A good way to learn XSI

Ravenok

Hey all,

I've been hearing tons of good things about XSI for the past couple of years.
I really want to study it, but for some reason I just can't, not using the methods I'm used to, which are basically trial and error, picking up small tutorials where I need a push, etc.

I need something more concentrated, and orderly for XSI.
Something really basic, that covers everything in a very fundamental way, to get the engine started - and from there I'll probably be able to handle myself like I do with most other software.

I think my problem with XSI is the interface, and the logic, for some reason I just don't really "get it" right away.

I couldn't find anything like I described here. Does anyone know of such a thing? Or to be honest, anything that helped you study XSI that you can tell me of would really help.

Thanks all, and I'd love to hear what you think about XSI, to see if all the praise I've been hearing about it is really justified.

Gusti

It might be worth buying a monthly sub to Digital-tutors for $45.
For that price you can watch videos for just about all the 3D packages in use today.
There are just over 2000 "courses" for Softimage alone that you get access to to watch online.
Anything from a package overview, through to very nice step by step courses for various parts of the package. Most courses also come with downloadable assets related to that course that you can get to follow along with.

Having been away from the 3D industry for the better part of 10 years now, and just started to come back to it, I was hitting brick walls when it came to the software, even though my basic theory and knowledge of 3D work was still very strong albeit rusty.
After looking at various sites like Eat3D, Gnomonworkshop and so on, I settled on Digital-Tutors since they had a monthly plan as well as yearly ones.
It has helped me immensely so far. The courses are split into nice chunks focusing on various parts, so you can skip ahead when you feel they are covering something you know.

I highly recommend them my self.

BojanStankovski

I wanted to start with XSI for the first time when i found about 3D, but i was reading that a really few studios are using XSI, so i have no inspiration with XSI, and i've started with Maya instead.

Ravenok

I know Maya and Max fairly well, and I feel like both don't really answer my needs properly. I was told to try out XSI, and finally, I've decided to do it after so many people recommended it.

I know not many studios work with it, but where I live, in order to be a part of the high-end industry, you gotta freelance outside the country, from home. Otherwise the only thing you can do is really lowly boring iPhone money-grubbing cheap productions, with cheap co-workers who don't have a speck of respect for the profession. It's rare to find fun and inspiring productions in the video-game industry here (although commercials and animation's not bad) - so if I'm gonna freelance most of the time, I better take the freedom to work with the software I feel most comfortable with.

Also right now I have a student pass to try out all of Autodesk's packages, so it's a good opportunity to find out which is best for me.

I thought about digital tutors - but the thing is, I'm not sure I need that much. Not right now anyway. I'm looking for a more direct, focused tutorial that really only gives me a tour over all of the basic features. Kinda like the Lynda essential training ones, but Lynda don't do XSI tutorials. And DT don't really give the option to purchase just one tutorial, or do they?

Gusti

No you cant buy one tutorial, but you can buy one month for the $45
I know that might be a bit much, but it will not only give you access to an overview of the UI and such, but there's stuff there on a lot more in depth stuff as well for XSI that might be worth looking at to get more familiar with the package overall.

I just thought it worth pointing out due to the monthly sub if you wanted a leg-up on getting familiar with XSI

Ravenok

No doubt it's a good option and I might do that eventually, for lack of a better option if nothing else.

Thanks.

Oh, btw. I once had a link to a website with a few very useful XSI tutorials, but I lost it. They were free and they were HTTP downloads. If anyone knows anything about that, it'd be awesome...

Gusti

quick finds

http://www.xsifiles.com/
http://www.edharriss.com/ (somewhat out of date and non-functional in parts it seems from quick surfing through it)
http://www.i3dtutorials.com/view/Tutorials/Free-SOFTIMAGE-XSI-Tutorials
http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/tutorial-roundup-42-exemplary-xsi-tutorials/

Elyaradine

You can check out Redi Vivus too. Last I checked there were over 100GB's worth of training videos.

And for free. I've only watched a few of them (I learnt plenty at work, where most of the team uses XSI, so whenever I had problems I just poked someone else and didn't really have a need for having to watch training videos), but from the few that I saw, they were pretty good.

Admittedly, you have to jump through a few hoops to get all of the videos (they're hosted on file-hosting sites, and apparently a couple of the videos are corrupted?), but apparently if you email the guys who put them up (Letterbox, I guess?), they're really keen to help. I didn't contact them directly, as it was a friend of mine still in school learning XSI that went through the effort of digging up this goldmine.

Depending on how much of a noob you are, a Digital Tutors sub might be worth your while. I personally can't stand their videos though. They move very slowly, tell you several ways of doing things when in fact you probably only need to know one (the best/fastest way), the work they do in the videos is more functional than inspiring (i.e., it usually looks pretty crappy), and, overall, I just find them frustrating to watch.

Gusti

I agree on the Digital Tutors comment, but not from a noob stand point per say.
Just the fact that they went through a few separate ways to do things I thought was a good thing. If only to point me in the right direction in the UI and basic software functionality that then helped me to experiment more easily on my own.
Also it is never good to just know the "fastest and best" way to do something. The broader your underlying base knowledge is, the easier it is for you to troubleshoot certain situations that might come up.
This is one reason why a lot of the older "home schooled" 3D artists are head and shoulders above the new generation, some of who often come into work over specialized and working from a very "parrot" like base, knowing only exactly the method they were taught and nothing else. They run into a little trouble and they get stuck.
Not saying everyone of the new generation does, as that would just be silly.. But I have seen it countless times.

However, I mostly suggested DT as an easy to to see what they are doing and where in the XSI UI to feel less lost once you start digging in. Since the guy already is versatile in the fundamentals of modeling in other packages, what is most needed is the "oh so that´s where that is!" and that starts you down a path to something else
Since coming from most other packages, Softimage, even going back to when I was using it in 1995-1998, often looks like a total alien labyrinth to new users looking at it for the first time

cryrid

http://www.si-community.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1451
http://www.si-community.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1474
http://www.si-community.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1524
http://www.si-community.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1470

Ravenok

PAH! wow that's a LOT of info cryrid!
and Elyaradine - redi vivus is the site I was talking about, that I lost a while ago, thanks for that! I knew someone would know about it.

About DT - I agree, their tutorials are functional and usually uninspiring, but the info is there so it's usually useful. I hardly ever make the same thing they do btw, I usually make my own.

Thanks everyone, I think I got more than enough to start digging up my XSI cave.

Elyaradine

@Gusti: "The broader your underlying base knowledge is, the easier it is for you to troubleshoot certain situations that might come up." Sure. But there's having a solid foundation in 3D, and the mindset/approach when using a particular piece of software... and there's (fictional example):

"To do xyz, you can click on Edit > Model > xyz. Or, you can click in the Model tab, and click Edit > xyz. Or you can right click the viewport, Model > xyz. Or you can open up the Explorer, right-click the model, and click xyz. Or finally, you can also use the shortcut key, Alt-double-click."

When it takes longer to listen to the guy telling you all of the different options than it does for you to either just figure it out yourself by flicking through the menus or pressing F1, there's a problem. "We have OVER A HUNDRED HOURS of new training material!" Yeah, and I wonder why. :P

I'm not saying they're useless by any means, but given the choice, I'll almost always pick videos from another school, or RTFM.

@Blaken: Glad I could help. Shout if you get stuck. XSI's great, but it's not without its own share of gotchas...

cptSwing

Recommending DT as well. Yeah they take you by the hand like a preschool kid, but the small manageable chunks make it easy to skip should you feel belittled enough. The information is good, either way. Really helped me pick up XSI back in the day (my first "real" 3D app )

BojanStankovski

So finally i have started to learn XSI in class. I really love the interface and how much is fastest than other programs. But, i am getting a little bit skeptic about this. Here in my town have VFX studio, they work with Maya and, also they are giving a free training for 3 months in their company for everything. I afraid that, it will be hard, when i go there and they give me Maya training.

Why most of the studios, especially largest one, don't use XSI?