I want to get my feet wet in this game developing industry, my parents think its a joke because they think its not practical(my dads a lawyer). Im a VERY good artist and im very creative. So I first tried downloading various versions of milkshape, but I cant run them properly (ive posted Q''s but no one could answer them) so my next option, I figure, is to go out and buy some kind of 3d modeling software, like 3dsmax, I dont have a lot of money and still dont know if this buisness is right for me, I want to think it is, so im not willing to shell out 150$+. So what do you guys have for advice for me? by the way I got a 4.0 this year in toughass h.s. classes. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

I''m 15 also, and I''m an artist as well as a coder(programmer for those of you who think there is a difference), and one program that is decent is blender, it''s free, and although some people think the interface sucks, I don''t think it is that bad. You can get it at blender3d.com.

Anim8or (http://www.anim8or.com) is a another possibility, though I haven't messed with it much.

Jacob


[edited by - jacobhart on July 31, 2002 12:15:11 AM]

Hello,

Well you''re young but you have potential. I was lucky enough to find out that I''m good at modeling because my school has 3D Studio Max 4.0 and we''ll probably be getting 3D Studio Max 5.0. I would definitely suggest not buying this program because it cost $3000, which is mainly known for game development. If you really want to use it, find a multimedia company in your town and try to get an internship there to find out if you like modeling or not. Currently I''m interning at a company and working on their marketing intranet but during my break time, I go to the media department and use Maya 3.5. To practice modeling, get GMax from http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/, which is free. I haven''t successfully found a way to load the .gmax file it makes into a game but it isn''t impossible, you just need to know how the format is stored. Got to www.sourceforge.com to find some other free modelers. However if you are interested in commercials and modeling cars for car companies then Maya 4.5 is for you, which will set you back $2000. Maya is a resource hog and needs some serious CPU power and so is 3dsMax. On one animation I worked on at school, it would have taken 37 days to render 30sec with one computer. Then again we had old, outdated computers. When it comes to rendering, it''s all about the power of your CPU and video card. Since I am planning to buy Maya 4.5 I’m probably going to buy a $800+ video card and use a dual processor motherboard to render because I don’t have a rendering farm like high-end multimedia companies have. I would advice not getting any powerful workstation until you know you can make money from modeling. There are many other modeling programs out there but you''re more interested with game development so I won''t bore you. I''m 17 and I''ve been modeling for 3 years and it has been a long road to get at a level that is really good. A lot of patience and a sandwich nearby have gotten me through these hard times. Good luck finding out if you like modeling and take your time. Check out www.3dcafe.com form some tutorials.

-Bob Urbe-

also 3dlinks.com is another good resource.

about maya, get the learning edition, its free even thought it splashes a large watermark on renders. do this if you have a decent comp(1ghz+,gforce2+,lots or ram and hardisk space,winxp or win2000). even softimage has a learning edition that you can order(its free i think except s&h)

3d Canvas - very nice interface - a bit slow but easy to use.
Made in vb i believe, can save in .x format. Freeware - but lots of functions are turned off until u enter reg key to make it 3d Canvas Pro.