Are these Maya training tapes good?

[Pinksta]

I was looking at

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/videos.html

they are Maya training DVDs and I was wondering if these are any good and go into alot of detail and are worth buying? They are $70 each which I can afford. I am used to 3d studio max and I was wondering which tape I would want to buy if I want to do something like patch modeling shown in the joan of arc tutorial but in Maya. Which tape would I want to buy? I am new to patch modeling.

Thanks

[kuman]

i have to admit that i've never seen any of those tapes/dvds. however gnomon workshop has a great reputation for being good teachers so i have no doubt that they'll be pretty good.

the only thing i'd say to consider is that perhaps they aren't necessary. there's a ton of great tutorials for all the big 3d programs online. and that's free you know. i guess it depends on what kinda of style of teaching works the best for you.

just wanted to give you a note on the fact that spending the cash may not be necessary.

cheers
-k

[Pinksta]

Originally posted by kuman
i have to admit that i've never seen any of those tapes/dvds. however gnomon workshop has a great reputation for being good teachers so i have no doubt that they'll be pretty good.

the only thing i'd say to consider is that perhaps they aren't necessary. there's a ton of great tutorials for all the big 3d programs online. and that's free you know. i guess it depends on what kinda of style of teaching works the best for you.

just wanted to give you a note on the fact that spending the cash may not be necessary.

cheers
-k

thanks for the info. I have seen a few videos before and they seem to help me ALOT more than reading a tutorial for some reason. I was just wondering if anyone has seen these tapes and they are good.

Second question though was what video should I get if I want to be able to do stuff like patch modeling the same way as in the joan of arc tutorial. They have stuff on patch modeling but it seems to be a totally different thing from what I do see. So just let me know which tapes to get please.

[Dark Bob]

I have Organics 1 DVD and is is the best tutorial I have ever done. It teaches Nurbs/patch modeling. I highly suggest buying it. You learn stuff you can carry over into any style of modeling.

The one you may be looking for that would be close to the Jon tutorial would be Polygons 1. In fact I may order that one right now.

[Pinksta]

Thanks alot for your help Dark Bob!!

On the organics DVD you said it goes over patch modeling, how far does it go into it? Also on the patch modeling 1 DVD does it show like the entire process of patch modeling certain things step by step or does it just show where a couple things you need to click are and expect you to do the rest? And on that same DVD will it be similiar to like the making of Joan of Arc but in video form?

So should I get organics or patch modeling 1? I am new to Maya btw and I dont have any experience with patch modeling, just a tiny bit that I did at the start of the Joan of Arc tutorial.

[Dark Bob]

Well I only have organics 1. It covers nurbs then uses patch modeling to do defined features. And No it dose not do something and assumes that you know what they are talking about. He explains everything. He even gives logical explanation to why he dose things in certain ways.

You start with a simple nurbs cylinder and end up with a monster's head. The DVD even includes the source art (ref pics) and a loadable .mb with all the references set up for you. Also on the DVD are some QuickTime movies that explain setting up reference picture quickly in your workspace. Very informative. Imagine if you will the instructor helping you through every aspect of the tutorial, but this instructor is pause able.

If you have a DVD rom windows media player will play the disk. The nice thing about that is you can watch, pause, flip to Maya and follow along. I highly recommend Organics 1.