Video Training for Rookies?

[Kevin Thorp]

I've read a few postings about video training for rookies & thought it was worth a new thread. Here are my rambling thoughts:


3ds max training is sorely needed. As most of you know, it's much harder to find a 3D animation mentor than an engineering mentor. Most students just "wing it".
max has a very steep learning curve. Sure - it has excellent tutorials & help files, but who has the patience to slog through those resources?
Many teams start an AVA entry but get overwhelmed & miss the deadline. That's heartbreaking.

It would be easy to point a camcorder at a monitor & create a video-based tutorial, but the file size would be massive & the screen quality would be poor.

A better solution is computer-based training (a.k.a. e-learning or interactive courseware). You can get much higher screen quality & much smaller file sizes. There are a number of products available for creating e-learning courses (Captivate, STT Trainer, Firefly, etc.). Most are pretty simple to learn (especially compared to max!). The down side is they aren't free, but most have academic pricing and/or 30 day free trials. Can you create a course in 30 days? Can we sweet-talk one of these e-learning companies into donating a few copies of their software?

To create a quality 3ds max training package would be a big task for a single individual or team. What if we each took one or two topics and created the "chapters"? Then they can be reviewed, approved and posted on a single site, available to all FIRST teams.

Comments?

[bombadier337]

I agree with that, a few kids on our team had played around with max, but no one had ever tried doing something this large. I attended a FIRST 3ds max clinic, but it was extremely basic stuff. As far as web training, www.3dbuzz.com had some great tutorials, I think they have 4 cd's of max training (with like 3-4 hours of video per cd). I hope that can help someone out. I definately agree with you about the difficulty of finding a good mentor for 3d animation though.

[psquared89]

Having 'slogged through' the (literally) entirety of the tutorials I can say that they are extremely helpful, but slogging is a very, very appropriate word, by the end, I don't know how much I was getting out of them any more. One little piece of advice, the slog goes a lot easier with two monitors, Max on one, tutorials on the other.

[takieddine]

Although im not an animation "Master" I will gladly lend help to anyone over the net...

taki3d@gmail.com or

AIM:taki3d

MSN:tahar_boumaza@msn.com

3ds max takes lots of practice, and as youve said before, it has a very steep learning curve.

[Yov]

I started making video tutorials for 3dsmax, and uploaded the majority of one (intended to be the first of many, the rest being according to public request) to our site, but I stopped due to lack of interest...

[Alexander McGee]

Back in the day (I’ve been a FIRST animator for nearly 6 years), In Michigan, they used to have these animation conferences in late November at a GM building in Pontiac. Ted Boardman and other distinguished animators would come and give 3ds max and inventor workshops, much like the events that are held at the National Event.

They would even hand out 3ds max software packages to distinguished animators (i have legal versions of 3, 4, 4.2, 5, 5.1, 6, 7, 7.5). It was a great way to get animators practice, as well as inspiring students.

Sadly however, these event have ceased to exist for 2 years. I have been in contact with Mr. Dan Gee from team 503 about setting something up like this again, at several locations before and during kickoff.

Stay tuned, it might just bee what you guys are looking for. Other states might consider holding centralized workshops as well. People can show off their skills, models, and everyone can celebrate this wonderful program that we have such privileged access to.

[stevek]

I hardly ever look at manuals or tutorials for any software unless there is somthing specific I need to know. However, I've been animating professionally for over 10 years.

I am not a MAX expert- I use Lightwave. So for the team I mentor- 230- I make any new animator do tutorials before I will work with them. They need a foundation on the software to understand the direction I give. The beginning tutorials help learn the tools the mid and advanced tutorials teach technique. My direction is more Technique and Concept based and I make the students figure out how it applies to MAX. This is good because it teaches them how to learn and figure things out. This is the best knowledge you can gain from AVA and FIRST.

When we start a new year- I make the returning students work on more advanced tutorials. When we decide on an animation just after kick off, we figure out any new techniques that they may need to know. Then we assign a student to find tutorials or directions in the manuals to get it done. While others work on modeling and gathering textures, that person is finding references to help them.

Anyone with an aptitude to do 3D- can work in this manner. After a while the students don't need me to tell them what to do or how to learn. This years animation (2005 AVA Entry (http://shsrobotics.org/05/media/2005AnimationFinal_256k.wmv)) had very little time commitment from me. I would look over their shoulder once or twice a week and give them pointers and make sure they didnt forget anything- AND CRACK THE WHIP. Until the end where I stayed for the entire weekend to make sure things got done. The students also train the newbees- or NUBES as they are affectionately called. So its a self lubricating system.

SO THE MORAL: TUTORIALS ARE GOOD! (Then the curve isn't so steep)