For all those with a lustin' for 3D...

[Gan]

http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/maxon-cinema-4d/create-a-jumping-lamp-animation-in-c4d-day-1/

That's a beginner to intermediate tutorial to build an animated lamp in Cinema 4D.
Here is the Cinema 4D demo: http://www.maxon.net/en/downloads/demo-version/demoform-nl-add/choose/cinema-4d-demos.html

You have 48 days of unlimited awesomeness. Go for it!
I'm certainly gonna try.


-Gan

[Connors]

Cool Gan! It's late now but I'll be sure to check it out.

[Gan]

For those without $3000 in pocket change to buy Cinema 4D.... and hate demos...

There is Blender. An incredibly powerful 3D program, just as powerful as Cinema. Plus it's free.
Here are a page of tutorials covering the basics of every general part of making 3D greatness:
http://www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/

I'm gonna focus on making realistic looking models and animating them.


-Gan

[j]

StrataVision 3D (the program used for the original Myst) now has a 99¢ version:

http://www.strata.com/products/strata_design_3d_se/

There's also a great Mac-native program called Cheetah 3D, which is only $99. Not as cheap as Strata, but still pretty cheap compared to Cinema4D and Maya. I'm particularly impressed with it's interface design compared to most 3D programs.

http://www.cheetah3d.com/

[Gan]

StrataVision 3D (the program used for the original Myst) now has a 99¢ version

You serious? 99c? Nearly 1 dollar?
Edit: Just checked out the site. The 99c version is missing some useful features.


-Gan

[Silverwind]

Scandalous rogues!

[Gan]

Hey guys I just found out...
AutoCad is comin to Mac and best of all...

It's free for students!

Seriously for those who don't know all of AutoCad's stuff is amazing, professional, and worth a mini fortune. For those with macs and pcs, I suggest downloading and trying out all that looks interesting.

I'm going to try and install windows on Boot Disk so I can check out AutoDesk 3ds Max.

http://designreform.net/2008/11/3ds-max-intro-to-animation/

Did you guys see how easy it was to make an animated movie?
This is gonna be awesome! I learned AutoCad in school years ago, it's easier than any other 3D program I tried.
In fact here are some old creations I made in AutoCad:






Things can be made incredibly fast. Learning curve is small. I used AutoDesk Inventor to make all of the above creations but I'm gonna try AutoDesk 3ds Max 2011 to model and animate. It'd be pretty cool to make an actual mini movie or models I could use in a game...


-Gan
P.S. Looks like AutoDesk Maya works for Mac and is free via student license and does everything needed so I think I'm gonna try that.

[Silverwind]

Wow, awesome art there Gan! I'm no good at 3D stuff.

[Gan]

Wow, awesome art there Gan! I'm no good at 3D stuff.

Me neither.

So I downloaded Maya yesterday(student free, full version) and played around with it. I didn't follow any tutorials and had no experience, I just started exploring and clicking random things...
I came up with...

The Furry Pyramid

I suggest you guys check it out, it's a lot of fun. Silver, I bet with your artistry you could easily make your art from 2D to 3D.


-Gan

[WarHampster]

Not to burst your bubble, but 3d modeling actually has a huge learning curve... don't expect to be making character models in a week.

[Gan]

I dunno, it seems pretty easy...

You guys should seriously give it a try. Best 3D software I've ever used.


-Gan

[j]

As I understand it, the free version has watermarks, so how did you output that furry pyramid without one? When/where does the watermark show up otherwise?

I'm curious cause I'd hate to warm up to and come to rely on a program I'd have to pay $395 for to remove watermarks.

[Gan]

I got the free student version. Go on the autocad site, look for student downloading, make an account, and then download all the free stuff your heart desires.

I got the full version of AutoDesk Maya for Mac 2011 free because I'm a student.

Student site: http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=m_home


-Gan
P.S. I watched a bunch of tutorials and now know how to navigate through the program. It's interface is incredibly intuitive. Here's an animated ball I made really quickly:
Red Animated Ball

[Silverwind]

Here's an animated ball I made really quickly:
Red Animated Ball

Woh! I love the way areas become less transparent as the ball's mass is condensed.