I cant help you with character design but I can point out this freeware package that deals in 3D landscapes and Scenery. Its also possible to animate with it.

Terragen

You could also try using Milkshape to create Characters, visit the modelling section, Im sure you can find out about it there.

Good luck in your search.

Thank you, Freedom 9. I'll be sure to check it out...Yup, I guess this is a difficult topic...Scream if you think of something else. In the meantime, guess I'll see what I can find.

Tuks

There's some open source imaging software called The Gimp, but it is more like "Photoshop" than something like "3D Studio Max". It might be worth checking out though.

Ive found that Valve's Worldcraft 3 Modelling utility holds invalubale knowledge on environmental 3D modelling

For creating characters... if you don't have money...

GMAX. There isn't anything else that's even close (for free). Don't waste time on lesser tools- start with what professionals use.

www.discreet.com/gmax

And go pay for a license for Milkshape (www.milkshape3d.com) so that you can import/export your meshes to a variety of game formats. There is a Quake 3 export plugin for Gmax... go get it, and then you can create things with Gmax and export them to a huge number of file formats.

Now, do I use Gmax?

Nope. I use Rhino3D, which can be bought for cheap if you qualify for a student discount... it's probably the best NURBs modeller on the planet, in terms of sheer ease of use and control- I learned the basics in a week, and became proficient in 6 months. No IK, very crude animation tools, and so-so rendering environments... but it's a professional-grade modeling app. I'd use Gmax over anything else that's free, if I was doing a lot of IK work, though... and paying for a license for Milkshape (<$50) is no big deal, even if you're poor

Ok guys

Thanx for all your input. I think I'll try GMAX for now...wish me luck! If any of you do 3d modelling/animation or whatever and you got some advice...I'm new at this, so I can use whatever advice I get.

Again, thanx a lot for your help!

Tuks

I think that the main advice I'd give is this: keep it simple. Once you've mastered the basics (lathes, extrusions, pathed extrustions, and really simple lofting)... everything past that gets pretty tricky, and it will take time to get any good. Start off with very simple projects... that will show you how to do some of the most difficult things. And don't neglect to do a lot of reading about the theory behind the applications- knowing what a surface normal is and how it works, for example, is very useful, even if it seems hopelessly esoteric at first.

If you're wanting to learn organic modeling, I suggest trying to model an apple. It's cheap to go get a scale model you can stare at, and you can eat a snack when you're done Apples are actually surprisingly difficult to model, because of their complex curvature, where the bumps on the bottom are, and will teach you a great deal about the technical challenges of organic modeling. If you learn how to do an apple, then modeling something really complicated, like a human head, becomes much more possible. But don't expect to do lifelike heads right off the bat- you'll just get frustrated.

If you're wanting to model mechanical things... I suggest trying to model a ship (y'know, the ocean-going kind) as your first project. Ships have lots of conveniently flat surfaces and simple shapes piled on top of each other, and you can have a lot of fun learning how to make greebles (the small details that make a thing believable). Work from a photo, or better yet a 3-view or 4-view drawing (such things can be found all over the Internet). Try for maximum accuracy- building fantasy ships is easy... building one that is like a real thing is not!

If you have a specific goal in mind... then you're going to need to practice for awhile before you can reach it. I often see people, when they're just starting out, build things that look really cool... but have 100,000 polygons, when they could've modeled them efficiently with 20,000. That's the difference between a neophyte and a master- understanding enough about the limitations of rendering engines (whether real-time, for games or other multimedia, or raytracers) to do a good job, fast, without wasting any polygons. Many people take over a year to get really good with 3D software... so don't be surprised if your first efforts make you wince later... it's happened to all of us

Texture-mapping (skinning) is a whole 'nother subset of skills, and requires some specialized tools and some practice to get any good. But if you can't build geometry, then there's no point being able to skin- understanding one is key to understanding the other. But a good skin can make even the crappiest models look surprisingly good.

Argh

Thank you for your advice. Did my 1st gmax tutorial the other day. Simple object, great fun! Yea, I'll take it slow, play around and then start with more complex object. It really feels great 2 do 3d graphics design...What type of objects do you like to model?

I'll try to follow your advice closely.

Tuks

Hello! Tuks
Did you get a copy of GMAX
If not you can download GMAX 1.2 a free 3D modeling and animation tool from Discreet right here at TLR...

Baked

Thanx a lot..yea i got gmax, but if i ever loose it...btw do you do 3d graphics?

Tuks

gmax is great, i use it.
i made some models with it, my best being this
it's a mulitplayer map for Halo CE

Great graphics WD! I've stopped with the 3d for now 'cause I'm studying for exams, but I'll take it up again afterwards. I managed my first 3d graphics object! Then I will finish all the tutorials.

Yo dont get much freeware for that...


if you want to do it you gota have



3dsMax
4 5 6 or 7

i have 6 and 7 and they are really good at that stuff

sub

Let the chunks FLY!!
-Me(on UT2k4)





Edited by - Jabez on 1/1/2005 11:03:09 AM

Jabez... no offense, but you're talking about piracy... which is illegal, and you shouldn't be talking about that on a public Forum, period...

Lots of people and robots read these things, y'know?