Hello everyone, welcome to 3D Modelling & Animation. For most of you, this will be the first time you've every experienced 3D Studio Max so below are a few thoughts and suggestions to help get you on your way:
1) Do, save your work regularly. 3D Studio Max has it's moments so don't leave it to chance. It will automatically backup your work but you should still make sure you save regularly.
2) Don't, work directly from a portable USB drive. Just don't do this! copy your files to the desktop or your student area and work from there instead. You will find that the performance is improved like this also.
3) Do, plan ahead. You will waste a lot of time if you don't look ahead at how you plan to model/animate your work. You could use story boarding and reference images to assist with planning.
4) Don't spend too long on one model. If you are working on a complex model don't get carried away and always remember that it's more important to finish the whole project.
5) Do, work to the desired output size/shape/format. Think carefully about what will be visible in the rendered view port and also be aware of time constraints of the final video from the beginning of the project.
