Learning 3ds Max

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I am looking to learn 3ds max from absolute scratch in order to obtain a new position at work. I have a mac and it was recommended to me that I download parallels and purchase windows in order to work in this program.  Can you please breakdown this workaround to someone that is not familiar with windows and someone who has never used the program before but is really eager to get moving asap.  Given that you do not make this program accessible to mac users you should probably be sensitive to this learning curve.

Thanks!

[Alfred.DeFlaminis · Accepted solution]

Hello @Anonymous and welcome to the community,

I have moved your post to a new thread so that I can help you with this issue. It some cases similar issues have differing resolutions so by moving this thread it increases the chances that other users will find the information helpful and that your solution can be marked. I have also edited the title slightly for more efficient searching. Thanks for your understanding.

For getting started with Max, I recommend this thread here.  I didn't want to simply copy and paste it after all the hard work by @melissa.lax and @-niels-, so I thought a link there would be appropriate.  That thread is action packed with some great information for new users to the software. 

I am not really an expert in Macintosh computers or Parallels software, for the installation of Windows and Parallels you may have to refer to the manufacturers websites for further instructions on how to proceed.  I can help with Max questions if you have them and I am happy to do so.  Have you already installed Windows or Parallels on the Mac?  Thanks for any more information!

Best Regards,

[melissa.lax · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

I must apologize for my late reply, I was on vacation but back in action now!

Welcome to Max! hope you get good use of it. May I ask what type of visualization you'll be doing? 

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...

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 

[Alfred.DeFlaminis]

Hello @Anonymous,

I just wanted to follow up here, are these links helpful for you in your quest for knowledge?    Is there anything else I can help you with?  Thanks!

Best Regards,