Teaching 3ds max

[BuddyB309]

I taught myself 3ds max. So I dont know how to teach it to someone else. Since I'm a senior and will be leaving the team come the fall I want to pass my knowledge down to some lower classmates. I tried that once already but it don't know how to teach, got excited that someone wanted to learn, came on too hard, and scared the would be animators away.

Any tips on how to go over the basics? I know once you get past that point it becomes easier for them. What should I teach them first? I know I cant just say "here read the tutorials" cause that turned a lot of people off when I tried that way. How do I get them exited about learning 3ds max?

[fimmel]

i took 3ds at school and we started out learning the basic shapes and how the basic modifiers work (twist, bend for example)then we learned how to use splines and there modifiers (extrude) after that we learned how to mix them and then how to loft. after that we started the animation. just think that took a whole year lol

[Morgan Gillespie]

What our team tried to do is do weekly lessons using the 3ds bible and courseware tutorials. It worked but honestly the only people that really know 3ds are the ones that took it home and taught themselves.

[RoboJedi75]

I would suggest a basic tutorial showing them around the interface (an organized point and click type of explaination). I.E. boxes, spheres, shapes, light, material, and render. Explain how you learned it in words for them. That will really teach a lot with a little. I know it worked for me.

I'm currently working on a 'tutorial' for my team and I hope to later upload it to the web for all animators to use. I'm trying to show how to make an animation from start to finish.

[Capt.ArD]

I started by teaching the basic functions: create shapes/splines/geometry, scale, translate, rotate. I taught them latheing with splines. Then, i went into vertex manipulation (this is how you turn the object into editable poly, this is how you move the verteces, etc.). then i exlpained how meshsmooth works, as well as bend, shell, etc. o yeah, and soft selection, very useful.

This took about 3 hours, or 2 1.5-hour meetings. I then spent one meeting doing a demo, where the underclassmen gave me an object and i would make a simple model really fast. this helped them see application of the things i taught them.

finally, 2-3 meetings before we begin animating, i gave an assignment of a simple item to make (pencil, cup, etc.) This helped them get a feel for the software, and to exchange tips and for me to offer individual help on things. I also taught texturing to them in groups of 2 0r 3 at this point.

it can really be done many ways. i would just say try to do it how teachers teach in class, show an idea, use simple language, and give them time to play with it and try it out.

[BuddyB309]

Okay, I got some classes set up at the school but our Tech department (AKA tech Nazis) our only letting use one computer with 3ds max on it no matter how much I plead with them.

Any suggestion of what to do teaching a class of five with one computer?

[Morgan Gillespie]

Five chairs? Just keep it interesting, let people go on and test what you are teaching them. Make sure the 4 not testing do not fool around so they actually learn instead of just one person learning. Other than getting another computer there isn't much you can do.

[[527]phil]

A reseller of the autodesk software had a few children enrolled in our school district and he came in to help out. Out of a room of 15 kids (including me) only I took the initiative to actually make an animation for the competition. After watching what he did on the projector screen for about an hour i went back to work on the robot. when i went home i began working on the animation. After i finished everything i knew how to do i handed it over to my teammate ken, who did the lighting and everything. unfortunately it didn't come out how i wanted it, but oh well. But the problem is at this point I am the only one who knows how to make an animation. And even worse there isn't much enthusiasm from the younger members. I think the best way to teach the program is by showing objects that can be recreated in 3ds max using basic geometry. Our animation was based upon Lego's because they are simple and made of basic shapes. I also recreated some of the robots from the kickoff video. showing the beginners how to make something with the basic cubes, spheres, and cylinders will entertain them for a little while. And when their done they'll want to learn how to do more. Maybe you could take a part of the robot, or a tool, and recreate it as a group. Access to the software is also a problem for my team, most of the time the computers with the software are locked up, In order for the padawans to learn you have to have access. I bought the 3ds max bible and have been going through it this summer, I highly recommend it to teach others.

[Alexa Stott]

Originally Posted by Mercury Rising

Five chairs? Just keep it interesting, let people go on and test what you are teaching them. Make sure the 4 not testing do not fool around so they actually learn instead of just one person learning. Other than getting another computer there isn't much you can do.

While I've never learned animation, I might be able to give you some input from when I learned programming in a group just about that size. It is possible for the other 4 not actually working to really learn something. Sometimes, the person teaching us would just shove the only computer we had in front of someone and tell them to program something with it. The rest of us would watch what they were doing, and give some suggestions if we saw something was wrong, or listened to the instructor's corrections of the person's errors.

This is also a great way to teach collaboration. Everyone can give some input into the task. They all can learn whether they're at the computer or not. The important thing is, like Morgan said, to make sure the other 4 are not fooling around while other people are trying to learn.

[BuddyB309]

thanks for all of your input. I taught my first 3ds max class yesterday. I arrived at the school only to find that it was locked and I couldn't get into the only room with 3ds max. So the newbies and I headed over to the bot shop and I taught the first lesson of 3ds max with a white board and a dry erase marker. I don't think anything was learned that day, other than that I spell really bad and I cant draw on a white board. At least I tried to make it fun.

[BuddyB309]

ow my head.... I have a new found respect for teachers. Teaching this program has to be the hardest thing ever. I use a projector and the kids follow along on their computers. I feel like I'm going extremely slow and explaining everything but every two mins I hear "I'm lost!". argh.. You really don't know how much you know about something, until you try to teach it to another individual.

[addictedMax]

Originally Posted by BuddyB309

thanks for all of your input. I taught my first 3ds max class yesterday. I arrived at the school only to find that it was locked and I couldn't get into the only room with 3ds max. So the newbies and I headed over to the bot shop and I taught the first lesson of 3ds max with a white board and a dry erase marker. I don't think anything was learned that day, other than that I spell really bad and I cant draw on a white board. At least I tried to make it fun.

left handed?

[Mazin]

Since just about everybody on my team has come from a solid-modelling background since our schools teach Inventor starting from middle school, I would assume that the idea of "a-bunch-of-triangles" can be a bit confusing for people used to the ease of creating NURBS models from scratch.

We bridge the gap by having some people who don't know Max to make some stuff in Inventor quickly, then popping it in Max. After it's in Max, I taught them some basic selecting, moving, etc. Modeling is tricky, and we were dealing with easily solid-modelled stuff.

[BuddyB309]

One thing I found that is if the students have 3ds max on their computers at home you will eventually tell which ones are messing with the program and which ones aren't. During a class if I get through my lesson for that day and I have extra time I always find a random object in the room and say "here is a _________, now make it on 3ds max." Of course you make it along with them but you will defiantly see who's been practicing.

The Idea of modeling objects on 3ds is quite easy to teach. I found that everyone caught on and they were able to make a soft drink cup the second day. The very first thing I have them make is a teapot.

Materials are a different story. I never realized how complex materials are since I taught 3ds max to myself. If your going to teach materials and how they work plan two lessons of two hours each. Then make sure to give them some homework. I found that if you call them up on the phone and give tell them you want this done, they are more motivated then if you assign it at the end of the class. (I guess its more personal, I dont know I just tried it one day and got results)

Rendering is hard to teach cause its really boring, I got through my lesson an hour early because that was just about rendering.

Also when teaching its always good to have files set up before hand that everyone can use and they can all follow along.

But most important, be patient and make it fun.

[Testament-Doom]

I totally agree with all of your opinions. I myself really was new to the beginning my first 2 years but was really slow and didn't really submit anything. Though I know 3DSmax so much now, all aspects of it. I do understand the importance of teachers and how hard their job is. Your ideas really do help you know. I am making a lesson plan for myself cause I fear I might just lose myself XD

The only thing that gets me is that in my school, I really don't think ANYONE is motivated to do 3dsmax stuff. I mean, I feel I am the only one, and the only other people that use it are people on our robotics team ,and they really don't use it much cause I'm the dedicated person to it. It's all about motivating people though. I just want to get people interested into this, you know.

I also feel a bit stupid not putting in a "create a simple object using the things you have learned thus far" thing but I can always put it into my "free" days where they explore 3dsmax the whole after school time . So, I just want your opinion on this. Do you like teaching 3dsmax to students or not? The pros and cons about it? I want to be prepared for it when school comes.