I just started this stuff and I have no idea how to use much of it at all. I've looked in the tutorials at the top of the page but thats been a bit to complex for what i need....

If anyone could give me just a simple walkthrough of the controls...what they do...etc....and some tricks that would be really nice. Also when I get some of the basics down I'd like to know how to do some animations both simple and complex.

All help is greatly apreciated...
thx.

I would suggest reading through the manual first. It has tutorials for some basic stuff, like changing materials, adding clothing objects, etc. After that the tutorials here will make more sense.

Attached Link: http://jupiter.spaceports.com/~omnitut/

i did some tutorials that might help you.

Ron Knights' introductory tutorials are back online.
http://www.ronknights.com/

Doctor Geep has some excellent illustrated tutorials here in the forum:

Lights
Magnets
Animation