Building Techniques Class -- project suggestions?

I am considering ... maybe.... doing some building classes for newbies. Rather than the typical "this is how you rez a cube" and so on kind of stuff, what I'd like to do is show students how to do a certain thing during each session. For example, during one class I might show them how to cell shade, then as a bonus work with them as a group to make a completed cell shaded object.

So (1) Cell shading....

And I kinda draw a blank from there. Any suggestions on what kinds of things newer builders would like to be taught to do?

Sounds like a great idea, Stormy - one suggestion I'd make - is make it clear in your class description that the skills you are teaching are a "Building 102" type of course.

From my experience, if you get newbies fresh from the WA to your course, (unless they have prior 3D Modelling experience) teaching beyond how to simply use the interface may be somewhat overwhelming for a lot of folks as a first step.

I agree with Travis, a true newbie has a hard time understanding the basic terms(what is a prim? why do they say prim limit if it's that funny looking box?) so your idea might be a second class. The most basic building class needs to teach how to rez a basic prim, how to texture it and the sides seperately, how to stretch, position, link and rotate etc etc...

Not to mention understanding how to move the camera...

I created a basic class on notecard so when I do move over to the more advanced levels I can point to the basic class.

So glad you're interestd in teaching, don't get discouraged if your classes are small. If you help one person it's well worth it

Yes, building 102, advanced building techniques, whichever. I intend on making it clear that this is for people who are already familiar with building tools.

Now, gimme some ideas about what people need to be taught!

People want to make useful things, houses/stores, scripted items, jewelry, hair etc. Anything you see in SL for sale would be an idea. What do you make? Are you good at making something specifically? Many advanced users come to my basic class seeking help in making a house, car, plane, bling etc.. If you teach a class on making houses you would get a nice group imho. Teaching small parts over days or weeks seems difficult, because most people can't be online at the same time for each class.. maybe past claases on notecards would help with this problem.

I'm not sure you would get many takers for a class on cell shading because very few new users know they need to learn it. They would come to a class on making something they want and need. Just my opinion, but what do I know

I think this is a great idea.

I am not a newbie (two months old) but i have yet to learn lots of diff aspects of builidng and design. It depends what your priorities are in the first few weeks.

Stormy's excellent work with organic forms would probably attract some people.

My suggestion would be to make it focussed on particular projects.

I would recommend a section for low-prim/small texture building. By mastering hollows, cuts, advanced cuts, and clever texture use people can enjoy more detailed and attractive builds for a fraction of the lag.

making a simply necklace with a drop pendant.
making a ring.

and provide a bling script

I saw a pic of a knot that was made out of one prim. I want to know how to manipulate prims like that.

I would love to go to an actual class. You say for newbies...does this mean newbies to SL or any person new to building? I have been playing around with building in the sandbox by creating a shape and then messing around with the tools. I just can't figure out how people make the things they do. All my shapes look pretty basic heh. A class would be wonderful, but I never can catch them during the times I am on.

The Human Form. Or just organic style building.

Cool idea! I'll come take your class for sure.

OMG!! *stage fright*

I'm a not so noob, and I'd be VERY interested in attending a building 102 class. I've been able to figure some things on my own (like windows) but I know there are things I'm missing. I still cannot achieve primwise what I see in my head.

I'm especially interested in building more organically as well -

-plus now I'm damned curious about cell shading.

Cell shading is done with prims?!?!?!

I thought it was textures

Where do I sign up for class?

What I have in mind is more of a "certain techniques" approach. Cell shading is a "technique" used to achieve a certain look.... as an example. There might be certain prim shapes or effects newer builders wish they could achieve... that sort of thing.

Building an entire human figure..... ahhhh, I dunno about that one. An 8-12 hr class isn't exactly up my ally, then leaving an entire class full of potential competitors to my bussiness!? lol Everyone would know my secrets, then I wouldn't be semi-semi-special anymore! Kidding! Really, that's alot more indepth than just a technique used here and there. That is something that someone can and will do on their own, if they are determined enough and patient enough. It's something that can't be taught. It's not hard... just takes time and effort.

Judging from your initial idea of demonstrating cell shading, I'm going to assume you want to teach parts rather than the whole. How about topics similar to:

1. Spheres & cylinders greater than 10m
   
2. Creating organic curves
   
3. Trunks, Limbs & leaves
   
4. Rooftops without 90 degree angles
   

Personally, building is a bunch of little hurdles for me. I stare at my unfinished project, trying to figure out how to proceed. When it finally hits me, I usually have a new building technique under my belt. If you teach from the mindset of creating complex prims from simple ones, then your class can incorporate the complex prim structures into their customized builds.

However it works out, it sounds like an interesting class, one I'll try to make.

Ohhhhh..... big rooftops! Now THAT is a challenge I faced many times, and while I'm no expert, I managed. I could demo a few ways to do that...

I have a stupid question... when you all say "organic" builds, what are you talking about? I'm lost on that one.. "organic curves?" Are those curves made from natural resources?

Not stupid, I took a couple minutes to try & think of the right word to use there and failed apparently, call it the end of a long day and my brain's turned to sludge.

I guess I mean curves found in nature, like a crooked elbow, the transition from chin to cheek to eyesocket or even a realistic hand. Again, I think combining several smaller prims to create a complex one, that *doesn't* look like a bunch of small prims would be most useful.

How about building small objects - I saw jewelry mentioned, but just small objects in general.

And yes, organic building. It's easy to get stuck in the 'angular' mindset with the building tools we have, and much more difficult to have more freeform, flowing, rounded builds.

Prim efficiency - Jauani showed me some ways he uses prims in ways you wouldn't think of to make them less prims, and I think this would be helpful for people.

Prim efficiency sounds like a class I need to be a student in, definately NOT a teacher! Getting better, but still learning..

Oh, just thought of one... to run by you all...

I have gotten into this habit of making textures by putting prims together and making snapshots, then taking them into photoshop to alpha out the back ground. I'll attach an example of such an object. The good thing about this is, with shine applied to the prims, they are automatically shaded and look like real prims versus a texture ingame. Now, Teaching this would be simple enough, provided someone knows how to create and work with alpha channels in photoshop, or whichever program they have. Think this would be a feasible and useful class topic?

stormy, i am about to start creating a second generation version of my DIY building tutorial (currently in the form of a merry go round). If you want to collaborate on the next version, let me know! Cell shading, texturing various sides of a prim, using transparent prims for light effects, texture animation, parent/child linking are topics covered in the first one.

I agree with aimee that efficient building would be useful. Lots of people have questions on windows, for example, and showing the different approaches to windows highlights a few interesting things: hollowing/cutting, alpha channels (including semi-transparent alpha), and texture vs prim tradeoffs.

small prim building is a neat idea, but i haven't tested if the latest release has fixed the camera bug. Until that is done, I would hesitate inflicting that bug on a beginner. Understanding how to create mini-prims using cuts and dimples etc IS a useful skill however.

Understanding how textures map to a prim would be useful... Showing how this works with a grid depending on the shape and the taper... understanding offset and tiling (SO many people leave their thin sides with super-compressed textures so the clarity of the image is shot)... and maybe even animating textures...

the list could go on.


Speaking of help, can someone reading this who has an efficient method for making a circular platform (i.e. a cylinder with the flat side up) greater than 10x10 please IM me the technique?

sure stormy. it is definitely worth discussing baking light effects into textures by hand or using this method, and the pros and cons of each. I would make sure you have notecards on-hand which explain making alpha channels in PS and PSP (for PSP, just point them to the tutorial on sluniverse)

Forseti, if you're making tutorials on what you posted above, you have far surpassed me in your building expertise, and you should be teaching this class instead, honestly. lol Unfortunately my knowledge is pretty limited to putting prims together, and I'm no genius at that. However when I meet newer people who don't build, they are amazed at the simplest things I tell them about how to do this and that. Some of what you described is over my head... not even I know how to do it. It's amazing how steep the learning curve is, isn't it..

i seriously doubt i am way ahead of you stormy

i am constantly seeing exotic prims and wondering -- how the heck did they make that? I just saw a 1 prim daisy last night -- ie it was constructed in a way that it looked like petals around a center. I've just been playing with tubes and rings and scratching my head lol... pointers anyone?

Forseti = NOOOB!!!!