I've been browsing the work that people on this forum have created, and it would be an understatement to say I'm impressed. I apologize if this is available on some other topic, but I couldn't find anything.
Does everyone on this forum have a degree in 3D modeling and do this professionally, or is this something I could toy with on my mac at home with no previous education on the matter?
I appreciate any pointers that can be given.
Replies
My favorite modeling program is Modo: http://www.luxology.com/trymodo/
Here is a great tutorial to get you started with Modo: http://www.3dtotal.com/team/Tutorials_3/making_of_black_widow/making_of_black_widow01.php
Good luck!
OSX is limited when it comes to game design, unless you run windows on your mac, although there's great tools on both platforms, most game engines run on directx, and there's a lot of video game related tools that only run on windows. Although having osx is an advantage when it comes to making iphone games. Maya and 3DS max are the 2 major 3D software programs used in the game industry, I suggest trying out maya because it runs on osx.
There's a lot of free tutorials online, follow them, post your work here and ask for some feedback or help when you need it, we'll be more than happy to help, but we can be harsh sometimes.
A lot of commonly asked questions are in the polycount wiki, and its full of great info and links
http://wiki.polycount.com/
The interface is different, but interface is really the smallest deal, because what is important is a solid understanding of the geometrical principles, the philosophy of workarounds and so on.
If you get good at using blender and gimp, you will be able to learn max, maya or modo in a month or less. It's just a difference in aestethics, to put it roughly.
tl;dr - yeah, use blender.
You can get maya and various other autodesk apps free for 13 months (it almost sounds like you can use them forever because in less than 12 months there will be another version with a free trial), I feel its better to use industry standard software if you can.
When I was around 12 I actually got a trial of 3DSMax! I had no idea what I was doing but I somehow knew this is how they created models for games : )
So yes, I toyed with it at the beginner of High School.