Learning 3ds Max

[TwinHits]

I want to learn 3ds Max, I have a copy (legal) and I'm doing research on how to learn. My big focus in on level design, but I want to learn other uses along the way. How did you learn?

[Inyri]

Watched & read tutorials and practiced.

[CrimsonStrife]

Honestly I started off just clicking things to figure out what they did...Max isn't known for having a user friendly interface.

...the modeling process itself will take practice just like anything else.

[minilogoguy18]

^Say what?!

 

Out of all the programs I've tried Max and Maya have the easiest interfaces for being a full suite program (not taking into consideration more simplistic programs like Milkshape).

 

Just play around with it, there are tons of tutorials out there, it takes time.

[CaptainChar]

"A modders skill flows from the internet, but beware of the troll's side"

 

the hardest part i had to overcome was working in a 3d enviroment from multiple angles, but if you've had experience in some form of 3d before, even mapping, the same basic knowlage can be applied in moddeling

 

plus I was taught Lightwave and 3dmax in highschool, but mapping with GTK basicly gave me my fundimental 3D skills,

my advice, just screw around, or start of by playing around with existing or premade models

[Tempust85]

All I did to learn 3ds Max years ago back when JA first came out was by just playing around, and googling things I didn't understand. Tutorials are good also, but nothing really beats getting in there and playing around with the many functions.

 

FYI:

 

If you're planning on modelling characters for JA using 3ds Max, the last version to export .xsi files was Max 8 and maybe Max 9.

[minilogoguy18]

^Is there really no later version that supports dotXSI 3.x? I know it's an old format but I bet someone could recompile those plugins to even work for animations which they currently don't. I know the newest 3ds max supports crosswalk but that is like dotXSI 6.x which carcass wont take.

[mrwonko]

I use Blender myself - since it's free and great - and I learned by doing stuff with it since 2005 or so. Just stick to it. One way is to have a goal - e.g. "Create a custom Oblivion weapon" - and then looking up what you need. Or follow online tutorials on the parts you think you need to know, e.g. "what ways of modelling are there?".

 

I've mostly done the former, though that has the downside of me simply not knowing about features I haven't needed/used yet - maybe there's some faster/easier way to do something I did, for example.

[CaptainChar]

ive only used Gmax, 3Dmax6 and milkshape, and in school lightwave for macs, but all in all, I suggest if you dont want to learn via self knowlage, to use a tutorial video, since I find video or visual learning helps greatly then a textbook version

[Shusumi]

XSI Mod Tool is properally the easiest modelling tool.... However it is an old program and has a few flaws and dosn't allways keep intact with modern technology. But I do recommand XSI... :S

[mrwonko]

Award for the easiest modelling tool probably goes to Google Sketchup. Very limited in what you can do with that though...

[minilogoguy18]

^I tried blender recently, don't know how you deal with that interface, you'd have to pay me to use that program.

 

I've tried the 3 major Autodesk tools and while Softimage doesn't have the easiest layout of the 3 (probably the least visually pleasing) the program runs FAR smoother than Max and Maya with high polygon scenes and the animation tools are way ahead of them too.

 

I originally started with Milkshape 3d, I still feel its a decent program, if only it had a heirarchy linking system it could be used for JA player models since there is a skeleton file floating around the net and it can do envelope weights.

[Tempust85]

^Is there really no later version that supports dotXSI 3.x? I know it's an old format but I bet someone could recompile those plugins to even work for animations which they currently don't. I know the newest 3ds max supports crosswalk but that is like dotXSI 6.x which carcass wont take.

 

The last version that supported animation was Max 5. The 6,7,8 version can't output proper basepose data for animation so all you got is model export. No one bothered compliing it for later versions. Myself and Archangel tried to but seeing as we're not coders we failed lol.