[-ANTi-]

Hey this is my first time posting...anyhow i am interested in getting into 3d animation as a hobby at first(and who knows mabey a career later) What i need to find out is where to start. I guess what i need to know is what program is good to start with, what material should i read, where on the web can i find useful resources, etc. All help is greatly appreciated.

[Lev]

If you have the money you could get max or get it by "other means" if you're looking to just learn the 3d and not making a profit. Max is most used in the game industry but once you can use one program, switching over to others is not too/as difficult since the basics of 3d remain the same throughout all the programs.

Here's a link to all the 3d resources I have, hope they can help you! http://www.geocities.com/lev_232/3dlinks.htm

[shahar2k]

Thinking outside the box by paul steed, http://www.loonygames.com/content/2.13/totb/
I reccomend you read all the modeling related ones, that's how I learned

[-ANTi-]

Thank you. That link has helped me a great deal getting all the information i needed. For anyone else just trying to get oriented with 3d check out this link first:
http://www.webreference.com/3d/indexa.html

It seemed to be the best of the links on that page to begin with if you have no starting knowledge.

[GiGGeR]

How about GMax, a free and 'stripped down' version of 3dsmax.

download it at www.discreet.com
i think it's a good one to start with.

have fun