3D animation tutorial?

[hrechkaness]

I'm going to be going to an animation school in september but I have to make a portfolio that requires some 3D animation in it. I haven't done 3D animation for a very long time and need to find some good tutorials or even a tutor to help me through it. It would be great if you guys could recommend me a program for it as a starting point. I heard swift 3D was good but I wasn't sure if it was the best one or not. I don't think I need to know 3D animation front and back I just need to send them an image of a 3D model of a chair basically. It would help a lot if anyone could give me any information :D. thx

[Denvish]

I've used Swift for 3D models before. It's not anywhere near as advanced as Maya or 3DS Max, but it's designed to be compatible with Flash. For a basic chair, it should be fine, just read the help files for the program.

[CowGoMoo]

if youve got no money, Blender is free and prolly the best way to go and there are TONS of tutorials on how to use that

[EvanHayes]

i use 3ds max and i think its great, it comes with built in tutorials that teach you what you need to know and then you can be as creative as you want. and the animation setup for 3ds max reminds me of flash, it uses a timeline and layers, so its quite self explanatory :]

[EvanHayes]

oh also i forgot, i have used anim8or in the past, stupid name, i know but it can do alot of basic stuff, nothing compared to maya or 3ds but its nice, also animation is extremely simple.

sorry for the double