Better path for self-education?
grand marshal polycounter
I'm new to CG. My long term goal is to be able to create game ready assets -- the entire process of modeling, texturing, rigging, and animating -- by myself.
I've gotten a little way into modeling and texturing, but now I've come to a point where to progress deeper I need to start learning more software programs. I have Zbrush, Maya, Mudbox, Photoshop, and Substance Painter 2. I only really know how to use Maya and Mudbox decently.
Recently I've been creating small game prop assets for people at no charge -- an internship for myself of sorts -- and this seems like a pretty good way to challenge myself as I often come to points where I don't know how to do something that I didn't know that I needed to know.
My question, and obviously this is just looking for opinions from people who have been there done that, is should I just focus on hunkering down and learning one program at a time? For instance, just focus on getting fluent in Photoshop, then Zbrush, etc. Or continue making assets and just learning whatever technique in whatever program as I need?
I know there is no definitive answer here, but sometimes I squabble with myself unsure if I'm going the most efficient way.
Expert advice is greatly appreciated!
I've gotten a little way into modeling and texturing, but now I've come to a point where to progress deeper I need to start learning more software programs. I have Zbrush, Maya, Mudbox, Photoshop, and Substance Painter 2. I only really know how to use Maya and Mudbox decently.
Recently I've been creating small game prop assets for people at no charge -- an internship for myself of sorts -- and this seems like a pretty good way to challenge myself as I often come to points where I don't know how to do something that I didn't know that I needed to know.
My question, and obviously this is just looking for opinions from people who have been there done that, is should I just focus on hunkering down and learning one program at a time? For instance, just focus on getting fluent in Photoshop, then Zbrush, etc. Or continue making assets and just learning whatever technique in whatever program as I need?
I know there is no definitive answer here, but sometimes I squabble with myself unsure if I'm going the most efficient way.
Expert advice is greatly appreciated!
Replies
Internships don't replace self-teaching.
I'm no expert, but I am 90% self taught. If you're looking to learn a pipeline, I've found it's easier to learn it in reverse.
Look at your end goal, in your case making game assets, and find people who do that REALLY well. See how they work. Watch/buy their tutorials if they have them. Then, as soon as they mention/use something you've never heard of, drop everything and google that. Then find people who do that new thing you just googled REALLY well, etc. I just keep working backwards until I arrive at something that I can do really well. That means I can begin to apply everything in the pipeline even if it's mediocre. Beginning a pipeline and FINISHING a pipeline is what helps me learn.
Hope that helps some!
Always good to hear somebody following a similar path.
I am actually trying to do the same thing right now. I know what my end goal is and I know who makes the types of things to sell that I want to make and they're really good. So I am basically reverse engineering how they do what they do so I can hopefully squeeze into the market, but also finding their flaws where I can exceed at areas where they lack such as detail which will make my projects more enticing. Still in the learning phase though...
The tough part is not getting overwhelmed with all the different things and software I have to learn, step by step.
Back when i was self teaching i would have loved to have resources like that, i would happily spend some cash to cut the learning curve in half or more.
For me, there is still a lot to get from pluralsight, but sometimes it would be nice to have some completely up to date tutorials, rather than watching one tutorial for the 2015 version of a program and another for the 2013 version of another program and then trying to make the newer versions of both programs work together by troubleshooting.
That's the part of the learning that really requires patience -- I spend more time troubleshooting and learning how to get different formats of things to communicate together than I do actually working on art. Maybe that's just how it goes though. It seems like in most tutorials they will sit there for ten minutes and explain the intricacies of painting a characters fingers and then casually gloss over the important steps needed to make UV maps and texture maps transfer from one program to another. I figure most people interested in art know how to make art, it's the annoying technical things we want to learn!
Usually helps to ask questions to people directly who you know have better techincal knnowledge on what you're doing, but do your best to ask specific questions to keep those discussions succinct.
To make things difficult, my weapon of choice was/is Modo. But now I just need to brush up the UI usage and go into something more than modeling. And yeah, Zbrush is a must for a job. I think other people told you already, but you need to know your goal very well.
Spending some good amount of time looking for free intro tutorials on Youtube will help a lot. I bow down to those who post great tutorials with huge efforts for practically free. I feel super grateful to them.