How do you make people?

[BigDaz]

Sketchup looks very user friendly, anybody tried it?

http://sketchup.google.com

[zknack]

Sketchup is nearly all I use BigDaz..
My art pipeline is as such:
Sketchup => Xnormal                                                   =  for 3d work, and generating a normal map from the higher poly model.
UVmapper =>Artweaver  => ShaderMap                      = 2d texturing and normal map generation
Fragmotion= Rigging and animation
(Occasionally will use truespace (free!), CharacterFX (Free!) or milkshape for rigging and animation)

 I rarely boot up 3dStudio any more.

UVmapper Maps UV's faster and more efficiently than max can dream of by default.
Fragmotion doesn't have oddball errors with exporting characters like Max does... Although Max is faster often for testing animation or
pumping out a quick render.


Contrary to what many would say- character models, houses, darn near anything is easy in sketchup.

It can do subdivision modeling if you want- or it can be very organic.


Try it, and if you want a great, well done character creation tutorial for sketchup - go here: http://www.giantmonster.tv/giant/?p=396

[pixel_legolas]

nice tips there. I tried characterFX but will never touch it again. Pure crap according to me Fragmotion looks good but pricy?

[acocq]

.... Fragmotion looks good but pricy?

Well, I wouldn't consider $20 to be pricey, but it all depends on your available budget.

For me it was an easy choice ... easy to use, lots of functionality, low price. 

Ciao,
Andreas

[pixel_legolas]

ah, havent even looked at the price and that was really cheap

i think i was thinking about autodesk motionbuilder or whatever the name is

[ANDROMEDA FRAME]

As nice as it is to have free software, chances are you will eventually have to shell out and buy something pro quality, (your engine, your 3d app, your 2d app, etc.).
There is no easy way out, short of buying your assets when it comes to game or animation creation.

If you are really serious about building a game that you can sell (important), that people will buy (more important), you will soon have to realize there is no way that's gonna happen without some serious work and a little bit, (or a hell of a lot) of cash expenditure.
You're not going to do it for free.
You're not going to do it over night.
You're not going to do it without a substantial amount of learning at some or every level of the process.

If you know nothing about any of the processes, research, research, research......
Try modding a game first, or get involved with a mod team once you've gained some skills in one of the processes (modelling, animation, effects creation, coding, texturing, etc.).
Becoming half way decent at any one of those skills takes at least a year (or more if you are self educating)  of diligent and time consuming activity in that field.
Ask anyone on here how long it took to get to where they are in their project (Ron, for instance who now has his website and game up and running)....it's not an easy process, but can be very rewarding.

Enthusiasm is great, but it doesn't replace skill.
The hardest part for most beginners is the realisation that the software rarely if ever does the work for you.
It would be like buying a pack of crayons and expecting to create the Mona Lisa just by taking the wrapper off and opening the box....there is no crayon that's marked Mona Lisa.....
Reminds me of when I first started learning guitar. I thought if I slept with it, I would magically become a shredder....5 years later, it happened! (had nothing to do with practicing till my fingers bled.....).
That being said, here are a handful of links for totally free software and some tutorials on how to use them:

3d content creation:
http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/
http://www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/

http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax
http://simviation.com/gryphon/tutorials/gMax_00.htm

2d content creation:
http://www.gimp.org/
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

It's a start, but they all have a learning curve, some a lot steeper than others, and not one is gonna give you Crysis after a half an hour of work....but if it was easy, everybody would be doing it wouldn't they?

[zknack]

As nice as it is to have free software, chances are you will eventually have to shell out and buy something pro quality, (your engine, your 3d app, your 2d app, etc.).
There is no easy way out, short of buying your assets when it comes to game or animation creation.

To an extent that's true, but as I (and others) advocate -

There is such things as free, or low cost tools to produce professional level assets fairly easily.

However- and this is the catch, with low cost tools- while they can often easily beat the snot out of 'high-end' tools for some things,
like UvMapper honestly making 3dstudio looking amateur in comparision with getting good, solid, fast, easy UVmaps out- that often
you can actually (if you're a student) end up spending less in the long run buying a 'highend' package such as 3dstudio.

Which is ironic.

*cue shrug*

Just don't become discouraged about your dream of creating a game- yes, it's hard.
Yes it's time consuming.
Buttttt- it's fun. It's rewarding (play your own first level and tell me you don't get a rush out of it), and it's worth while.

I will to an extent agree to disagree with Andromeda on the 'Enthusiasm is great but it doesn't replace skill'-

Often, Enthusiasm creates skill... The Art Institutes will pick you up if you're skill-less but enthusiastic. Most of the 'best' game
artists I've seen in the industry - who graduated through there, started off being able to do no better then stick people when
they came aboard.

The skilled ones? They refined their skills, but rarely met or surpassed the enthusiastic ones.  The enthusiasts are just amazing
when they finally learn how to put their thoughts to form.

[ANDROMEDA FRAME]

Agreed.
Enthusiasm got me as far as I have with my modelling skills, which I would stack up against any schooled artist any day....
My point was and is, enthusiasm will get you started and keep you going, but it is no substitute for "lack" of skill, rather a catalyst for gaining it....
I think that anyone who is truly serious can utulize most programs to create what ever you need, but there is a reason some stuff is free and other stuff is exhorbitant in price (the fact notwithstanding that some software is clearly priced for a company that will spend $11 000 on a software package, just because they can...and the software company is more than happy to accomodate).

Lightwave is very low cost compared to most if not all pro programs, and as far as i'm (and many production studios as well) concerned, just as capabale.
so you don't have to break the bank for sure....but none of that matters if you don't put in the hard time required to learn the software to make it of any use to you...
I don't care if you can draw stickmen or have shit hanging in the Louvre....3d and graphics related software is a steep learning curve.

AI...yeah...they'll pick you up if you got the $47 000 for the course   .
But you are right.
9 times out of 10, someone with enthusiasm will be better than someone without.....

[cowblack920]

3d content creation:
http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/
http://www.blender.org/education-help/tutorials/

http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax
http://simviation.com/gryphon/tutorials/gMax_00.htm

2d content creation:
http://www.gimp.org/
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

What is the difference between 2d and 3d? I know that like 3d pops up but like why would you want 2d?

Try modding a game first, or get involved with a mod team once you've gained some skills in one of the processes

Can you do it without the team? It seems like it will be hard to get a team together unless you are like in collage for like game designing or the other stuff you can be for making games.

Thanks

[Ron]

What is the difference between 2d and 3d? I know that like 3d pops up but like why would you want 2d?

2d is good for your gui (graphical user interface). Basically, buttons, sliders, text boxes, health status, inventory, ....

To add another program to your choices of 2d graphical editing programs, I use PhotoPlus (http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/PhotoPlus/default.asp. They have a very powerful free version and for $10 you even get a few more features. I use plain old Microsoft paint (already on your computer) to do alot of work then PhotoPlus to do my resizing and saving to png and psd formats.

I also use www.cooltext.com for 2d title generation. Same thing as before, get what I am looking for there, copy and paste it into PhotoPlus, resize the save to the format I want.

[ANDROMEDA FRAME]

Paint is very useful and underated for simple shit.
I use it regularily because photoshop can't do some of the simple stuff simply.
Thanks for pointing that out, Ron.
I may have come across "elitist" in my response to the OP, but that wasn't my intention (never is).
I took every shortcut, warezed, and down right ripped off everything I could get my hand's on.....And you should...
If you are dumbass enough to drop a grand or more on software you don't even know if you can learn ..you will prolly fail...
I also feel, once you become proficient and confident enough in your abilities...shell out and buy the thing, it's the right thing to do....the way of the warrior/artist as it were...
Especially if you go pro/am...
I say these things, because cowblack has demonstrated by his/her questions that he/she is REALLY new at this and need's some serious guidance, not platitudes of "keep at it sport!!".
This shit is rock 'n roll, and we all know, that shit
 is serious business,
no?

[ANDROMEDA FRAME]

Can you do it without the team? It seems like it will be hard to get a team together unless you are like in collage for like game designing or the other stuff you can be for making games.

Thanks

of course, but you must have a skill they need... for instance, i'm a 3d modeller.
 i am currently involved with a crysis engine/bf2 mod team and a galactic civilisations mod team.
i'm building 3d models for them. and i'm learning as i go about game building...they are happy to share their knowledge with me because they love my modelling skill.
i learn from them, they get free models...win/win.
i'm in a good position because apparently there are not very many good modellers out there willing to expand their portfolio for free....

on the other hand games like galactic civilisationsII, warhammer, nexus the jupiter incident, and many others offer mod tools to fuck with their products....
research my friend, that's what google is for, for christ sakes!!
the internet is your lung rocket, hit the muthafooker!!!

[ANDROMEDA FRAME]

oh, and as an addendum to what 2d is for, most of your texture maps are done in 2d.
most artists"paint"over the uv maps in photoshop...
an example:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/LightWavetutorials/texturing.htm

i know it's a lot to digest, i was where you are 2 years ago. don't let it stop you, you can do it if you REEEALLLY want to......
i looked at this way....i learned to walk and talk when i was a little baby, how to play several instruments on my own by the time i was twenty,...... so how hard could this shit be.....