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Tell us a story. This seems like a transitional time at a resort as people leave the pool and get ready for dinner. What are the guests doing, what are the staff doing. Has something or somebody been left behind? Is something exciting about to happen? Something ominous?

With a shape this simple you should try drawing a line (in the shape of your knife handle) then extruding it by adding "extrude" modifier in the object's modify tab. Convert it to an "edit poly". Use "quad chamfer" on the outside edges. Chamfering may be enough to smooth this object without resorting to use of the turbosmooth modifier. You can decide that by taking into account the final shape of the object weighed against it's poly count. The shell modifier probably isn't best suited for this particular object, and TurboSmooth is likely causing the pinch on that inside corner. After that's done, watch Grant Warwick's Hard Surface Modeling video to get a better understanding of sub-division modeling.

Check out the object paint feature. Take note of the option to "Paint on Painted Objects" at the 2:11 mark in the video.

Check out these two tutorials by DesignReForm on blip.tv Both tutorials use the modifier stack in a way that provides for flexibility and experimentation. http://blip.tv/designreform/3ds-max-hexagons-with-classic-mesh-smooth-5497618 http://blip.tv/designreform/3ds-max-modeling-a-hexagon-screen-5497630

Devin, You should look into GrowFX, they are offering 30% off until January 10th 2014. The price is incredibly reasonable when you consider you can make any plant you need, control the mesh count, and modify each plant to your specific scene when desired.

Try taking one of your cleaned up files and linking it instead of importing it, you may find less of a slow down. File > References > Manage Links > Attach. If you really want the linework in your model space you can Bind it. Manage links also allows you to Reload or Detach your DWG file. I typically use this method and detach the file when I'm done with it.

Select your sweep, open the modifier tab on the command panel and untick "Smooth Path" under Sweep Parameters and the black areas should go away.

http://www.deathbyarchitecture.com This site makes upcoming registration and submission deadlines quite clear graphically.

These tutorials by Louis Marcoux at Autodesk Area should be a good starting point. http://area.autodesk.com/louis_tutorials/animation_and_rigging_techniques_for_architecture_visualization Also look for robot arm tutorials, in general. The crane extension can be done using a slider and reaction controller.

If you are using 3ds max you may find Named Selections Sets useful.

The MassFX engine is a lot of fun to play with. Search out some videos to see what you can do with the rigid body, cloth, and ragdoll features. Cloth can be torn in 2013. It may be enough to entice you to install it. You may find the easiest way to transition is by installing 2013 alongside whatever version you are currently running. It gives you a chance to explore the new version without disrupting your projects. I'm finding 2013 doesn't crash on save and exit like it does for me in 2011. I ended up skipping 2012 because my third party plugins weren't updated. And I'll be happy to completely drop 2011 when they are. With the exception of the background gradient 2013 has been very nice to work with.

Henry, The effect you are trying to achieve can be accomplished using MassFX in the Max 2013. If you PM me I can send you the .max file I worked up, and a sample animation.

scriptspot.com has info for a commercial plugin called PARA 3D. I haven't used it so I can't recommend it, but this could be a good starting point for your research into how to create this kind of geometry.

Warehouse = Forklift = Door

Also look at bringing the model into Autocad and using FLATSHOT and SECTIONPLANE. The help menu has info on both.