Ok, I'm looking for a short tutorial on getting objects from skyrim into 3ds max. I know there's a tool called Nifskope, but when using the tool I cannot identify the folder where the meshes are. I believe they are in the data folder, but currently they're in a bsa file format which the Nifskope cannot read. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=5622 sorry you'll have to try the niftools.org website or this site or the tes wiki for tutorials .

BSA files requires BSA commander or the FOMM or equivalent tools to unpack.

TO view the files you need to extract them from the BSA file -- so you'll need an extractor like http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=34(It is for Fallout 3 but does work with Skyrim BSAs

THen to import into MAX you'll need the Niftools for MAX plug in -- http://niftools.sourceforge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=3196&p=21708&hilit=max+plugins+3+7+1+fdef17d#p21708

@JDFan the link you provided is to the older version of the one I post at the nexus.

We're recommending you use http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=247 to unpack and pack BSA files. FOMM will extract them ok, but requires Fallout 3 to run properly and Skyrim won't load the BSA's created with it.

Good to know hadn't seen the latest update -- will download now !

Awesome, thanks everybody very much. Using that bsa tool was my missing part. Now I'll be making some custom content!

Quick question, is there any way to preserve the material settings of the obj when I import them into 3ds max? Right now they're missing all their textures. I assume it's because I don't have the shaders, but I'm unable to export the shaders from the bsa files.

If you are importing OBJ files then no.

I would suggest trying to import NIF files directly using the importer I posted as it will do its best to preserve settings from import back to export through a custom shader. Not perfect but should do a better job than using Blinn or Phong shaders.

Gosh, so much work to get it all correctly. I believe the importer works, at least the textures and materials showed up. Very much appreciated! Now is there a good tutorial to get all this in game?