Might as well be new to 3DSMax

[L4DD13]

Hi guys,

I might as well say im newish to 3DS Max as it has been several years since I last used it, and i wasn't any good back then, I didnt have the time to learn about it as my job was taking up all of my spare time, constantly training for it.

Now, I have a new job and a few questions for you guys if you dont mind answering them.

Learning 3DS Max
Ok, most tutorials I have come across for beginners teach you how to create the likes of a sphere or cube, but there no good at teaching you how to use the application itself. So i put to you where can i get the best tutorials that teach you about the application itself rather than how to do one little thing?
Or... are there any good books that I can buy?

Thanks guys,
I look forward to your responses.

[L4DD13]

Also, is 3DS Max 7 still ok to use or has there been huge advances since then?

[iamtravis316]

i think using 3ds max 7 would be ok but i mean the newer version are usually better because of the new featrues but as far as the tutorials go i would check out lynda.com, i have the 3ds max 9 essential training and i used that and that helped alot just to learn the program i use 3ds max 2009 though but heres the link to the 3ds max tutorials at lynda .com so u can check it out for yourself

lynda.com Online Training Library: Training


(also if you download torrents you can find it on there i think)

[L4DD13]

Does the 3dsmax 2009 trial contain the full package?

Are there any good books that you can purchase from bookstores?

[minimus]

I think the big changes is between max 6 and max 7. from 7 up to 2009 is just minor details, as a beginner you will not notise this difrences. the biges difrence from 7 to 2009 is the plugins quality and optimized code so you easyer can handel more polygones and such. but as a beginner i dont think you should start with making big cities with macro details :P

use what you have, and feel free to test out trials of the new versions. welcome to 3dm3 by the way.

[L4DD13]

Thanks for the reply minimus.

Do the renders look any better in 2009 than they do in 7?

[minimus]

nop, maybe render faster since 2009 can go 64-bit and stuff but nothing els. thinks have gotten a bitt simpler, mor presets in 2009 then 7. but you can gain the same result no problem :)

[Need_Help]

You should use the newest version that you can afford (since newer versions can handle better than older version, like more polygons, more stable etc.). As for learning, you can always read the User Manual that came with your Max before you read other tutorials in the internet so that you can know what each button does.

It is always better to know their function instead of just following tutorials that 'teach' you model / make only a certain thing. For example, after you know about poly-modelling or other methods, you can no longer have to read any car tutorials because they are using the similar / same method to get the same result.

Thanks.

[L4DD13]

OK, thanks for your responses guys, much appreciated