Best paid training to prepare me for school?

[eddyg519]

now that I look around the site some more under the "Store" there is quite a few DVDs that are cheap and seem to be what I'm looking for. Can anyone recommend one before I just go buy them? Also does anyone have a sample of any of the lessons?

thanks!

[TwiiK]

I have no idea what kind of training you're looking for, but I would recommend these tutorials:

They are all free.

Creating a Weapon For Source series
Author : Stormy

Modelling (http://www.moddb.com/downloads/7665/model-a-3d-glock-weapon/)
Texturing (http://www.moddb.com/downloads/7833/creating-a-weapon-for-source/)
Animating (http://www.moddb.com/downloads/8633/creating-a-weapon-for-source-part-3)

This tutorial covers everything needed to model, texture and animate a low poly gun. It is about 2,2gb and is probably the most complete free tutorial I've found.

Organic Modeling Series
Author : Eric Maslowski

ego-farms (http://lounge.ego-farms.com/showthread.php?t=213)

This one shows you how to model a human head from start to finish. Really good tutorial and Eric is an awesome tutor.

Modelling a NOKIA 6670
Author : Loocas Duber

sharecg (http://www.sharecg.com/v/1921/video-tutorial/Nokia-Video-Tutorial---Part-1-of-9)

Here you will learn how to model a production quality Nokia 6670 mobile phone.

Audi A3 tutorial
Author : Blittze

3d-palace (http://www.3d-palace.com/)

This is a really good tutorial on how to make a sub-d car model. To access this tutorial you will have to register at 3d-palace. When that is done you'll want to head over to the video tutorials section, into the 3ds max category and then into the higher level category. There you will find the audi a3 tutorial.

Modelling a Beretta 9000
Author : Ichi

moddb (http://www.moddb.com/tutorials/23868/beretta-9000-video-tutorial)

The first tutorial I ever did. Was what got me into 3d in the first place. :) I had barely opened max when I started following this tutorial, but I was still able to finish it. It's a very good beginners tutorial and it teaches you some good techniques.

The reason I think these are some of the best tutorials out there is that they are so well made, the authors are really great at explaining what they do and why they do it, and the tutorials offer so much information they rival most commercial tutorials out there and could easily be sold as such themselves.

I would recommend doing some of these, and other, free tutorials at first before you venture on to the commercial ones. There's actually no need to ever buy a tutorial judging from the amount of free material that is available to you out there, but some times a commercial tutorial has that little extra quality you're looking for.

The commercial tutorials I would recommend are:

To learn production workflows:

Very good tutorial from Gnomon on how to model, texture and light a scene based on a photography:
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/tjo01.html
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/tjo02.html

Great tutorial, from Gnomon again, showing the workflow to create a production quality character:
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/ijo01.html
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/ijo02.html

Gnomon has some great tutorials, but sadly they cut a lot of corners and use lots of timelapsed footage. They are good for learning workflows, but kind of expensive in terms of what you get.

To learn modeling techniques:

Cris at 3d-palace makes the best tutorials for showing modeling techniques in my opinion, and his way of modeling is extremely relaxed and entertaining.
http://www.3d-palace.com/cgshop/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=30
or/and
http://www.3d-palace.com/cgshop/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=73

Unlike the gnomon tutorials 3d-palace tutorials show you every second from start to finish. They also include every scene file and asset used.

Another thing with Gnomon tutorials is that because they show you production workflows the tutors sometimes utilizes a wealth of different programs best suited for each step of the way. As an example take the Character Texturing DVD:

In this DVD Ian uses: Max, DeepUV, PolyBoost, ZBrush, ZappLink, Zmapper, BodyPaint and Photoshop®

This is both positive and negative. Positive in that it teaches you the different tools needed to complete a production quality model in a very short time frame. Negative in that it requires you to own or buy (demos or trials could be a possibility) lots of different tools and programs.

I would not recommend any "3ds max fundamentals", "intro to 3ds max" or any such general tutorials because they are boring and if you're anything like me you won't learn squat from them because it feels like you're just reading the manual.

The best and most fun way to learn, in my opinion, is just to jump into a video tutorial project and finish it. Then make something on your own using the techniques shown in the video tutorial.

[Brian-Bradley]

www.mentalboutmax.co.uk (http://www.mentalboutmax.co.uk) ;)


Regards
Bri

[tbrad]

try 3D palace http://www.3d-palace.com/index.php

many good free and to be paid for tutorials reasonably friendly
very good for mech and hard surface modelling

see comments above by Twiik,

hi Twiik Ghostdancer here, sorry didnt read all of your post

[dnashj33]

I have to say, the $99 3ds Max Fundamentals DVD set from 3D Buzz is hands down the best single training resource for a relatively new or intermediate Max artist. Period. Anybody that's bought it (I bought it when it first came out at $250, and it was a STEAL at that price) will give the same recommendation. They should name it "3ds Max Fundamentals & Beyond" because while it does cover the basics thoroughly, most of it is Intermediate to Advanced material.

You end up modeling, rigging, texturing, lighting, and rendering F-14's taking off from an Aircraft Carrier (and taking out an Oil Platform), and then a dragon blowing out the candles on his birthday cake (since he is a fire-breathing dragon, he accidentally burns the cake up). That last scene goes deep into rigging, skinning, UV layout, photoshop texturing tutorials, Maxscript setup of rigging controls UI, then walk cycles and animating the dragon throughout the scene.

Again, calling it Fundamentals really doesn't do the DVD any justice. It's a great resource for just about any Max artist. I am not part of the 3d Buzz crew or even one of their "Buds"...I just own the DVD set and am amazed at how much you get for that price. It's about 110 hrs of instruction, and I'd estimate that it covers about as much as you would get in 3 semesters in any max classes in college.

[dnashj33]

I would also say that the temptation is always to jump in headfirst and bypass all the "boring" stuff. Well, I'm sure babies would like to sprint like an olympic runner, but like anything in life, you have to pour the foundation before you can begin to build upon it. Skip the foundation and you have a world of troubles along the way.

Best to just bite the bullet, and get the core fundamentals down before you start doing any running.
Once you are working on the more advanced topics/models...then your workflow is much more fluid and faster, and you have a better idea about "why" you do things and what's the best method to use in a given circumstance.

So, no...don't just jump into an advanced level dvd without covering the fundamentals first.
Anyone that would tell you otherwise is giving you bad advice.

[eddyg519]

So, no...don't just jump into an advanced level dvd without covering the fundamentals first.
Anyone that would tell you otherwise is giving you bad advice.

I do understand what your saying and i will be starting off as a novice and work my way up. Like i said i have the time and dont mind spending a fair bit of cash on this as long as im getting a quality product thats going to help me.

thanks everyone for the suggestions im going to tackle some of these free tutorials this weekend and when i feel comfortable ill buy the buzz DVD because it sounds like a great course to take.

best regards,
eddy

[eddyg519]

I did want to ask if there are any good books or audio books (so i can toss it on my iphone or something) that revolve around 3d. Maybe even some sort of 3d magazine I can subscribe for? I basically want to be around 3d 24/7 for the next half year or so.. as crazy as it sounds!

[dnashj33]

Personally, while 3D-palace.com and others are a great resource to draw on, I would get the 3ds Max Fundamentals (comes with 2 DVD's), focus solely on that...don't get distracted by other tutorials or other software. Just get the DVD, start from the beginning and go all the way through it, till you are done. It's probably the most in-depth source of training I've seen or used. You'll be a pretty good Max artist by the time your are done, and by focusing on it alone, you'll get through it much faster.
What you can do, is change the models up a bit (f-18's or the new Joint Strike Fighter) so that while you follow along, the model is close in shape, but still different...maybe design the dragon to be a little more photo-real and less cartoonish, and perhaps spend some extra time enhancing your textures and the rest of the scene before you move on to the next project in the series. This way, you can use the material in your demo reel once you're done.

After that, the 3d-palace.com material would be a good place to choose from, as well as the Gnomon DVD's previously mentioned. By the way. You might want to get a copy of Polyboost for Max, when you can afford to. If you model much, you really want to make use of it...it will save you countless hours

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