[edit] Difficulty

• This tutorial is written for beginners, however, some basic knowledge on how to use your imaging and 3D modeling programs is needed. Also, you'll need to be fairly familiar/comfortable with key commands (i.e. ctrl + c) and other necessary functions.
• Keep in mind that while this guide is fairly extensive, there is still a creative element required that cannot be learned by reading a tutorial alone. In short, I can teach you "how" to do something, but not necessarily the way to execute it. Be prepared to do extra tweaking and prodding to your creations, especially the more intricate they get.

[edit] Recommended Reading

If you honestly have never, ever used CTU before, then I recommend thumbing through the CTU Guide before starting. This guide covers installation of the CTU and has detailed explanations of its bells and whistles. It takes a little while to get the hang of CTU, so spend a few minutes playing with it before you actually begin creating. I promise you, it'll make your experience with this tutorial go a lot smoother.

The same applies for your 3D modeling program, especially those who plan to use Blender 3D instead of Milkshape, since most of the meshing procedures are given using Milkshape. If it's your first time dabbling with 3D modeling software, then the transition from 2D to 3D can - and will - be a frustrating one. I tried my best to explain things as slowly and clearly as possible. But, there are still some intermediate steps that one is expected to already know how to do.

• For Milkshape users, there's an awesome, indepth, guide by WesHowe that explains pretty much every element of Milkshape. This guide can be found, here.
• For Blender users, browse through their extensive tutorials section to help you follow along with this tutorial.

Lastly, if at anytime you come across an unfamiliar word, there is a glossary linked at the bottom of this page.