Hi guys, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction for modelling for the Source engine? You know, best (free) programs for creating, skinning and compiling models plus where to find decent tutorials for them. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks in advance. 
I’m also looking for tutorials
a few suggestions for programs: XSI mod tool, Blender, photoshop
Try this site. www.cgcookie.com or more specifically www.blendercookie.com even if you choose not to use Blender it still has some pretty great videos to learn from. If you want more videos you’ll need to buy a Citizen membership, but they have plenty of free videos that they still release.
Thanks for the links, I can’t find any free tutorials through those links although the other stuff is kind of useful. 
After some research I think GIMP and Blender are the best free programs for the job, just need links to tutorials for such things as modelling for the Source engine and exporting your work to be used in Hammer etc.
Thanks guys!
What sort of tutorials are you looking for? I used to know quite a few.
Freeware doesn’t have as good of a quality in my experience. If you’ve got cash to burn I’d get one of the more professional programs out there. They ain’t cheap but worth it if you want higher quality work.
Animation Master is a hell of a lot easier to use than some of the other programs out there but it’s expensive.
It IS compatible with Source (you just need to convert the file into .mdl, I think it’s set to that by default).
You want some freeware google it and choose it carefully, meaning research and find reviews on the software… and/or getting a crack for some of the more professional ones. I won’t delve into detail.
Personally for Source Engine modeling I use a combination XSI mod tool, Blender, and Google Sketchup.
For textures I prefer Photoshop.
For Normal/Bump maps I love CrazyBump
As for best free alternatives:
Modeling you have XSI mod tool (exports directly to Source) and Blender.
Texturing you are better off with Gimp or Gimpshop if you want a different more Photoshop layout.
Normal/Bump maps go for the open source program “SSbump Generator” or “ShaderMap” (free version and a Pro version for $19.95US).
For converting the textures I use VTFEdit.
For compiling the models I use either GUIStudioMDL or Studiocompiler depending on the model and my mood at the time.
Lastly for tutorials try https://www.snarkpit.net/snarkpower/articles though you can find numerous really well done tutorials on youtube if you search “blender tutorial”, “xsi mod tutorial”, etc… For example here is a video tutorial on modeling for HL2 using Blender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RTTSACe_eI .
Also https://developer.valvesoftware.com has tons of useful info that can help.
Hope this helps!
Haha oh god, I haven’t heard of Animation Master in years. I still have training videos on VHS and the software I bought at Wizard World when I was 9.
Thanks everyone! All of your contributions are much appreciated and I will definitely be following your advice, feel free to add more links to tutorials and programs so others can get as much help from this thread as I did.
Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.