Why lean Maya when you can lean Softimage/XSI?

[BarbaraPerez]

When I first started learning 3D I learned Maya but after a few months my school started teaching Softimage XSI and so I leared it. The workflow seems so much better and it is so awesome. I know Maya is a great program and is used so much but I just love Softimage. What should I do?

[KevinMartinez]

XSI isn't bad. I do 3D modelling, I usually prefer easier programs as the interfaces and options available in 3D Studio Max and Maya provide huge learning curves, and if I'm designing a 3D model for a game I'd prefer knowing everything that goes on behind the scenes so I can do things efficiently. Plus, if I code my own exporter, it is usually easier in smaller programs (provided that option is available). I recently encountered XSI, and I like it a lot. Extending it through code is not too difficult, and I must say it has much better support for scripted shaders than Maya or 3D Studio Max. I find that what I see in XSI is what I see in my games I write, whereas with Max or Maya sometimes bones wouldn't be aligned correctly, textures were not lining up, etc...