Best Program for a Beginner and Advice?

Slev

I've been trying to learn to model for the past few weeks now. I've had some minor success, but nothing I like. I have two problems I was hoping to get help with.

1. What's the best modeling program, both in general and for a beginner? I've been using 3DS Max, but I've seen videos on blender that seem pretty easy to do, so I just don't know what to do with that.

2. When I'm trying model something, I get part way through (i.e. the blade of a knife) and when it doesn't look right and I can't find a way to fix it, I get totally discouraged. Is there anything I can do to keep encouraged even if I just can't get something to look right?

Shiniku

The same basic techniques and ideas apply to all 3d programs, so it doesn't really matter what you choose to learn in, and it may be worthwhile to play around in a few.

I think 3ds max is a solid choice, it's widely used and fairly user-friendly.

It can be frustrating when you're learning and can't get things to look the way you like, be just keep pushing, learning, and working through tutorials and you'll be constantly improving. You're the only person who can keep yourself motivated.

Velktri

1. You have a favorite program, but not a best program. It's like saying you have a favorite shirt, but you don't have a best shirt. Like Shiniku said, 3ds max is a good choice. I prefer Maya personally but all the Autodesk programs are very user and beginner friendly.

2. This is because of experience. No matter what program you use the blade you're making won't look correct until you better understand the underlying problems. It may help to write down notes on it and pin point the issue. Also show your work to others and see what they say. As far as encouragement goes, it's all about perseverance. If it helps, you can save out you old work and open it in a month or so to see how far you've come. That always makes me feel better when I get stuck.

James Ordner

Shiniku and Velktri covered both points pretty well.

If money is an issue, Blender is definitely a great option. It has everything you need except for manual vertex normal editing, but by the time you get around to making things that need that kind of functionality, it might already be implemented into the program. Sounds like you already have 3ds Max though, which is also a great program.

If you're looking for a job in the industry, it's important to know 3ds Max or Maya (or both) instead of Blender. Though all three programs do the same stuff in the game asset creation department (minus vertex normal editing), Max and Maya are the most used programs as of today.

Slev

I'm mostly just a hobbyist. I do have 3DS Max as I have a student email and am using the student version. I'm mostly just getting discouraged, I look at a section of a model I worked on and it just looks terrible and I give up out of frustration and disappointment.

ZacD

3d art requires a lot of practice and failures, it's tough getting a solid footing in a 3d package. But try following some tutorials, there's a bunch for 3ds Max.