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[Anonymous No.664784]

Tell me what you wish you knew before you started doing 3D modeling?
Or the advice you wish someone gave you?

[Anonymous No.664788]

Stay away from Blender and begin learning with a high-end 3D suite.

[Anonymous No.664789]

dont worry about the little things like software wars and just finish your projects

[Anonymous No.664790]

On your own free time, go out of your way to find tutorials videos. Do them, do all of them. Only stop if it gets in the way of sleep, eat, family, work, health, or doesn't help you complete your current project. Your role for the next 3 years is to learn as much as you can and develop the ability to focus on one project for months if need be

Why I don't include friends. Because I hear too many kids blowing off work to party then bitch how they got no money and are seen unreliable. You need friends, just ones that at the least wont drag you down and keep you there. Same goes for family. Also my family wasn't shit.

Just upgraded to a faster rig. Got Maya 2018 to work was on 2013. I now have to learn Arnold.

>>Hey Arnold! Ready to be my bitch?

[Anonymous No.664794]

>>664790
Something stopping you from running Maya 2019? I heard it improves rigging performance by a lot.

[Anonymous No.664795]

>>664794
*rigs performance

[Anonymous No.664800]

>>664794
The reason why I never upgrade to the latest operating system or program scene 1995 is so the rest of the normies can be the guinea pigs to bug test it and pull out there own hair out.

I'm not smart enough to pioneer in this field. But I will sit back and learn from everyone else mistakes.

[Anonymous No.664804]

>>664784
>git gud
best advice I ever got

[Anonymous No.664809]

>>664784
>Tell me what you wish you knew before you started doing 3D modeling?
I wish I knew how to model beforehand so I didn't have to learn

[Anonymous No.664813]

Watch some damned tutorials instead of trying to figure shit out yourself.
Wasted a pretty good amount of time myself bumbling around programs and going "woow, is veyr cool!!1" when I should have been watching a billion 12h tutorial series right from the start.

[Anonymous No.664824]

>>664784
Watch all these videos starting at "The polygon" before I chose any 3D program or even started. They explain many 3d concepts in very simple terms that most other tutorials take like multipart or confusing ways.
https://vimeo.com/user904568

START SIMPLE.
Seriously, begin with simple lowpoly static props. Get a used to the basics like modelling and UV unwrapping. Then after a few models move onto simplerigging and so on. The biggest mistake I ever made was trying to dive first into character modelling and hard surface guns. Wasted so much time doing everything wrong and had to start over and over.
HAVE PATIENCE.
3D is a long term commitment and is akin to learning multiple skills at once. Modelling, topology, UV unwrapping, smoothing, materials, subdivision, rigging and so on. You can be good at one thing but suck at the other and grind to a halt. Like I said before start simple so you are not overwhelmed.

[Anonymous No.664833]

If you do 3d as a hobby, it will take all of your time.
But if you work in the 3d industry, you won't have a hobby anymore. Your hobby will be like a chore after some years. If you didn't have another hobby (like me), you'll be left with nothing on your spare time because everything will remind you of your job.

[Anonymous No.664908]

>>664784
"/3/'s going to deteriorate into unusability in the next few years, don't get attached."

[Anonymous No.664913]

>>664784
If you want to be an animator, you need to make sure you focus on animating. Don't go back and tweak all the maps on your models. Don't go crazy making perfect shot composition and rendering. Animation is a completely separate discipline from anything else out there and the skills just don't transfer the way they do between e.g. drawing and sculpting.

[Anonymous No.664914]

>>664794
Never upgrade until at least the .1 releases. Most plugins aren't even updated anyway (Redshift, Renderman etc) so you can't really switch to it unless you only use 100% vanilla Maya like a cretin.

[Anonymous No.664929]

>>664913
Shit, thank God I saw this post.
I'm getting into /3/ just for animation but tought I might as well hit two birds with one stone and get good a 3D modeling since it's also in the course.
But a question tough. Is your advice still valid if I want to learn modeling just for video game assets. So nothing overly detailed and complicated really.

[Anonymous No.664968]

>>664929
Go ahead and learn whatever you find interesting. The point is that essentially none of it transfers to animation, so it won't help you become a better animator.

[Anonymous No.664970]

>>664784
Understanding that non-uniform transforms in Max do wonky things to linked objects.

Don't render with particle effects when you have alpha-mapped assets in Max.

Understand the difference between local and world coordinates.

[Anonymous No.664982]

>>664968
Ow I know that but obviously being a no-dev brainlet, I'm a one man team trying to make a 3D game. I don't give a fuck if it's an unrealistic goal but since I'm interested in all aspect of game deving, I'd rather avoid practicing too much on a field that would comepte too much with programming (wich is my main skill).

I know modeling and animation are massive time eaters so I'm trying to figure out wich one to take as a secondary skill so I can realisticlly at leat make a prototype game in two or three years.

[Anonymous No.664987]

>>664982
Your story now sounds pretty different than "getting into /3/ just for animation." Let's start this again. There are a few clusters of skills. Modeling, sculpting, and texturing. Lighting, lookdev, coloring. Rigging and programming. But animation is its own thing. The overlap with any other set of skills is minimal. One of the best animators I know is simple minded, can barely sculpt a human body, and allergic to even the most minor scripting, but his intuition for physics and mechanics is simply unfair.

[Anonymous No.664989]

>>664987
I don't know why but I feel that way too. Except I'm not allergic to anything really.
But it's way way way too soon to compare myself to even a shitty animator since I'm not even at that part yet. But since I started this course, I kind of try to separate key by key different animations in my mind and I see them clearly. I just hope I'll be able to translate that to reality.
But in the end, all I really want is to realistically know enough so I can make the maximum amount of assets on my own. I don't know why I'm like that, but i'd rather keep the amount of parteners to a minimum.

I'll just continue that course and see for myself tough.

[Anonymous No.664992]

>>664914
>unless you only use 100% vanilla Maya like a cretin.
r-rude

[Anonymous No.664994]

>>664784
being an artist has nothing to do with mastering software

[Anonymous No.664998]

>>664994
Yes, for a postmodern 3D artist, that is true.

[Anonymous No.665001]

>>664992
How do you live like this? Do you even set custom hotkeys? You're missing half the value of Maya if you don't mold it to your specific needs and workflow.

[Anonymous No.665002]

>>665001
sure I hotkey things but it's still vanilla
and every plugin I'd like to use is either garbage that crashes maya or requires hefty amount of dosh to use

[Anonymous No.665039]

>>664914
>Never upgrade until at least the .1 releases. Most plugins aren't even updated anyway (Redshift, Renderman etc) so you can't really switch to it

based and upgradepilled

[Anonymous No.665143]

Treat everything like you would traditional art. Foundation, foundation, foundation. Topology, topology, TOP-FUCKING-OLOGY.

Every thing down the line fucking sucks if the topology sucks.

[Anonymous No.665145]

>>664784
don't get too attached to one software early on, make sure you get a feel for everything that's available

[Anonymous No.665147]

Wish I knew how incredibly much faster Blender is than Maya for modeling. Switching was a bit of a pain.

[Anonymous No.665150]

>>665147
Like how much?

[Anonymous No.665152]

>>665150
At least 150%, more than double if you get good.
Just not having to use the gizmo for every simple rotation and transform alone is huge, and you never have to scroll through long list menus (or nested pie menus).
I'm never going back to modeling in Maya (though I will use it for a couple of other things. Mainly rendering.)

[Anonymous No.665155]

>>665152
But all that could be avoided with shortcuts right?

[Anonymous No.665160]

>>664970
these are good, some more Max tips:

customize > user interface: set up your short cuts and use them, all of them. don't be the guy who after 3 years using max still uses the button in the bottom right to rotate the viewport.

Set default animation keys to lininer animation (small blue icon next to set key)

Use axis constraints in conjunction with snapping

Select similar and modify selection > similar are godsends, use them

graph editor > curve editor for any animation tasks will make life easy.

selection tools: selection sets, selection filter select and place, window / crossing. google search one and use them frequently.

layering; dont be OTT just use it for separating things, treat them like layers or groups in PS. useful for material override exclusions, hiding walls and such (see also hide by category) while you work on something else

click on your viewport and press x, you and type something in here if you know the name but not where to find it

Don't be a tool, use the slate material editor

want to mirror your object? mirror = symmetry

lighting round, google these tools and use them:
light lister
spacing tool
array
link constraints (and wire parameters)
FFD (2,3,4)
bend
noise
meterialbyelement
sweep
shell
slice

[Anonymous No.665167]

>>665152
Lol you wont even know what happened while im switching through my components with my right mouse button. *click BZANG* Is that how fast blender is?

[Anonymous No.665175]

>>665167
Most Blender users don't know anything about the marking menus. And so they believe Blender is faster. Pity.

[Anonymous No.665215]

>>665155
Nope.

>>665167
>>665175
Funny

Try Blender some day, guys. You might actually learn something.

[Anonymous No.665225]

>>665215
>>665175
>>665167
Software wars are lame. Who cares

[Anonymous No.665230]

>>665215
I started in 3D with Blender. But now I'm hired for being able to efficiently produce assets, and Blender is *not* an option. If you think Blender is better for modeling than 3ds, you are missing on a lot.

[Anonymous No.665248]

>>665225
>who cares

People who feel insecure because they worry the grass might be greener in another package.
These kind of individuals have always existed and it crops up everywhere in society, car ownership, sports fandom, etc.

In 3D it's been around but it was much more rare back when it used to be NewTek vs Kinetix vs Alias Wavefront.
Nowadays you get this a lot esp around the blender crowd prob, just as a sad side effect of the fact that package is free and entry point for a lot of newcomers.

The insecurity that follows from spending ones limited time on the planet perhaps learning something sub-par is what makes the anxious people among the blendpots lash out.
On the other side of this you have the people who shell out large sums of money on proprietary software who feel compelled to ensure themselves that 'Ferrari is stronger than Lamborghini'.

Basically it's the type of people who measures the girth of their peen by the perceived capability of the equipment they possess rather than by what they themselves can accomplish with any equipment that causes this.

[Anonymous No.665302]

>>665230
.t tried Blender for a day or two, thought it was "confusing" and gave up without actually learning how to use it.

[Anonymous No.665303]

>>665248
It's the mayafags who are absolutely seething 24/7 (you included), though?
Seems to me it's more a case of feeling like you "wasted" many years and lots of money going to college to learn Maya, and then seeing poor, underage blendlets outperforming you for free.
You shouldn't be so bitter about it. Just pick up Blender yourself. It really does make your workflow a lot faster once you learn the very few hotkeys you actually need.

[Anonymous No.665310]

>>664784

1) Anatomy
2) understanding basic modelling shapes edges vertices
3) Zbrush

[Anonymous No.665314]

>>665303
I have no stake in whatever software someone is using to create their content.
The idea to be part of a brand cult is what offends me regardless of what that brand is.

One doesn't spend years learning blender or maya.
What takes time is to learn spatial thinking and pushing groups of polygons and how to think about light interactions and shading, that knowledge carries over into any suite you decide to operate.
The underlying foundation for all these packages we use are the same since they hail from the very same scientific papers on the wider topic that we all study; the field of 'computer graphics'.
If some tool arrives that have aspects that are truly next level for something you need in your art you can transition from one package to another fairly easily.

There is never a good reason to have a fanboi relationship towards any piece of software or equipment you're using.
How fucking insecure must you be if you find yourself highly vested and opinionated about what hammer a carpenter across the road prefer to use?
You attention should be diverted from such noise and focused on wielding whatever tool you're using skillfully.

[Anonymous No.665318]

>>664784
>Or the advice you wish someone gave you?
"Don't do it. Go be a plumber or electircian instead"

[Anonymous No.665356]

>>665302
It was months. Blender is easy despite what their users like to believe.

[Anonymous No.665457]

>>665356
>>665314
>Blender is easy to learn
Of course it fucking is. The question is why you Autocucks struggle so much with it, to the point where 2.8 is becoming a brainlet abomination just to cater to your objectively slower UI standards?
The only people who ever complain about Blender being "hard" or "alien" are you guys. I know both Maya and Blender, and Blender is a hell of a lot neater and tidier. It's just different.
That's why I assume most of you must be bitter students - because you seem uttelry incapable of learning something on your own. Seems like you were introduced to Maya in college, and never sought out any knowledge on your own.

[Anonymous No.665470]

>>665457
>slower UI
>no one uses Blender where efficiency matters
lol.

[Anonymous No.665471]

>>665470
Except that's exactly why people are using Blender, Anon.
Blender is ridiculously much more efficient to work with than Maya.

[Anonymous No.665472]

Why does every thread slowly turn into software debate and circle jerk, can't you guys just give it a rest for a bit. think of it as a New year's resolution "I won't try and convince somebody to use a software for an entire month"

[Anonymous No.665473]

>>665472
All right, I'll do that.
If you convert to Blender first.

[Anonymous No.665513]

>>665472
Okay, I'll also do that. But only if you convert this dude >>665473 to Maya first.

[Anonymous No.665537]

>>665513
Jokes on you, I already use Maya (because I'm forced to).
It is outdated fucking trash, though.

[Anonymous No.665539]

>>665537
>because I'm forced to
>It is outdated fucking trash, though.
In that case, your task is to convince your employer/client to use Blender.

[Anonymous No.665586]

>>665539
Holy fuck man stop taking the bait

[Anonymous No.668089]

>>664788
>>664789

WHICH ONE IS RIGHT WHAT THE FUCK

[Anonymous No.668115]

>>665537
Blender still can't compete with Maya when it comes to rigging and animation. Not even in things like UV mapping or surfacing.

[Anonymous No.668123]

>>668115
And Blender cannot compete against, say, Modo, as a modeler. Nor against ZBrush for sculpting, or Mari for texturing. So what can Blender really compete against?

[Anonymous No.668135]

>>668123
Wins against all of them in donut production per capita

[Anonymous No.668138]

>>668123
Not a fanboy but lets put things into perspective and be fair.
Blender beats Modo when it comes to rigging and animation.
Blender beats Cinema4d when it comes to modelling (probably UV mapping too).

[Anonymous No.668182]

>>668138
>Blender beats Modo when it comes to rigging and animation.
But it doesn't beat Maya at that.

>Blender beats Cinema4d when it comes to modelling (probably UV mapping too).
But it doesn't beat Modo or 3ds Max at that.

>>668135
>Wins against all of them in donut production per capita
Nope, not even in donut modeling can Blender beat its competition. Houdini is the true leader: https://vimeo.com/279945549

[Anonymous No.668215]

>>668182
no argument from me, you are right.
But based on that you can create a ranking.
What does interests me is the question: Is Modo better than Max when it comes to pure modelling?

[Anonymous No.671036]

gd thread

[Anonymous No.671354]

>>664784
- you actually learn anything valuable only when going through 30+ hrs tutorials that cover every detail and fundamental concept
- 3ds max is fucking garbage
- box modeling, sculpting and texturing are low effort monkey jobs, should've go rigging right away

[Anonymous No.671355]

>>668215
not him, but of course it is
modo-fags use this program only because of really fast low-mid poly modeling for real time
don't bother with subdiv tho, modo is allergic to millions of polys

[Anonymous No.671368]

>>671355
I am a generalist who knows and uses Blender, Maya, C4d and a little-bit of Houdini.
I do my poly modeling either in Blender or Maya.
Is it worth learning Modo just for really fast low-mid poly modelling when i am already pretty fast with Blender?
I like the aesthetics of Modo's UI but find the program itself strangely un-intuitive.
Modo is undeniably a very good modeller, but totally ignored in the industry. I wonder if i should rather learn some 3DsMax (which i also dislike) because of the industry demands or should just stick with Blender and Maya.

[Anonymous No.671388]

>>671368
Personally, I find modeling in Modo faster than in Blender. The workplane, action centers, snapping modes, and falloffs are a great help. My experience with subdiv modeling is also better, as switching between the cage and subdiv'd mesh, which I do a lot, is just a keypress. It feels snappy, but I haven't gone into large polycounts, so be aware of what >>671355 mentions. UV tools are good, better than Blender's, too. However I haven't used Modo much for anything besides modeling, as all my surfacing and rendering I do elsewhere.

There are some issues with the viewport that annoy me, mostly having to do with transparency/ghosted shading, and a ridiculous one that makes the gizmo's size somehow proportional to (extreme) zoom levels, but for me, the benefits in modeling outweigh those.

[Anonymous No.671397]

>>671368
modo isn't ignored, it's just really niche. idsoft and machinegames (hi tor flick) used modo for production, many freelancers for triple-a projects use modo too (russian outsource for cod infinity warfare, pubg and fortnite contractors) some madmen even render promotion materials with it (singleplayer gwent launch cinematic)

but be aware: if you are not really to get your hands dirty and build your very personal key and custom menu layouts - don't even bother. biggest strength of modo is how flexible the UI is. it doesn't have kraut space magic or whatever that will do the job for you, it's just really cozy.

in my case I got used to modo in a month, then customized pretty much every button and menu i use more than once per hour.

i wouldn't recommend 3ds max, it's totally dead as a product. in fact, i'd suggest to stay on blender and don't even bother with modo too. if you are already fine with blender, why bother? the only thing modo has over other packages technologically wise is round edge shared and blender has it too. i plan to switch to blender myself, but in future. i'll give it at least 2-4 more years and i think it's good to go. modo is a great product at the moment, but i don't see the good future for it. foundry is a shit company that doesn't deserve modo and doesn't care about feedback.

[Anonymous No.671416]

>>671397
really niche sounds like it gets ignored mostly.
I saw one guy at Cloud Imperium Games modeling spaceships with Modo and Fusion.
Besides some dudes at ILM, ID and machine games I've never saw it anywhere.

I customized the shit out of my Blender with tons of plugins, and if Blender fails me i just use Maya (High poly SubD).
I've heard that the procedural modelling is bretty gud in Modo, but the UI for that is shit.
One month doesn't sound to bad, i can do that, but you are probably right. I want to optimize my workflow, but there isn't really a need since i get shit done anyways and i am really really fast with Blender, almost at the level of Tor Frick. HardOps, Boxcutter and Meshmachine is the shit.
I really dislike Max, its a piece of shit, but i respect its abilities, but since I've already know Maya and Blender....
>foundry is a shit company that doesn't deserve Modo
and Mari, and Nuke, and Katana
Fuck them, i am proud to pirate their shit

Thanks for you input, I've made my decision

[Anonymous No.671418]

>>671416
continued
>>671388
There is some dude (ex-modo guy) who makes an addon which is supposed to bring the workplane, action centers and falloffs to Blender. Will cost money though.
Blender's UV tools are absolute shit, with the TexTools plugin it becomes somewhat bearable (and almost better than C4d) so that's the reason why i use Maya for unwrapping unless its easy stuff i can do in Blender.
Rendering is bad in Modo, even tough there is VRay. Besides modelling there doesn't seem to be a reason to use Modo at all.