Comparison of 3D computer graphics software

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3D computer graphics software refers to programs used to create 3D computer-generated imagery.

General information[]

Current software[]

This table compares elements of notable software that is currently available, based on the raw software without the inclusion of additional plugins.

Application Latest release date
and version 		Developed by Platforms Mainly Used For License
3ds Max 2020-08-27
v 2021.2 		Autodesk Microsoft Windows Modeling, Animation (Video Games and Movies), FX Simulations, Lighting, Rendering Proprietary
AC3D 2020-11-01
v 8.6 		Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling Proprietary
Alibre Design 2018-07-16
v 2018 		Microsoft Windows Computer Aided Design Proprietary
AutoCAD 2020-03-28
v 2021 		Autodesk Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows 2D Computer Aided Design, 3D Modeling, Basic Rendering, Rudimentary Animation (of Camera, not objects) Proprietary
Blender 2021-06-02
v 2.93 		Blender Foundation Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BSD, Solaris, AmigaOS 4, MorphOS 2D/3D toon Animation, Lighting, Modeling, Node based Material Creation / Texturing / 3D Texture Painting/ UV Mapping, Rendering (Internal, External, 3D Anaglyph and VR), 3D Rigging and Animation, Sculpting, Visual 3D Effects, Basic Post-Production Video Editing, Motion Tracking, Python Scripting, Fluid Simulation, Particles, Physics, Compositing GPL-2.0-or-later[1]
Carrara 2013-08-26
8.5.1.19 		Daz 3D Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X Animation, Modeling Proprietary
Cheetah 3D 2019-08-24
v 7.4 		Mac OS X Animation, Modeling, Rendering Proprietary
Cinema 4D 2020-09-11
R23 		Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Amiga OS[2] Animation, Lighting, Modeling, Visual 3D Effects, Rendering, Simulation Proprietary
CityEngine 2018-09-18
v 2018.1 		Procedural Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux Procedural Modeling of 3D Cities Proprietary
Clara.io redesigned in 2015-03-31 Exocortex Mozilla FireFox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer Modeling, Animation, Rendering Proprietary
Cobalt 2020-02-04
v11 		Ashlar-Vellum Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling, Computer Aided Design, Animation Proprietary
DesignSpark Mechanical 2020-07-13
v5.0 		SpaceClaim, RS Components Microsoft Windows Modeling, Computer Aided Design, Rapid Prototyping, 3D Printing Proprietary
Electric Image Animation System 2013-06
v9.1.0 		Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Animation, Lighting, Rendering, Film, Television, Visual 3D Effects Proprietary
FreeCAD 2021-02-26
v 0.18.6 		Jürgen Riegel, Werner Mayer, Yorik van Havre Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, unix, Linux CAD,FEA with Calculix, Python Scripting, parametric design, Robot Simulation, CAM, BIM, Import and Export LGPL-2.0-or-later
form-Z pro/jr/free 2020-02-?
9.0.2 		Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Animation, Modeling, Lighting, Render, Fabrication, Set Design Proprietary
Hexagon 2018-02-16
2.5.2.109 		Daz 3D Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X Subdivision Modeling, UV Mapping Proprietary
HiCAD 2017-02-13
v HiCAD 2017 		Microsoft Windows 2D/3D Modeling, Computer Aided Design, Automatic drawing generation, BIM, Animation, HELiOS PDM integration, API scripting Proprietary
Houdini 2020-10-13
v 18.5.361 		Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux Animation, Lighting, Modeling, Visual 3D Effects Proprietary
iClone 2019-12-17
v 7.71.3626.1 		Reallusion Microsoft Windows Animation, Film and Television Previz, Videogame Asset Creation, Lighting, Visual 3D Effects Proprietary
Inventor 2021-01
v 2021.2.1 		Autodesk Microsoft Windows Modeling, Computer Aided Design, Rapid Prototyping, 3D Printing Proprietary
LightWave 3D 2020-08-07
v 2020.0.2 		NewTek Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Amiga OS[3] Modeling, Animation, Lighting, Rendering, Film and Television Previz, Videogame Asset Creation Proprietary
MASSIVE ?
v 3.5 		Massive Software Microsoft Windows, Linux Artificial Intelligence in Models Proprietary
Maya 2020-10-06

v 2020.3

Autodesk Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux Modeling, Animation (Video), Lighting, Rendering, Visual 3D Effects Proprietary
Metasequoia 2021-01-26
4.7.6 		tetraface Inc. Microsoft Windows, macOS Modeling Proprietary
MODO 2020-10-21
14.1v2 		The Foundry Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux Modeling, Animation, Rendering Proprietary
Mudbox 2018-03-14
2018.2 		Autodesk Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux Lighting, Sculpting (the deformation of the model) Proprietary
OpenSCAD 2021-01-31
v 2021.01 		Marius Kintel, Clifford Wolf Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Unix, Linux CAD, Scripting, parametric design, CSG GPL-2.0-or-later
POV-Ray 2013-11-09
v3.7.0 		Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux, AmigaOS Lighting, Visual 3D effects AGPL-3.0-or-later
PTC Creo (formerly Pro/Engineer) 2020
v 7.0 		Parametric Technology Corporation Microsoft Windows, HP-UX, Unix Modeling, Computer Aided Design Proprietary
Remo 3D 2021-09-19
v 2.10.1 		Remograph Microsoft Windows, Linux Modeling, Virtual Reality, Real-time modeling, Video Game Creation, Computer Aided Design Proprietary
Rhinoceros 3D 2020-12-08
v 7 		McNeel Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X Modeling, Computer Aided Design, scripting with grasshopper, many Plug in for Simulation, CAM, BIM, Rendering, and more Proprietary
Salome 2020-12-01
v 9.6 		Open Cascade EDF CEA Microsoft Windows, Unix, Linux CAD, Scripting, parametric design, CSG, Meshing, Pre-Post for CAE LGPL-2.1-or-later
Shade 3D 2020-12-17
v 21.1 		 [ja] Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling, Computer Aided Design, Rendering, Animation Proprietary
Silo 2018
v 2.5.3 		Nevercenter Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling Proprietary
SketchUp Pro 2021-01-05 [4]
v 21.0.1 (Win64)

v 16.1.1450 (Win32)
v 20.0 (Mac64)

Trimble Navigation Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling, Computer Aided Design Proprietary
Solid Edge 2020-06-?
2021 ST13 		Siemens PLM Software Microsoft Windows Computer Aided Design Proprietary
SolidWorks 2021-02-01
v SolidWorks 2021 SP2.0 		Dassault Systèmes Microsoft Windows Computer Aided Design Proprietary
SpaceClaim 2020-08-08
v 2020.R2 		Ansys Microsoft Windows Computer Aided Design Proprietary
E-on Vue 2017
v 2016 R5 		(part of Bentley Systems) Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Animation, Landscape Modeling, Lighting Proprietary
Verto Studio 3D 2019-05-06
v2.4.0 		Mac OS X, iOS Mobile Modeling, Texture Mapping, Lighting Proprietary
Wings 3D 2020-12-20
v 2.2.6 		Dan Gudmundsson (maintainer) Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, BSD, Linux Modeling, Sculpting (the deformation of the model), UV mapping BSD
ZBrush 2020-12-20
v 2021.5.1 		Pixologic Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling, Texturing, Lighting, Sculpting (the deformation of the model), Rendering Proprietary

Inactive software[]

There are many discontinued software applications.

Application Latest release date
and version 		Developed by Platforms Mainly Used For License
Bryce 2010-12-23
7.1.0.109 		Daz 3D Microsoft Windows (32-bit), Mac OS X (10.7 and above) Animation, Landscape Modeling, Fractal Geometry Proprietary
Sculptris 2011-07-22
v Alpha 6 		Pixologic Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Sculpting, Texturing Proprietary
Softimage 2014-04-14
"2015" (Final Release) 		Autodesk Microsoft Windows, Linux Modeling, Animation, Video Game Creation, Lighting, Rendering, Visual 3d Effects Proprietary
SketchUp Make 2017-11-14 [4]
v 18.0.16975 (Win64)
v 18.0.16976 (Mac64) 		Trimble Navigation Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling, Computer Aided Design Proprietary
solidThinking Evolve (predecessor of Altair Inspire Studio) ?-?
v 9.0 		Altair Engineering Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows Modeling Proprietary
trueSpace 2009-05-25
v 7.61 		Caligari Corporation Microsoft Windows, AmigaOS Animation, Modeling Proprietary

Operating system support[]

The operating systems on which the editors can run natively (without emulation or compatibility layers), meaning which operating systems have which editors specifically coded for them (not, for example, Wings 3D for Windows running on Linux with Wine).

Name Windows macOS Linux Unix BSD Other
3ds Max Yes No No No No No
AC3D Yes Yes Yes No No No
Art of Illusion Yes Yes Yes Yes No Anything with Java support
AutoCAD Yes Yes No No No No
Blender Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Solaris, AmigaOS 4, MorphOS
Carrara Yes Yes No No No No
Cheetah 3D No Yes No No No No
Cinema 4D Yes Yes No No No Amiga OS
Clara.io Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Chrome OS, Android
DesignSpark Mechanical Yes No No No No No
Electric Image Animation System Yes Yes No No No No
form-Z Yes Yes No No No No
HiCAD Yes No No No No No
Houdini Yes Yes Yes No No No
IClone Yes No No No No No
LightWave 3D Yes Yes No No No AmigaOS
MakeHuman Yes Yes Yes No No No
Massive Yes No Yes No No No
Maya Yes Yes Yes No No No
Metasequoia Yes Yes No No No No
Modo Yes Yes Yes No No No
POV-Ray Yes Yes Yes No No Amiga OS, Atari TOS
Remo 3D Yes No Yes No No No
Shade Yes Yes No No No No
Silo Yes Yes Yes No No No
SketchUp Make Yes Yes No No No No
SketchUp Pro Yes Yes No No No No
Softimage Yes No Yes No No No
Solid Edge Yes No No No No No
solidWorks Yes No No No No No
solidThinking Yes Yes No No No No
SpaceClaim Yes No No No No No
trueSpace Yes No No No No Amiga OS
Verto Studio 3D No Yes No No No iOS
E-on Vue Yes Yes No No No No
Wings 3D Yes Yes Yes No No No
ZBrush Yes Yes No No No No

Features[]

Modeling 3D Painting Animation Rendering 3D Tracking Compositing
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes Yes No Some
AC3D Yes ? ? No No No
Blender Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Electric Image Animation System dropped[5] ? Yes Yes No ?
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Yes Yes R16 or later No
Clara.io Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
Cobalt Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
HiCAD Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Houdini Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
IClone Yes ? Yes Yes ? ?
Lightwave 3D Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
MakeHuman parameter-based No No No No No
Maya Yes Yes Yes Yes dropped (Maya Live) dropped (Maya Composer, Maya Fusion, and Maya Composite)
Metasequoia Yes No No Yes No No
Modo Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Remo 3D Yes No Yes Yes No No
Shade Yes No Yes Yes No No
Softimage Yes 3.7 or later Yes Yes No Yes
Solid Edge Yes ? Yes Yes No ?
SketchUp Make Yes[6][7] ? Yes[6] Yes[6] No No
SketchUp Pro Yes[6][7] ? Yes[6] Yes[6] No No
Wings3D Yes ? No Yes No ?

I/O[]

Image, video, and audio files[]

Imports Exports
EXR DDS KTX others EXR DDS KTX others
3ds Max Yes Yes ? BMP, Cineon, TGA, JPG, PNG, Cineon, Radiance HDR, SGI, RLA, RPF, AVI, MPEG and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV, YUV ? ? ? ?
Art of Illusion ? ? ? GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, HDR, SVG ? ? ? JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, HDR, QuickTime
AC3D ? Yes ? GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, PPM, Targa, TIFF ? Yes ? GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP, PPM, Targa, TIFF
Blender Yes Yes ? TGA, JPG, PNG, DPX, Cineon, Radiance HDR, Iris, SGI Movie, IFF, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV Yes ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, DPX, Cineon, Radiance HDR, Iris, SGI Movie, IFF, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, BMP, Radiance HDR, AVI and QuickTime, TIFF, PSD, MOV ? ? ? PNG, BMP, AVI and QuickTime GIF, TIFF, MOV
Cinema 4D Yes Yes ? Radiance HDR, BodyPaint 3D, TIFF, PSD Yes Yes ? Radiance HDR, BodyPaint 3D, TIFF, PSD
Clara.io ? ? ? PNG, JPG ? ? ? ?
Cobalt ? ? ? BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, PNG, PPM, XBM, XPM ? ? ? BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, PNG, PPM, XBM, XPM
Houdini Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
IClone ? ? ? JPG, BMP, GIF, TGA, PNG, AVI, WMV, MP3, WAV, popVideo ? ? ? JPG, BMP, GIF, TGA, PNG, WMV, AVI, MP4, popVideo, FLV, iWidget
Lightwave 3D Yes ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, AI, EPS, BMP, IFF, Radiance HDR, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV Yes ? ? TGA, JPG, PNG, BMP, Radiance HDR, IFF, AVI and QuickTime, GIF, TIFF, PSD, MOV
MakeHuman ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Maya Yes ? ? Ai, Aiff, Pix, AVI, Cineon, EPS, GIF, Jpeg, Swf, Maya IFF, Maya16 IFF, MacPaint, PSD, PNG, Quantel, Quickdraw, MOV, RLA, SVG, SGI, SGI16, SGI Movie, TGA, TIF, BMP, HDR Yes Yes ? Maya IFF, AVI, QT, GIF, Softimage, RLA, BMP, TIF, SGI RGB, Alias PIX, Jpeg, EPS, Cineon, Quantel, TGA, Macpaint, PSD, PNG, Quickdraw
Metasequoia ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Modo Yes ? ? TGA, BMP, FLX, GIF, HDR, HDR, JP2, JPG, JPEG, PNG, SGI, EPS, AI, PSD Yes ? ? TGA, BMP, FLX, GIF, HDR, JP2, JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF, MOV, MWV, PSD
Remo 3D ? Yes ? BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, PNM, SGI (RGB), TGA, TIF ? ? ? JPG, PNG, SGI (RGB), TIF, XPM
Shade ? ? ? ? ? ? ? QuickTime VR, Piranesi EPix
Softimage ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Solid Edge ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Make ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, TGA, BMP ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP
SketchUp Pro ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, TGA, BMP ? ? ? JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP, MOV(on Mac), AVI (on Windows)[8]
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

3D, and others files[]

Imports Exports
3D 3D game Web and mobile[io 1] 3D 3D game 3D renderers Web and mobile[io 1]
3ds Max FBX, 3DS, PRJ, AI, COLLADA, HTR, OBJ, SHP, SKP, TRC, VRML Openflight FLT FBX, 3DS, AI, ASE, COLLADA, HTR, OBJ Openflight FLT M3G, VRML97
AC3D 3DS, AC3D, COLLADA, Lightwave, Massive, Milkshape Ascii, OBJ, OFF, Pointfield, Points, Terragen, Triangle, Vector Quake BSP, Quake MD2, Renderware, SMF VRML 1.0[9] 3DS, 3D Studio ASE, AC3D, Dive, DVS, DXF, COLLADA, Lightwave, Massive, Milkshape Ascii, OBJ, Triangle DirectX, Ogre, Quake MD2, Quake Map, SMF, Unreal Tournament POV-Ray, Renderman VRML 1.0, VRML 2.0, X3D[9]
Blender[10] COLLADA, FBX, 3DS, PLY, OBJ, SVG X3D, glTF COLLADA, FBX, PLY, OBJ, SVG, PC2 POV-Ray X3D, glTF
Electric Image Animation System 3DS, FBX, OBJ, LWO, MDD 3DS, OBJ, LWO
Cinema 4D FBX, OBJ, 3DS, QD3D, LWO/LWS VRML 1, VRML 2 FBX, OBJ, 3DS, QD3D, W3D VRML 1, VRML 2
Clara.io FBX, OBJ, Collada, MD2, MD3, MD5, 3DS, LWO, GEO, IRR, PLY, POV, SHP, XGL, ZGL, AC, BLEND, CSM, LWS X VRML, Three.js FBX, OBJ, Collada Three.js, Babylon.js
Cobalt 3DS, AI, ASCII Text VRML AI, ASCII Text, RAW Triangle Shockwave 3D, VRML
Houdini ? ?
IClone FBX, OBJ, SKP (via 3DXChange) FBX, OBJ (via 3DXChange)
Lightwave 3D 3DS, COLLADA, FBX, OBJ, LWO, FBX, MD2, VideoScape VRML, VRML97 3DS, COLLADA, FBX, OBJ, LWO, MD2 VRML, VRML97
MakeHuman N/A COLLADA, FBX Export, MD5, MHX, OBJ, STL Ogre3D
Maya Maya Ascii, Maya Binary, MEL, FBX, OBJ Openflight FLT VRML2 Maya Ascii, Maya Binary, Mel, FBX, OBJ, GE2, RTG OpenFlight FLT Mental Ray, RIB VRML2
Metasequoia 3DS, COB (Caligari Object), LWO, OBJ, ROK (Rokkaku Daiō), SUF (DoGA CGA System) RSD (PlayStation) 3DS, COB (Caligari Object), LWO, OBJ, RDS (Ray Dream Studio), ROK (Rokkaku Daiō), SCE (SoftF/X Model), SUF (DoGA CGA System) DirectX, RSD (PlayStation) POV-Ray, RIB VRML 1.0
Modo LXO, LWO2, LWOB, FBX, 3DS, GEO, OBJ, COLLADA, MDD LXO, LWO, FBX, PLT, GEO, OBJ, COLLADA X3D
Remo 3D 3DC, 3DS, AC, Collada, FBX, LWO, LWS, MD2, OBJ, OpenSceneGraph,[io 2] P3D, PLY, STA, SHP X 3DS, AC, Collada, DOT, FBX, OBJ, OpenSceneGraph,[io 2] P3D
Shade OBJ, SketchUp, XML; (Pro) 3DS, COLLADA, LWO COLLADA, DXF, OBJ, XML; (Pro) 3DS, LWO DirectX, Second Life Sculpted Prim, Blue Mars RIB VRML 2.0, Flash (SWF)
Softimage ? ?
Solid Edge PDF
SketchUp Make SKP, 3DS[8] COLLADA, SKP
SketchUp Pro SKP, 3DS[8] COLLADA, SKP, EPS, EPX (removed v16+), 3DS, FBX, OBJ dotXSI PDF, VRML
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D 3DS, AI, EPS, LWO, LXO, Nendo, OBJ, SVG, Wings3D 3DS, COLLADA, LWO, LXO, Nendo, OBJ, SVG, Wings3D BZFlag, DirectX, Renderware Kerkythea, POV-Ray VRML 2.0

Cache and animation files[]

Imports Exports
Geometry Cache Point Cache Particle Cache Animation
Alembic (*.abc) Maya Cache (*.mc) [io 3] 3ds Max PC2 [io 3] LightWave MDD Maya Particle Data (*.pda / *.pdb) Houdini BGEO RealFlow BIN Krakatoa PRT Biovision Hierarchy (*.bvh) Alembic (*.abc) others
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes
AC3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Blender Yes No Mesh Cache Modifier[11] ? ? ? ? Yes Yes BVH
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cinema 4D Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes
Clara.io ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? BVH
Cobalt ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Houdini Yes via FBX importer ? ? Yes ? ? ? Yes
IClone ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? BVH
Lightwave 3D Yes ? ? Yes Partio Node [12] No[12] ? ? ? Yes
MakeHuman ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Maya Yes Yes ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? Yes
Metasequoia ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Modo Yes ? ? MDD Deformer ? ? ? ? ? Yes
Remo 3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Shade ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? BVH
Softimage (Exocortex Crate) ? ? Point Oven ? ? ? ? ? (Exocortex Crate)
Solid Edge ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Make ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Pro ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

CAD files[]

Imports Exports
STL DXF DWG others STL DXF DWG others
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes IGE, IGS, IGES, IPT, WIRE, IAM, LS, VW, LP, SAT, Catia V4/V5, JT, ProE, RVT, PRT, SolidWorks,[io 4] STEP, WIRE Yes Yes Yes ATR, BLK, DF, IGS, LAY, LP, SAT, VW
AC3D Yes Yes No LDraw (Lego), SOF Airfoil Yes Yes No Inventor, LDraw (Lego)
Blender Yes Yes[io 5] No Yes Yes[io 5] No
Electric Image Animation System ? Yes ? ? Yes ?
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Clara.io Yes Yes ? Yes ? ?
Cobalt ? Yes Yes ACIS SAT, CATIA v4, CCAD, CGM, CO (native), Drawing board, Facet, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), Parasolid XT, Pro/E, Rhino 3DM, Spline, STP (STEP) ? Yes Yes ACIS SAT, CATIA v4, CGM, CO (native), Drawing board, Facet, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES),Parasolid XT, PDF, Pro/E, STP (STEP)
Houdini External[13] No External[13] No
IClone ? ? ? ? ? ?
Lightwave 3D Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Maya Windows and Mac only[14] Windows only[14] IGES, StudioTools Wire Windows and Mac only[15] Windows only[15] IGES, StudioTools Wire, Open Inventor2
Metasequoia Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Modo Yes Yes No SolidWorks[io 4] Yes Yes No
Remo 3D Yes Yes No DW (Designer Workshop) Yes No No
Shade Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Solid Edge Yes Yes Yes IGES, STEP, JT, ACIS (SAT), ProE, SolidWorks,[io 4] NX, SDRC, Microstation, Inventor, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, XML, MDS Yes Yes Yes IGES, STEP, EMS, JT, XGL, XML, Parasolid, CATIA (V4/V5), ACIS (SAT), Microstation
SketchUp Make ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Pro Yes Yes[8] Yes[8] Yes Yes[8] Yes[8]
E-on Vue ? ? ? ? ? ?
Wings3D Yes ? ? Yes ? ?

GIS and DEM files[]

Imports Exports
USGS DEM USGS SDTS (DDF) LandXML GeoTIFF Shapefile OSM others
3ds Max Yes[16] Yes[16] Yes[16] ? ? ?
AC3D ? ? ? ? ? ?
Blender ? ? ? (Blender GIS addon) ?
Bryce Yes Yes ? ? ? ? VistaPro DEM USDS DEM
Electric Image Animation System ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cinema 4D Yes ? ? ? ? ? VistaPro DEM
Clara.io ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cobalt ? ? ? ? ? ?
Houdini ? ? ? ? ? Yes[io 6][17]
IClone ? ? ? ? ? ?
Lightwave 3D (Ground Control plugin) ? ? ? ? ?
MakeHuman ? ? ? ? ? ?
Maya ? ? ? ? ? ?
Metasequoia ? ? ? ? ? ?
Modo ? ? ? ? ? ?
Remo 3D ? ? ? ? ? ?
Shade ? ? ? ? ? ?
Solid Edge ? ? ? ? ? ?
SketchUp Make Yes[8] Yes[8] ? ? ? ? SKP+KMZ SKP+KMZ[8]
SketchUp Pro Yes[8] Yes[8] ? ? ? ? SKP+KMZ SKP+KMZ
E-on Vue Yes[18] Yes[18] ? Yes[18] ? ? DTED[18]
Wings3D ? ? ? ? ? ?
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b VRML, Java 3D, Adobe Flash, Shockwave 3D, Acrobat 3D, WebGL-related formats, etc...
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b OSG, OSGB, OSGT, OSGX, IVE and OSGA
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Maya Cache and 3ds Max PC2 format are also used with FBX format.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c SLDPRT and SLDASM
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b via AutoCAD DXF addon
  6. ^ via Game Development Toolset

Supported primitives[]

Application Polygon Curves Spline/Bézier Surface Metaball Point Clouds Particles Voxel / Volume Bone Text Camera Light Speaker
tris quads N-gon donut Linear Quadratic Bézier Cubic Bézier B-spline Cardinal spline Hermite spline TCB spline Smooth-step Akima spline NURBS NURBS regular patch NURBS trimmed surface Bicubic Bézier patch
Blender Yes Yes Yes No[19] Bézier curve without subdivision No Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes 2.83 and later Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Maya Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes 3D Texture Yes Yes Yes Yes No
3ds Max Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Cinema 4D Yes Yes Yes ? Yes No Yes Yes No ? No No Yes ? ? ? ? Yes ? Yes R20 and later Yes Yes Yes Yes dropped in R23[20]
LightWave Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes ? only in Graph Editor only in Graph Editor ? No ? (LWCAD plugin) ? No Yes No Yes OpenVDB primitives[21] Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Shade 3D Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes ? No No No No No Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Sound Object

Modeling[]

Application Hard surface Modeling Sculpt Modeling Non-destructive Modeling
Polygon Modeling Subdivision Modeling Base-mesh Creation Sketch Modeling Sculpting Cloth Sculpting Hand Retopology Automatic Retopology Boolean Bevel Modifier Procedural
Maya Yes Yes (SOuP BMesh) No Yes No Yes 2020 and later Yes Yes ? Yes
3ds Max Yes Yes (Form) No Paint Deform No Yes 2021.3 and later Yes Yes Yes Max Creation Graph
Blender Yes Yes Skin Modifier Trim Brush with Union/Join mode Yes 2.83 and later Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Geometry Nodes
ZBrush ZModeler ZModeler ZSphere and ZSketch MeshBalloon Yes 2021 and later Yes ZRemesher 4R8 and later ? No No
Curvy 3D No No No Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? No No

Lookdev / Shader writing[]

Application PBR viewport Viewport effects Interactive GI Rendering Integrated Compositing Text editor for shader writing Material Nodes Turntable Rendering
Maya Yes Some Arnold No ? Hypershade, Node Editor, ShaderFX Yes[22]
3ds Max Yes Some Arnold (State Set) OSL Map[23] Slate Material Editor, ShaderFX Easy Turntable script
MODO Yes ? Yes No ? Nodal Shading Render Turntable[24]
Blender Eevee (2.80 and later) Cycles Yes Text Editor Yes Turnaround Camera addon
Gaffer No No external renderers Yes OSLCode Node No No
Marmoset Toolbag Yes Yes No No ? Uber PBR shaders only Yes[25]
Substance Designer Yes YEBIS NVIDIA Iray ? ? MDL graph ?

Lighting[]

Application Alembic
Importer 		USD
Importer 		Rendering
Engine 		Volume
Rendering
for clouds 		Interactive
Rendering 		Isolating
light contribution 		Light
Lister 		IES
Light 		Physical Sun & Sky Sun Positioning
by location and times 		Light Portal Shadow Catcher IBL and Environment texture Highlight Placement Light Mixer
Lat Long sIBL Light Extraction[26]
Maya Yes USD Extension for Maya Maya Hardware 2.0 ? Yes No[27] Light Editor ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? (Place Highlight Tool for Maya) No
Maya Software ? ? Light Linking No ? ? ? ? Env Sphere ? ? No
Arnold Yes Yes Light Linking Ai Photometric Light Yes ? Yes Yes Yes ? ? Light Mixer imager
3ds Max Yes (USD for Autodesk 3ds Max) Quicksilver ? Yes No[28] Light Lister ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Place Highlight No
Scanline ? ? Light Exclude/Include ? ? ? ? Yes ? sIBL-GUI software ? No
ART ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No
Arnold Yes Yes Light Group[29] Ai Photometric Light Yes Sun Positioner[30] Yes Yes Yes ? ? Light Mixer imager
Blender 2.78 and later 3.0 and later Workbench Some Yes View Layers[31] Property Chart Addon / Gaffer addon No ? Sun Position addon No ? Yes ? ? Look At Gizmo (with Ctrl key) No
EEVEE Some Yes No Yes No Shader Node[32] Yes ? ? No
Cycles Yes Yes 2.80 and later[33] Yes from 2.75 from 2.79 Yes sIBL_GUI for Blender addon/
Add Environment nodes addon 		? No
MODO Yes 14.1 and later MODO Renderer Yes Yes Light Linking[34] ? Photometric Light Directional Light[35] Portal Shadow Catcher Yes mm_sIBLToModoEnvironment script ? ? No
LightWave 11.6 and later No LightWave Renderer Yes Yes ? ? Photometric Light Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes original loader script, where most sIBL features were invented[36] ? ? No
Houdini Yes Solaris Mantra (PT) / Karma Yes Yes Light categories Light bank Yes ? ? ? Shadow Matte Yes ? ? Solaris ?
Cinema 4D Yes R23 and later CineRender Yes Yes Exclude/Include ? Yes ? ? ? from R18 Yes ? ? ? ?

Path-tracing Rendering[]

Application CPU rendering GPU rendering
OpenCL CUDA / OptiX HIP Metal Texture Streaming (Out-of-Core)
V-Ray Yes V-Ray GPU (formerly V-Ray RT) No No Yes[37]
RenderMan Yes In development[38] No No No
Arnold Yes No Yes No No Yes
Houdini Mantra (Path-Tracing mode) Yes No No No No No
Blender Cycles Yes dropped in 3.0 Yes planned No 2.80 and later[39]
Application MIPMAP
generation 		Adaptive Tessellation Instancing Camera Culling Deep Pixel Rendering Fisheye Stereo
for Fulldome 		Omnidirectional stereo
for HMD 		Deforming Motion Blur
V-Ray img2tiledexr ? Yes ? Yes Domemaster Stereo Shader 3.2 and later Yes
RenderMan txmake ? Yes ? Yes ? Yes[40] Yes
Arnold maketx Yes[41] Yes ? Yes Domemaster Stereo Shader 5 and later Yes
Houdini Mantra (Path-Tracing mode) icp ? Yes ? Yes ? 15.5 and later Yes
Blender Cycles No 2.78 and later Some Camera Cull No 2.78 and later 2.78 and later Yes

Level of Detail (LoD) Generation/Baking[]

Application LoD Generation Texture Baking
Automatic Normal Map Ambient Occlusion (AO) Map Light Map
Tangent Space Normal Map Non-directional
(Traditional) 		Directional
Maya (Turtle renderer) "Generate LOD Meshes" Yes Yes Yes RNM (Radiosity Normal Map), and SH (Spherical harmonics) coefficients
Enlighten No No ? Yes Yes
Blender AssetGen addon Yes Yes Yes No

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ License - blender.org
  2. ^ Cinema 4D
  3. ^ LightWave 3D
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Release Notes | SketchUp Knowledge Base". help.sketchup.com. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  5. ^ EIAS3D releases EIAS 9 CG Channel November 6, 2012
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "SketchUp Features". Archived from the original on 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b SketchUp User Guide: Creating a 3D Model
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l "Using SketchUp Data with Other Modeling Programs or Tools | SketchUp Knowledge Base". help.sketchup.com. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b AC3D Features Summary
  10. ^ "Importing & Exporting Files". Blender. Blender Foundation. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. ^ Mesh Cache Modifier. Blender Foundation
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Partio Node. NewTek
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Geometry file formats. Side Effects
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Supported data import formats. Autodesk.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Supported data export formats. Autodesk.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c Importing LandXML/DEM Models. Autodesk
  17. ^ Game Development Toolset. Side Effects
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d E-on ships Vue Infinite 2015 and Vue xStream 2015. CG Channel. July 2, 2015.
  19. ^ "Blender For Dummies 3rd edition", p.87, Jason van Gumster, April 27, 2015, ISBN 978-1119039532
  20. ^ R23 - Removed features (Virtual Walkthrough, ProRender, Sound System) MAXON
  21. ^ Primitive Type - OpenVDB. NewTek
  22. ^ Create a turntable animation Autodesk
  23. ^ 3ds Max integrates OSL: GDC Day 1, fxguide, March 21, 2018
  24. ^ Render Commands, Foundry
  25. ^ Getting Started with Toolbag 2, Marmoset LLC, December 1, 2015
  26. ^ Auto HDRI Light Gen for Maya Creates Practical Lighting Setups from HDR Images, Lesterbanks, April 30, 2013
  27. ^ Viewport 2.0 limitations Autodesk
  28. ^ Kelly L. Murdock's Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Complete Reference Guide, P.685, Kelly Murdock, 2015
  29. ^ Light Groups Solid Angle
  30. ^ Sun Positioner and Physical Sky Autodesk
  31. ^ The composition of the passes is required.
  32. ^ Blender 2.8 Eevee Tutorial Shadow Catcher. BlenderNation. June 3, 2019
  33. ^ Bf-blender-cvs - 48155c210a3 - master: Cycles: Add Support for IES files as textures for light strength, Blender Foundation, May 27, 2018
  34. ^ Shader The Foundry
  35. ^ Directional Light The Foundry
  36. ^ "Software". www.hdrlabs.com. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  37. ^ Advancements in V-Ray RT GPU, p.15
  38. ^ Pixar Animation Studios Showcases New Rendering Technologies at SIGGRAPH 2017, AWN, August 2, 2017
  39. ^ Bf-blender-cvs - c621832d3d3 - master: Cycles: CUDA support for rendering scenes that don't fit on GPU., Blender Foundation, January 3, 2018
  40. ^ Features Archived 2016-12-24 at the Wayback Machine, Pixar
  41. ^ Subdivision Settings, Solid Angle
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