New to 3d modelling so any vets here can help clarify some qns i have?

[dataworld111]

Hi i got a few qns i want to ask before i start on 3d modelling so
-I hear alot of things about 3D max and blender which one is better? which one is more noobie-friendly? assuming i have access to both 3d max and blender

-Then what does zbrush do? Is it true that without zbrush, top notch modelling is not achievable??

-I see alot of modelling tutorials available on the web but is there any texturing tutorial that actually teaches the basics? coz the ones i found are quite advanced and i have absolutely no idea what they are talking about lol. Preferably free tutorials please? im kinda poor XD.

[timberwo7ves]

Originally Posted by dataworld111

Hi i got a few qns i want to ask before i start on 3d modelling so
-I hear alot of things about 3D max and blender which one is better? which one is more noobie-friendly? assuming i have access to both 3d max and blender

-Then what does zbrush do? Is it true that without zbrush, top notch modelling is not achievable??

-I see alot of modelling tutorials available on the web but is there any texturing tutorial that actually teaches the basics? coz the ones i found are quite advanced and i have absolutely no idea what they are talking about lol. Preferably free tutorials please? im kinda poor XD.

Hi Dataworld and welcome to the forums

Assuming you have access (WINK WINK) to both 3DS Max and Blender, I think 3DS has the easier UI to get to grips with. That said, one of my friends started with Blender, and working with tutorials online, he actually prefers it to Maya which he's taught at uni - what it comes down to is sticking with one for enough time to get used to it (i.e. tutorials, lessons, etc... rather than just clicking random buttons).

Honestly, one isn't "better" than the other, and both aren't noob-friendly; unless you have a good set of tutorials (there exists many a set for both) in which the basics become noob-friendly in both

Zbrush is a 3D sculpting tool (another is Autodesk Mudbox). It's often used to sculpt organic models like animals, monsters heads etc, but usually a base mesh (with few polygons) is created in a modelling package like Blender or 3DS then brought into Zbrush for high-poly sculpting. You might use it to help create some texture maps for a low-poly model (to make it seem a bit more polished), and discard the actual high-poly model. It's not true that without Zbrush, top-notch modelling is not achievable. It's a different tool to achieve a different result.

There's plenty of texturing tutorials which teach the basics. The main page of 3dtotal.com has quite a few tutorials, though I'm unsure whether there are basic texturing ones for each major package. Digital Tutors has a great selection; I would recommend setting aside a month for which you'll have time to do the training - subscription at DT is calculated monthly (afaik, $45/month) with no minimum contract, so you can do a month of straight training if you wanted to get the best value for monies O_O then the next few practicing what you've learnt.

IN short:
-there's no "better" software (there's people on here which use different packages, and you can't tell who used what based on their final render, the quality is that good) you're limited only by the time and effort you put in yourself.
-zbrush is primarily for sculpting organic high-poly objects like people, and for helping to create texture maps.
-although it seems like a lot of money at the time, sometimes you need to spend a little to learn a lot I know that Autodesk Maya has a free downloadable pdf on their site which is mahoosive, and filled with tutorials from absolute-beginner; I would assume Autodesk 3DS Max would too.

[dataworld111]

Thanks for reply and the welcome =D . So theres no way to export a model from zbrush in the obj format , with all the high poly sculpting, and into 3d max for animation? then wat are displacement maps all about and wats the link between displacement maps and zbrush? coz friends told me displacement maps are able to display additional geometry created in zbrush in 3d max..dun really know how tat works though

[NinthJake]

Hi Dataworld. As timberwo7ves said there is no "better than the other" when it comes to the software side. 3D Studio Max has many more features than Blender but I guess Blender is more "noob-friendly" when you are just starting out.

If you want to be a modeler I would actually suggest you start out in Blender (especially if you want to model with subdivision surfaces) because Blender does not yet support Ngons so it forces you to think about your topology (which is good but a bit annoying) but MAKE SURE YOU GET THE NEW BLENDER 2.5 (not obligatory but it has a whole new GUI compared to the old 2.4 which would most likely scare you away)

Originally Posted by dataworld111

Thanks for reply and the welcome =D . So theres no way to export a model from zbrush in the obj format , with all the high poly sculpting, and into 3d max for animation? then wat are displacement maps all about and wats the link between displacement maps and zbrush? coz friends told me displacement maps are able to display additional geometry created in zbrush in 3d max..dun really know how tat works though

Well technically speaking you could get the high poly sculpt from Zbrush and animate it in Max but it would literally be the biggest pain in the *** you would ever have in your entire life to skin and rig the model and then the rendertimes would skyrocket from the amount of polygons.

Displacement maps pushes your geometry to try and replicate the model you baked the map from but as opposed to normal maps this method requires actual geometry to work (as in: you can only get as detailed meshes as your polycount allows)

As for the texturing tutorials there are a few on youtube and scattered throughout the web. I consider the newest tutorial by Racer455 to be the best one for general knowledge though (you can watch it ->here<-)

I guess I missed a ton of things in this post, if you still have any questions feel free to ask them here

[bega]

Hey dataworld111 , the only tip I have for you is to do alot of tutorials. Just do them and learn no matter what it is. And after 1 week you can do whatever you want to do basicly.

[timberwo7ves]

honestly, I'm still a beginner, and have no experience with ZBrush, so anyone else reading, please correct </disclaimer>

Afaik, you should be able to save it out again in obj, and reimport to 3DS.

I have a suspicion that there is a discrepancy between the definitions of some maps between some packages, notably Maya and Max. I would assume that you could take your high-poly sculpt in Zbrush, create displacement maps from the sculpt - and then apply the map to your low-poly object in Max.

http://www.maxbasics.com/modeling-tu...cement-maps-p1
In the above link, where the tutor is showing to create a displacement map in Photoshop, I guess you could export one based on your high-poly sculpt in Zbrush, and apply it as he does.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, like I said, I'm a beginner too, haven't used Max in about a year (had a long gap, then switched to Maya before I started learning properly)

[timberwo7ves]

@Ninth,
would it be worth trying out Blender, coming from a Maya background (I've only been at it since February), even if just to force myself to learn good topological practices, that I could port back to Maya?

[NinthJake]

Sure, I used 3ds Max for more than a year before switching to Blender, I also know a couple of professional animators/rigging artists that came from Maya to Blender and they said that the transition was pretty smooth, the modeling part should not be of any concern, you can always port modeling knowledge over to any modeling package

If you want to practice topology you should watch this video in combination with Sathe's hard surface modeling tutorials and you will have all the basic knowledge you need to get started.

Also a little warning: The first few weeks modeling in Blender will feel like being in hell (if you migrate from other fancy modeling apps) but if you stick with it you might feel more comfortable in Blender than any other app (that's how it is for me at least). Another tip would be to get Blender 2.57 (current Blender) with the "Looptools" addon for a little (read: a lot) less headache when modeling.

And you might want to hurry up because the next version of Blender will likely have support for Ngons (only a month or so away)

[timberwo7ves]

I downloaded it an hour ago and it looks so different :O My friend has a Lynda dvd for the Blender Essentials (just like viewport nav, basic tools, animation and rendering) so I'll be giving it a go.

I've got Sathe's videos - I only watched one though; now I got my super cool (read: not incredibly slow) phone, I'll watch them on the train

I'm trying to get used to Maya and tablet, mostly because my hand starts hurting after a while of mouse (I'm on a comp at work all day). At the risk of hi-jacking the thread, I'll say thanks NJ, and good luck dataworld

[dataworld111]

Originally Posted by timberwo7ves

honestly, I'm still a beginner, and have no experience with ZBrush, so anyone else reading, please correct </disclaimer>

Afaik, you should be able to save it out again in obj, and reimport to 3DS.

I have a suspicion that there is a discrepancy between the definitions of some maps between some packages, notably Maya and Max. I would assume that you could take your high-poly sculpt in Zbrush, create displacement maps from the sculpt - and then apply the map to your low-poly object in Max.

http://www.maxbasics.com/modeling-tu...cement-maps-p1
In the above link, where the tutor is showing to create a displacement map in Photoshop, I guess you could export one based on your high-poly sculpt in Zbrush, and apply it as he does.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, like I said, I'm a beginner too, haven't used Max in about a year (had a long gap, then switched to Maya before I started learning properly)

hey no prob, you have offered me quite alot of help already XD thanks =D

Originally Posted by NinthJake

Hi Dataworld. As timberwo7ves said there is no "better than the other" when it comes to the software side. 3D Studio Max has many more features than Blender but I guess Blender is more "noob-friendly" when you are just starting out.

If you want to be a modeler I would actually suggest you start out in Blender (especially if you want to model with subdivision surfaces) because Blender does not yet support Ngons so it forces you to think about your topology (which is good but a bit annoying) but MAKE SURE YOU GET THE NEW BLENDER 2.5 (not obligatory but it has a whole new GUI compared to the old 2.4 which would most likely scare you away)


Well technically speaking you could get the high poly sculpt from Zbrush and animate it in Max but it would literally be the biggest pain in the *** you would ever have in your entire life to skin and rig the model and then the rendertimes would skyrocket from the amount of polygons.

Displacement maps pushes your geometry to try and replicate the model you baked the map from but as opposed to normal maps this method requires actual geometry to work (as in: you can only get as detailed meshes as your polycount allows)

As for the texturing tutorials there are a few on youtube and scattered throughout the web. I consider the newest tutorial by Racer455 to be the best one for general knowledge though (you can watch it ->here<-)

I guess I missed a ton of things in this post, if you still have any questions feel free to ask them here

OIC...because i am currently learning how to use unreal engine thus i was planning to invest in a good solid 3d modelling software which i could depend on for the next...maybe 5yrs? Thanks, will check out the texturing and modelling tuts soon when time allows.

Originally Posted by bega

Hey dataworld111 , the only tip I have for you is to do alot of tutorials. Just do them and learn no matter what it is. And after 1 week you can do whatever you want to do basicly.

Lol yea i guess tutorials are the way to go.

Originally Posted by NinthJake

Sure, I used 3ds Max for more than a year before switching to Blender, I also know a couple of professional animators/rigging artists that came from Maya to Blender and they said that the transition was pretty smooth, the modeling part should not be of any concern, you can always port modeling knowledge over to any modeling package

If you want to practice topology you should watch this video in combination with Sathe's hard surface modeling tutorials and you will have all the basic knowledge you need to get started.

Also a little warning: The first few weeks modeling in Blender will feel like being in hell (if you migrate from other fancy modeling apps) but if you stick with it you might feel more comfortable in Blender than any other app (that's how it is for me at least). Another tip would be to get Blender 2.57 (current Blender) with the "Looptools" addon for a little (read: a lot) less headache when modeling.

And you might want to hurry up because the next version of Blender will likely have support for Ngons (only a month or so away)

just tried out blender and the 3d max trial..i think 3d max is the way to go for me coz i find the GUI in 3d max much easier to comprehend. Thanks for the help guys.

edit: -offtopic starts- woah , grant warwick hardsurfacing is wicked -offtopic ends-