To start developing your own 3D games and programs, you're going to need to know the basics of C++, like shaping. This video lesson will show you how to create basic shapes using OpenGL and GLUT for C++, so you can start making your own 3D programs. If you want to create your ...more
In order to complete this 3D spinning cube using OpenGL and GLUT for C++ programming, you need to know the basics of C++ programming. This video lesson covers everything you should already know. Check out the other videos to get the full gist: 1. Creating basic 3D shapes 2. U ...more
If you want to learn how to make a 3D game using C++, then this is where you should start. This video lesson will show you how to download and set up OpenGL and GLUT for Microsoft Visual C++ Express on a computer running a Windows operating system. With all of this ready to g ...more
Before you can start making awesome 3D games on your Linux computer using C++, then you're going to need to download and install these developer programs. This video lesson will show you how to download and set up OpenGL and GLUT for C++ on a computer running a Linux operating ...more
To start making your own 3D games using C++, then you're going to need to download and install these developer programs. This video lesson will show you how to download and set up OpenGL and GLUT for C++ on a computer running a Mac operating system. After getting all of this ...more
OpenGL (OPEN Graphics Language) is a 3D graphics language developed by SGI. It has become a de facto standard supported in all Unix, Linux, Windows and Macintosh computers. To start out developing your own 3D games and programs, you need to know OpenGL and C++. This video less ...more
Check out this CreativeCow video on creating extruded or 3D text using After Effects. This new video tutorial from Paul Ezzy shows you the basics of using BCC Extruded Text in Adobe After Effects. BCC Extruded Text belongs to the 3D Objects category of filters which is new to ...more
By now, you should know a few of the basics of programming with OpenGL and GLUT for C++ developing, like shapes, transformations, timers, and colors. Now it's time for lighting. Everything could look right in your 3D program or game, but if you're lighting isn't right, it's a ...more
By now, you should know a few of the basics of programming with OpenGL and GLUT for C++ developing, like shapes, transformations, timers, and colors. Now it's time for lighting. Everything could look right in your 3D program or game, but if you're lighting isn't right, it's a ...more
After you've learned the basics about shapes, transformations, and times, it's time to move onto learning the color scheme of things in the C++ programming language. You can't have a beautiful 3D game or program with out vibrant colors! This video lesson will show you how to a ...more
After publishing two batches of videos from its L.E.A.P. developer conference, Magic Leap has made the session on Seedling from Insomniac Games available to the public. Featuring Joel Bartley, lead gameplay programmer for Insomniac Games, and Michael Liebenow, lead software e ...more
|Choose Your View: Quick Bullet Points | Detailed Descriptions Android's newest major update is a special one — it's the tenth full version of the world's most commonly used operating system. The latest release, dubbed simply Android 10 (codename Android Q), was first showcas ...more
We live in a computer world full of file formats. Whether we are talking about images, videos, or text documents, there are dozens of file types for each, and there are new ones added every year to applications. Keeping in mind that many of these formats were created before th ...more
When Apple announced their ARKit platform in June, they immediately staked the claim to the largest augmented reality hardware platform, with millions of iPhones and iPads compatible with iOS 11 becoming AR devices this fall. Not so fast, says Google. Today, Google revealed t ...more
With the invention of 3D TVs and a 3D film showing in nearly every theatre, 3D seems to be the biggest craze lately. Did you know you don't have to spend a fortune to create one of these eye-popping movies yourself? In this tutorial, learn how to take two inexpensive mini Fli ...more
Screw gaming, let's get to the serious stuff! Here's an amazing video of a Kinect hack that lets one see what its camera sees - in 3D. Instead of 2D images of motion capture, we get the full spatial view. Think of the "bullet time" effect in The Matrix (freeze, rotate, conti ...more
Shaun will teach us how to create a 3D video game compatible with MAC or PC with no prior programming knowledge. First download Alice, a 3D World program that can be turned into a video game. Open Alice, click on "add objects", click on "more controls" and select your choice o ...more
This video from accredited 3D art instructor Andrew Klein covers some basic techniques for using Zbrush to sculpt the details of a 3D model of a shoe. He already has a basic model of a shoe when he begins, so you should be at the level where you can sculpt that before you watc ...more
The value of having a good logo for your enterprise, no matter what it is, is not new and very great. Flash and other modern digital art tools have taken the art of logo creation to heights never before imagined. This video will teach you how to create a cool 3D logo using Fla ...more
Creating a good 3D model of the human face is massively challenging. This five-part video will teach you how to do just that using the popular 3D modeling software 3D Studio Max. It goes into great detail, and should be very helpful for anyone looking to improve their 3D model ...more
This clip presents a brief look at some of the basics of working with Flash Video in Adobe Flash CS4. See how to convert to the FLV format, how to transform the video using, for example, the new 3d Rotate tool, and how to build a simple stop and play button setup. Whether you' ...more
Fabric is challenging to depict in art because of its many folds and the complex ways that light plays off of it. This video from accredited 3D art instructor Andrew Klein will teach you how to sculpt fabric using the popular 3D sculpting program Zbrush. He outlines the forces ...more
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Michael Park shows you how to create a realistic 3d earth, complete with clouds and atmosphere, using only After Effects' built in effects. Special attention will be given to combining multiple instances of the CC Sphere effect to cr ...more
The mushroom cloud is one of the iconic images of the 20th century, calling to mind destruction, progress, and arguably the single most important event of the century. This video will show you how to create a 3D model of one using 3D Studio MAX 4 or higher. This can then be us ...more
THis video from accredited 3D art instructor Andrew Klein covers how to create symmetrical and asymmetrical blendshapes using the 3D sculpting program Zbrush. This is a fairly complex process, utilizing transpose masking features, move brush, smart resym, and morph target tool ...more
In the old days, artists used to have their apprentices render all of the parts of some human figures except for the face and hands. Those are the hardest parts, and had to be done by the master. If you aspire to be a 3D modeling master, you have to be able to make good-lookin ...more
The evil monkey from my closet is back! Don't worry, that's just a picture of him that will rotate to point at your mouse cursor wherever it is. This video will teach you how to create this 3D rotational effect using Actionscript 3 and Flash CS4 or above. This effect will all ...more
Compositing green screen images with images from other sources is the most important part of using a green screen. This video will teach you how to composite a green screen element with a 3D stage created using Maya in After Effects. The end result looks very professional, and ...more
This video from accredited Maya instructor Andrew Klein of the Art Institute of San Francisco will teach you how to use just one of the innumerable powerful features of Autodesk's Maya 3D modeling software. It covers how to use a spline IK and a dynamic hair curve to drive a j ...more
In this Boris FX video tutorial we show you how to employ the power of vertex shaders to warp, deform and even explode 3D extruded text using Adobe After Effects and the new 3D Objects from Boris Continuum Complete 6 AE. Creative Cow is a support community for digital video, ...more
Cinema 4D is an amazing program, but not a one-stop source for animation needs, especially if you're planning on making a 3D video game, for which you'll need Unity 3D. This three-part video covers the process of rigging a character in Cinema 4D and transferring to Unity 3D. ...more
The human skeleton may not be that artistically satisfying by itself, but a good realistic model of one is the basis of much of the most anatomically correct and natural-looking art. This three-part video will teach you how to 3D model a skeleton using Maya, starting with the ...more
If you've found this video, chances are that you are looking to improve your skills using Maya, the 3D modeling software. You've come to the right place. This video will teach you how to create a polygonal model of a hand, one of the most challenging and important parts of the ...more
Tire treads may not seem like a terribly important thing to model properly, but they are intricate and learning how to do it is a valuable experience. This video will walk you through creating a 3D model of a tire tread using Maya, specifically brutalizing a bend deformer.
This video will show you how to create a 3D cartoon character using a website called Xtranormal. In the program, you should first pick the scene where you want your action to occur as well as the 3D character which you would like to be present in the scene. You can then type a ...more
Making a spaceship use its afterburner and escape from the Earth's gravitational pull is tough. Modeling and animating a 3D simulation of the same thing is also hard, although quite as much so. This video series will teach you how to create a 3D model of a flying rocket with a ...more
The nose is the most prominent feature of the face, and cannot be obscured by sunglasses or hats like the eyes and hair. This two-part video will show you how to add detail to the nose of a 3D model of a human head using 3D Studio Max. You have to have a face already for this ...more
In this video, viewers learn how to create augmented reality applications, using Papervision 3D version 2.0. Augmented reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with virtual computer-generated imagery - ...more
Being able to create documents that stand out and impress is the theme of this how-to video on creating 3D text. Using an open Photoshop window, the pleasant sounding narrator guides you through the process of turning regular text into 3D. The narrator also supplies helpful ti ...more
Origami is one of the oldest art forms. The uniqueness of this art is that it is made with only a single substance, which is paper. Paper is very common and cheap material. This video describes how to make a slice of 3D origami watermelon using paper of green, white and red co ...more
The noble rock may not seem like the most fun thing to create a 3D model of. They are a useful example though because their basic shape and lack of movement make them manageable for beginners to work with while their many facets and textures present fun areas to work with. Thi ...more
The bishop is widely regarded as the most powerful of chess pieces. This video by Andrew Klein will teach you how to make a 3D model of one using Maya. It is meant to help beginners learning the basics of Maya, and focuses on the use of NURBS as part of a 3D model. The previo ...more
Use a 2D image of clouds to generate realistic video footage of 3D cloud motion. In this tutorial from All Bets Are Off, Aharon Rabinowitz demonstrates how to create this effect using a single 2D image of clouds and a few simple clicks.
The video below demonstrates how you can convert you 2D Photos into 3D Models using 3Defy. You will need to follow these steps: 1. Select a photograph to work with. You can either upload one of your own photos, or provide a URL to an image on the Internet. 2. Identify the o ...more
Make spinning 3D animations of spirographs, DNA, wormholes, spirals and tubes using Adobe Flash and Actionscript 3 in this video from the flashbuilding tutorial series designed for the regular guy and ordinary folks.
CGI and live action shots get together in almost every big-budget Hollywood movie these days, but combining them in one shot can be challenging for the uninitiated. This video will teach you all about using CGI in live action films, including the use of 3D Studio Max, Blender, ...more
Most of the 3D modeling tutorial videos out there work within one program or at most two, often Photoshop in conjunction with a 3D modeling program like Maya. This video will walk you through a complete project using four program: 3DS MAX for modeling, Boujou for 3D tracking, ...more
Christmas decorations aren't cheap. From outdoor lighting to fir trees, decorating for the holidays can break the bank. That's where ingenuity comes into play, like hacking battery-operated Christmas lights, modifying lighting patterns and building Christmas tree ornaments fro ...more
Pretty much every efficient type of modern vehicle features some sort of suspension to cushion its landings and smooth its ride. This means that modeling a suspension accurately is an important part of creating 3D models of vehicles. This four-part video will teach you how to ...more
Maya can count itself among the most powerful and also most challenging programs in all of computing. It's 3D modeling potential is nearly limitless if you can master its intricacies. This video features a professional digital art teacher teaching you how to model a 3D head us ...more
3D glasses are enjoying a renaissance right now, but the new ones are a far-cry from the red-and-blue affairs of your youth. Old-fashioned 2-color 3D pictures are called anaglyphs, and still have a very nostalgic appeal to many people. This video will show you how to make ster ...more
If you want to demonstrate your 3D model on a turntable or create some other sort of short animation with your models without having to use more specialized software, you can render an AVI video inside 3D Studio MAX. This video will show you how to do this quickly and easily, ...more
Creating 3D models of the human head that will show emotion, eat, and do all the other things that heads do properly is hard. Fortunately, this video is here to help you get started. It demonstrates the basics of 3D head modeling using 3D Studio MAX. Follow these instructions ...more
After Effects allows you to do all sorts of amazing things to your videos and images, but it cannot do it all alone. This video will show you how to use an After Effects plugin called Normality 3 to make lighting adjustments to 3D assets on the fly, having already rendered out ...more
For beginners, learning the intricacies of modeling 3D art can seem insurmountable. This video for 3D beginners is here to help you through it. Its four parts are a detailed and slow walkthrough for making low poly BC Rich guitar with splines using 3D Studio Max, a popular 3D ...more
This video presents a simple setup for imitating the Transformers title text effect in Cinema 4D using Explosion FX. Whether you're new to MAXON's popular 3D modeling application or are just looking to get better acquainted with Cinema 4D and its various features and functions ...more
Learn how to create 3D extruded text within Final Cut Pro using the Boris Title 3D title tool. This free video software tutorial will show you how. Whether you're new to Apple's Final Cut Pro non-linear video editor or just want to better acquaint yourself with the Final Cut P ...more
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow leader Michael Park shows you how to recreate the opening gun barrel sequence from the two newest James Bond movies in 3d Studio Max using the default scanline renderer, minimal modeling, and only standard materials. Creative Cow is a supp ...more
Ragdoll physics are all the rage in 3D shooter games, causing characters to die in glorious realism before glitching as soon as they get anywhere near a wall. This two-part video will teach you how to create a basic ragdoll for a biped model using the Reactor engine within 3D ...more
In this video tutorial, Creative Cow contributing editor Eran Stern shows you a very cool way to create 3D ribbon text animation using After Effects CS3 Text tool. Part two enhances the 3D ribbon text composition by adding a ripple effect to the floor plus a flock of fireflies ...more