Need advices to start doing Mesh

[CloudWalkerNZ]

I want to start learning how to mesh. I have been reading tutorials from this site, TSR, chumbalum.swissquake.ch & blender and viewing videos on U-Tube and The Sim Supply. :D

I understand basic textures and can do most alterations on any basic textures. I thought it is a good time to try my hand at modding mesh. :heyhey:

I was wondering which meshing tools is the easiest to learn. There seem to be a lot more tutorial written for Milkshake but it cost $35US to register and I am not sure I want to spend money just to alter a few items. Blender seems to be free but it seems that you need to go to University to do a computer course to learn it. :P

Is there some middle ground where I don't have to spend any money to learn? I just want to try doing a few simple projects first and see if I like doing them. :anime: Such as creating a round floor covering, maybe changing the size of a painting canvas, and do some simple alteration to clothing and hairs. :)

Can someone point me to some good Blender tutorial for Sim 3 meshing for beginner?

Also links to all the other programs I need for meshing will also be helpful. :jest:

[orangemittens]

I think Milkshape is easier to learn than Blender. That said, once you get past the learning phase, since Blender is more powerful, it's probably easier to get a good mesh out of Blender than MS...if that makes sense. Blender can do a lot for you that MS isn't capable of or can do but with a lot more effort on your part. If you're just starting out meshing and are gonna be spending the time to learn an editor anyway I'd suggest Blender as being the tool most worth your time.

If you still want to try Milkshape though there is a free 30 day trial period...of course, if you like it, after that time is up you have to pay in order to keep using the tool.

So far, there is no start to finish tutorial for meshing Sims 3 objects with Blender. The Sims 3 related portion of the task though is similar to that for meshing with Milkshape and if you run into questions there are people here who will answer if you ask. The only part that would be much different would be the part that takes place in the 3D editor...that is creating the actual mesh and mapping it.

If you decide to use s3oc/s3pe/obj tool to mesh with you can find the first two at Simlogical here: http://dino.drealm.info/den/denforum/index.php

and objtool stickied at the top of this forum. If you go with MS the plugins are in the same thread and if you go with Blender the plugin (for object meshing) is here: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=433882

[HystearicalParoxysm]

For beginners - people who have never meshed before in their life, I would -strongly recommend Milkshape. Yes, it's $35 but if you think of it as $35 toward a user-friendly, easy to use program that's not going to make you feel like an idiot, I'd go with Milkshape. It's what I learned on and it made it very easy to learn - both its simple interface as well as the amount of tutorials and support available for it. $35 to not pull your hair out for several hours trying to do fairly simple things seems pretty worth it to me.

I've become pretty advanced with 3D stuff. I use 3DS Max on a near-daily basis. I have tried Blender again and I -still- hate it. Even opening a file doesn't use the standard Windows dialogs, and I can't figure out how to do anything with it. It makes me feel like a chimp behind the controls of a stealth fighter - utterly dumbfounded. It's got a learning curve like a sheer cliff face. I have seen some amazing things done with it, but unless you REALLY love a challenge and are already extremely technically minded, I'd still go with Milkshape to start with; Blender will still be there, free to use, once you've learned the basics of meshing, but IMO, Milkshape is almost always a better choice for beginners.

[sims_reality]

Hmmm..well, in any case you would need milkshape if you want to make stuffs for sims3 . As for 3ds max, it horribly expensive. Also, I think blender is pretty easy to use, if you are only willing to do basic stuff such as meshing and texturing. Especially if you've never used any other 3d programs.

[orangemittens]

SR it's no longer the case that you have to have Milkshape to make meshes for Sims 3...at least not if what you're interested in is making objects.

The Blender tools are located in the downloads section here (I gave a link to the thread in my post above) and the download makes it so you can use Blender instead of Milkshape (as opposed to in addition to it) to make Sims 3 objects.

[CloudWalkerNZ]

Thanks everyone for their replies. :P I have spent 1 day each going through the tutorials currently available online for blender and milkshape. :p

While Blender is a free program, most of the training materials are not. There is also a lot to weed through just to get to the part I want to know. It is like doing a university paper without the course materials. :blink:

Milkshape has a lot more materials on modification on Sim 3 items and converting Sim2 to Sim3. I can grasp most of the basic of Milkshape in about 1 day of viewing video online and going through the tutorials here and at Milkshape's main site.

I think I'll play with Milkshape for a while until I get better at meshing then I may move on to bender. :p

[melanise]

Ya Milkshape is good and cheap but seriously... it can be very fidgity, and can become very irritating but then thats from my personal experince, I use Maya and I learnt how to use it within 3 months or less its not extremly easy but its layout is very user friendly and you work your way around nicely. I only ever use milkshape to import my meshes from maya to the game thats about it lol, if you really want to learn about 3D meshing and UV maping ... Maya is the way to go.x