New User/Artist General Newb Questions

GoblinGizmo

Hello -

This turned out longer than intended, so please bare with me. I wanted to introduce myself and didn't find a New User topic/sticky so I decided to make a new topic. Apologies if this is in the wrong section. Anyways. Having recently graduated from Colostate and started working at a local Biomedical Research Facility, I wanted to do a complete 180 with my future over the next 5 years. Ah, life choices. My current goal is to be employable as an entry level 3d artist by mid 30s, I'm only 28. So I have a couple questions that I hope someone could answer.

Question 1: Which Sculpting Program? Zbrush or Mudbox. I have read countless articles stating Mudbox is great but Zbrush is the gold standard when it comes to the gaming industry. I have access to Mudbox for free through my work but don't mind buying Zbrush if I eventually have to learn it anyways. 

Question 2: Modeling Program? Maya or 3Ds Max? Again, would learning one set me up better for employment later in the industry? From what I have read it all depends on the studio and what they use. I looked over Gnomon Workshop subscription videos and they seem to have more videos directed at Maya than 3Ds Max. They also have a lot more videos pertaining to Zbrush than Mudbox which would make tutorial-taught a plus. 

Question 3: AIE Schooling. My wife and I are thinking of moving to a city in the USA near an Academy of Interactive Entertainment school in the next two years. Their tuition looks manageable compared to Gnomon or Art Institute and was wondering if anyone has gone there? It would be 2 year program.

Question 4: Should I bother mastering my 2d skills? My 2d is okay at best but I've always had a natural talent just never honed my skills because art wasn't an appreciated talent in my family. Now, after getting my real job, I'm ready to go back to what I was always passionate about art, specifically 3d art. 

So my current gameplan is to self teach over the next two years using Gnomon,  PluralSight, Polycount, etc. then attend AIE for 2 years to polish out my entry level skills and hopefully find work after graduation at a gaming studio (big or small). I really want to know where I should concentrate my efforts as a beginner. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks, 
Gizmo  

Meloncov

1. ZBrush is definitely the more powerful and widely used program. Mudbox has better texturing tools, but it can't compete with ZBrush for modeling and Substance Painter for textures.

2. Eventually, you'll probably want to learn at least the basics of both, but it doesn't really matter which you start with. They both seem to be used roughly equally.

3. No clue.

4. 2D skills can definitely be useful, and to some extent getting better at 2d will make you better at 3d, but it's not essential. If you enjoy practicing 2d it wouldn't be a waste of your time; if you don't, it's not necessary.

Burpee

Same as @Meloncov but I'd go for Maya, I just don't like modeling in Max,
Cheers !

GoblinGizmo

Thanks for the replies @Meloncov and @Burpee, after reading more on the different programs I have decided to stick with Mudbox until Zbrush 5 is released. That way I can get the future updates for that version. Also, I will probably concentrate my efforts to learning Maya after Burbee's recommendation and it seems to have more tutorial videos. Now, I just have to design a curriculum I want to keep so I stay in the right direction.  Thanks again for the replies. 

Burpee

You might want to give a try to 3Dcoat too, he also has some cool stuff, it's more like zBrush than Mudbox, 

at the end Mudbox also can teach you how to sculpt, it's just a tool, zBrush can be learn in a week 

gl !