Questions & Answers

[Chrisp-3DT]

Welcome to the Questions Thread. If you have any questions you would like to be answered reguarding the 3DTotal Training DVD then please put a post into this thread. This thread will be monitored daily so you will receive a reply to your question in no time at all.

[Sky_Eagle]

Hello , am very interessed in buying the DVD.
But how mutch are the shipping , posts costs ?
I live in Belgium , Antwerp.

Thx !

[Chrisp-3DT]

Hi. the cost of the dvd depending on what currency you are paying in

Using paypal to purchase the dvd the postage is as follows

EUR- €42 + €2.94
UK- £29 + £2.03

Using netbanks which is the our other paying option then the prices of postage is a bit different but you are only taken pence

Hope this has helped you and we look forward to your order.

Thanks

[Sky_Eagle]

Cool only €3 more.
Thats very good.

Thx for the fast reply.

[Sky_Eagle]

Euh.
I have a other question.
I aksed my mom and dad but they don't like to pay with things like paypal (yeah i know , its safe ,... but try to tell em that :p )
Now would the price be the same if we pay with (true ? ) this ?
I don't know how to call it in English so here's a pic. of what i mean (not mine , just found on the internet)

http://users.telenet.be/anrens/images/oversc18.jpg

Srry for the trouble and questions.

[Sky_Eagle]

Well ???

[Warin-3DT]

Hi,Sky_Eagle...3DTotal sale knew your question already and we will find out about this kind of payment and will get back to you soon..Thanks for your interest,:)

[Tom-3DT]

Sorry but we are not sure what this is and so I dont think we can except it, the best way for you to pay is either to post us a cheque or to pay by bank transfer, bank transfer may be a good option from you parents account to ours, please let me know by emailing cdsupport@3dtotal.com and then we will send you full details, many thanks

Tom

[Sky_Eagle]

Hm.
We use this in Belgium.
Its very easy to use to pay.
U should fill everything in and bring it to ur bank.
The bank will then put the money on the bankaccount of the person u gotta pay.
Maybe u just can't read it since the language on it is dutch.

[Sky_Eagle]

Allso i got a other question.
I actually want to buy this DVD because i wanna know and learn how to texture things.
I recently modeld (spelling ?) a Alienhead.
But it has no texture.
Now i only have the money for the Training DVD or else the Alien Organic Volume 11 Total texture.
Now my question is : after i bought the training DVD will i then be able to texture things? or only the thing we modelt with the training DVD ?

Allso are there any special price's ?
Like for students ? Since am only 14 but i really would luv to learn everything about 3Dsmax 7 and getting really good at 3D Art.

Greetings eagle.

Srry for all these questions.

[Tom-3DT]

Hi Sky Eagle,

Im sorry but we dont use this payment method here in the UK so you will have to use one of the other mehtods we have told you about before.

With regards to the texturing, this DVD will teach you how to paint textures in photoshop and yes you could then use these techniques for your own future projects. The V11 CD has a lot of of textures obtained by photography and paint by several professional artists so this is the next level again. Maybe try to do them yourself first and if you need more then look at the CD as well. Thanks Tom

[Sky_Eagle]

Ok.
Thx for the info.

[Brodix]

That form of payment looks like a Cashiers Check. (Just for incase it comes up again) :smug:

[flstudios]

Hi Chris & All
First, im not sure if this is the correct thread to be posting in, as no one has actualy had comments about working with the dvd here! - (but if its the wrong place im sure you can move it - thanks!).
Ok, so, im on modeling part 02(i) - Is it possible to have a screen shot from the bottom (on image [i]) so I can get the basic shape of the jaw correct?
Now on the next bit - (j) you add alot of cuts and weld a fair few vertex it seems? Is it possible to have a few screen shots of where you actualy put the cuts and which vertex you weld?
I just want to get it all right at the begining so I dont waste aload of time going back!

Thanks for the help and support

Regards

Leigh ;)

[Sky_Eagle]

I have a other question.
My dad is willing to pay with a bank transfer.
But he said : Do u first gotta pay and then recieve the DVD ?
Since he doesn't like that.
He saids first DVD then gotta pay.
He's a man of his words so he will pay.
He just doesn't thrust the buying things true internet not yet.

[ben-3DT]

Hi flstudios,
this is in the wrong thread, I will make your username able to access the thread for those of you who are working with the DVD. Rich Tilbury (The DVD's author) is currently working on your problem and will post these requested images soon in the other thread (you dont get this level of service anywhere else eh ;)
Just as a note to any other users : When you purchase the DVD we make your username able to access a special thread in which to post your renders and get help and advice from the authors themselves!

If you have bought the DVD and would like this service then please email cdsupport@3dtotal.com with your forums.3dtotal.com username and purchase details.

Ben

[ben-3DT]

Hi Sky Eagle,
Please email cdsupport (cdsupport@3dtotal.com) and I will send you details of how to pay by bank transfer. We can arrange the delivery from there. Look forward to hearing from you.

[Rich-3DT]

Hello there,
Got a couple of underside views that hopefully will help you out. I think it is one of these at least that should sort out your problem. With regards to which verts are welded : I have painted in green and red lines that represent ring and connects and the verts that need welding are highlighted with a white circle. Then it is a case of moving verts around to sculpt the rough shape seen in diagram. There is also a inset / bevel applied to nose. Do not worry if your model is not exactly the same as mine ; as long as it looks ok and you are happy that is the main thing. Getting to understand the techniques is the principal aim in the end.
Hope this has solved your problem,
Many thanks,
Rich.

cuts_weld.jpg (http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/Underside02.jpg) cuts_weld (http://http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/Underside01.jpg) cuts_weld (http://http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/cuts_weld.jpg)

[Rich-3DT]

Oops !
Try againUnderside01 (http://http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/Underside01.jpg) Underside02 (http://http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/Underside02.jpg)

[Rich-3DT]

Underside01.jpg (http://http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/Underside01.jpg) Underside02.jpg (http://http://67.15.36.49/images/forum/Underside02.jpg)

[flstudios]

Cant get this to open still! :(
And I still cant get into the main dvd training forum! :cry: :wall:

Edit: I can get in now! :evil: for any 1 in the future - the actual support forum is on the forum home page at the bottom :dance: (after u register)

[Sky_Eagle]

Hi guys.
I just finally made the payment with my dad.
Allthough he used his e-mail instead of mine.
Is there something else I should do ?

[Warin-3DT]

Hi Sky Eagle,
Please email cdsupport@3dtotal.com for these kind of posts as these are not really for forum discussion. Thanks.

[Sky_Eagle]

K.
Srry

[Sky_Eagle]

today i recieved my DVD.
Right after 3days.
Great work guys.
Am impressed.

[Tom-3DT]

Very glad to hear it Sky Eagle, remember there is a forum here for DVD owners only where Rich gives extra support or you can just show others your progress and model

Cheers Tom

[Sky_Eagle]

Oh.
Where is that ?

[Tom-3DT]

Full details are on your DVD mate! Seek and you will find!

Tom

[Sky_Eagle]

K.
Thx.
Found it :)

Could it be that there is a part missing on the DVD ?
It seems in the part: turning a cube into a head that there is a movie missing.
Since u first create a cube and then u need to move some vertexes.
The first movie is ok.
But in the beginning of part B it has already moved the vertextes around the eyebrowns , jaw and stuff.
And we didn't see that in part A.
Allso the screenshots allso don't tell a thing about it.
Are we supposed to do it alone ?

[Rich-3DT]

Hello Sky Eagle,
It seems as though many people have this same enquiry. You are right that the beginning of movie b does not start at the end of movie a. There are so few verts at this stage I thought it would be a good learnimng aid to use the stills as reference and encourage users to move the verts to resmble the pictures and movie model. This is a very simple stage with so little info that people should be able to manipulate the mesh and get it to a level that mimics mine. Remember that this is a learning aid that aims to teach people principals and modelling techniques first and foremost. Do not be too concerned if your model is not exactly like mine. The idea is that everyone will make a slightly different version but in the end knowing how to apply these lessons in ones own work is the most important objective.
Hope this has been of help,
Rich.

[Sky_Eagle]

Oooh.
I see , i was just concernd there was a part missing on the DVD so i thought id report it.
Thx for the quick help !

[Sky_Eagle]

Could you guys plz say where on the DVD i can get the info to get acces on the forum for the dvd owner's ?
Since i've found it before and i can't find it again :p
Probally looked over it 3 times :S

[ben-3DT]

Hi Sky Eagle,
You will need to email cdsupport@3dtotal.com
with the details of your order. We will then make your username active on the forums.

[Sky_Eagle]

Thx Ben-3Dt

[ben-3DT]

always here to help ;-)

[kobeone]

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to know if you could tell me what new training DVDs are on the horizon from 3DTotal?

[ben-3DT]

Hi,
Right, next on the list are the 'Eva Wilde' Female anatomy DVD's. The 3 DVD's (maybe 2 for part 1) will be ready soon. The DVD set will take you through the ENTIRE process of modeling, texturng, lighting and rigging of a realistic female character in such detail you would not believe! As well as showing you the processes for the creation of the characte, they also go in-depth into the anatomy of the human form, a skill essential for todays character modellers. We hope to have it finished within the next month. Part 1 modeling will be the first available with part 2 and 3 shortly after. If anyone wants a 'heads up' when its available then email me with the subject 'eva wilde' email to here : Tell me when it's ready! (ben@3dtotal.com)

Thanks again.

[Damage_Inc.]

Oops, just sent off a PM to Monte about this but then I noticed this forum so i figured I'd post here, as well. I recently received the training DVD and noticed that several of the sections in the texturing portion of the DVD aren't available to be viewed. The menu doesn't have the clickable button to access them. I went into the html folder of the DVD and it appears that there should be a vid for each section.....but when I click on the _smf files, those ones that weren't available in the DVD Menu lead to unloadable movies. I'm wondering if they're broken or something is wrong with the DVD, in general. Also, can I request to be flagged for access to the DVD owners forum here?

[ben-3DT]

Hi,
If it looks like content is not accessible from the interface then it is not accessible at all. There are some sections that do not contain movies as it was deemed not neccessary from the point of view of learning. It would be just repeated processess.

[Damage_Inc.]

@Ben-3DT: Aaaaah that would explain it, then. Crap.....I really wanted to see him creating the bump map and other such details in movie format. I'm pretty good at modelling but I downright suck at texturing and am not familiar with the process on the whole. Oh well.....

[ben-3DT]

Bump Maps are explained on the Creature Head DVD in text and images. On the Fighter Ship DVD, Bump maps are covered in much more depth in movie format. This might be a better DVD for you to learn from?

Ben

[theoasis]

well!

[kobeone]

Hey Ben, is it still looking like the 'Eva Wilde' DVD will be released this month? Sorry for being a pest, but I'm really looking forward to buying those DVDs.

Kobeone

[pasi]

Hello Guys I'm Vishal from India I want to join a Multimedia Course from a good institute can u guyz plyzz sugest me some names of the 3d graphics (3d animation 3d Compositing) etc sinstitute outside India because in india no one teaches tat good as compare to foreign countries. Plyz help me out i'm waiting for ur reply

[ben-3DT]

Hi Pasi,
This is the forum for questions regarding the 3DTotal training DVD's. Please put your question in a more suitable forum. Thank you.

[kobeone]

Hey Ben,

Any update on the 'Eva Wilde' DVD?

Kobeone

[Tom-3DT]

Eva stage 1 (modelling) dvd is finished, it will be sent off tomorrow to the replicators, and the artwork will be sent to the printers, I would guess you will be able to physically buy it in 7-10 days

Thanks

Tom

[chinese_lover]

any updates on new dvd?

[Warin-3DT]

Hi Chinese_lover, like Tom said above..it will be released in about 7-10 days.

Thanks for your patience.

Bests,
Warin

[Pixelgen]

Hi my old dear has written a Cheque for one of your trainning DVDs.

Product info:
Trainning DVD 3ds max series V2.
creation a fighter ship in 3DS Max & Photoshop

I have sent 3Dtotal an email with info of order, unsure weather the info is wants needed.

EUR- €42 + €2.94 N/A
UK- £29 + £2.03 So I need to send £31.03 by Cheque ??? cos I thought the cost for P&P was 2% so that is around 60p ???

[Tom-3DT]

Hi Pixelgen, Our online shop system calculates the postage when you are making the online order, you can use this to check the postage even if you are not intending to buy online but are posting a cheque as you are doing. If you have trouble with this just add on the 2% as you mention and we will still send it out to you just fine :)

If you have more questions it may be best to email them to cdsupport@3dtotal.com as sometimes the ones here in the forums get missed for a few days.

Thanks

Tom

[Pixelgen]

Ya about that I emailed you guys Friday late, anyway no matter.

Sent payment though post on saturday morning, with details. I Look forward to my first of meny 3Dtotal trainning DVDs.

PS can you email me when you receive payment.

Thanks

[Tom-3DT]

Oh, I forgot...please send the cheque to

www.3dtotal.com (top floor)
1 shaw street,
Worcester,
Worcestershire
WR1 3QQ
UK

Payable to Tom Greenway.

Please include your order details, full name and shipping address and billing address (if its different) where you want the DVD to be sent to as we will get it to be sent to you immediately.

Thanks for your interest,

[Tom-3DT]

yes, we will email to let you know.

Thanks

[Warin-3DT]

Hi Pixelgen,
We have just gotten your cheque for Training DVD V2 10 mins ago thanks, so I am going to get it to be sent to you in about 1 hour.

It would be great if you could let me know (here or email to warin@3dtotal.com) If you get it or not.

Many thanks for your support and I hope you will enjoy it!

Warin

[Pixelgen]

Thanks: Warin

Will let you no as soon as it hits the doormat :xyz:

Edit: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaa it here.

Thanks

[Warin-3DT]

Hi all, just want to update you ...'Eva Wild Series' - Female Character Creation: Part 1 - Modeling is just released, you can check from the link below!

http://www.3dtotal.com/services/female_character_creation/modeling-eva.asp

Enjoy! Any comments are very welcome!

Warin

[chinese_lover]

what is the polycount on the female total,the dvd looks great,
im thinking about ordering it,also how long would it take to get to the usa,texas,
oh yeah how soon will the texture dvd come out,the 1st of august or so,
let me know something,
Thanks,Chris^_^

[Rich-3DT]

Hello there.
The poly count on the model is just over 22,000 and DVD 2 will be released in August but I am not sure of the date. It should take around 6 working days to get to America.

[riaz]

hi
i m riaz

[crazygui]

Hi, I was wondering if my emails concerning the order of the Eva Wild dvd (for Guillaume V. in France) had been received because if a reply has been sent I didn't receive a thing (I sent the emails to cdsupport)? I ask this because I've read on a thread that you reply to every email in about 24 hours and I sent the email about 4 days ago. I've read that a person did not receive the replies from cdsupport also that's why I ask. It might be perfectly normal but I was wondering that's all :).

Thanks in advance.

Guillaume

[ben-3DT]

Hi,
It would be better to send them again. We had a few serious problems with our email server as we get hit by spammers so often! We do reply very quickly normally. Please send any emails to Ben Barnes (ben@3dtotal.com) for a response.

Thanks

[3am_]

Ive just got my Eva Wild Series DVD today and I liked it but the thing is I see an error msg which is...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Macromedia Flash Player has stopped a potentially unsafe operation.

The following local application on your computer ore network:
F:\swf\section05\02_movie.swf

is trying to communicate with this Internet-enabled location:
F:\html\section05\02_swf.htm

To let this application communicate with the Internet, click Settings.
You must restart the application after changing your settings.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
It works when I click just an okay button but it is annoying that click the button in every single tutorials. Any idea how to fix?
and im waiting for the next series of Eva!! nice tutorial by the way...

[ben-3DT]

Hi,
The answer is in the error message ;-)

"To let this application communicate with the Internet, click Settings.
You must restart the application after changing your settings."

You need to alter your internet settings to allow this type of movie.

[Jrxdesigns]

Hi! notsure if this is the place to post but ill post anyway. Recently purchased Eva Wild 3D Total DVD but no where to be scene is a video panel to rewind, fasf forward, pause etc. Am I missing sumthing or is there a special folder or attachment I am missing?? Please HELP as I keen to begin but get very frustrated holding Shift +< to rewind etc.

[ben-3DT]

Hi,
The playback tools can be found at the base of each movie on a small bar. See the linked image. You may need to scroll the window down to see it if your screen resolution is not set high enough.

[BES]

Hi,I just got the Fighter Ship training DvD, and near the end of the first lesson, there is a part that is show where he added a new edit mesh modifier,then right clicked on it and clicked on collapse to.My 3DMax keeps giving me this: "warning this will remove a portion of the stack of all selected objects are you sure you want to continue?".
I dont have any mesh selected so dont know what its talking about but dont want what I did messed up.
can anyone help with this?

[Jrxdesigns]

Hi!!!
Let me just say the guy in the Eva wild dvd (I think Cristo Monty) is a genius. watching him modelling eva is amazing. Ive just finished the breast and my Eva is looking better than his. lol just kidding. But it is look very close to his at least when I apply the turbo smooth. his positioning of the vertices, lines etc is unbelievable smooth.

I have a few questions I would like answered directly from him if possible? actually I have alot of questions but now im writing cant remember them (im very sleepy). Is there a forum where lots of ppl are chatting about the tutorial and if so where?

arh 1 questions i wanted to ask is sometimes I get the impression when Monty is modelling eva hes not modelling from the diagrams but from his mind if that makes any sense. kinda like hes memories the whole female anantomy.

one xample of this is i think is in Section one while hes modelling the face. When modelling in the past I always have my mesh transparent on, especially on the face. but on Eva's face he never used the transparecy once. That just seems damn hard. I wouldn't have believed it only that i sat at cpu with my jaw dropping while watching him do it.

So I guess my question is monty have u memories the whole female anamtomy or Eva's anamtomy and also the picture u displayed thats shows the lines to see if......

Im very sleepy.... cant concentrate...done2 much modelling 2day

plz answer what u can and ill finish this tomorrow. hope there is no grammatic errors in this post and its clear to read as im not gonna check it cos im too tireds .

Jana

[Rich-3DT]

BES :
Hello there,
Just ignore the warning and go ahead - it is fine.

[BES]

BES :
Hello there,
Just ignore the warning and go ahead - it is fine.

Ok thanks for the quick response,this is very cool, ive done minor texturing of models but never acctually made one,and never found any tutorials that showed me exactly what to do(untile now of course),ill probably be buying more of these lessons soon :) .

[BES]

sorry another question for you Rich, how come im not getting the top left and front views like you have there in the second lesson,did I do something wrong? or does it have something to do with the resources section on the DvD?.

I looked for the templates directly from the DvD, didnt think that would be a problem..

[Rich-3DT]

Hello BES,
Not sure exactly what you are asking - can you be a bit more specific ?

[BES]

Nevermind I got it..all the views have to be flat I had them to wireframe doh,I didnt know what you did is all(untile now of course),thanks for replying anyway.

[MonteCristo]

Hi!!!
Let me just say the guy in the Eva wild dvd (I think Cristo Monty) is a genius. watching him modelling eva is amazing. Ive just finished the breast and my Eva is looking better than his. lol just kidding. But it is look very close to his at least when I apply the turbo smooth. his positioning of the vertices, lines etc is unbelievable smooth.

I have a few questions I would like answered directly from him if possible? actually I have alot of questions but now im writing cant remember them (im very sleepy). Is there a forum where lots of ppl are chatting about the tutorial and if so where?

arh 1 questions i wanted to ask is sometimes I get the impression when Monty is modelling eva hes not modelling from the diagrams but from his mind if that makes any sense. kinda like hes memories the whole female anantomy.

one xample of this is i think is in Section one while hes modelling the face. When modelling in the past I always have my mesh transparent on, especially on the face. but on Eva's face he never used the transparecy once. That just seems damn hard. I wouldn't have believed it only that i sat at cpu with my jaw dropping while watching him do it.

So I guess my question is monty have u memories the whole female anamtomy or Eva's anamtomy and also the picture u displayed thats shows the lines to see if......

Im very sleepy.... cant concentrate...done2 much modelling 2day

plz answer what u can and ill finish this tomorrow. hope there is no grammatic errors in this post and its clear to read as im not gonna check it cos im too tireds .

Jana
Hey Jana, I'm glad you are enjoying the DVD, and thanks very much for the lovely comments.

I do have a pretty good memory of female anatomy. I'm working on a new character now without any real references to speak of. However, in the tutorial, where I've provided really concrete references, I found that most of the time I didn't need transparency on. You might be right, there's probably something sub-concious going on there. Of course, I had already built the Eva model once, and the tutorial shows me making her the second time through. It had to be done that way to make sure that you guys and gals had the necessary references to work from, and also so that I could know that what we were doing was going to end up with a decent result. This was a double-edged sword though. It meant I had to follow a pattern, which sometimes was very confusing, and required a bit of figuring out before I filmed it.

Usually, my modelling projects have their fair share of trial and error throughout. In a tutorial, this is gonna eat up time and just confuse things, so I needed to know where I was going with this beforehand and could bypass the trial and error stuff.

My priority was to give you as much information as possible, instead of just rushing ahead and making it all up on the fly. What was important was to get the anatomy lessons in there (the most useful of which are still to come over the next few stages for you), and also to make sure you didn't get left behind. As the DVD progresses, I will start to explain less and we will be able to move on at speed.
I suppose in a way this tutorial is a Karate Kid style to training, it may seem like a lot of the same stuff(although I tried to get as many tools in as I could think of), but I am confident that by the time you finish the DVD, you will be well prepared for creating your own characters. In future, whether you decide to adopt my extrusion approach, or whether you go for the box modelling method, my hope is that you will be much more confident in manipulating your mesh as well as being able to negotiate the viewports more efficiently. That and you will hopefully learn as much about human anatomy as I did. :D

Good luck!
Monte.

[crazygui]

I'll have to agree with Jrxdesigns as this tutorial is the BEST one I've ever come upon. Everything is very well explained and te phases where we have to tweak what you have tweaked between 2 movies are also a very good exercise. The second DVD is great also but I have to finish the first in order to start. I just have a question about it though, is the first movie of the second DVD soundless or is my computer doing something weird to me (the other movies have sound)?

Again thanks for those very usefull DVDs I can't wait for the last one!

Hope to see some more


Guillaume

[Sobeedge]

okay since what i'm refering to is part of the eva wild dvds i figure might as well ask here so ppl don't overlook it as minor mental capacity.....what i would like to know as i work through the dvd is nothing to do with the actual dvd themselves but the guidebox that was made was perfect in my opinion for modelling from a reference viewport background is so limited in my opinion but since i have some future reference stuff for modelling really like to learn how to make a guidebox like that....I attempted to replicate the guide box myself using the starter.zip pics I know its a multi material but no matter how I create my box then making my material I can't get the images to ever show so was wondering is there some kind of tutorial that explains that in detail around or if one could be made... yes i select material id for each poloygon but still no images even though they show on my material.....figure someone would mention that but back to what I'm asking it would be very helpful and the tutorial links I found are for older version of max that I can't really follow to well using max 9 If this needs to be in another spot you can move it but if you do plz pm me so I know where to look

[MonteCristo]

Have you made the material visible in the viewport? (The chequered box button in the Material Editor).

The box a flipped cube. Each with a different material id. 1-6.

The multimaterial has 6 materials in it, each with a different image on them, which correspond to the Ids on the box.

Add the bitmaps.

Drag the material on to the box. Should be that simple, give or take a few rotated UVs.

Cheers,
Monte.

[ben-3DT]

Thanks for answering that one Monte.

[Sobeedge]

Have you made the material visible in the viewport? (The chequered box button in the Material Editor).

Thank you so much monte that was the only thing I was missing i figured it was something simple but nevertheless still feel like an idiot for missing that but if i have never asked i would still feel like a bigger idiot for not knowing so thanks again.

[MonteCristo]

Not a problem. Hey, Max can be areal pain sometimes. There are a lot of tiny buttons all over the place, and it takes I while to remember what each one does. Glad to be of help :)

[Sobeedge]

lol only been dealing with Max for two weeks now it was on my pc when I bought it so figured I'd give it a go. Bought it from Zane University Art Department and there alot of stuff on this pc including your training dvds which is how i found this site....feel kinda cheapened cuz I feel need to purchase the dvds cuz its an excellent product but for time being I have learned alot coming from no 3d art experience at all most tutorials i looked at just confused me even more.....also there another program on here called blender.... is that anygood I started it up and like max was baffled at first by all the buttons

[MonteCristo]

Blender is a freeware opensource 3d app.

Max is professional standard. Max is better.

Although, Blender ain't bad.

[MrCroft]

I kind of have a problem...
On 3D Total.com it says :
HTML Interface:
Will work in all browsers and on all platforms. Less memory intensive allowing you to work in your 3d package and run the dvd at the same time.
That's kind of crap... If I'm watching an .avi with media player it takes up about 30mb of Ram, but watching the .swf files (either with a swf player or in the browser) takes an incredible amount of ram, and it variates from 200-300mb up to 1,5gb of Ram...
I've tried both : running from the DVD and running from hdd. I've also tried it both under Vista Ultimate(32bit) and XP Pro(64bit), even after a format and fresh installed copy of windows. I've tried both either using a flash player (tested 3 of them) or just Internet Explorer (IE7, Opera, Maxthon - doesn't matter anyway 'cause it's the flash plugin that actually plays the files). No matter how I've 'sliced' it, the amount of ram these flash movies take is widely ranged from 200mb up to 1,2-1,5gb of Ram. That's more than Max uses to handle working with like a 200.000 polygon mesh. So I figured there's nothing wrong with my configuration.

p.s. I've noticed that the amount of ram used increases significantly when I "pause/play/pause/play/rewind/pause/play/rewind" etc. etc. But you couldn't watch a training any other way, you have to pause/play/rewind all the time. I usually close it after watching 2-3 movies and open it again. Anyway, even 180mb is so much more than watching an avi takes.

Am I the only one that noticed this ? Does this take less memory on every other pc out there ?

[MrCroft]

One more thing... I'm not saying there's something wrong specifically with the .swf files of this training. It's the same with ALL .swf files played locally (hdd/dvd/network drive).
I just don't understand why use flash instead of avi (so what if instead of 1 dvd for modeling there would have been 2) and how did 3d total concluded that making the trainings as .swf would be so much better in terms of Ram ? I wouldn't have mentioned this as a 'thumbs up' for the training.

[ben-3DT]

Hi,
When we first started creating the training DVD's, the movies were much shorter and ther were fewer of them. By the time we hit 'Eva' , the creator had created an enourmous amount of movies which had to be compressed a great deal. During the early days the tests we did seem to point towrds the .swf as being the best file for the job. We realise as time has gone on that maybe .avi may have been a better choice. However, we also had to account for the Mac market who can use Maya. The text actually says that the HTML interface is less memory intensive, say less than a director projector.

[MrCroft]

Oh, those Macs :)
Well, that's a good point there.
Ayway, no matter what, the modeling training is great.
On the second DVD, the instructor could have used real Hair instead of a mesh object... it's kind of a step back on Computer Graphics.
But, like you said, this training is for everyone... beginner-intermediate-advanced 3d/CG artists.

Go 3D Total !

[ben-3DT]

Thanks for understanding. We will be reviewing our methods for future training anyway.