p.s. till now i've used 3ds max to bake my shadows, which works brilliantly, but i want to try baking holo and foil effects....and 3ds is a bit too much of a pain in the ass to do that with

Imo (I had a similar issue) your best bet would be forums since most are video tutorials. Google searching for whatever specific steps you need for cycles baking, procedural texturing, and node setups for things like holo. Replurking in case anyone has any more specific resources

i was told a while back the best way to make holo materials is to make your object shiny and reflective and then make the world its reflecting a holo texture

i'm not good at tutorials or anything but there's a little tidbit to keep in mind later when you figure things out lol

blender render or cycles? I may have some bookmarked I can check if still current.

Syncophie either way tbh. I've never baked materials with blender, so either way works lol