Seeking 3D Education
polycounter lvl 7
Hey everybody,
I'll get straight into it. I'm 16, I've been doing 3D for nearly a year now, starting from Blender, to Maya, and now, 3Ds Max. I'm seeking professional tutorials on creating high quality 3d models, this also includes Texturing and UV Mapping... And no, it's not because I want to create a game, >_> . So far I've grown to like Digital Tutors a lot, I've learned a lot through their free tutorials, however, I think it's high time that I start creating good quality assets that I can display on my portfolio AND that I can start to sell these models on websites such as 3DEXPORT.
Long story short, I need money, specifically, $29. If anybody can advise me on ways of making $29 fast, that would be great. Currently, I'm in no position to get a job. I feel that the sooner I can buy a Digital Tutors membership plan, the faster I can get my 3d skills up to par, the faster I can start to develope my own portfolio.
I'm not half bad at modelling assets in 3Ds Max, but 'half bad' isn't going to be enough. I need to learn a lot about texturing, (UV's, baking, etc.).
If anybody can inform me on making a small amount of fast money online, that would be very helpful.
Thanks! 
Replies
There are free or 5$ dollar ressources on gumroad far better then digital tutors stuff and you will find a ton of links to free stuff if you research the forums.
As for the 29$ dollars there's always mowing lawns, baby sitting, car washes, giving out flyers or some shit, selling some video games, comics.
There's no way to make quick bucks on the internet...or in life in general, unless you are a scam artist I guess.
A hat and a guitar maybe?
About you saying "selling some video games", thats actually a pretty good idea, I have a heap of spare games lying around, I should look into selling those.
Secondly, could you elaborate on how you said "There are free or 5$ dollar ressources on gumroad far better then digital tutors stuff and you will find a ton of links to free stuff if you research the forums.". I've taken a look at Gumroad, but it seems to me it's a site for selling products? How can that help me? Also, I'm pretty stumped on what to search for in the forums. I don't exactly know what to search in which forums, is Polycount a good place for learning 3D? If you could help me out by giving me an example, if I could find GOOD tutorial materials in video form that could teach me on 3d concepts such as modeling, texturing on forums such as this, that would be awesome.
The reason why I prefer Digital Tutors over any random tutorial, is that they are professional. I know that what I'm learning, is atleast correct and consistent. If I want to be successful in selling good 3d models, I can't just follow a random tutorial some random bloke made on YouTube, this 'random bloke' could teach me incorrect things and miss out a lot of crucial knowledge.
Thanks again.
-sell recyclables (if your community buys pop/soda/beer cans/bottles)
-sell junk on craigslist/kijijji/ebay
-wash cars
-shovel snow
-babysit (if you don't look like a perv, maybe have an age cut-off, 7 yrs and older only)
-if you live in or near city: office temp
-if you have no shame, beg door-to-door (but obviously if you live in USA don't bang on doors or you might get shot from inside by some wacko gun-owner)
I have found it really helpful to look at the critique given to other people and learn from it as if the critique was given to you. In this way I have been able to learn and improve in lots of areas without having to actually touch a piece of software. In addition you can post your own work and get more specific critique on it if you wish. There are lots of resources on Polycount that can really help you learn and improve e.g. the wiki, threads, comments. Personally I think in terms of game art Polycount is the most useful free resource out there.
On a personal level I have not used many tutorials. I have got to where I am now (Getting an offer at a University for game art that has a 10% applicant acceptance rate) using Polycount to help me learn and doing the work myself to get the rest.
Personally I would use most Gumroad tutorials when you have got the knowledge of the software they are using and there are some really great Gumroad tutorials out there at low prices. Personally I do not think Digital tutors is worth it. I got a free month of it one time but I learned little and found it more productive to learn that stuff by myself. I would recommend picking up some select 3DMotive tutorials off Udemy when they are on sale as some of them can be useful if a bit simple.
Probably the least efficient way to make money ever devised but you can do it from your desk
The first thred you gave me, instructed me to visit the 3DS Max learning channel, it also instructed me to watch Arrimus. I do watch Arrimus, however it just seems I'm not good enough to follow his tutorials. It seems that his tutorials show how to create complex forms in 3ds max, I don't think I'm up for that yet. I know my way around 3Ds Max pretty well, but I'm not that much of a advanced modeler to follow his tutorials, atleast I don't think so.
Thanks for the Gumroad tutorials too, thats one hell of a list.
Finally, I do know the polycount wiki exists, but I generally use wiki's for specific insights on things, not for learning whole 3d concepts such as texturing.
Thanks!
Say you want to learn how to UV and model, start small and easy. Make a cylindrical metal barrel, find some reference online, and try to recreate it as best as possible and texture/UV completely by hand. Dont just rip a texture offline and apply to your model, create it in Gimp or Photoshop and play around with skinning the model in different ways. Once you have your textured model, try importing it into UE4 or another free engine and match the materials to your photo reference.
All methods to get you through each step of the way are online, but you might have to research each step. Without paying, there wont be any handhold type tutorials. If you can cough up 24/mo (or even just one month, and absorb as much info as possible, as that will get you unlimited access to 3D Motive temporarily), you can find a ton of great step by step asset creation tuts.
Goodluck! I was the same age when I started 3D modeling and really starting to build my portfolio/skillset. Don't give up because the entry curve to digital art is very steep, but the rewards and journey of slowly mastering the craft are pretty amazing
I just feel that I'm really inexerienced in making 3d art right now. I have a burning passion to make assets of both high and low poly, import them into a environment engine such as Unreal Engine 4 (Personal favourite) and show case these environments and assets on my portfolio as well as making some side money by selling 3d models.
I'm focusing on creating assets for PBR (Physically-Based-Rendering) environments but I feel that I'm very inexperienced with that.
I will defo check out 3DMotive on Udemy, thanks.
P.S: Hope you get accepted into your Uni, that would be a dream for me haha.
It's super interesting to hear that you got into 3D at around my age, and now you're landing jobs at indie gigs and AAA gigs?!.
I want to get asset creation down, I want a firm foundation on asset creation. I don't expect for me to be an advanced pro at UV mapping, texturing and modeling, but I want decent skills to get a start, after that, it's trial and error, see what works, see what I need to improve on. But I really want good tutorials that can help me get a good grip on these skills.
I know the learning curve is steep, but I made sure I was committed to this back when I was learning 3D in blender. I'm now pretty good in 3Ds max, but I feel that I'm simply so in-experienced at the same time, not in using the software, but 3d concepts. You're probably right, I should start small on making assets.
By the way, I'm a massive fan of handpainted textures, except I can't handpaint textures for s***. I figured, first let me get a good grasp of modeling, then, a good grasp of UV mapping, then comes the time where I learn how to hand paint textures and optimise textures that I can take off the internet...
I've hooked up a few pictures of a barrel that I've made, it's got a very simply texture onto it, not bump mapped or anything, just some basic texture slapped on. That's all I know how to do in terms of texturing and UV mapping. The barrel consists of a basic shape, that's why I excel at creating it, but I struggle with more complex forms, thats why I'm seeking out good tutorials in order to advance my capabilities. So if a client tells me make a hardsurface model of a rocket, I won't struggle and lose the opportunity.
It's relieving to know that there are people out there like you, willing to help out people like me. So far, I've gotten a very warm welcome from Polycount. Thanks again.
click "join now"
2.Enter your Hotmail/Live/Outlook/MS'sEmailServiceThatTheyKeepRenaming email and password
3.somewhere in the page that follows you should find something like "Pluralsight - 6 months subscription"
4.Click on activate it will take you to a page where you have to make a Pluralsight account,on the same page there will be a single 6 month subscription code already filled in its field,Do remember your plural sight password and username,write it down somewhere.
5.Login on Pluralsight.
6.Go to Digital Tutors website,click sign in,and then click "sign in using plural sight"
7.Enjoy your "premium" 6 month plural sight/DT subscription,thanks to MS's dubious altruism .
It baffles me why MS will give free stuff.
but the subscription is legit,and im following the "Introduction to 3ds Max 2015" now,and i dont like 3DS Max.No much hotkeys,i don't like clicking little icons
Also, thanks for the gun workflow vids, I'll check em out, see if I can pick up some helpful stuff from them.
And you're 100% right about how tuts are like pearls. I've realised that now.
It's good to know I'm free to PM you if I have any issues.
Thanks again!
Have fun learning MAX, you might not prefer it now, but you'll soon learn it's a really, really powerful tool.
Thanks.
Creating this forum topic was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Thanks a ton!
When I get my skills up to par, I'll be posting my art on Polycount. Just know, if it wasn't for you guys, I'd still probably be stuck.