Hey guys it is me again as you already know I am a new animator and I am appreciative any tips or tricks I could get out of you guys who actually know what is going on. Due to the lack af animating experience our team has been unable to finish our animation on time for several years now and me being a sophmor I would like to cure this ailment by fixing the problem. Thank you! 
here are a few hints:
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Get one member of your team to learn max and inventor really well…if one person knows then they can teach the other people…also space it out…let one group do cad, then let the other group do animating…it really saves time and its more organized
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practice practice practice…at sharingfirst u can dl cad models from Ed Sparks…he has excellent models and they can be good practicing items…
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Plan a storyboard way ahead of competition time…once the game is ready and ur robot is designed u could get the animation partially done like intro and credits…add the robot and other items in when ready and u should be good…basically in other words…dont waste storyboard time after Kickoff on Jan 5…
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If your local library has books about max…borrow them…if not most bookstores have like 3ds Max for dummies or the 3ds Max Bible…that helps too.
To summarize this …have a few people learn it really well organize the team, practice, plan ahead, and read…
Hope this helps
D.J. T45
Also tutorials are a very good way to learn. Start with the tutorials book that comes with 3dsmax and then do tutorials online. It’s a lot better than just reading and when you have finally gotten a good grasp of the program, you have a bunch of cool pictures and animations you can show off. 
http://www.3dcafe.com and http://www.webreference.com/3d have some really great tutorials.
Hey Guys thanks and i just want to let you guys know we are right in the middle of all of that and we expect to have a completed animation this year!!! :eek:
yes tutorials can help…but i seriously recommend neither buying them or downloading them for your animation…from what i have been told judges like seeing animations from scratch…
Also, you should really take some time just to understand what and where everything is. It makes it so much easier when you’re designing and you don’t need to open a help file or ask someone where the Biped or the Material Editor is (just an example).
Hey guys! Animation makes the world go round. Competition relies on what you can do from your own. Like stated above, judges like scratch work. Remember when animating, to make sure that everything your doing lines up in at least your front, and left views. its easy to move your things from left and right from your top view and easy to move up and down from your left view. remember to make sure these are followed because you can be in a rude awakening when you are ready to animate and you find out it looked good in your perspective but not even close in all other views. JUST A TIP 
See ya later guys!
Ok…here’s the biggest help I think I can give anyone new to cgi (3d modelling) in general.
There is a website. A benevolent website, nearly as great as this one.
It is
This magnificent website is the ultimate site to learn any technique in any cg program, and an even BETTER place to post your work to get critiques (i.e. post your animation without textures or maybe your models and get feedback on how you’re doing).
I like the site so much, I check it at least 3 times a week (their message board is even the same format as this one!!!)
Sorry if I seem a tad obsessed, but these guys got me started from scratch in 3d, so I kinda owe em.
neway, good luck with your anims!