Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) has revolutionized design across industries ranging from movies and gaming to product design and architecture. CGI empowers designers to create stunning 3D models, realistic animations, complex simulations and immersive environments.
But with so many CGI software platforms available today, how do you choose the right tools as a professional designer?
In this comprehensive guide, we reveal the 11 best CGI software tools that every designer should know about in 2023. For each platform, we‘ll cover:
- Key features and capabilities
- Ideal users and applications
- Pricing options
- Pros and cons
Let‘s dive in!
1. Adobe After Effects
As part of Adobe‘s industry-leading Creative Cloud suite, After Effects sets the standard for motion graphics and visual effects software.
Key Features:
- Powerful 2D and 3D compositing tools
- 1000+ effects and presets
- Advanced keying tools for green screen work
- Excellent integration with other Adobe apps
Ideal For: Graphic designers, visual effects artists, video editors
Pricing: $21.99/month standalone or $57.99/month all Adobe apps
Pros: Very versatile, huge community and assets store, great for both simple and complex VFX
Cons: Steep learning curve, occasional bugs
With its unmatched features and vibrant ecosystem, After Effects is a must-learn platform for all designers working in motion graphics or visual effects. Its seamless integration with Photoshop and Illustrator make it a cornerstone of most Adobe-centric design workflows.
2. Autodesk Maya
The 3D animation and modeling gold standard for film and gaming, Maya boasts professional-grade tools for creating stunning CGI work.
Key Features:
- Advanced 3D modeling and texturing
- Powerful animation and rigging
- Realistic simulations like cloth, hair and fluids
- Arnold renderer integration
Ideal For: 3D animators, modelers, character artists
Pricing: $235/month standalone
Pros: Robust toolset and workflows for animation studios, great rendering
Cons: Very complex interface, mainly used in larger productions
While the learning curve is quite steep, Autodesk Maya is a must-have for CGI artists thanks to its unparalleled toolset focused on 3D animation and effects for film, television and games.
3. Blender
Blender is the most popular open-source CGI software that offers impressive professional-grade capabilities completely for free.
Key Features:
- Full suite of 3D modeling, animation and simulation tools
- Real-time rendering viewport
- Video editing and VFX capabilities
- Support for VR and game creation workflows
Ideal For: 3D generalists, indie developers, students
Pricing: 100% free and open source
Pros: Completely free, extremely versatile for the price
Cons: Dated interface, less specialized tools than paid options
With its open-source access and vibrant community supporting its growth, Blender is ideal for beginners getting started with CGI as well as indie studios on a budget.
4. Cinema 4D
While not as mainstream as Maya or Blender, Maxon‘s Cinema 4D offers one of the most accessible and design-centric CGI workflows.
Key Features:
- Excellent integration with Adobe apps
- Fast and easy-to-use modeling and texturing
- Powerful camera and lighting tools
- Procedural effects and parametric modeling
Ideal For: Motion graphics designers, illustrators
Pricing: $995+ standalone or $59.99/month subscription
Pros: Extremely design-friendly, great for motion graphics
Cons: Less robust than Maya for advanced 3D work
Cinema 4D is the perfect bridge between design applications and advanced CGI software, offering an accessible toolset focused on motion graphics, illustration and design prototyping.
5. Houdini
Developed by SideFX, Houdini is a procedural animation software focused on delivering powerful simulations, destruction effects and dynamic animations.
Key Features:
- Node-based workflow for simulations and particles
- Powerful cloth, smoke and fluid effects
- Destruction and damage tools
- Bridge to rendering engines like Redshift
Ideal For: Visual effects artists, technical directors
Pricing: Free Apprentice version, $200/month subscription
Pros: Best platform for simulations, integrates with other apps
Cons: Not for modeling or texturing, very complex
While Houdini doesn‘t offer traditional CGI modeling or sculpting tools, it excels at advanced effects animation like smoke, fire, liquids and dynamic destruction that would be almost impossible to replicate elsewhere. Every VFX studio needs Houdini artists on hand!
6. ZBrush
When it comes to digital sculpting and concept art, ZBrush has no equal in enabling CGI artists to model creatures, characters and detailed organic assets.
Key Features:
- Specialized sculpting brushes
- Advanced texture painting tools
- Powerful rendering controls
- Supports extremely high-res models
- Works seamlessly with Maya and other 3D apps
Ideal for: Concept artists, creature designers, character modelers
Pricing: $895+ standalone
Pros: Perfect for all forms of digital sculpting and concept art
Cons: Focused only on modeling, not animation, rigging or texturing
ZBrush lets CGI artists create highly-detailed models for films, games and animation using specialized digital sculpting brushes. Most major studios use ZBrush for quickly ideating characters and organic creatures during pre-production.
7. Substance Painter
Part of Adobe‘s Substance suite, Painter offers next-level PBR texturing capabilities for taking CGI models to the next level of realism.
Key Features:
- Physically-based shaders and materials
- Smart masks and filters
- Advanced weathering effects
- Arsenal of texturing tools and brushes
- Integration with renderers like Arnold
Ideal For: Texture artists, 3D modelers
Pricing: $19.90/month standalone
Pros: Professional yet accessible PBR texturing
Cons: Focuses solely on textures, not modeling or animation
Substance Painter make easy work of texturing even the most complex CGI models to achieve realism using industry-standard physically based rendering shaders. It‘s a secret weapon for bringing models to life.
8. Unreal Engine
While known mainly as the power behind top games like Fortnite and Gears of War, Unreal Engine also offers impressive CGI tools for architects, automotive designers and other viz professionals.
Key Features:
- Fast photoreal rendering with Lumen
- Easy environment authoring
- Powerful C++ scripts and tools
- Multi-user collaboration
Ideal For: Architectural visualization, automotive prototypes, medical simulation
Pricing: Free upfront, 5% royalties on game projects over $1 million revenue
Pros: Photoreal visualization, easy prototyping
Cons: Game-focused features, coding knowledge needed for advanced projects
For product and architectural visualization, Unreal Engine delivers astonishing photoreal CGI renders unmatched in their speed and quality by traditional rendering tools.
9. V-Ray
Developed by Chaos, V-Ray is a production-proven rendering engine trusted for delivering photorealistic images across animation and visualization.
Key Features:
- Physically accurate lighting and shaders
- Powerful GPU rendering
- Streamlined workflows
- Supported by every major 3D app
Ideal For: Architectural visualization, media/entertainment projects
Pricing: Free non-commercial, $790+ paid licenses
Pros: Photoreal rendering, trusted across industries
Cons: Focused exclusively on final render output, not modeling or animation
While not a complete CGI software solution itself, V-Ray is the gold standard plug-in rendering engine for achieving photoreal final frames with ease across a variety of 3D applications.
10. Octane Render
A rival rendering engine to V-Ray, Octane sets itself apart with lightning-fast photorealistic viewport rendering allowing for incredible interactivity when working with complex CGI scenes.
Key Features:
- Live real-time rendering
- Physically accurate materials
- Scalable across GPUs
- Supported by dozens of 3D apps
Ideal For: Design prototypes, largely static renders vs animation
Pricing: $20/month subscription
Pros: Incredibly fast iteration, great for product design
Cons: Limited animation features, less production use than V-Ray
For exploring variations on product CGI visualizations, Octane Render enables unparalleled flexibility to fine-tune a design because changes show up instantly without waiting for a final render.
11. Redshift
Redshift marries blazing GPU rendering performance with advanced features like volumes and particle rendering to become a rising star, especially in the cloud where distributed GPU farms can drastically cut render times.
Key Features:
- Lightning fast rendering
- Advanced volumetrics
- Deep learning supersampling
- Scales to thousands of GPUs
- Integrates with Houdini, Maya, Cinema4D
Ideal For: VFX-heavy productions with aggressive deadlines
Pricing: Free limited, $500+/year subscriptions
Pros: Drastically faster rendering, cloud rendering network
Cons: Limited support in niche apps, Annual subscription
Redshift brings unprecedented GPU rendering performance to VFX and animated features facing tight deadlines by harnessing the power of cloud-based GPU farms.
| Software | Price | Trial | Focus | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe After Effects | $21.99/month | 30 days | Compositing, motion graphics | Motion/VFX design |
| Autodesk Maya | $235/month | N/A | 3D modeling, animation | Film, games |
| Blender | Free, open source | N/A | Broad 3D pipeline | Beginners, indie projects |
| Cinema 4D | $55+ /month | Free | Design-centric modeling, rendering | Motion graphics, illustration |
| Houdini | $200/month | N/A | Simulation, procedural animation | VFX professionals |
| ZBrush | $895+ | N/A | Digital sculpting, texturing | Concept art, character modeling |
| Substance Painter | $20/month | 30 days | Texturing, PBR materials | Texture artists, modelers |
| Unreal Engine | Free upfront | N/A | Real-time visualization | Architectural viz, automotive design |
| V-Ray | $790+ | Free non-commercial | Photoreal rendering | Architectural viz, entertainment |
| Octane Render | $20/month | Free | Live real-time rendering | Product concepting |
| Redshift | $500+/year | 30 days | Cloud rendering | VFX, animation |
Getting your foot in the door with powerful CGI software tools is just the first step. To really produce industry-leading visual effects, animations and renderings, you‘ll need to level up your skills and knowledge.
Here are 5 pro tips for quickly mastering CGI workflows:
1. Pick Your Area of Focus
With so many sub-disciplines within the CGI umbrella from modeling to lighting to rendering CGI software reflects those unique skillsets and tool needs. Rather than jumping around apps, select your specialization – whether it be sculpting creatures, texturing assets or animating simulations – and focus your learning.
2. Follow Online Video Tutorials
While expensive industry training exists, you can access high-quality CGI training for free online. YouTube channels like Blender Guru offer hundreds of step-by-step tutorials breaking down modeling, materials, lighting and more using leading software like Blender.
3. Experiment Extensively
All the tutorials in the world can only take you so far. You‘ll level up your CGI expertise faster by constantly experimenting with new techniques outside formal lessons with ample trial and error across personal projects.
4. Learn Efficient Shortcuts
Every professional CGI artist makes use of a vast array of shortcuts and hotkeys to deliver work quickly. As you learn any software, prioritize commands that speed up repetitive tasks – your future self will thank you.
5. Join Online Communities
Lastly, connect with fellow CGI artists by joining industry forums, Facebook groups, Discord channels and more. You‘ll pick up invaluable tips and feedback to push your work to the next level.
As with any digital design field, CGI software and creative techniques continue advancing rapidly. Here are 3 cutting-edge trends taking CGI to bold new heights:
Real-Time Rendering and Virtual Production
Thanks to GPU renderers like Octane and Unreal Engine, CGI artists can now interact in real-time with fully rendered 3D environments, opening revolutionary filmmaking techniques like LED walls replacing green screens on shows like The Mandalorian.
AI-Assisted Workflows
Early AI tools like Nvidia Canvas already help designers instantly turn sketches into photoreal renders by intelligently generating textures, lighting and details. More smart features could handle tedious CGI tasks like UV unwrapping models.
Metaverse/AR/VR Content Creation
CGI creators are already building stunning virtual worlds, objects and avatars as VR/AR adoption grows and metaverse platforms like Spatial and Decentraland take off. The need for hyperrealistic CGI to power immersive experiences will skyrocket.
While nothing beats hands-on experience with actual CGI software, the right training courses can provide structure and best practice tips.
Here are 5 standout options worth exploring on platforms like Udemy and LinkedIn Learning:
- Blender Character Modeling For Beginners – Master human anatomy modeling
- Maya For Beginners: Complete Guide to 3D Animation in Maya – Essential Maya animation principles
- VFX Compositing with After Effects – Pro techniques to combine CGI with live footage
- Intro to Digital Sculpting in ZBrush – Digital clay sculpting for demanding game assets
- Unreal Engine 5 Mastery: Create Stunning Real-Time Environments – Design expansive virtual worlds with UE5
Thanks to constant software innovations and new techniques like real-time rendering, there has never been a more empowering time for creative professionals to incorporate stunning CGI into their workflows across design fields.
Whether you‘re ready to animate a product prototype or craft an alien character for a Hollywood blockbuster, this guide should give you a firm launch pad exploring leading options like Blender, Maya, Cinema4D and ZBrush to bring your visions to life through CGI magic with ease.
The only limit is your imagination – so start modeling today!
