PDA

View Full Version : Lack of plan/excersises in Modelling

Pepperoni
05-04-2010, 11:34 PM
Dear everybody,

(first of all: hi to everyone :), and second: i post this in the subsection "Modelling" because i thought it is best fit in here, if an admin disagrees and moves it to an other section, feel free to do so :))


I recently (about a week or so) started with Maya 2009. I am a beginner in the whole 3D graphics scene and would like to be able to create great models like others can. I'm doing this for fun (as a hobby), so i don't have a tutor, lessons or anything that 'teaches' me 3D modelling and 3D graphics.

Now the problem i have is that i don't know whát to model. Of course i look for tutorials here and there, read up on the Maya-help and so, but that doesn't give me much modelling-experience and i believe that, to be better at modelling, one has to model a lot.

So i thought of just thinking of an object, look for reference pictures of it (like a bicycle, toy car, airplane, etc. etc) and start modeling it. But then i either pick an object which looks easy on the first hand, but still turns out to be too complex for me, OR when i think i have to start easier, then it's a little bit tóó easy (for example: i thought of modelling a hand, but that turned out to be very hard for me to get it quitte nice. So then i thought of starting at a lower level of difficulty and model something easier which consists of primarily primitives figures. But then that object turns out to be to easy to actually model it)


With other words: i don't have a plan on how to improve my modelling, and most important, i don't know what excersises (in modelling) i should do orwhat objects i should model at my stage (beginner-stage). Since i don't have a teacher or don't study 3D-graphics for school, i really don't know how to build the complexicity of my modelling and thus, improving in modelling.
(I'm primarily focussing on modelling since i'm still a beginner, and would like to be a decent to pretty good at it before advancing to other subjects like rendering or texturing for example)


If anybody can give me any advice, some sort of "plan" to improve on modelling, i would appreciate it a lot!



BBTW: i'm sorry for my english, it isn't my mother tongue
steveskittles
05-06-2010, 06:32 PM
Firstly your English is spot on!! I'm in the same position as you, i do many different tutorials online but find it very hard to implement the skills in the tutorials into my solo projects. I look at some other peoples work and im just in awe of how detailed somethings are. I just dont know where to start. And like yourself i make attempts at my own personal projects but always run into trouble when i dont know how to create a certain piece and this is pretty destructive because im always thinking "i cant do this, its too difficult" then i get bummed out and leave the project alone. I doubt theres a exact "path" to learn 3d but even if i was to be show the right direction then id be happy.
Pepperoni
05-06-2010, 07:11 PM
That's exactly what i mean steve :).

So if any of the experienced users or people who do 3D graphics for school/education/work could give some directions on how and whàt to practice (as a beginner), then that would be much much appreciated!
Psyk0
05-07-2010, 05:19 AM
-Pick something you enjoy working on (characters, weapons, vehicles?)
-If you prefer characters, learn anatomy principles (drawing/sculpting classes that teach classical anatomy)
-Post your work on forums for feedback and don't hesitate to ask questions
-Don't jump into sculpting packages without having a solid base in a traditional 3D software
-Consider joining a mod project
-Practice, practice, practice
SkunkSpray21
05-07-2010, 12:08 PM
Hi, guys I'm in the same boat as you. I have been teaching myself modeling for the past year or so. My advise is continue reading/watching tutorials on the web and model everything you see. I find it is best to dive right in and model even complex objects. Don't worry about the details and getting things perfect. As you're skills improve you can always try the object again. As for some simple objects take a look at the images I've done in my portfolio:
http://skunkspray21.cgsociety.org/gallery/
Generally, I model an object until I get stuck, then move on to something else. As my skills and knowledge improve I go back and try to continue with the other objects.

I hope that helps and stick with it, you will improve!
Pepperoni
05-07-2010, 02:19 PM
Thank you Psyko and SkunkSpray, those are some tips i hadn't thought of.

Especially the last tip about getting back to the same object you had trouble with after you're skills have improved......(i hadn't thought about that, so thanks).


If any other people have tips or more advice....you're welcome to post it here :)
Pepperoni
05-08-2010, 09:36 PM
-Pick something you enjoy working on (characters, weapons, vehicles?)
-If you prefer characters, learn anatomy principles (drawing/sculpting classes that teach classical anatomy)
-Post your work on forums for feedback and don't hesitate to ask questions
-Don't jump into sculpting packages without having a solid base in a traditional 3D software
-Consider joining a mod project
-Practice, practice, practice

I just re-read your post, what do you mean by a mod project? is that simply a group of volunteers working together (over the internet/email) and create mods for games? Or is it something else you meant?


Thanks in advance
Psyk0
05-09-2010, 05:49 AM
Yup, that's exactly it, that's how i learned, by doing projects for games i used to play online, altho i prefered to work alone, i teamed up with people from time to time. So pick a game you enjoy (and is mod-able), join its modding community and create content you'd like to see in-game.

I'm pretty sure most games have a thousand mod teams trying to recruit people, the problem is a lot of them are a bunch of slackers or clueless, you might get lucky and find one that's getting things done...hence the use of the word consider. ;)
Pepperoni
05-09-2010, 08:19 AM
hehe okay :), thank you vèry, vèry much.:)
CGTalk Moderation
05-09-2010, 08:19 AM
This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.