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3DMotive.com launches

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adam polycounter lvl 19
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A few days ago some of our members launched 3Dmotive.com, an online source for video tutorials. A few months in the making, gamedev and crew have set out to create a unique online video tutorial service. Already a few of their videos are online for FREE. FREE! (Enough to make any artists ears perk up, I'm sure).

 

What I saw

I'm a big fan of their setup, as the clear targets for their tutorials are in plain sight; Max, Photoshop and UDK with Maya soon to come. I jumped through some of the Max tutorials myself and found them to be articulated well and presented nicely. I noticed a few workflow habits that the author had that I had questioned as it was a bit cumbersome. This was, however, before I realized I was watching a tutorial for beginners and that this is why perhaps, things were moving inside of Max at a slower pace.

One thing I did appreciate was the unique approaches to problem solving as seen in the Rubble Pile tutorial, which uses Reactor to achieve the pile. I always thought hand placing was the way to go ('ya, hardcore!') but clearly there are faster (and lets face it, more fun) methods. While I'm on the topic of unique approaches, their obscure topics for a video tutorial site are actually refreshing to see. 'Creating a 2nd UV channel for a lightmap." Seriously, they have a tutorial for this and its awesome.

 



[caption id="attachment_855" align="alignright" width="209" caption="Reactor, you so crazy."][/caption]

Looking forward

Seeing what I saw, I am more interested now in their approach to other software thats unlike whats already on their site. Specifically ZBrush and Mudbox. With ZBrush especially being an application that can be daunting to learn at first, nailing a tutorial in that regard could be a homerun for the team at 3DMotive. I wonder what other topics they'll be covering.

 

And finally (this is our blog, after all)

I was hesitent at first about writing this brief 'review' of their new site. I really enjoyed what I watched and I didn't want it to come off as an ad for a service some of our members have created disguised as a review. The truth is, 3Dmotive was created by some long time members of the Polycount Community and I was personally interested in what they managed to cook up. I was more than thrilled to see it come off as professional and interesting as it did and thats why I ultimately made this post. And this is why we'll always support our members and their endeavours. There's a ton of creative folks here and seeing something so 'extra curricular' to our professions as game artists like this is becoming less and less surprising. We love to see it.

 

So if you ever have something cooking up that you'd like for us to check out and write about, please, contact us. We'd love to see what you're working on!

 

As well, if you're in to 'that Facebook thing', join them on Facebook for more news & promo codes on future videos. If you're interested in picking up any of the videos they're running a promo code good for 30% off through Wednesday night (01/07/2010). Just use the code 'theinnercircle' at checkout!

You can also shoot them an email with any issues or feedback at support[AT]3dmotive.com

Replies

  • Zpanzer
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    Zpanzer polycounter lvl 8
    How could I miss this? Thanks for the heads-up Adam!

    The site and tutorials looks awesome, love the sci-fi corridor plate thingy!
  • Matroskin
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    Matroskin polycounter lvl 11
    good to hear that it is launched. I remember a thread with interface layouts. Was wondering at that time if it will be done one day.
    I guess i'll check out that reactor tut ;)
  • Zipfinator
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    Zipfinator polycounter lvl 9
    Looks really cool! I'm disappointed with the pricing on the non-free tutorials though. $40 for a less than 2 hour tutorial from a website that's JUST launched? Compared to what you can get from Eat 3D for that amount of money that's insanely overpriced. Hopefully they'll change the prices because I doubt they'll be getting much business with the current pricing.
  • gamedev
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    gamedev polycounter lvl 12
    @Zipfinator - We hear you. I will say this though - a huge focus of ours is really trimming down the content to its core. We don't feel you can compare quality of content on time alone. We hope our customers find our stuff to the point and never think twice about watching a massive video filled with tons of fluff again.

    You're going to see a lot more of the mid priced videos from us as well. 30-45 min videos covering a specific topic for $15. Again, we hope if someone wants to learn how to do x they'll prefer to watch a succinct video on it over watching a much longer one.

    Cheers,

    Tyler
  • Purplepaint
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    Purplepaint polycounter lvl 8
    I checked out this site when gamedev posted it, and i very much liked it, i also very much enjoy the free tutorials too ;)
  • Zipfinator
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    Zipfinator polycounter lvl 9
    I agree on the quick and to the point videos to teach techniques. It's much better than watching a 20 hour video packed with tons of information. I still don't think it justifies the prices though. I'll still probably end up getting a few of them though once I work my way through the Eat 3D DVDs I currently have.
  • Snight
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    Snight polycounter lvl 16
    Hey guys, I just wanted to jump in and say thanks for all the interest and support for 3dmotive!! Tyler, Don and Myself have been working really hard to provide high quality videos to help our community of artists, and we are deeply honored to have the support of Polycount! We are working very hard already on the release of more high quality videos in the near future, and hope that these videos will benefit everyone dedicated to learn about the creation of game art. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy our videos!

    -Mike
  • JasonLavoie
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    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    Huge congrats! I can't wait to dig in!
  • Sean VanGorder
    Just purchased the Sci Fi Floor video, really great stuff guys. I'll definitely be back for more.
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