If you go with Blender I'd start by going through the Basics on Blender Cookie. Just a quick glance at YouTube there seems to be tutorials for both TF2 and DOTA stuff in relation to Blender, but their quality may vary.
Thanks for all the reply guys, I think I will work with blender to start, then gradually move to maya or 3Ds Max as I progress. And I will be looking closely at the blender cookies site for the tutorials.
It doesn't matter which app you learn in the beginning. All the fundamentals will transfer over seamlessly if you decide to move to another app. I started in blender, moved to max, moved to maya, then back to blender for building DOTA items.
So I figured I would use youtube for the free tutorials, but I have a question or two. I am debating using blender to learn 3d modeling to (hopefully) publish to TF2 and Dota 2, but I am not sure if that is a decent program for it. I was also contemplating 3d-coat $99 version on steam, but I need to know it is worth the…
So basically get the educational version of Maya and learn off of it using tutorials for now, ignore 3d-coat, and when I am ready yo try and publish use blender since I am poor lol? Downloading the latest version of Maya now off of Autodesk.
Autodesk offers free software for educational uses, you can download 3ds Max or Maya directly from them after signing up with an email address http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=download_center 3ds Max and Maya are the most popular 3d apps in the games industry, so you would be able to find more tutorials, plug-ins, and…
The more familiar you are with a software, the faster you'll be able to do things in it. So if you plan to eventually publish via blender, then jump right in and use it right away :) Modeling skills and knowledge are universal. Once you have it you'll be able to apply it in any software. Just keep in mind that when you…
The only reason I suggested learning Max/Maya over blender is because there is a lot more, and a lot better tutorials focused on creating assests for game art, and there's also things like the Dota viewport shader http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110022 and tex tools http://www.renderhjs.net/textools/ and…