I have been reading the PSDTUTS and AETUTS tutorial blogs for a while, part of the ENVATO network of sites. They have amazing tutorials for Photoshop and After Effects. It's really great especially if you are new to both programs. I use both Photoshop and After Effects on a daily and found both sites extremely usefull. Even if only for inspiration. I found out today that they launched a new site called CGTUTS (about a week ago), and from just browsing their site breifly, I can already tell you that this site is going to be a great resource for the CG artist.  I'm excited to see what other artists out there can do and are willing to share of their knowledge. I have been loooking for a good ZBRUSH / 3D modeling tutorial combo. I hope part II of the tutorial shows you how to export normal maps out of ZBRUSH back into 3DS Max for rendering and animation. I think this site is going to be amazing, definatley one to add to your RSS feeds.

This section is the first of many lessons aimed at beginners who wish to learn 3D concepts. More specifically, this is written for users who wish to learn 3D Studio Max. This section covers basic 3D concepts. and does not go over any of the 3D Studio Max interface, which will be covered in Chapter 2. For those of you who are early readers, note that I am writing the chapters as I go so the only thing I have completed so far is Chapter 1. Objectives Learn 3D basics Define the third Dimension Understand X, Y, and Z axes List some of the 3D software available What is 3D and Why do we User 3D Software? This may seem like obvious answers to simple questions. But before you can begin building in 3D, you need to understand what it is and what tools are needed in order to create these graphics Let’s begin by defining the three dimensions: Zero dimension: A point is an example of a zero-dimensional object. It defines a point in space but has no length, height, or width. First dimension: A one-dimensional object is a single line. It has length but no height or depth. Second dimension: A two-dimensional object has any two of the following three ...

A single 3D model can demand thousands of dollars in profit when sold to graphics or design companies. For a 3D model to command such a high price it must be highly accurate and lifelike. Creating polygonal models has shown to be more profitable than creating other types of 3D models such as b-spline or NURBs 3D models. This being said, many buyers of 3D models take into account that NURBs models can be transitioned into polygonal models, but it is not possible to create a NURB model from a polygonal 3D model. There are high market values for models that are lifelike - whether they are human models, organ models or models of household items or furniture. These 3D models are necessary within video games and other animations. These lifelike models can take extensive periods of time to complete and therefore it is important to focus on specific aspects of the model. For example, when making a model of a popular vehicle, create the exterior of the vehicle first, but overlook parts of the vehicle that are not going to be required - such as the engine, or trunk. In order for the artist to reach high earnings levels they must have an ...

Need some inspiration for your next CG character. Check out these amazing CG characters, from goblins, robots, witches and women. This list covers quite a few of the different types and styles of CG characters. Title: Evil Witch Artist: Sven Geruschkat URL: http://www.svenger.de/ Title: Obsolete Artist: Pawel Hynek URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=430849 Title: Alien Artist: Damien Canderle URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=528186 Title: Don Quixote de la Mancha Artist: Fabricio Moraes URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=502979 Title: Old Lady Artist: Krishnamurti Martins Costa URL: http://www.antropus.com/ TItle: Salad Artist: Till Nowak URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=432943 Title: Frost GIant Artist: Jérôme Denjean URL: http://www.jed-online.com Title: Pink Sugar Artist: Olivier Ponsonnet URL: http://re1v.free.fr/imgup/PinkSugarFull.jpg Title: Opal Child Artist: Olivier Ponsonnet URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=641720 Title: Mr. Coutinho Artist: Wesclei3d URL: http://www.3dk.org/m/artgallery/Mr-Coutinho_44d.html Title: White Teeth Artist: Jonathan Simard URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=378998 Title: Jimi Hendrix Artist: Marcin Klicki URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=431478 Title: N/A Artist: Oliver Cannone URL: http://www.gameartisans.org TItle: Arnold Artist: Patrick Beaulieu URL: http://www.squeezestudio.com/Gallery.htm Title: Suzie Artist: Andrew Hickinbottom URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=428656 Title: Forest Golbin Artist: Caroline Delen URL: http://www.carolinedelen.com Title: Lady of Shalott Artist: Yang Zhang URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=450726 Title: Pavlin Artist: Anton Bugaev URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=608361 Title: The Beast Artist: Thaddeus Maharaj URL: http://www.cgchannel.com/gallery/viewimage.jsp?imgID=17587 Title: Don't Feed The Plant Artist: Alberto Lozano URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=496863 Title: Bad Assassin Artist: Lon Krung URL: http://www.cgchannel.com/gallery/viewimage.jsp?imgID=17736 Title: Fat Mafia Boss Artist: D-E-A-N URL: http://www.3dk.org/m/artgallery/Fat-Mafia-Boss_979.html Title: The Penguin Artist: Adam Schuman URL: http://gameartisians.org TItle: Lil Napoleon Artist: Jonathan Simard URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=468115 Title: Automaton Artist: Almacon URL: http://www.3dk.org/m/artgallery/Automaton_bc7.html Title: Blobby Bubble Artist: Patrick Beaulieu URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=464953 Title: We Are Not Alone 2 Artist: Damien Canderle URL: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=484714 Title: Open Green Artist: Andrius Balciunas URL: http://www.cgchannel.com/gallery/viewimage.jsp?imgID=17619

Searching for quality 3D tutorials can be hard to do sometimes. Especially if you have already learned modeling techniques and you wish to learn more in detail other aspects of the 3D software. That's why I have compiled a list of a few tutorials around the web I think would be excellent to read if it's your goal to further expand your knowledge of 3D software. These include spline modeling techniques, quick tricks for fast modeling, simulation using reactor and other various techniques.

Radiosity is different than most rendering solutions is that radiosity requires additional an additional processing step in addition to the normal render. This process creates a hidden meshing solution on all geometry in the scene to store what is known as a radiosity solution. Once your scene is processed, following frames during render time do not require the solution to be reprocessed. Any time a change is made however, the solution must be redone. To use radiosity in your scene, you first need to add a photometric light. It is important to know the size of your scene and also relative brightness of the light you choose. I chose a free area light for this particular scene and placed near the top of the ceiling. Radiosity works well for indoor scenes, light tracer, a different rendering solution, tends to work better for outdoor environments. Once you have set up your lighting, its time to set up your solution. Under Rendering > Advanced Lighting > Radiosity is where you set up the radiosity render settings. There are many options to tweak under these settings. Let’s go through them all to help better explain how to use them to better. Initial Quality defaults to 85%, ...

Chances are you have seen the cool effects of ray tracing. You may have even had your computer crash due to overuse of this advanced technique. But what exactly is going on when a ray trace solution is occurring? There is no doubt that ray tracing is a rendering technique used in 3d software that creates photorealistic images. The reason ray tracing creates such realistic images is because it literally calculates every ray of light and follows each and every one of them until they hit the camera. That means for each pixel, there is a calculation going on, tracing, the ray, hence the name, ray trace. What is a ray? In 3d terms, a ray is a line that travels through 3 dimensions and collects data to be rendered. As this ray travels though space, it bounces off various objects, collecting more data as it reaches its end goal, the camera. It mimics how real light behaves as it hits our eyes. You can think of our eyes as the camera, and light as the rays. Because the amount of rays in any given scene is quite numerous, the ray tracing calculation is reversed to that of real light. Only ...

If you have ever used 3d Studio Max you know that using the software can be challenging. Many problems can arise that interfere with efficiently using the software. Getting used to the graphical user interface, lighting, texturing and rendering all pose their challenges. Even the experienced users can find themselves stuck trying to remember 3d Studio Max’s comprehensive interface or waiting hours for a render. Because of these problems, efficiency can suffer and many users can find themselves taking three or four more steps than needed. Luckily there are ways to become more efficient using 3d Studio Max. 1. Learn hotkeys This may seem like an obvious, but using hotkeys are the quickest way to efficiency in 3ds Max. You should learn the hotkeys for anything you consistently do in 3ds Max. The best way to learn a hotkey is to literally stop what you are doing, and actually learn the hotkey. Write it down and keep a cheat sheet near your workstation. Eventually using hotkeys will become second nature to you. For example of the top of my head I know that ALT W will maximize your view port, T, L, F, and P will toggle to top, left, front ...