New to 3D art looking for help
Hello Polycount I am not sure if this is the correct place to post this my apologies if this is out of place. I have been a huge fan of the site for a long time and have now decided to create an account and get my feet wet in the world of 3D art, But my question is...where to start? I have really no idea where to begin If I could get pointed in the right direction like programs I will need or possibly some tutorials would be great. I understand Maya and Zbrush seem to be popular are they what the majority of people are using? I know sandbox2 which i think is the Crysis engine was used to make something like http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68238 was that purely sandbox2? I know this requires dedication but I am willing to take my time and learn and really take up 3D art as a hobby or maybe even something more sorry for such a long post thank you for your time and keep up the amazing work you guys are great!
Replies
usually the 3D work flow is find or make some concept art, block it out in a 3d package or sculpting program, create a base mesh in the 3D package, sculpt if there's anything that needs to be sculpted. Creates the final mesh that everyone will be baked onto, uv map, bake, create textures, and then put it into a game engine like the UDK, crysis, or mamroset.
3DS is currently the most popular software program, but there's no reason not to try out the other ones and see what you like. Maya tends to be a bit more popular for animation and other cg industries. Blender is also a free option, but isn't used very often in the industry.
You'll also need a 2D program like photoshop or the free option, gimp.
For tutorials, check out eat3D.com, they're very good about explaining specifics. The 'Pillar' tutorial is a good place to start: http://eat3d.com/pillar
Now you have that sort of freedom.
http://students.autodesk.com/
This is where you can download the software of your choice. I am learning Softimage XSI.
To download the game engine that is mostly used and discussed here.
http://www.udk.com/
For the online tutorials on the basics. As PolyHertz suggested one site already. www.eat3d.com is a good site for learning.
www.digitaltutors.com is another good site for learning.
These 2 websites are for subscribers only, that I've came across so far.
There are other websites also which will teach you for free if you google, but I would recommend you should take one of either subscription for starters because these paid tutorials do give you a firm knowledge for 3d program of your choice.
alas; draw a sketch, which also comes very useful in this type of work.
good luck.
EDIT: For further information,
http://wiki.polycount.com/
is your friend.
Create stuff and post here to get crits and suggestions on how to improve them.
Agreed. I picked this up when I transitioned from Maya to Max, and it's probably the most comprehensive training DVD I've ever come across. Fantastic instruction, easy to follow and superb value for money.