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Vehkt
January 24th, 2009, 06:35 AM
With the discovery that 3DSMax is seemingly... really...really... nice to use and somewhat newbie friendly (I at least, can do more in it than I could in Blender...), what would you 3D wise-folk recommend is a good thing to model as something to get me into the throws of all the aspects of 3d modelling to see if I enjoy the field?

That said, After seeing some of the work of the animators, that too looks intriguing, though probably calls for a learning curve into filmography (is that the term?).


I'd imagine a simple car wouldn't be too hard to model out? Then it's body can be shaped, would contain different textures and then I guess i'd have to rig the wheels so they can move? Doors and boot/trunk too I guess.

Or I could just go for a robot or something.

Basically something nice, that I can work on inbetween doing anatomy studies that should be doable in a few weeks.

I probably dont want to look at how much the full version of 3DSMax costs. But I do find the interface lovely to work with, the introductory movies are easy to follow and pretty much give you a nice starting point for exploring the program more in-depth.

Muz
January 24th, 2009, 08:27 AM
try a jeep :). tis what i started on. Its nice and blocky and forces you to work out a lot of the foundation techniques used in poly modelling. Try and make the top body as a single mesh, and use different meshes for the underlying parts and wheels.
Also remember to use mainly quads, and never use ngons (more than 4 sided), well mainly if you are trying to get into games but its still good practice.

Here are some orthos for it.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e305/muzzoid/01_jeep_side.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e305/muzzoid/02_jeep_front.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e305/muzzoid/03_jeep_top.jpg

Get your modelling and texturing worked out, then start to look at rigging, otherwise you will overload yourself with info.

Good luck.

If you run into any troubles send me a pm (i'll probably forget about this thread otherwise), or ask the other wise folk here.

Vehkt
January 24th, 2009, 08:41 AM
Cheers for the orthographic views :D I'll give it a whirl!

EDIT: Hmm, I can get the orthographic views to their respective viewports, but... is there anyway to bind the image to the grid? So when I zoom out I can see the whole Jeep? :P I've played about with the background options but none seem to do it.

Pretty sure I saw a video tutorial where the modeller had it working like that though.

Muz
January 24th, 2009, 08:52 AM
have fun!

Actually if you want you can add me on msn if you need a hand (i hated learning the basics of 3d), im currently sitting up making a low poly nekid girl as practice, and i'm jacked up on coffee candy so i dont think ill be sleeping for a few hours yet. muzzoid@hotmail.com

Vehkt
January 24th, 2009, 09:08 AM
Ooo, I shall!

Solved my issue by the way :P

Customize > Preferences > Viewport > Configure Driver > Match Bitmap as Close As Possible.

EDIT: Actually, it was because I didn't lock it in the background settings...

Self-learning... isn't it wonderful? :P

Vehkt
January 24th, 2009, 09:49 AM
For muzzoid, in substitute of my dire MSN connection :P

EDIT: Question as to why the box primitive is longer in the Left view than it is in the Top view now open to all :P

nuki
January 25th, 2009, 03:46 PM
well, I'd say that the image in the side view is just smaller than the one in the top view.. ;)

City SCenes are also great to start off with - maybe after finishing the jeep build him some cool enviro and let him cruise through it

greetz nuki

Vehkt
January 25th, 2009, 07:11 PM
Alas, taking the orthographic images for granted, they don't match in size :P

Is there any nice sites that have such images for download? Not just Jeeps, but other objects etc.

An orthographic image repository you might say ;D.