3D software and graphic design forums?

Can anyone point me to reliable online forums for discussion of 3D modeling software and graphic design generally? I'm working on some graphics projects unrelated to SL, and I'm looking for a reliable place for advice. I just found one at highend3d.com that seems promising. Are there others that any of you would call your favorites? FYI, I'm primarily working with Illustrator and Photoshop, but I'm also playing around with Blender for some 3D modeling too. Thanks.

HighEnd3D is great. You might also want to check out Turbosquid.

For Photoshop stuff, there are hundreds to choose from. There's a lot of great info right here on the SL texturing forum, so don't overlook that, and I'll be getting SLtutorials.com off the ground some time in the near future as well. The Adobe forums themselves can be quite helpful, but you have to be willing to deal with some snobbishness.

I might as well ask one of the questions I intend to ask elsewhere. I've been fussing a lot with Blender to make 3D models, and I've been trying to construct a simple 3D adventure game for fun. (Think of a more primitive version of the Nancy Drew mystery games -- adventure in 3D.) I'm making progress, but I find that Blender just isn't that fun to work with. Don't get me wrong, it's a stunning achievement, a free open-source 3D program -- but the interface is wonky (and visually unappealing), and the documentation is uneven. (Maybe I'm spoiled by Photoshop and Illustrator?) I'm trying Maya's PLE; it seems easier to work with, but the watermark means it's not a long-term solution. I'm not really familiar with 3D Max, but I hear that's more designed for games than is Maya; is that true? I can't imagine spending $4000 on that program, but I'm curious all the same.

Actually, I am eligible for educational discounts, so one viable option would be to buy an educational version of Maya or Max -- but that license restricts one to noncommercial uses. While it's unlikely I'd ever make money off either program, if lightning strikes and I do make something saleable, then I'd have to pay again for a full license. Any advice on which program might best suit my needs, and more generally on what to do?

Oops, our posts crossed in the mail, Chosen; many thanks for your reply. Do you have any thoughts on the follow-up questions I posted?

3dbuzz is a site with decent forums as well as downloadable video tutorials.

I've used both 3D Studio MAX & Maya, it just depends on which you find easier to work with. MAX comes with Biped, allowing easier character rigging, while Maya makes you still use bones & various controllers. Other than that I cant say I recommend one over the other.

If you're doing a simple game, and dont mind learning a design tool with scripting capabilities, have you given a thought to the UnReal engine?? Epic has it as a free download much like Maya PLE.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Unreal engine. Interesting.

I'm liking the Maya PLE, but it doesn't seem to like me; I get frequent crashes with it. Could it be my dual-core processor? I read somewhere that you have to adjust something in Maya to account for that. My video card is an ATI x1900xtx 512, a pretty up-to-date card.

EDIT: It appears the workaround is to uncheck one of the two CPUs in the process for Maya. It's running fine now. I like it.

RENDEROSITY.COM is the oldest one I know of, they cover all Major 3D building software, and tons of game and entertainment industry professionals as well as amatuers frequent thier chat, forums, and post in thier galleries. thier shop is also huge and you can Search ANY of the categories mentioned for resources for your 3D building. If a decent amount of us joined thier community and asked for it, I have no doubt they would start a SecondLife section too.

and for the "pervert side", the slightly younger site Renderotica has models, skins, freebies, particle systems and more available.

Sketchup is a great 3D modeler software and the forum/community is very helpful. sketchup.com

If you are really interested in making a game instead of just general dabbling in 3D, playing around with the existing game engines would be the shortest route. Because somebody has put in the effort to code it to run in real time.

The Unreal engine was already mentioned. There is also the Cryengine, which you can check out here.

http://www.crytek.com/technology/index.php?sx=cryengine

In the meantime, tho, you'd still need to get to grips with a 3D modeler if you're making meshes. Of which there are a wide range to choose from.

In the midrange price, I'd personally recommend Cinema4D for someone starting new, simply because its easy to understand and pick up and comes with a 3D painting module. You can migrate to what the big boys use for epic movies later. The skills are easily transferable.

http://www.maxon.net

Thanks for the link to Cryengine. Neither that site nor the Unreal site mentions any schedule of fees for licensees, and my guess is it's way out of my budget. Is the only way to find out to e-mail them?

Well, I found a database of 3D engines, ranging in license price from free to thousands of dollars. I'm already familiar with one on the list -- Blender's free 3D engine. I actually find the game development features in Blender easier to use than the 3D modeling features. Anyway, if anyone's curious, here's a link to the engine database:

http://www.devmaster.net/engines/list.php?

I recall the first version of the Cryengine sandbox app came with the game, 'Farcry'. Cryengine 2, I'm not sure. They might include it in their current games.