Getting Started

Posted Mar 1 2006, 12:00 AM

To kick things off for this section of the blog, I thought it would be best to share some of the resources I use to create and acquire inspiration from for each of my projects. Below you’ll find a list of these various resources . What’s important to keep in mind is that you should never use what is not yours to make money (in other words - don’t steal). Sure grab a texture, but make sure you manipulate that texture into something that becomes yours and looks nothing like the original when you present your final piece. I’ll be covering how to do such a thing in an upcoming post.

These are the best places to learn, exchange ideas, problems, etc... 
CG Forums: 
http://forums.cgsociety.org/  
http://www.dvgarage.com/  
 
These two applications offer almost as many tools and power as most commercial applications do, they are a great way to get the ball rolling if you’re on a budget: 
http://www.blender3d.org/  
http://www.wings3d.com/  
 
These are some of the top commercial 3D applications (students and schools can get educational pricing on these): 
Modo (HOT newcomer)
Alias Maya
Cinema 4D
zBrush

 
A bunch of texture resources (be sure you check for copyright and or any restrictions on use!): 
http://lemog.free.fr/lemog_v5/index.php  
http://www.animax.it/animax/Textures.htm  
http://www.monitorstudios.com/bcloward/resources_textures.html  
http://www.morguefile.com/  
http://oboylephoto.com/ruins/index.htm  
http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/texture/  
http://www.digitalcraftsman.com/textureBin/textureBin.htm  
http://textures.forrest.cz/  
http://3dplants.0catch.com/index.html  
http://www.graysage.com/cg/BackDrops/Textures/  
http://www.mayang.com/textures/  
http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/Einstein.html  
http://gw.marketingden.com/planets/planets.html  
http://www.space-graphics.com/  
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/globegal.html  
http://www.arraich.com/freephotos.htm  
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html  
 
Just some web sites that should give you some inspiration: 
http://www.3dartspace.com/  
http://www.nanami3d.com/  
http://www.guerillapixel.com/  
http://www.hybridmedicalanimation.com/  
http://www.yoshii.com/  
http://www.rustboy.com/  
http://www.cydonian.com/  
 
Game School: 
http://www.digipen.edu/  
http://www.animationarena.com/going-to-video-game-school.html  
 
 
Some other computer graphics schools: 
http://www.vanarts.com/  
http://www.westwood-college.net/index2c.cfm?pmode=gam&key=go_117&drop_id=6  
 
A big list of related schools: 
http://www.gamediscovery.com/game-design/computer-game-design-schools.asp  
 
Please feel free to contribute any related links or resources by commenting below. 

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