Milkshape Tutorial

[ACES_HIGH]

I would like to know if there is a good tutorial for using milkshape out there, as I am too poor for 3DS Max
also it would be nice if I could get a good tut for doing people in Milkshape, as I am also to poor for Poser (oh how I want Poser!)

[BES]

Well this is directly off the milkshape website if you didnt see it..

http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/ms3d/tutorials.html

other than that,you can do a yahoo search before Microsoft buys them and then their search features will suck:-)
(yes microshaft is trying to buy yahoo for like 50billion or something...)

[Nighthawk]

I would like to know if there is a good tutorial for using milkshape out there, as I am too poor for 3DS Max
also it would be nice if I could get a good tut for doing people in Milkshape, as I am also to poor for Poser (oh how I want Poser!)

don't let 'hem fool you, dude. Milkshape looks easy, but 3Dmax is wAAAAAAAYYYYyyyyy more powerfull.
start slowly, with simple things. if you think you can't learn 3dmax, you're wrong, I was kinda afraid of 3dmax, thinking it was reserved for experts, but look at this and this
I reccomend you start practicing with GMax, is easier to use than Max and has some similar features, the only problem is that is doesn't render, and you can't share files with 3dMax. but it's a nice testing bed.

[ACES_HIGH]

I have GMAX, it is great but like you said it's not as good as Max, unfortunately my problem is that I do not have the $4000 for MAX, poser is a bit closer but I don't have $180 either

[Nighthawk]

Poser is better for character animation. specifically, faces gestures and poses (hence the title)
but is limited for doing other things like effects. better to use it with either greenscreen or bluescreen, then use Premiere or After Effects to render it with the background, which you can do in another, more easy-to-handle program.

if you saw those videos:
the "intro" was mounted completely in Max. and took almost 3 hours to render.
a new version I have at home is being mounted in Premiere. it's bigger and harder to handle, but each render took near 20 minutes

everything depends on what you're going to do, if you want to make ships, practice with Milkshape or AC3D. (www.ac3d.org) a few months ago AC3D would have completely owned milkshape when it comes to user interface and controls. now they are more ballanced, and they will be more similar as time goes on.
if you want to make characters for bridges you'll need 3DMax for the skeletons and those things, but you can model in another program then port them to Max. Poser would do for the animations
if you want to make animations but not of characters, Max is the best choice. Gmax will help you learn the basics such as trajectories, lighting, keyframing, mapping and rendering, then you can move on to more expert kwodledge like constraints, particles, dinamic lighting, kinematics systems, phisics and such.

use the base saying I always used: if you wanna know how it's made, break it.
don't be afraid of making mistakes. learn from them, instead.

[ACES_HIGH]

I am interested in making characters, but mostly for other projects, like my fanfic (see sig), I would like to be able to design ships and so forth for BC, but I do not have enough skill yet to do this.  and I already have Milkshape.

[BES]

You can try Blender or MOI(moment of inspiration) both free modeling programs...blenders interface is quite odd though..even after watching tutorials..both programs can create some nice models.
Blender has close to the same features as 3D Max 9 and its free..just have to learn how to use it..

MOI(beta) link: http://moi3d.com/index.htm

Blender link: http://www.blender.org/

[blaXXer]

blender aint so bad with a 3dsmax style interface which is actually included i nthe app, see here for how to enable it: http://www.blendernation.com/2007/04/01/hidden-3ds-max-display-mode-revealed/

[BES]

I am just revising Blaxxers link:-) ...hes pointing to the April fools joke..this is the link..if you payed attention though its in the related articles on Blaxxers link:-)...whoever has already went there and didnt see it..thanks Blaxxer btw...that will get me into using the program.

http://www.blendernation.com/2007/04/16/maya-3ds-max-layout-with-icons/

Another max UI for blender here aswell..
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showpost.php?p=860214&postcount=32

[CaptainRussell]

The best thing you can do in Milkshape is to experiment, and your skills will improve naturally.  I find that cylinders are usually the best thing to start with when making models - spheres are rarely useful, unless you want low to medium quality meshes with lots of submerged components.

You should try to attach any new parts that you make - for the SNS Galaxy, cut a hole in the region that you want to modify, and attach the new components (i.e. quantum turrets) to that region and fill in the hull around them, and then remap the old mesh component to its texture.

-CR

[ACES_HIGH]

The best thing you can do in Milkshape is to experiment, and your skills will improve naturally.  I find that cylinders are usually the best thing to start with when making models - spheres are rarely useful, unless you want low to medium quality meshes with lots of submerged components.

You should try to attach any new parts that you make - for the SNS Galaxy, cut a hole in the region that you want to modify, and attach the new components (i.e. quantum turrets) to that region and fill in the hull around them, and then remap the old mesh component to its texture.

-CR

on that note, CR, could you please send me the SNS galaxy model, so I can get started on my mod?

[CaptainRussell]

Catch me on MSN sometime and I'll get it to you then.

-CR