CGI Animation

[NoxPT]

ok, first off, admins: I don't know if this is the right place for this, if it isn't, please move it and let me know. ok, my counsins and I are getting into CGI animation, is there any good software we can buy to do some decent-good CGI animation? if so, please let me know.

 

[dawks]

First of all.. Good Luck.

Second.. 3D Studio Max is a good place to start.. its supposed to be fairly easy to learn.. and can be had for a few thousand dollars..

And you'll want a copy of photoshop 7 also.. only a few hundred...

 

[novon]

take a class...in Maya

 

[fastman]

Also look into True Space, Maya and 3D Studio max can take years to master.

 

[FrustratedUser]

I second TrueSpace.

 

[silverpig]

I'm doing some part time classes in 3d animation to build up my portfolio for a full time program. I took the 3d max course and it was very good. They go over the basics in every section (modelling, texturing, lighting, animating, video post etc) so while you don't have anything great done after you finish, you do have some working knowledge to build on.

You really do have to take a class though. If you just try to use the program right off the bat, you'll make a sphere, twist it, bend it, delete it, then quit the program. There are so many menus/plugins/modifiers that you will be completely overwhelmed. Take an intro class, ask your teacher what program would be best for you to buy, and then go at it.

 

[silverpig]

Oh yeah, in that class we learned how to do things, and what other options were avaliable. Ended up making fairly simple objects like tables and wine glasses etc. I went home and spent about a month doing these pictures (I even have a 7 second animation that took my XP 1800+ @ 1.67 GHz about 16 hours to render).

Almost final product
Close up wireframe of a section
Non-textured to show modelling detail

 

[FredFredrickson]

I would also recomment Truespace, since it comes with a hefty manual, and is very easy to get started off with... It also is fairly quick rendering, and is relatively cheap as opposed to your other options. If you have a fat wallet, get Maya or 3DStudio Max, despite what some people here have said, it is possible to teach yourself these progs without a class... There will always be some things that you don't know, or will discover later, but it's always fun to diddle around with a prog by yourself just to see what you can do first, and it can lead you to become more creative with it later!