Top 10 Cheetah3D tips for beginners.

1. Lights, camera, action!

So your renders are looking a little flat? Try adding some lights and switching the camera light off, you'll be amazed at the results!

2. Tweak it

Use the transform tool in tweak mode. This gives you the ability to select by vertex, edge or face without changing your selection mode.

3. Forum over function

Never underestimate the importance of the official Cheetah3D forum. You'll be amazed how many of your questions have already been answered and how friendly the Cheetah3D community are!

4. Help is at hand

A quick press of Apple ? will take you straight to Cheetah3D's help files where you will find tutorials and a detailed description of every Cheetah3D tool.

5. Hot keys

You can dramatically increase your workflow by taking advantage of Cheetat3D's hot keys. Press Apple , and create shortcuts to your favourite and most used tools instantly.

6. Transparent background

Set the opacity of your background colour in the camera object to 0% to render your work on a transparent background.

7. Test renders

Don't be afraid of using the render button to check your progress, whether it's for composition, lighting, textures etc, the render button can be a very handy tool.

8. Script!

Make use of the many additional scripts that are available from the Cheetah3D forum. You may find a script that does exactly what you require at the click of a button.

9. Import children

Got 2 objects that you need to combine together? Simply drag one object into another in the object browser and choose import children from the tools menu. Don't forget to delete the duplicated original object though! Read the import children tutorial.

10. Shiny materials?

Don't forget to set the specular color on your materials to add realism. The darker you set your specular color, the less shine your material will have and vice versa.