[hawken]

doesn't really matter which software you use as they all do the same thing but c4d has the tools in logical places also its physics and hair etc are all fast / not crash prone.

learning the basics is key, then choosing the software for you should come second. I'd say it takes about a year to become fluent in c4d but max you are looking at several years to really grasp everything it does.

[fetusface]

second that. people seem to think that 3D Studio Max is too confusing, in reality when you get to the point where you want advanced features in C4D both programs are going to require some training or tutorials.

Both are excellent programs

You should try XSI, it's awesome

[CharmingMan]

3d apps melt my mind, i really want to learn but cant justify the time it takes.

i'll stick with sketchup

[Dusteh]

just remember to employ me for all of those sticky 3D problems you have in future charming. Problem solved :P

[steharg]

anyone got any good tutorials for C4D?

after learning 3d on and off for a few years im determined this time to finally crack it..... been having a play around with c4d and it is very user friendly.

[chips]

I'd start with Lynda's overview of cinema4d. I've gone through a few cinema tutorials ad this is a good all rounder to start with.
CINEMA 4D R10 Essential Training - lynda.com Online Training Library®

I find CMIVFX's stuff very long winded but very thorough. I would recommend doing these at a later point when you've got some experience & know your way around a bit.
Welcome to cmiVFX.com

this is a giant resource.
Cineversity

some free ones once you're up and running (I have more free ones at work in my bookmarks. I'll try and remember to post em up)
TVGRAFX.COM
Tutorials by Members -> Tutorials -> Downloads
Free video tutorials - c4dportal
Cinema 4D Tutorials - Search for Cinema 4D Tutorials on Pixel2Life

I'm pretty new to it, but lovin cinema4d!

[niggle]

Its very designer friendly, it has a great GUI unlike Maya and 3DS.

Maya's interface is pretty daunting but as you get to know it you realise that there are good reasons why it's like that. It's a very, very complex and powerful program.

If you're happy just doing the odd bit of extruded text and the occasional shiny animated logo, using Maya would be a bit like using a sledge hammer to push in a drawing pin. But when you need a bit more flexibility and kick, it can do things very quickly and easily which would be very difficult or impossible in other apps.

[Hinkle]

I used to be a maya user. But it is indeed very complicating, especially when you get to lighting and rendering. I tried wrapping my head around mental ray for quite some time.

After not playing with 3D for about half a year i decided to give it another go, this time i used Modo, and i must say im sold. The modeling tools are amazing and the shader/render workflow is nice too, not confusing like maya's hypershade system. There's a lot of limits when it comes to animation, but the next version seems very promising ( fur/hair etc... )



one of my first tries at modo. as you can see i didn't really understand the modeling tools yet so i stuck to basic shapes

[Dusteh]

yerah I heard modo has some shit-hot nurbs modelling in it. One of C4Ds weak points is the lack of advanced hypernurb tools, although there are 3rd party plugins that help.

[niggle]

not confusing like maya's hypershade system.

That's one area where maya really fails beginners: it doesn't come with a load of predefined shaders (just a bunch of general types), so you really have to learn to use it from the ground up with little in the way of examples to learn from.

So if you're just using the basics, defining glass as just a bit transparent with a little refraction and some reflections, it's just too much of a labour to produce something usable. But if you're getting further into the shaders and want falloffs, fresnel and other effects in your glass, it's very controllable and understandable. This is especially true of its handling of complex subsurface scattering shaders and the like.