Course Content: This course is designed to teach the novice model maker how to build, texture, and export a coaster car for either URCD or URDC. It is broken into simple lessons aimed at teaching the basic techniques necessary to construct coaster cars, props, environments, pretty much anything you want to build. These lessons are designed so you may print them and refer to them as necessary.

Using this Coaster Car 101 course, we will construct the below coaster car from scratch. When complete, we will develop a custom texture map and give this creation life. But first things first, we have to build it.

Step One:
Starting with a basic 4 pane Milkshape work area Select "Cylinder"

Step Two:
With "Cylinder" selected set "Stacks" to "1" and "Slices" to "6." Verify that the little check box titled, "Close Cylinder" is not checked. This will give us a six sided object that we will use for the outside of the bench in our coaster car. There are two reasons that we do not want the cylinder to be closed. One, we will be making faces in the next lesson. And two, a single verticie in the center of the object will not reflect light correctly.

Step Three:
The cylinder is drawn near the center of the grid by holding down the left mouse button and moving the mouse to the farthest extent.

Step Three:
We could shape this hexagon into shape from its current position, however it wouldn't be as much fun now would it? So we will rotate it into a vertical position so we can shape it as it will be eventually displayed.
Notice that when "Rotate" is selected on the "Model" tab the X, Y, and Z axis buttons and value ports are displayed. The default on this allows for motion in all three axis. But for the purpose of teaching control, we will rotate in one axis at a time. Click on both the X and Y axis. This will turn them white in color (meaning they are locked). This leaves the Z axis. Enter 90 (expressed in degrees) in the value port above the "Z" button. Then click on "Rotate," just to right of the "Z" value port.

Step Four:
This has rotated our hexagon to a vertical position. But we want the bottom of this shape to be parallel to the base grid. This will take rotating in the "X" axis.

Step Five:
Just as we isolated the X and Y rotation, we will now lock Z and unlock X. When Y and Z buttons are locked (they will be white) and X is unlocked (grey), click on the "Rotate" button again.

Step Six:
Now our hexagon is in a vertical position and is aligned with the base grid. Now we can begin shaping this object from a hexagon into the side of the bench for our coaster car.

Step Seven:
Click on "Select" and ensure that the button for "Vertex" in the Select Options group is grey. Then using the mouse with the left mouse button depressed, select the two verticies shown below. When the two verticies are selected, press the following keys on the keyboard at the same time: Shift Ctrl and Z (SHIFT+CNTL+Z). This will flatten the two verticies in the Z axis. Another way to do this is described in the next lesson.

Step Eight:
Now that the front bottom section is aligned as it should be, let's move to the top front vertex. Select the vertex as shown below, then choose "Move." Just as we locked the X, Y, and Z when doing our rotate in steps 3 through 6, we will lock X and Y so that Z can move freely. When X and Y are locked move the vertex back (to the right) as shown below.

Step Nine:
The vertex was moved back. Now let's move it downward so that it is perpendicular to the front of two verticies that we flattened in step 7. Choose "Move" and lock X and Z.

Step Ten:
Unlock Y and move the vertex downward. Now this is starting to take shape!

Step Eleven:
Now select the uppermost vertex.

Step Twelve:
Move it forward in the Z axis until it is perpenticular with the vertex moved in step 10.

Step Thirteen:
Now select the vertex in the picture below. Move it in the Y direction until it is perpenticular with the vertex moved in step 12.

Summary:
In this lesson we learned how to do some very basic things. These basics represent the core knowledge required to build cars and other milkshape objects. This lesson consisted of:
1. Modifying the default values for a cylinder. Changing it from a closed to an open cylinder with only 1 stack and 6 slices.
2. Locking X, Y, and Z rotation axis. Rotating an object in just one direction.
3. Using the Select vertex functon to select specific verticies.
4. Using the "Flatten" function for a specific axis using keyboard command keys.
5. Using the lock functions for specific axis. Unlocking specific axis.
6. Using the Select and Move functions to shape a six sided object.

Coaster Car 101: Lesson Two - Faces and Duplicates