New to 3D modeling

shepherd

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and to UDK generally. I am learning through forums and tutorials but I have a big issue around the material editor.
I dont have any experience with it and I basically dont know how to work with it. I was wondering if there is anything that could help, any tutorial, any other program which I should learn before UDK..

I just want to know where to start :]

JonathanLambert

You should start with 3dsMax or Maya for modelling and put UDK on the back burner for a bit until you get basics down. Check out 3DMotive.com and Eat3D.com to help you get started with modelling.

That aside, UDK's "material editor" is a node based editor that allows you to create shaders without having to write them in HLSL. It's all basic vector operations but it might be helpful to read up on linear algebra to get an understanding of what's going on behind the scenes.

This link really helped me understand how shaders work.
http://rbwhitaker.wikidot.com/hlsl-tutorials

Using UDK's editor, you can quickly create very complex visual FX that would be a pain in the ass to code by hand.

ETA:These UDK documents will get you going in the right direction.
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MaterialExamples.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MaterialsTutorial.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MaterialsCompendium.html

McGreed

I will recommend as the first thing, go to Hourences website and check out the tutorials there, it's really good at explaining things with examples:

http://www.hourences.com/tutorials/