Anonymous 12/19/11(Mon)11:02 No.

248019 Sticky Closed

So I was cleaning up my hard drive and I found my copy pasta of what used to
be the board sticky.
Part 1:
/3/'s Official README.TXT
http://freetexthost.com/nzjanyanw0
If you're reading this, you probably got this linked to you because you post
ed a
question that has already been asked many many times. Read ahead, and find
your answer.
Scroll to the bottom for useful resource links.
1.) "How do I get started in 3D?"
There are many ways to get started, the quickest way is to actually start
with a 3D program. There are many to choose from, such as:
-3DS Max
-Cinema 4D,
-Maya
-Softimage XSI
-Lightwave
-Blender 3D (Free!)
Once you obtain one the next step is to start with tutorials. There are many
on the net, they range from text and image tutorials to video tutorials. You
aren't going to find a tutorial for everything out there, but most will expl
ain
techniques that you need to adapt in order for you to achieve whatever final
result you want.
2.) "Wow! That's a lot of programs! Which one is best? I heard ______ is bes
t."
You heard wrong, there is no one program that is better than the rest, it ha
s
and always will be the skill level of the artist. Which program you choose i
s
solely dependent on your own personal taste and which aspect of the 3D indus
try
you want to be involved in.
Max and Maya are the most hyped and so therefore the most used,
they have the most available documentation online. The interfaces have
a steep learning curve, but there isn't any 3D program you can't learn if yo
u take
the time to use it and follow some tutorials. Go with a generalized package,
not a
specialist one.
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:03
No.248020
Anonymous No.248020 12/19/11(Mon)11:03 No.248020
Part 2:
3.) "Whoah, Generalized vs Specialized? How do I know?"
A generalised package like Maya, Max, Softimage are packages that let you mo
del, render,
animate, texture, and create dynamics all within the same application. They
don't require third party plugins
or applications to add another basic feature, like a renderer or animation t
ools.
However you can get plugins for these apps to enhance their features.
There are several Specialized applications out there that cater to a specifi
c skill.
Animation: Motion Builder, Messiah 3D.
Modeling: Modo, Wings3D, Silo 3D
CAD: Autocad, Sketchup, SolidWorks
Detailing: Zbrush, Mudbox, 3DCoat
4.) "Ooooo Zbrush, I see so much awesome shit from that, I'm gonna start the
re!"
No, you're getting ahead of yourself. You should start learning about basic
modeling and
topology before jumping into Zbrush. Zbrush is a great program for advanced
users to add
detail to their existing models, or to prototype models quickly by sculpting
them out. It
is not a good idea to get into Zbrush when you're not very familiar with gen
eral 3D concepts
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:03
No.248021
Anonymous No.248021 12/19/11(Mon)11:03 No.248021
Part 3:
5) "Ok, I see I'm not very good at this stuff, can you model ______ for me?"
No, anybody with any decent skill on this board does this work for a living
or for some kind
of gain. Some of those just starting out may pick up the project but don't e
xpect Miets Meier
level of work. You get what you pay for.
6.) "But it's too haaaaaaaaard, isn't there any easy button?"
No, like all things it takes time and effort to master a program, practice m
akes perfect and
playing around with the interface will get the shortcuts ingrained into your
muscle memory.
7.) "So which program is the easiest to learn?"
You shouldn't learn a program, you should learn techniques. When you master
a technique the program
becomes nothing more than a tool. As said before Max and Maya have the most
documentation but you
should look at learning how to model and the right techniques instead of 'wh
at button does X'. You
can get UI information from the program's help files. F1 and Google are your
friends.
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:04
No.248022
Anonymous No.248022 12/19/11(Mon)11:04 No.248022
Part 4:
8.) "So, what do studios look for when hiring if I don't know program ______
won't I get turned down?"
When a studio judges your demo reel and resume they have an order of priorit
y.
1-Quality of Work
2-Versatility
3-Experience
4-Program skills
9.) "So studios don't care what program I use? Why do they care about versat
ility?"
Except for Animators who are pretty much exempt from most rules of 3D, most
studios want people who
can perform multiple tasks instead of just a specialised one. They want mode
lers who can also texture,
they want riggers who can also do dynamics, they want lighters who can also
texture. It's ok to be
specialised in one area, but it doesn't hurt to be versatile, it will always
keep you employed.
When a studio looks at your program skills they do often look to see if you
have experience in their
preferred in house package, but MANY times you're going to get a studio that
has added their own tools
and pipeline so it wouldn't matter what program you know as long as your ski
lls are good. If you know
techniques you can pretty much pickup any 3D package in a matter of days. Of
course there are some that
are hard set that you know program ________ but for the most part what packa
ge you know is not that
important (yes even you Blender fags can get a job in a studio if you know g
ood techniques.)
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:05
No.248023
Anonymous No.248023 12/19/11(Mon)11:05 No.248023
Part 5:
10.) "What about gaming?"
What about it?
11.) "How do I make my own game? How do I program shaders or a video game?"
This is a 3D board not a programming board! Do you want to make 3D game asse
ts or
do you want to be a programmer?
12.) "Uhhhh...."
Exactly.
13.) If you want to get into game asset creating, your three primary focus o
f interests are:
-Modeling
-Texturing
-Animation
Low poly modeling is an art in itself, trying to get as much detail with as
few polys as possible
takes some practice, there is no formula for this. You create a low poly mod
el and use techniques
such as good UV textures and normal maps to enhance the look of the model in
the game engine.
Two great places to start for game asset creation:
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/tutorial.htm
http://www.gameartisans.org/gamecon/tutorials/tut_3.htm
Animating for games is pretty much the same as for movies, except that your
model has a higher chance
of deforming badly and you may not have as much control over your rig. Still
the basic concepts of
animation will always apply.
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:07
No.248024
Anonymous No.248024 12/19/11(Mon)11:07 No.248024
Part 6:
14.) "So got any links?"
Yep,
Tutorials:
http://www.free3dtutorials.com
http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/sv_home.php
http://www.3dk.org/tutorials/date/15/1.html
http://www.3dtotal.com
http://cg.tutsplus.com/
http://www.creativecow.net/
http://www.videocopilot.net/
http://poopinmymouth.com/
http://www.tutorialized.com/
http://www.creativecrash.com/
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/
http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/index.php
http://www.evermotion.org/tutorials
http://www.google.com/
Specific Starter Tutorials:
-Modeling
http://www.3dtotal.com/ffa/tutorials/max/joanofarc/joanmenu.php : 3DS Max Ch
aracter Modeling tutorial - Best you'll find
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/tutorial.htm : Great introduction to b
asic game character modeling
http://newtek.com/lightwave/training.php : Free Lightwave 3D training videos
-UVMapping and Texturing
http://racer445.com/ : Intro to texture concepts and normal mapping
http://cgtextures.com/ : Best free texture resource
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=4678 : Introduction
to texture concepts
http://www.grungetextures.com/gallery/
http://www.absolutecross.com/graphics/textures/
http://www.psbrushes.net/ : Brushes can be used to create textures
http://www.photoshopbrushes.com/
http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/01/26/31-most-colorful-collection-of-high-q
uality-texture-packs.htm
l
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:10
No.248025
Anonymous No.248025 12/19/11(Mon)11:10 No.248025
Part 7:
http://www.creativecrash.com/3dsmax/downloads/shaders/c/
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/shaders/c/
http://www.creativecrash.com/downloads/3d-textures/c/
http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/texturing-a-human-face-day-1-the-uvw-unwrap
/ : UV Unwrapping in Max
http://download.autodesk.com/media/3dsmax/peltmap_max8_380k.mov : Demo of pe
lt unwrap feature in Max
-Dynamics
http://www.allanmckay.com/site/
http://www.joegunn3d.com/Tutorials.html
-Game Character Creation
http://www.noesisinteractive.com/xnabot/
http://www.fpsbanana.com/tuts/8485
-Game creation resources
http://www.blender.org/
http://unity3d.com/
http://www.udk.com/download.html
http://www.gamasutra.com/
http://www.gameartisans.org/
-Zbrush
http://www.3dartspace.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=304 Meat
s Meier Intro to Zbrush, free, informative, highly recommend.
http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/tutorial-roundup-82-earth-shatt
ering-zbrush-tutorials/
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:11
No.248026
Anonymous No.248026 12/19/11(Mon)11:11 No.248026
Part 8:
Free Downloads:
Blender 3D:
http://www.blender.org/
Wings3D:
http://www.wings3d.com/
Softimage Mod Tool:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?id=13571257&siteID=123112
Houdini Apprentice:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_download&Itemid=208&task=apprenti
ce
Underage b&s and College fags who can get discount software:
http://www.studica.com/index.cfm
http://www.journeyed.com/
Compositing:
http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/pkg_examples.aspx?ui=CBC2593A-2C9F-4EF9-84BE-C19
8B0171453
http://www.youtube.com/eyeonsoftware
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheFoundryChannel
http://www.videocopilot.net/
http://www.digilab.uni-hannover.de/docs/manual.html
http://www.tutorialsphere.com/tutorials/eyeon-fusion/compositing
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/holt_karl/syntheyes.php : Introducti
on to Matchmove with Syntheyes.
http://ae.tutsplus.com/articles/roundup/26-tracking-and-3d-matchmoving-plus-
after-effects-tutorials/ : 26 great Camera tracking and Matchmove tutorials
Animation:
-Free Rigs
http://www.11secondclub.com/resources/
http://animationbuffet.blogspot.com/
http://www.xsibase.com/tools/skeletons.php
-MoCap libraries (free and none free)
http://mocap.cs.cmu.edu/search.php
http://www.mocapclub.com/Pages/Library.htm
http://accad.osu.edu/research/mocap/mocap_data.htm
3D Communities:
http://www.cgsociety.org/
http://www.cgchannel.com/
http://www.cgfocus.com/
http://area.autodesk.com/
http://spinquad.com/
http://www.cgsphere.com/
Job Hunting:
http://www.highendcareers.com/
http://jobs.cgsociety.org/
Vocabulary:
ftp://ftp.futurenet.co.uk/pub/arts/Glossary.pdf
================================
AND THAT IS ALL
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:18
No.248029
Anonymous No.248029 12/19/11(Mon)11:18 No.248029
This will be very handy for the other person who visits this board
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:23
No.248030
Anonymous No.248030 12/19/11(Mon)11:23 No.248030
http://freetexthost.com/nzjanyanw0
Just use this.
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)11:43
No.248032
Anonymous No.248032 12/19/11(Mon)11:43 No.248032
>>248019
Thank you so much. I've seen way to many "how do I 3d" threads recently. Sad
ly, I hadn't saved the text.
Mods, sticky this.
>>
Anonymous
12/19/11(Mon)12:23
No.248035
Anonymous No.248035 12/19/11(Mon)12:23 No.248035
posting 4 sticky
>>
Some Asian guy
12/19/11(Mon)14:34
No.248047
Some Asian guy No.248047 12/19/11(Mon)14:34 No.248047
Am i the only one who thinks that those links need alittle updating?
>>
Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)11:54
No.248201
Anonymous No.248201 12/20/11(Tue)11:54 No.248201
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)11:56
No.248202
Anonymous No.248202 12/20/11(Tue)11:56 No.248202
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)11:58
No.248205
Anonymous No.248205 12/20/11(Tue)11:58 No.248205
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)11:59
No.248206
Anonymous No.248206 12/20/11(Tue)11:59 No.248206
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:00
No.248207
Anonymous No.248207 12/20/11(Tue)12:00 No.248207
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:01
No.248208
Anonymous No.248208 12/20/11(Tue)12:01 No.248208
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:02
No.248209
Anonymous No.248209 12/20/11(Tue)12:02 No.248209
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:02
No.248210
Anonymous No.248210 12/20/11(Tue)12:02 No.248210
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:03
No.248211
Anonymous No.248211 12/20/11(Tue)12:03 No.248211
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:04
No.248212
Anonymous No.248212 12/20/11(Tue)12:04 No.248212
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:04
No.248214
Anonymous No.248214 12/20/11(Tue)12:04 No.248214
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:06
No.248216
Anonymous No.248216 12/20/11(Tue)12:06 No.248216
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:07
No.248217
Anonymous No.248217 12/20/11(Tue)12:07 No.248217
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:10
No.248218
Anonymous No.248218 12/20/11(Tue)12:10 No.248218
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:10
No.248219
Anonymous No.248219 12/20/11(Tue)12:10 No.248219
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:11
No.248220
Anonymous No.248220 12/20/11(Tue)12:11 No.248220
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:12
No.248221
Anonymous No.248221 12/20/11(Tue)12:12 No.248221
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:13
No.248222
Anonymous No.248222 12/20/11(Tue)12:13 No.248222
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:14
No.248223
Anonymous No.248223 12/20/11(Tue)12:14 No.248223
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:15
No.248224
Anonymous No.248224 12/20/11(Tue)12:15 No.248224
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:16
No.248225
Anonymous No.248225 12/20/11(Tue)12:16 No.248225
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:17
No.248227
Anonymous No.248227 12/20/11(Tue)12:17 No.248227
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:18
No.248228
Anonymous No.248228 12/20/11(Tue)12:18 No.248228
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:19
No.248229
Anonymous No.248229 12/20/11(Tue)12:19 No.248229
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:20
No.248230
Anonymous No.248230 12/20/11(Tue)12:20 No.248230
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:22
No.248231
Anonymous No.248231 12/20/11(Tue)12:22 No.248231
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:22
No.248232
Anonymous No.248232 12/20/11(Tue)12:22 No.248232
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:23
No.248233
Anonymous No.248233 12/20/11(Tue)12:23 No.248233
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:27
No.248234
Anonymous No.248234 12/20/11(Tue)12:27 No.248234
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:29
No.248235
Anonymous No.248235 12/20/11(Tue)12:29 No.248235
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:34
No.248236
Anonymous No.248236 12/20/11(Tue)12:34 No.248236
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:35
No.248237
Anonymous No.248237 12/20/11(Tue)12:35 No.248237
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:37
No.248238
Anonymous No.248238 12/20/11(Tue)12:37 No.248238
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:38
No.248239
Anonymous No.248239 12/20/11(Tue)12:38 No.248239
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:39
No.248241
Anonymous No.248241 12/20/11(Tue)12:39 No.248241
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:40
No.248242
Anonymous No.248242 12/20/11(Tue)12:40 No.248242
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:41
No.248243
Anonymous No.248243 12/20/11(Tue)12:41 No.248243
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:43
No.248244
Anonymous No.248244 12/20/11(Tue)12:43 No.248244
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Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)12:52
No.248246
Anonymous No.248246 12/20/11(Tue)12:52 No.248246
>4.) "Ooooo Zbrush, I see so much awesome shit from that, I'm gonna start th
ere!"
>No, you're getting ahead of yourself. You should start learning about basic
modeling and
>topology before jumping into Zbrush. Zbrush is a great program for advanced
users to add
>detail to their existing models, or to prototype models quickly by sculptin
g them out. It
>is not a good idea to get into Zbrush when you're not very familiar with ge
neral 3D concepts
I see this, but, every site like DT, gnomon, eat3d etc has all their organic
related tutorials done in zbrush, what gives
>>
Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)13:25
No.248254
Anonymous No.248254 12/20/11(Tue)13:25 No.248254
>>248246
the reason for that answer is so new users understand topology. it is true y
ou could jump into zbrushand create awesome looking shit, the problem would be g
etting it back out again for animation. often one has to import a low poly mesh,
create a higher poly version then bake the detail back to the lower poly mesh.
or alternatively, retopologise your hi poly mesh for export and animation.
you need to understand thge basics of subdivision modeling in order to creat
e good topology that deforms well.
>>
Anonymous
12/20/11(Tue)14:03
No.248256
Anonymous No.248256 12/20/11(Tue)14:03 No.248256
>>248246
In truth, its because new tools come out all the time that make our lives ea
sier and change our workflows, and certain artists who learned to do things the
older way want to feel smug about it. It's the equivalint of your grandfather wa
lking 4miles to school barefoot in the winter, and thinking your grandkids shoul
d too despite whatever advances in technology or clothing may have been made. Th
e reason the professional artists at gnomon/etc teach the way they do is because
they're mature enough to know that things change, and the way they may have wor
ked 10 years ago is not the same way they work now. These tools have become part
of their workflow, and learning them first is just as valid so long as you lear
n.
You'll hear people say it's important to learn good topology (and it is), bu
t really it wont matter if you learn that through box-modeling, plane-by-plane,
or by retopologizing a sculpt. Either way you have to spend time learning about
good edgeflow, looking at professional models to see what works, and perhaps eve
n try rigging and animating yourself to see how your own edges hold up. But that
s that.
So worry about the art first and save the technical for last. Learn how to m
ake good looking models, learn how to create them quickly, learn how to make the
m work.