How does one learn 3D modeling?

[Ducimus]

How does one learn 3D modeling? What's the best way to go about this for a beginner?

Are there any free to download, and easy to understand applications for this purpose?


Just curious. Thanks.

[Karle94]

How does one learn 3D modeling? What's the best way to go about this for a beginner?

Trial and error.

[Hylander_1314]

You Tube also has a lot of Gmax Tutorials. I like working with Gmax, although I'm no expert or scholar on what to do. And it's been some time since I worked with it, but it is fun creating something from scratch.

[Nisgeis]

Gmax stopped being officially supported and updated about five years ago and has been abandonned by the developer.

Blender, although free, is always changing and whomever constitutes 'the community' for that program is constantly changing and the User Interface is always in a state of flux. Key features are also in a state of working flux - there always seems to be some workaround you have to use that you wouldn't need in a professional program, which just makes what is already a difficult task, uneccesarily difficult. Tutorials for the wrong version also cannot be followed due to the radical UI changes.

A lot of the other free programs don't really have the 'power' to deal with detailled models and will start to barf when you load complicated models in them.

3ds Max is made for the games developer community and it's what I'd recommend learning on, if you can 'afford' the software beyond the one month trial. The tutorials that come with the software will give you a very good grounding in how to go about modelling. Those tutorials have been seen by many eyes are are spot on in what they teach.

The key though, to being able to learn modelling is having a project you want to get done yourself. It's almost impossible to learn how to model in 3D unless you have something in mind that you want to accomplish - that in many ways is the key definining factor in whether you will learn how to do it or not.

[Dowly]

If you can get your hands on to Modo, I'd suggest you start with that. Of course, it costs, but the GUI is extremely user friendly and easy to learn. :up:

http://www.luxology.com/

[Ducimus]

3ds Max is made for the games developer community and it's what I'd recommend learning on, if you can 'afford' the software beyond the one month trial.

How much is that dare I ask?

[Nisgeis]

Yep Modo is good too, but more driven (I think) to the modelling rather than the baking of AO maps and the automatic generation of UV maps such like that you will have to do for SH4.

How much is that dare I ask?

It depends where you live, of course, you can buy it outright for a ridiculous sum ($3,000) , or you can purchase a license for a year ($400) or you can get a reduced rate as a student. I don't think there is a personal learning edition.

The main thing to remember is that the core modelling principles are the same, regardless of what program you use, so if you learn good topology, you can transfer to Modo, Max or Maya, should you choose to later, so if you run through the Max tutorials or Modo Tutorials or Maya tutorials, they will stand you in good stead for later if you choose to switch. I just wouldn't recommend blender :DL.

I think the majority of people here use 3DS Max here, so you may get more 'technical help' in that respect. Maya is more geared towards film than game.

[vickers03]

i did all my interior overhaul with wings3d, it's free, easy
to use and works well enough with the silent editor.
should be no problem to show you if this is all you want to do,
although i didn't know what i was doing most of the time:woot:

[Hylander_1314]

That's how we all start out vickers. We learn as we go along. What has been my wrinkle in modelling WWI planes for my other sim, is dealing with the hierarchy in the SDK and how it all ties in together, and making the cockpits, as in one that is a regular 2D pit, and the other a 3D virtual cockpit.

Making the fuselage, wings, tail, struts, rigging wires, and even the engine, has been a snap once I figured out the balance between enough polys to show good details, but not to overdue it so it would slow the sim down to a slideshow.

Just takes time, and practise, that's all. And a lot of restarts!