[PixelMath]

I used to work for Hollywood visual effects. Over the span of many years I have tried almost all the software out there and I find Blender very powerful but my personal favorite is a software named Houdini* (not free but you do get apprentice version). The core methodology Houdini is built on is for creating procedural systems for everything which i think is of more relevance for this community. Do check it out, I am sure members of this community can put it to use for the things not even their creators would have imagined.

*http://www.sidefx.com/

[zaphar]

I used a trial version of houdini once and the procedural workflow is amazing and I loved it. But I can't justify the cost and at the time the limitations of the community edition were prohibitive even for a hobbyist.

[jacobwcarlson]

I'm not sure when you used it, but Houdini Indie[1] looks pretty reasonable- $200/year and you don't have to upgrade until you're doing $100k/year in revenue.

[1] https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blo...

[zaphar]

It was a long time ago. Like more than 10 years. The indie version is indeed much more reasonably priced but I don't do enough to justify 200/year. Blender hits my sweet spot :-)

[PixelMath]

well, now is the time to give it a try again. Last week they released Houdini 15

https://vimeo.com/135607909

[MrScruff]

Houdini is indeed the software vfx companies go to when the problem becomes to abstract or difficult to solve in everything else.