Hi... First and Foremost, PLEASE remeber that there are over 13 FREE Tutorials that are already available from Discreet.... They are on the DEMO CD-ROM, or you can find them at: http://www.discreet.com/products/combustion/combustion_tutorials.html These Lessons cover almost all the "basics" and have PDF files with instructions for each lesson, as well as ZIP files with the media, workspace files, and sample AVI/MOV files. Here is the summary of free lessons: -Intro: Welcome to combustion (PDF - 301 KB) which includes Detailed descriptions of the lessons, terms, the conventions used in the tutorials, as well as instructions for setting the preferences needed for the tutorials - Lesson 1: Touring combustion - Lesson 2: Creating Composites in 2D Space - Lesson 3: Compositing in 3D Space - Lesson 4: Using Paint - Lesson 5: Tracking and Stabilizing - Lesson 6: Keying - Lesson 7: Using Garbage Masks - Lesson 8: Color Correcting - Lesson 9: Animating Particle Effects PDF - Lesson 10: Working with Paint Selections - Lesson 11: Animating Layers in 3D Space - Lesson 12: Working with Motion Graphics - Lesson 13: Using Scenes from 3ds max < Bonus:Combustion for AE users (four more lessons and tips) NEW: Discreet has added over 30 Free Workspaces with basic effects for free download.. You can open these up and "reverse engineer" to learn them, modify them and use them.. Get them at: http://www.discreet.com/products/combustion/workspace/index_text.html NEXT, below is a Rundown of some of the FREE TRAINING websites -- most offer chatrooms, tutorials and tips. http://www.CreativeCOW.net (Chat room, Tutorials, articles, etc.) http://www.FXGuide.com >> Extensive Tips & Tricks postings, articles & chatrooms http://www.CGTalk.com > Home of the 3D Festival - with a buncha Chatrooms http://www.VFXTalk.com > News Articles and chatrooms http://www.3d-palace.com chatroom, and free tutorials (DIVX videos) http://www.highend2d.com/ chatrooms http://www.3d-buzz.com >> VTM (Video Training Magazine) & chatrooms User websites - with Discreet Combustion Tutorials and help, and are really worth mentioning ... Thanks to all these people! (These are Listed in No particular order... ) http://www.northgatestudios.com/combustion/ (PowerUser/Trainer Lee "Rod" Roderick provides a buncha Tutorials - CWS's but no PDFs...) http://www.bmunkres.com/tutorials/combustionTutorials.htm (PowerUser/Trainer Ben Munkres provides a geat tutorial working in 3D space, with 10 pg PDF.) http://www.ddb.co.za/fede/combustion_tutorial/index.htm (particles tutorial) http://www.discreet-training.com/inset_free.html (PowerUser/Trainer Gary Davis's kool help guides) If you are an After Effects User and considering Combustion, be sure to read the following artciles from Digital Producer Magazine. Entitled "Combustion 2 for After Effects Users," it is a series of three articles designed to help explain things....Nicely written by Kevin Schmitt..... - Part 1: Working with Illustrator files http://www.digitalproducer.com/2003/01_jan/tutorials/01_20/combustion_ae.htm - Part 2: Working with Photoshop files http://www.digitalpostproduction.com/2003/04_apr/tutorials/combustion_ae2.htm - Part 3: A birds-eye view of the C2 interface http://www.digitalproducer.com/2003/05_may/tutorials/05_26/com_ae3.htm 4) Lastly, there is an article in Animation World Magazine entitled "Combustion 2 in Action" written by Scott Jenkins. He reviews Combustion 2 and checks in with a production "in progress" to see how Combustion stacks up against key competitor After Effects.... Although it is a year old, it is still a good read.... http://mag.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=search&sval=combustion&article_no=1437 If you are ready to spend money to learn, Discreet does sell their Courseware, which is what they use when you buy one of their Discreet classes: Discreet Combustion v2 Courseware-with CD-ROM, used at the Discreet Training Centers in the official Discreet classes worldwide. There are priced at approximately US $ 75.00 and can be ordered through your local Discreet Dealer. WHAT YOU GET: Discreet combustion v2 Courseware Index- 37 Lessons with CD-ROM: Table of Contents: Part 1 - Using Paint = 1- learning Paint Basics ; 2 - Animation Text ; 3 - Exploring Draw Modes in Text ; 4 - Revealing a Background Image ; 5 - Wire Removal ; 6 - Creating Text Gradients ; 7 - Animating Gradients ; 8 - Combining Selections ; 9 - Animating Selections ; Part 2 - Fundamentals : 10 - Touring Combustion ; 11 - Creating Simple Composites ; 12 - Using Operators in a Composite ; Part 3 - Transforming Layers : 13 -Animating Layers Using Pivot Points ; 14 Keyframing ; Part 4 - Linking and Controlling Layers ; 15 -Cropping and Corner-Pinning ; 16 - Linking Layers Through Parenting ; 17 - Aligning Objects to a Motion Path ; 18 -Linking Layers with Hinging ; Part 5 - Changing Layer Surface Properties ; 19 - Setting Surface Properties ; 20 - Exploring Transfer Modes ; 21 - Displacing a Layer ; Part 6 - Using Channels, Mattes and Masks ; 22 - Using Alpha Channels ; 23 - Creating Channel Effects ; 24 - Using Masks ; Part 7 - Using Null Objects, Lights, and the Camera ; 25 - Animating with a Null Object ; 26 - Moving the Camera ; 27 - Creating Shadows with Lights ; Part 8 - Tracking and Stabilizing : 28 - One-Point Tracking ; 29 - Four-Point Tracking ; 30 - Two-Point Stabilizing ; Part 9 - Keying and Color Correcting : 31 - Using the Discreet Color Corrector ; 32 - Using the Discreet Keyer ; Part 10 Nesting Composites : 33 - Basic Nesting ; 34 - Creating a Motion Blur ; 35 - Importing Workspaces ; Part 11 - Additional Lessons: 36 - Working with Rich Pixel Renderings ; 37 - Creating Particles Effects Other "After Market" books and training materials.... 1) I have written a Combustion training book, which is the first third party training book on the market. Entitled "Combustion v2: The On-line WebWarriors Guide" You can read about it here: http://www.mci.dk/combustion or check the review at www.CreativeCow.net (book reviews.) Note that my WebWarrior Book is billed as a Tips & Tricks Guide to provide help to speed up any user and make them more efficient, not just as a beginner tool. Each book also includes a one-year subscription to updates and more Tips. In May 2003, I released (for free download to those who bought the book) another tutorial teaching Motion Graphics. So, my book is a book that "keeps on giving." 2) Realeased in Late JULY 2003 is the Hot New "Advanced Combustion training DVDs " -- I have reviewed these and they are REALLY GOOd - well wothy the investment. In the four DVD set there are 6 1/2 hours of material -- Three Combustion power users/trainers, Lee "Rod" Roderick, Gary M. Davis, and Ken LaRue teamed up to teach, advise and guide you through 15 lessons of real world projects for the advanced user. This is the first volumne in a planned series.. Check them out at http://www.thestreetproductions.com 3) There is a very good (and long) DVD / VHS Video set with 14 hours of training and tutorials . It is the most expensive trainign out, but you do get 14 hours (!) This is also taught by Ken LaRue (see above) and is available from Technical Animations (http://www.techanim.com) 4) Coming up in the later this year a new book available on www.amazon.com called combustion ground rules by Todd Petersen. The Table of contents for his book is scheduled to be: Chapter 1 Introduction to Post Effects - Chapter 2 Introduction to the Combustion Interface - Chapter 3 Quick Start Tutorial - Chapter 4 Paint 101 - Chapter 5 More on Paint - Chapter 6 Compositing 101 - Chapter 7 More on Compositing - Chapter 8 Working with Audio - Chapter 9 Integration with MAX - Chapter 10 Integration with Edit - Chapter 11 Advanced Compositing - Chapter 12 Advanced Compositing 2. Gpo to amazon.com to read more. 5) There is an older 90-minute Combustion v1 VHS Training Tape with advanced subject material available at http://www.videoblurb.com. It has received excellent reviews and covers color correction, keying and more. Anyway, there's FREE TRAINING and stuff you can BUY... Whatever you do . . . . Keep Combustin' ! Jack __________________ Author: "WebWarriors Guide to Combustion" -http://www.mci.dk/combustion - - Demo Artist & Trainer