Modo 3D - a noob’s learning process.

Posted by Colin | Filed under 3D

I have switched from Blender to Modo as my weapon of choice for 3D rendering. Modo isn’t the most popular 3D package but I really like the interface, its just more natural than Blender’s. On the downside the biggest difference between Blender and Modo is the relative lack of ‘Modo 101′ lessons as most tutorials seem to assume that you’ve migrated from another 3D app. So I am going to document - for myself and other beginners - the recreation of my ‘Orbs’ set piece.

Day 1
I spent last night modeling and as of now I am here:
day1

I discovered that I don’t know the difference between Clone and Array. I know what an array is in Blender, but it didn’t seem to work the same in Modo. I could’ve made the small wall along the outside a lot more efficiently if I knew the proper ways to use Clone/Array.

I am terrified of UV mapping.

Day 2
Started to learn how to UV map. Got a better feel for materials and the shader tree. Really you have to play with it to understand how it works. A good tutorial video is on the Modo site with a file name ‘CreateUV.mp4′ (sorry - don’t have the title).

Also got more familiar with Modo’s lighting and positioned the camera.

Here is where I am at the end of Day 2:
day2

Not too bad. The wall looks like marble, IMO. Most materials are not textured so they have a plasticy look to them. Hopefully I can remedy this. I want to learn how to put down a bump map for the floor.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Apr 2, 2009

One Response to “Modo 3D - a noob’s learning process.”

  1. Mike Gill Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    Don’t fret too much about the UV mapping. Once you wrap your head around it it becomes second nature. Just do it over and over again until it becomes second nature. I remember freaking out when I was taking it in school and my instructor told me to creat something without using any primitives. That’s right, strip it all down and start building with verticies and edges. Then we got into subdivision surfaces and, needless to say, my mind was blown.

    In any case, I could talk forever on the subject. What I really want to say is that I look forward to watching your 3D portfolio expand.

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