As many of you may know, we have a new Advanced training DVD coming out this month. I will be teaching the 3D bullet techniques in 3D max, Cinema 4D and Blender, so everyone can take a shot at this effect.

The first 2 programs cost a few peanuts, however Blender 3D is 100% free and available on all platforms.

I spent the last few days 'learning" this software; at first it seemed grim, everything was very different than I expected. But I carried on...

A few days later, I was on top of the mountain! I got the hang of it...

I am very impressed with what I was able to do with a truly free program. I incorporated my HDRI imagery, fine-tuned textures, modeled the 3D bullet and even exporting the 3D camera to After Effects was a piece of cake.

What this means is that even if you have never used a 3D program before or don't own one of the big expensive ones, this DVD will show you everything you need to know. And for you Cinema 4D and Max users, you'll learn everything and more.

Check out some of the new features of Blender that are coming soon and download a free copy today.

For me, I won't be switching over exclusively but it's nice to know this tool is available and it certainly makes great visual effects available to everyone.

In an effort to bring more content and information to the Video Copilot world or wonders, I will be releasing a new series of free tutorials in addition to the free tutorials you are so generously accustomed to.

These new tutorials will be shorter (1-5 minutes) and focus on cool techniques, follow-up advice on previous tutorials, workflow and even design tips. I've been collecting dozens of great ideas and I'll be releasing these tutorials in between our featured tutorials you know so well.

This will also help us release new content on the site, even when we are busy working on big projects. (Like right now). It's win win.

The first episode will be online May 02, 2008.

I've created a cool intro graphic but It's not quite finished so it will have to wait...

The Design & Win T-Shirt contest is now online. Check out the rules and get started.

I can't wait to see all the ideas and designs. Video Copilot will be picking the winners and the contest ends May 31st 2008. You can submit up to 5 designs.

T-Shirt Design Contest

There are some great videos on ADOBE TV from the recent NAB show and I though I would share them here as well.

A talented designer you may know, Steve Holmes from Energi Design, has a great presentation on integrating PS and AE, he even mentions our product Evolution. Yeah!

Check the video out!

We're almost finished with the T-shirt design contest site but the template is ready to download now. You can use any program to design the T-shirt such as Photoshop, illustrator or Paint (although the latter may hurt you chances).

IMPORTANT For Photoshop: When you open the PDF template be sure to set the "Crop To" option to "Media Box".

Download Template PDF

Download includes PDF, PSD and vector image of Sam.

Official Rules will be launched soon so remember to check them before submitting your design.