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Multi-Media / CGI Training
- Review |
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| 3D Total DVD Training - 3ds Max Series: v2 |
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| By: 3D Total |
| Info: Creating a fighter ship in 3ds Max & Photoshop. |
| Format: DVD. |
| Content: 8 1/2 hours of tutorial footage plus all required resource
material. |
| Price: £29.00 |
| Review sample provided by 3D
Total |
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Displaying Reviews: 1 - 1
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Quite simply, this package gives you everything.
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Reviewer
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Reviewed by Antar (info@totalmodel.com) October 19, 2005
I first stepped into the world of computer generated model making about 7 years ago when I made a tank "mod" for a popular game of the time. My initial interest in the industry was kindled decades earlier when I first heard about "The Last Star Fighter" - the film regarded by many as the first to employ true CGI techniques. It wasn't until many years later when a giant Brachiosaurus lumbered across the screen in Jurassic Park that the world suddenly sat up and began to take notice.
Today, CGI is everywhere - from movies to commercials, architectural visualisations and web designs. The TotalModel.com website itself is littered with 3D models. Even the famous TM "sprue" logo is CGI.
I continue to produce such artwork on an almost daily basis for a variety of applications, including models for games and simulators. I use many tools but perhaps the most important is 3DS MAX. The software (now in its 8th incarnation) has become one of the cornerstones of the industry and is used by artists and animators to deliver many of the CGI hi-lights you see on the screen - both large and small - today.
I've been using MAX and other tools for years. Unfortunately, like a great many people who also cut their teeth in the computer game mod fraternity, I've never had any formal training. As a result, although I now consider myself a able 3D model maker, my work flow is a little unconventional. Much of my expertise has been gleaned from the Internet where dedicated CGI forums and portals abound. One of the sites I visit regularly is 3DTotal. Over the years they have amassed a rich collection of online tutorials and guides - which I dip into at regular intervals. Recently they also began to produce full-length training DVDs. The "3DS MAX Series: v2" package is the second in the series.
The DVD demonstrates how to construct, map and animate a futuristic space fighter. To say that this guide is comprehensive is an understatement. 3DTotal have managed to cram almost 4 gigabytes of data on to a single disc! This includes 500mb of resource material, including a finished mesh of the ship, maps (in both .JPG and .PSD formats) plus a bunch of useful MAX tools and plugins.
The rest of the data is made up entirely of video footage. There are a whopping 8 1/2 hours of high resolution movies to watch covering each and every aspect of the creative process. Thankfully, you don't have to watch it all in one go! The footage has been edited into 63 bite-sized chapters, accessed via a neat HTML interface, each focussing on a specific procedure or technique. The tutorials last approximately 10 minutes - which is just right. This ensures each is long enough to deliver a sound understanding of a particular process - but not too long to become dry or laborious.
The entire DVD is presented by Richard Tilbury (BA Hons, MA) an experienced 3D artist who has worked on many award-winning projects. Richard's presentation technique is both simple and effective. This is due largely to the fact that his style is very personable. I have viewed many video tutorials in the past and the great majority sound as if they are being presented by some kind of automaton, incapable of any emotive nuances. Richard's technique, on the other hand, is entirely human! He delivers each guide, step-by-careful-step - from the initial concept drawings to the final animated space ship - whilst maintaining a measured, fuss-free, approach all the way. This ensures the entire series of tutorials is extremely palatable and easy to absorb.
There are a total of 36 chapters dedicated to building the fighter. The guides demonstrate an array of tools from the MAX arsenal - from simple box modelling techniques to the use of modifiers. Richard also introduces spline modelling, smoothing groups and explains how to link objects into a hierarchy for animation. Experienced users will be familiar with most of these methods already but what I found particularly helpful was watching Richard's workflow. His approach to the creation of solids, in particular, is extremely efficient. In the past I would have laboured to build some of the more complex examples in his tutorials. Not any more. He often achieves such speedy results by employing basic transformation techniques at the sub-object level and making good use of an array of simple edit poly tools, many of which - I will confess - I have often overlooked.
The section on materials and mapping is excellent. Over a course of 12 tutorials, Richard delivers almost chapter and verse on the entire process. He begins by assigning material groups to the mesh and then goes on to map large areas of the ship. The mapping of smaller, more complex shapes, follows soon after. His guide to unwrapping is, at times, positively revelatory! As an un-tutored modeller I have often stumbled through this process - ultimately achieving the required results but not before tying myself in knots first! Again, Richard demonstrates how, with carefully planning and application, all aspects of mapping can be achieved in a few simple steps.
For me, watching some of these chapters was like watching the sun come up over a distant horizon!
Which just leaves 15 chapters, all of which concern texturing. Here Richard jumps into Photoshop mode as he unfolds the procedure of transforming a blank map into a weather-worn, dirt-encrusted texture. He begins by exporting a wireframe map via Texporter - a MAX plugin which is included in the package. He then builds up the different layers, using the wireframe as a guide, adding scratches, blemishes and all manner of muck along the way. Ruchard uses several chapters to explore the creation and application of blend materials. He also explains how to make bump, specular and reflection maps along the way.
I've watched and read many CGI tutorials in the past and all of them - without a doubt - have left me with unanswered questions. Often, the artists who produce such guides provide just enough information to cover the basics. This is either because they don't have enough time/space or perhaps because they just don't want to give away too many secrets! Either way, the material contained in this DVD is a world away from the usual run-of-the-mill tutorials. Quite simply, this package gives you everything. Not only is each guide thorough but also intuitive - ensuring that once the narrative enters one ear it doesn't drift straight out the other! This is thanks largely to Richard Tilbury whose simple but informative delivery makes watching the chapters a truly rewarding experience. This is a demonstration - not a lecture.
As with all kinds of modelling, everyone has a slightly different approach to the task at hand. Whenever you need to refresh your memory about a specific procedure you can simply pluck out individual chapters at your leisure. This makes the DVD an excellent source of reference material. This package covers so many techniques that users - of all levels - are almost guaranteed to discover new methods and practices. Wether you're a designer, mod maker or hobbyist, the scope of 3D modelling is so vast that you can never stop learning which is why a collection of tutorials as comprehensive and as proficient as this is an absolute treasure trove of informaton.
Grab it with both hands.
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50
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people found this review helpful
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