generic modeling and community advice from Me (this isn’t be all end all, this is just based on what works for me):
-don’t jump into making bodies or faces or anything super complicated right off the bat. seriously. you’re just going to frustrate yourself when you can’t do it immediately. practice with small things first, like simple bracelets or skirts.
-learn your tools!!!! make a generic sphere or box and then go through your tools and plugins. learn what they do. it will help you immensely to learn the kind of functions that your program of choice has.
-no modeling program is 100% flawless! there might be something you can’t do with your chosen tool. that’s fine! the more tools at your disposal the better. even if you only use a different program for one single thing. that’s perfectly fine!
-(specifically for MMD stuff) learn how PMX editor works. if you’re going to be making a skirt and releasing it, learn how skirt plugin works (if you choose to rig it that way), learn how to rig even in the most basic way, learn how bones and toons and groups and facials work. seriously. it’d suck to release a skirt you worked hard on modeling only for nothing to actually be rigged because you didn’t use the plugin correctly.
-PLEASE LEARN HOW TO CLEAN YOUR MODELS AND PARTS BEFORE RELEASING. if your part has a thousand invalid faces and vertices and enough physics for an entire model despite being a single part, it’s really going to mess someone’s work up.
-as someone who is Constantly fucking this up, TEST YOUR PARTS AND MODELS FOR EVERY ISSUE UNDER THE SUN. make use of the diagnostic window. check what order your materials are in. transparent materials should go at the bottom. remember this. i am constantly screwing this up so take it from me: get your friends to beta test for you. test every slider. load random motion data and look for abnormal movements or stretched vertices. having to update after release is pretty annoying; necessary if you have to fix something, but annoying nonetheless.
-GIVE ALL BONES AND FACIALS ENGLISH NAMES. if they’re left blank, they’ll show as Null_(number) in display panes. do u know how annoying it is to find a specific facial when everything is named null?
-put time and effort into your work. you might want to be the first person to do something, but it’d be better to be the one with the better quality work and get it out later than be the first with a mountain of problems.
-SMOOTHING PATCHES ARE YOUR FRIENDS!!!!
-there will be times where you fuck up. there will be times when you make something in a way that makes it difficult for you to rig it, or maybe you forget to save before something crashes, or maybe you save in the wrong format, or maybe you just don’t like the end result. it’s fine. it happens. don’t give up over simple mistakes. we’re only human, and sometimes we mess up. it’ll be frustrating, but you learn from it and move on.
-if someone is trying to give you actual advice (not condescending insults like “x did it better”), LISTEN TO THEM. people who try to give you advice and feedback are trying to help you. they are not bullying you or trying to make you quit. they’re trying to help you improve. don’t be rude. you always have room to improve! everyone does!
-if you don’t want to give something for download, you don’t have to. nobody is entitled to your work. no matter how much a person tries to belittle or insult or guilt trip you, you do not owe them anything. it may be hurtful, but the people who matter will respect your decision. they may even take a step further and help defend you. if someone is going to bitch and whine about you not giving a download, they didn’t deserve your hard work in the first place. tantrums should never be rewarded.
-don’t put yourself on a pedestal if you do give out downloads. none of that “well I share my work UNLIKE OTHER SELFISH PEOPLE” bullshit. you are not better than anyone else for giving out your stuff. everyone has their own wishes and circumstances. by throwing other people under the bus you’re only proving that you have nothing to stand on by yourself, you need to belittle others to make yourself feel good. and that is the trait of someone who is selfish and pathetic. how about instead of being rude to other people, you reach out and support them instead? which brings me to my next point,
-make friends!!!!! be nice to other people, especially those who inspire you. create a network of people you can contact. not only will you have more people to hang out with, but everyone has a different specialty; if you’re having trouble with something, one of your friends might reach out to help! help each other out and be friendly. if you’re rude and nasty, you won’t make any friends, and your resources will diminish by a lot. if you’re nice, more people will enjoy conversing with you and will be willing to help. don’t make friends with just the intention of using people though! your peers are smarter than you might think they are, especially people like me who have been through that kind of treatment before. we can spot shallow intentions a mile away.
thats all i have for now. practice your craft and be nice to each other!!!!!!!!!
