3d apps in the games industry
Hi, I'm Alec, I'm a "youngen" (14) and I'd like to delve into game development art careers, currently I'm using Blender, I did use maya for a while but with my new computer a whole bunch of crap came around and I came back to blender, I recently discovered lightwave, it's academic license seemed like good value, my only worries are:
- Is lightwave similar to the "big three" (maya,3ds MAX, softimage)
- If I know the core interface of autodesk apps and modeling techniques, buying all the software out there isn't required
- Are there big differences when it comes to asset pipelines in apps (from autodesk to cinema 4d,blender, modo and lightwave)
- Are there any similar "academic" (licenses for non commercial use(not the crappy PLE's)) bundles for under 500 bucks for apps like maya,modo etc.
Cheers for any replies.
PS i have already worked inside a few engines (rounding up all experience I can get for some kind of advantage when it comes to a job :P )
- Is lightwave similar to the "big three" (maya,3ds MAX, softimage)
- If I know the core interface of autodesk apps and modeling techniques, buying all the software out there isn't required
- Are there big differences when it comes to asset pipelines in apps (from autodesk to cinema 4d,blender, modo and lightwave)
- Are there any similar "academic" (licenses for non commercial use(not the crappy PLE's)) bundles for under 500 bucks for apps like maya,modo etc.
Cheers for any replies.
PS i have already worked inside a few engines (rounding up all experience I can get for some kind of advantage when it comes to a job :P )
Replies
and 3dstudiomax and maya etc do have some student versions I think...found this through the autodesk site
http://www.studica.com/Autodesk_Classroom/
Welcome to polycount
They're still separate products with their own teams not really working on a unified interface. I think learning 3 apps all at once is going to be maddening If you're going to learn them all I would focus on one app to start. Then get your feet wet in the others so transitioning isn't so tough later.
When you get to that point, try to approach it as something new instead of a transition. A lot of people stumble because they get caught up trying to force an app to work like the previous. Gotta let that baggage go.
Max and Maya are pretty much the workhorses of the industry right now. Switching back and forth is a bit of a headache but its probably the easiest jump in software.
The asset pipeline varies from studio to studio knowing the full pipeline inside and out isn't required but being familiar with the basic flow (Modeling > Materials > Rigging > Animation > Export) process is pretty much required, which it sounds like you're already well on your way to being farmiliar with. As you move deeper into the pipeline things tend to be more ridged.
- Modeling/materials props & character meshes: Its easiest to add new and strange apps here. But normally requires one main app for export.
- Rigging and animation might be locked down to one or two specific apps.
- Lighting and level layout will be very engine specific and handled in a pretty regimented way.
I first cut my teeth on horrible little app called Milkshape 3D, then quickly jumped to MayaPLE, was given a 1 year lic for Maya (company was downsizing I worked in tech support). Then jumped to Gmax and finally bought a used copy of 3dsmax when I knew this was what I wanted to do.
I personally don't see whats wrong with the PLE and free versions, they have a few things stripped out but none of that is nesesary to learn the interface and workflow, all that is intact.
MayaPLE, had an annoying watermark across the screen, I hear they've taken it out but enabled it some way form somethings. That watermark drove me nuts. But I learned the interface around it and that helped quite a bit. I didn't find as much free training for Maya but the help files where, helpful...
Gmax, It's 3dsmax4 without rendering. Which is pretty old BUT the core functionality hasn't changed that much, mostly just minor improvements the basic workflow and modifier system is still the same. It also comes with a bunch of tutorials that are very helpful, and there are a bunch of old 3dsmax tutorials out there floating around which most applied right to Gmax.
So I recommend trying to figure out which discipline fits you the best and work on whichever is going to give you the strongest chance at landing a job. If its modeling probably 3dsmax, if its rigging and animation probably Maya.
Good luck!
Oh PS: ART ART ART, I can't stress enough how important a traditional background in art is when applying for artist positions.
If you get caught up in technical learning for a few years and let your art slide its going to hurt. Knowing a 3d app inside and out might land you a job some place but not as well as knowing what makes for good art. A place might take a gamble on a great artist who has weak 3d app knowledge but they probably won't take a gamble on an artist with high 3d app knowledge and hardly any artist ability. Unless you're going for a technical artist position which is a whole different can of worms.
Agreed with what vig says.
Just want to put in that there are tons of people with the 3d skills, few with the core traditional art skills, so boy if you wanna get real good focus on the traditional first
That's the best route to take if you are just wanting to wrap your head around some commercial software. Believe me, these commercial 3D apps have so many features, it will take you a long time just to come to grips with what is in the learning edtions. And as far as building your portfolio goes, Blender will likely have you covered.
The only thing that you might consider acquiring is some sculpting software. The various options for this are cheaper, so it shouldn't be quite as hefty of an expense. Silo 3D is a good low-cost option for this. Blender has sculpting as well, but you probably won't be able to get as much detail using it without a really beefy machine.
And one more vote for traditional art skills. Practicing your sketching, painting, and critical observation are even more important than learning software. The tools you have are worthless unless you actually have something interesting to make with them.
Oh, and your language skills seem to be pretty solid for a 14-year-old. Always encouraging to see someone who takes a bit of pride in their writing for a change.
Good luck and stick with it!
What first attracted me to 3d art was that it was fairly easy to make some nice realistic renders without having to draw anything. However as the years went by and I got better with various 3d apps I always regretted not being able to draw well.
Now I've reached a point where I can probably accomplish any modeling task in 3d, but coming up with a great concept or idea is what holds me back. This is where being able to draw well and iterate on your ideas before even going to 3d really helps. Even once you start making something in 3d sound artistic decision making will make the difference between a good 3d asset and a great one.
So in other words draw, draw, and draw more. I'd go so far to say that every hour you spend drawing will probably be more valuable than an entire day spent learning 3d.
I knew a guy in college he came in with no 3d experience whatsoever but he had amazing drawing skills. Three months of learning Maya and he was modeling more interesting stuff than everyone else in the entire program. Nine months after that he landed a job in the game industry, not only that but his starting salary was really high for someone with no industry experience.
I assume autdesk rather thinks that students, school pupils and hobbyists are having either the money, their school has or use another way of getting it anyway.
art/design university or college is the best way to learn that from my experience. At least a place where you can freely discuss your work and others and exchange opinions. I learned a lot about all the concept stuff (composition, colors, type, contrast, psychology, ...) here at the university, way more actually compared to prior schools or tutorials combined. what really matters is that you are interested in drawing, not just draw because you think you have to.
For that try to research on other good illustration artists, the topic you are drawing (not just the shape but also backgrounds). The more you read about things (or see) the more you gain knowledge and extend your horizon and interest.
Generally really good 3d artists have a really broad interest in things that do not always necessarily have to do with drawing or sculpting stuff. Its the bigger horizon (the things they have seen or read about exchanged with others) that makes the difference to lets say someone who is rather uninspired and copies the style and work of others just worse.
If you still want to pay for a 3d software I can recommend as well Silo. Its a top notch sub-div modeling application with a little touch of Sculpting that available for very little money. It might be a very good tool to learn mastering what really matters at first.
Ps. This was the first 3d thing I made when I was 11. That old deviantart was underage banned. Age is not a factor in art.
http://forum.unity3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=20635&sid=2872721c1b935d6ccbe7b51e609f7392
Also, I'm currently doing elective arts at my highschool and I have a deviant ( alec3d.deviantart.com )
Thanks for all the replies!
back then when I was at that age I played just with the Unreal Editor that came with the first Unreal Game and some very poor 3dsmax 2.5 stuff. But it paved the way I want now getting more and more into 3d game development.
I'll be updating my digital sketchbook of course!
http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=63468
I'm very open to crits or suggestions!
http://www.softimage.com/products/modtool/
not tried it, but looks like it has the full modeling/anim of the app. might be worth a look.
Silo 3D is considerably more focused than the bigger commercial packages. It doesn't overwhelm you with an enormous feature set, or labyrinthine menus to access all of those features. And all of the features it does have are very focused and user-friendly. It also does pretty well as "companion" software. A lot of people who use Silo like to use it in conjunction with another program. They will do their modeling and sculpting in Silo, and then just move the model over to the other software package for rigging, animating, and rendering. Silo 3D + Blender is a pretty good combination for the budget-conscious 3D artist.
Naturally, Silo's sub-$200 price point is considerably more reasonable than a lot of other apps, even ones with comparable feature sets. The fact that its cross-compatible on Macs and PCs doesn't hurt either.
If you are interested in some more experimental modeling/sculpting, 3D Coat has been incorporating Voxel sculpting tools. A bit different to work with, but very interesting.
my advice would be, try everything out. I'm sure right now theres dozens of things that make you think "wow, that's cool. i wanna know how to do this!".
don't try to focus on learning one thing asap. you can still do this when you decided on a career. take the long road, enjoy the journey
But I heard that the bamboo series is pretty good for its price so that might be indeed a very good pick up for you.
As for the tablet I'll probably be picking it up around next week!
But it's a good thing that you picked up silo, which is cheaper and also one of my fav modeling app, although I heard that the development slows down and the apps is not very stable.
You might also check out zbrush/mudbox/3dcoat. From your sketchbook I saw you're learning the old fashion way, box/strip modeling...which is good as fundamental, but you might also be interested in newer modeling workflow like hi res sculpting and retopologizing.
1+
Most 3D packages now feature retopology tools. I believe Silo 3D's retopolgy tools are fairly easy to use. And I've used Blender's retopology myself.
The reason to remodel something might be because you need a cleaner flow in your topology (the flow of faces and edges), or you need less triangles or something else specific. In that you then often use the retopology workflow.
In silo for example you can only retopo on frozen or locked objects. Once you have frozen your object and created another one you can activate the surface snapping (somewhere in the selection menu or so)
here is a simple video showing the procedure:
[ame]
http://www.luxology.com/
hopefully their next release will cover some more game development stuff (e.g pipeline, scripts, baking, export, retopology, ...)