3ds Max 2017 Beginners Guide?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I have just finished downloading and installing the student version of 3ds Max 2017 and am lost, which I totally expected. However, I did not expect not to find any updated guides for beginners for the latest version of 3ds Max. I would like to learn at least the basics, like zoom, pan, move etc, which not even the 1min videos seemed to provide as all the steps either didn't work or did something completely different. For example, I opened a reference image but I was absolutely unable to zoom in or pan, so polygon editing was almost impossible because it was too small to see.

So is there someplace beginners can go to learn the ropes for the 2017 version beyond the 1min films?

Thank you,

P.S

I apologize if I placed this thread in the wrong place, I am new to this forum. 🙂

[-niels- · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the community!

Have you tried any of the getting started stuff you find with google?
https://www.google.nl/search?q=3ds+max+getting+started&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&...

I've used the Lynda.com site before, they have pretty decent tutorials, so that might be a start.
(haven't viewed the 3ds max one though...)
https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjGntXjh5LSA...

I guess the Autodesk people that visit this forum can suggest other learning materials as well.

(tagging @melissa.lax & @Alfred.DeFlaminis)

Some links i have that helped me a lot:

Tutorial by Jakub Reichman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8p6L6TZkOY

The people over at Design&Motion also have some tuturials:
http://designandmotion.net/autodesk/max-morgan-a-minimalist-guide-to-rendering-in-3ds-max/

And you can find some more tutorial videos by Marion Landry here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowqs8sl9-jv_B1VIOBrWd89aCf6DjbDW


Have fun learning!

[melissa.lax · Accepted solution]

@-niels- Thanks for being soo helpful!

Hi @Anonymous

I should actually say "welcome to your new cockpit." It's quite the software so wrapping your head around key concepts like panning, zooming, working with viewports is essential to a successful start. 

In general the Help page/In-product help is our official help so here you'll find documentation, articles, practice tutorials, and video tutorials. 

AREA is also great if you're looking for video tutorials and learning articles. I'm not sure what type of learner you are i.e. you prefer a written document over a video tutorial or vice versa. Below I've listed some useful links to get you started:

Help Page - It all starts here, all official documentation is maintained here.

 http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2017/ENU/

Help Page "Help for New Users" - Lots of content to plough through for newbies. 

http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2017/ENU/

3ds Max 2017.1 What's New - Latest changes for this release

http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2017/ENU/?guid=GUID-AA81EA1A-B4E1-4B47-B3AE-7C4AD62E24FF 

Getting Started Video Series - 20+ video tutorials to get you started in Max. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQRFLpFlqNk&list=PL65F8B8755BFDAA1E

Exercises - When you feel like you've got a better handle, you can try these practice exercises

Animating a battle scene

http://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/3DSMax-Tutorial/files/GUID-8BB0BAA5-0645-4F79-A901-B6DA3...

Modeling a revolving door

http://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/3DSMax-Tutorial/files/GUID-13748709-9B5E-4287-9CBB-AEE50...

Panning - You mentioned panning, here's both a step-by-step instruction and a video tutorial. 

. http://area.autodesk.com/learning/3ds-max-quick-tips-panning-within-a-command

As Niels mentioned, you can also try Lynda.com or Pluralsight for video tutorials and with your Max account you can get a trial. 

Please let me know how you get on!

Best,

Melissa 

Edited by
Discussion_Admin

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Thank you so much for giving me all of those links and for the welcome -niels-!

I have not started the "getting started" tutorials, though I really did look hard to find any for 2017. I have started the first video and guide right now (takes a bit to load). Oh and after some extensive google-fu, it appears that after Autodesk 2014, the lock/pan zoom in orthographic view has been removed? That would explain why nothing was happening when I was following the older guides. That's a weird decision but I'll keep watching/reading through your links to see if another way is given to us. 🙂

If anyone has anymore to give or suggest that I look at or read, I would really appreciate it. I'm making a bookmarks folder just for Autodesk tutorials. 🙂

EDIT

Oh my, I didn't see the new reply! Thank you for the response, melissa.lax!

I'm definitely more of a visual learner, but I appreciate all help and will look through them all regardless. The AREA link looks very useful so far! I'm able to filter it to versions which is very helpful! I have also opened up the other mentioned websites and will look for tutorials/guides as well.

[Anonymous]

I could not edit my post any further but here is an update so far:

Despite it saying "3ds Max 2017" in the tab title it appears to be 2016 from the actual articles and videos. For example, the 3d Snap menu it wants me to select (this image) is not on the menu as an icon (or anywhere as an icon). It appears all the icons have changed to a point that using the guide they are unrecognizable. For example, the 3D Snap icon is now a large "3" with the magnet more at the top and at an angle. It isn't a huge breaking point for the guide but for beginners they should really make sure the guides are updated with the new icons and directions to avoid confusing beginners.

(until I actually found the new icon I had to go into Tools > Grids and Snaps > Settings.)

Beyond that the tutorials given are a huge help! as soon as I figure out how, I will mark the thread with a solution!

EDIT

Okay, I can't select two posts as solutions but future readers: both are incredible and helped me out a lot! Give the links a try. 🙂

[melissa.lax]

Hi @Anonymous,

To answer your question, there's 2 dates we need to be mindful of: publication and version. The publication date is related to the actual date the content was published. The version date is related to the version of the software. Normally our software versions are a year ahead of the current fiscal year. For example the latest version of Max is 2017.1 - 2017 being the year and .1 because of our latest update -. So all content published would be published in 2016 and in some cases newer content 2017. Does that make sense? 

Regarding the icons, I'll talk to the team and see what we can do. 

Thanks for marking this as an accepted solution!

Best,

Melissa

[melissa.lax]

Hi @Root-Access

It's been a while, how are you getting on with Max? have you progressed? 

Help Page - It all starts here, all official documentation is maintained here.

http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2017/ENU/

Help Page "Help for New Users" - Lots of content to plough through for newbies. 

http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2017/ENU/

AREA - Be inspired, check out our latest tutorials. 

http://area.autodesk.com/learning

Best,

Melissa