Also, if you select a face and use the Sweep Surface or Extrude Surface tool, using the SpaceBar swaps the tools in the Properties panel for you.

  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    Here's one for those who say Hex has no rendering capabilities - this is not a screencap, but an actual render :)

    hexrender.jpg
    792 x 542 - 125K
  • ds-mail_2e0cb9c256ds-mail_2e0cb9c256 Posts: 70
    edited December 1969

    How did you export from Hex and what render engine did you use?

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    DougS said:
    How did you export from Hex and what render engine did you use?

    I think it is a AO 'render' inside Hex with a background loaded. Ambient Occlusion is not a real render, and Hex does not have any lights as such, so it is a little primitive, but you can use the bridge to DS to send objects over, and render them there.

  • StratDragonStratDragon Posts: 3,167
    edited December 1969

    11R1CH11 said:
    Hexagon is good for simple projects, but I have experienced tools locking up when pushed. I still like it though because it's easy to use and easy to learn. I tried Blender too. Blender UI reminds me of a flight simulator... a bit more intimidating than Hexagon.

    the UI in Blender frightening at first but it begins to make much more sense as you use it and it's not nearly as bad as people see it as. I got scarred off by it too at first now I like it and the program constantly being updated. Hex has not seen an upgrade in ages and I don't think they will ever dust it off and give it one it deserves anytime soon.

  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    I think it is a AO ‘render’ inside Hex with a background loaded. Ambient Occlusion is not a real render, and Hex does not have any lights as such, so it is a little primitive, but you can use the bridge to DS to send objects over, and render them there.

    Nope, not an AO preview (which wouldn't show a background projected onto the grid), but an actual render, in the true sense of the word, with the background mapped to a plane.
    See the camera icon in the bottom right corner:)

    Hex does have lighting, which can throw shadows - 10 types. The lights aren't controllable to any real extent and the render is very simplistic, but OK for showing off WIPs or proof-of-concept.

    It also does pretty good texture mapping and had 3D painting long before Carrara.

    Done very much tongue-in cheek, just for the sake of completeness :)

  • wburton72wburton72 Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Does anyone have some pics of quality models made in hexagon? I'm still iffy about buying this software.

  • ausairausair Posts: 0
    edited January 2014

    wburton72 said:
    Does anyone have some pics of quality models made in hexagon? I'm still iffy about buying this software.

    I always liked Big T's work done in Hexagon but all the old threads are gone but did find this with some of his work.
    http://bigt3d.blogspot.com.au/

    Post edited by ausair on
  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    Have you looked at the Hexagon Gallery thread ?http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/6884/

    Plenty of good stuff there. as well as in some private WIP threads on this site. Then take a look at the many models done in Hex at Geekatplay.

    Just a word of warning - good (or bad) models are not a reflection on the quality of the software, but rather skill of the modeler - I'll bet some of these great modelers could do similar work in any application they put their minds to.

  • FistyFisty Posts: 3,416
    edited January 2014

    wburton72 said:
    Does anyone have some pics of quality models made in hexagon? I'm still iffy about buying this software.

    All the the non dynamic clothing, hair, jewelry and props in my Daz, Rendo, and RDNA stores..

    Post edited by Fisty on
  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,759
    edited December 1969

    My last 15-20 products were primarily built in Hexagon.

  • Subtropic PixelSubtropic Pixel Posts: 2,388
    edited December 1969

    Just to be contrary, I am leaving Hexagon because it crashes too much.

    To make matters worse, there is no autosave feature. I have my own thread on this issue.

    If you can get Hexagon for less than $20 USD, then I won't be the one to tell you not to do it. Just save often or you'll be sorry!

  • FistyFisty Posts: 3,416
    edited December 1969

    Yes, definitely save often. I've learned to work around it and generally know what will crash it now, but not always.. and some days is just seems to crash a lot, most days it's fine. No idea why. Also, it likes to reassign random polygons to default surface group when you save out an object rather than keeping them in the material zones you assigned them. I always clean it up in UV Mapper Classic when I have my final obj done just to make sure everything is right.

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