modo 301 from Luxology is a wolf in sheep’s clothing - nice and gentle to look at and use, but with fearsome and powerful capabilities. This wolf that comes with a distinguished pedigree, enjoys being scratched behind the ears and will obviously be a faithful companion to anybody that cares to adopt it. modo 301 is one software package that is like a breath of fresh air in my stuffy, digital office.
As a point of reference, while I have a good deal of experience in 3D and in preparing 3D content for film and television purposes, this was my first real, long look at modo. I would read about it in forums and was initially skeptical about its glowing user comments. Besides, we all know that the software WE own is the best. My 3D experience had convinced me that there will always be a love/hate relationship with the tools of my trade. However, I am beginning to rethink that position after seriously working this package over.
For those who aren’t familiar with Luxology’s modo, it is without a doubt a pro level 3D modeling solution, with impressive rendering capabilities and some newfound animation capabilities that make me look towards its future with anticipation. There are 3D packages that do more, but modo has been developing over time with a laser-like focus on quality and purpose - that purpose initially being the creation and texturing of 3D models. Consequently, of all the 3D applications I own, and despite its currently narrow focus, this feels like the most complete 3D software I have used.
Who is it for? This audience: film and video creators that frequently need 3D content for integration with other animation packages or situations that require reproducing reality for virtual sets, mattes and creation of quality 3D assets for other 3D programs. Additionally, with modo’s new 3D sculpting capabilities, character creation is now well within any modelers grasp. (With that said, for all the animators reading this, be advised that modo does not have rigging controls for character animation.)
Where does the team behind Luxology come from? Call them “victims of corporate politics”, “programming bad-boys,” or “expatriates of Lightwave.” My understanding is that the core Luxology team left the original Lightwave group before all the corporate trading went on, because they wanted to create great software without compromise. It is no coincidence that this program has some family resemblance. One of them simply has hair that is more neatly combed.
New to Modo - Sculpting. Modo allows for layered, non-destructive subdivision modeling/sculpting with multiple image maps to create the displacement.
Ease of Use
I am not going to kid you, nothing about 3D is particularly easy because, as a creator, we are responsible for how EVERYTHING looks and it requires a fair number of tools to create an alternate universe. However, Luxology does a commendable job, putting common sense into how things work and where you find them, without sacrificing aesthetics or functionality. It performs as well as it looks.
Now, if you’re new to modo, don’t be frightened, but there are two caveats. Here’s the first one: Have a good, big monitor. With the feature creep of most applications, I long ago started working with two monitors; one to view the “main” application and one to view palettes and tools that the main application needs. Initially, modo places all tools within a single screen workspace. They feature accordion style collapsing and resizing via dragging dividers of the interlocked workspace. This makes for speedy and easy reformatting and customization. However, on a smaller screen (1024x768), your “live” workspace will be small, if you desire to have multiple tools sets displayed. Therefore, in this case, having a large and/or HD monitor is a very smart thing. If you have two monitors, modo lets you tear-off palettes and distribute them to a second monitor, according to your preferences. Personally, I like being able to see everything instead of thinking, “Now where was that?” when I’m working in a caffeine deprived state.
If you have any experience with 3D or any pro-level software, you understand it is more than just knowing where the tools are, it is also about how they work. Luxology has provided wonderfully “nice touches” to tools that aid in quickly accomplishing all sorts of mundane necessities, which link sensing automatically what direction the mouse is moving on an object and selecting the corresponding polygons. I will deal with some of these in the following section.
Ready for the second caveat? modo has awesome power, BUT, as any benevolent dictator will tell you, with awesome power comes awesome responsibility. In this case, it is the responsibility of the user to learn the software if they really want to get their money’s worth out of it. There is no shortcut. Thankfully, Luxology has made this a very easy and fun responsibility. (I can’t believe I’m saying that - when has learning all the nuances of a software been fun?). In addition to thorough and friendly documentation for the newbie and pro, there is also a wealth of movies showing how to use the program. Watching the video tutorials of how to work with this program shaved hours if not days from my learning curve. (These are worth their weight in gold, but they’re free).
