Re: Teaching 3ds max
 

Dude, I was in the exact same position you are in now. Not a lot of people are motivated to learn 3ds max because of its complexity. Also people who use and are dedicated to doing 3ds max are most likely not mechanical minded people. I myself stare blankly at my car's engine wondering what all the little parts do. I also did not touch any part of the robot in the build season. So, people who normally join robotics, join because they are mechanical minded people and want to work on the robot. These people will not dedicate themselves to 3ds max. (no offense to anybody out there)
I found that people who are interested in video editing or special effects in video, will pick up animation. You need people who are artist minded or are in robotics not for the robot. (which is not common) You need to take control and be recruiter. If you are not a people friendly type of guy make posters telling people they can create video games using this software. (Gamers will love the idea.)

Going along with your question though. Yes I like teaching 3ds max, I learn a lot more teaching it then I do sitting at home with my computer. I like to see the light bulbs turn on and to see the moment when some finally gets it. Its also very stressful, I want to scream at my students and tell them that they should learn faster. I don't because if you cut someone down or have any negative attitude toward it, your students will pick up on that. Never, NEVER, Talk negatively about the subject or any of your potential animators. If one of your students doesn't is lost and doesn't know what to do, don't reach over and grab his mouse and do it for him. Point at the screen and have him go where you go or give him hints. (positively)

Also have patience. Do not get aggravated at anybody or your students will pick up on that also.

Give your students the program to take home and work with. The 2 hours spent in the classroom is never enough time to learn it. They mainly have to learn the program themselves and you are there if they have any questions or to teach them a new technique. Also recognize what is experience and what is a new technique, It will make the lessons move on quicker.

Finding an animator who is truly dedicated to the program and falls in love with it is few and far in between. But I realize that If i don't teach someone my skills, the animation team dies. Also realize that the animation team will have bad years as well as a couple good years. You make the difference in when those bad years and those good years become the present.

I hope this information helps you. Ask if you have any other questions.

Re: Teaching 3ds max
 

Well, I would dedicate myself to 3ds max, as well as Inventor, build team, Chairman's award work, PR/marketing, everything else...but there's never enough time!

Groups of students in our club will be learning Inventor and animation this year (i.e. not the same groups of students), most of whom will start without any knowledge of the software. We plan to have a few workshops led by experienced club members throughout the beginning of the year to teach them the software, and they'll probably also go through tutorials on their own. Because of various activities and meeting schedule, we won't be able to have a regular class for each program.

I know you might only be able to answer this question for 3ds max, but if these students would be learning from both the experienced members and from tutorials on their own, would you say that it's better for certain areas to be covered by the tutorials and others by the workshops?
Or that they should start with tutorials and get more advanced in the workshops?
Or should the workshops cover the same areas as the tutorials but reinforce them?

I'm basically asking this because I'm trying to determine what approaches should be taken and how to use the meetings effectively.

Re: Teaching 3ds max
 

What I found that works is I give them tutorials that I found on the internet (A Big folder stuffed with printouts of 3ds max tutorials). They take it home and work on it themselves. (Make sure to get it back) Then I come up with lesson plans for the class and go through step-by-step process. When I was first starting out and learning 3ds max on my own, the tutorials in the user reference was very confusing, and gave me too many modeling techniques too early. I would walk away in frustration and a huge headache. You know what it takes to put together an animation and you know what to use and what you don’t use in the program when making an entry. Teach them all that they need to know to put together an animation. The few that go home and mess with the program will find out the other aspects of the program and will come back to you with questions. Always start the class by seeing if anybody had any question from the previous lesson.

As for advanced workshops, I really don’t know how if the advanced workshop is necessary. The more advanced you get with the program the more shorter and specific the lessons become and the more times your student will smack their forehead and say "Oh why didn't I think of that! Now let me get back to my computer and try it." The Autodesk booth at nationals is an advance workshop. I was doing plenty of forehead smacking myself there.

Perhaps the advance workshop would be all of you working on the safety video. Then your students will now know the procedure of making an AVA entry (Like story board, character sketches, and other side things). If you teach the potential animators the basics over the summer like I did, then when the safety video comes around, you all can dive in and clarify any specific problems.

More on to your questions though Basics should defiantly be covered by a workshop. Starting out with a new concept of thinking is way to difficult to learn by any means of a book. Set up a projector that shows what you have on your screen, and have the kids follow along on their computers. After you cover every aspect of the basics (Modeling, materials, character rigging, animation, lighting, and rendering) Tutorials from books and the Internet can take over from there. Just remember you need at least one class or meeting to teach one basic from the list. So you will need at least six meetings before you are done with the basics. After that you're animators can learn about particle effects and reactors on their own or you can set up more classes. (If make the right atmosphere during the lesson it ends up being really fun) Feel free to give them tutorials and other challenges to take home and learn when you are in the middle of the basics.

This is my opinion in how the lessons should be set up for teaching 3ds max. You might find a way that is more effective for your students. If you do please post on this thread and tell me your ideas.

I hope I gave you the answer you were looking for. Just Keep in mind this teaching business takes quite a lot of planning.

Re: Teaching 3ds max
 

Hello,

After reading this thread - the conflict with team members not being motivated/interested seemed to appear with every post. Therefore, let me share some insight on this matter and one way that it can be resolved.

Each season brings new individuals to the team. In all cases these students are unique, bringing different traits and interests. Most times, it extremely difficult to place the newcomers in one area of responsibility. Although difficult, it is important to assign members to an area that they are interested in - otherwise the work will not get accomplished. Take a survey at the beginning of the year and question the new members on what they would like to do. Show them your animation, robot, website, newsletter, business plan, etc. and see who is attracted to which area. Also require the new members to go through an "Interview" with the advisor's and student officers - asking questions like "What is your strongest area in school? In what occupation do you see yourself? What is your learning style? Do you prefer Writing over Mathematics?" This will provide further clarity and narrow down which area the student will do the best in.

To get students motivated show them award-winning animations that other teams created from the previous year. Let them know what they are working toward. At the beginning of school to the start of build season engage in training sessions – maybe 1-2 days a week. Teach a concept, and then have members work on tutorials involving that skill. Keep track of who is doing what in how much time. Right now you may begin listing the top tutorials that you think are worth teaching and draft “lesson plans” on how you will be teaching them. Start easy, and then gradually increase the difficulty. Remember: it may be advantageous to place more members then you actually need in animation because a few you will find are not interested. These students may be transferred to other team areas. For the most part, freshman may have no idea what they wish to do in the future as far as a career, so let them multi-task. Although, during the short weeks, when creating the animation, – keep the animators to the animating, do not spread anyone too thin. For example, the animation build time is about five weeks from when the prompt is released. The time before that, in-between training, you may have an animator helping with web design or writing for the newsletter, etc.

By taking some time to discover the interests of team members, you will find individuals that have great potential and may be highly successful in creating the animation. Make a survey and conduct an interview -- see where the interests lay.

I hope this helps – e-mail me with any questions:

cybersonics@palisadessd.org