Started with the Art Institute of Houston getting a basic knowledge of Max, Photoshop etc. Met a handful of great people there that realized like me that the school would only show us so much, so we were all learning as much as we could online and sharing that knowledge amongst each other. From there a lot of side projects at home for fun. For the past 4 years since being introduced to Polycount most of my education has come from here.
i studied Industrial Design in the States 10 years ago and learnt a bit of FormZ and was utterly put off the whole 3d modelling thing - then came back to the UK and worked in theatre for 7 years.
Just started getting into 3d Max in the last 6 months, following online, tutorials, a couple of Gnomon and Digital Tutors DVDs.
Desperately need to learn Zbrush though - just not enough time at the moment with Uni on the side
I dropped 30k on two years at some crap college, dropped out and started studying by myself.
The first two years were traditional studies and classes, which were good, but as soon as I found out how much the seniors knew about 3d, I was out of there.
Seems that most of the people here learned what they know from polycount.
Charlotte, you sound like me in my second year. I was so damn fed-up with it, didn't really learn much that year, felt like I was pushed into doing things I hated, etc... I really looked into studying (more) elsewhere but didn't do it. The year after that I realized I wasn't going to gain anything from more studying, I could just get further by doing my own projects or working in a company. It's not the school that's going to make the difference, you are. I'm sure you'll realize that too when the time comes.
Agreed. A fantstic subversive pop culture reference t-shirt
For those of you who dont know, Bon Temps is the made-up town in which the series True Blood takes place. You can see this shirt and think its real, but if you know the reference it's so cool
Xoliul: Nono, you misunderstand. It's for after I graduate that I was looking. :] I'm actually pretty happy with the courses. I have the feeling I "won't be ready/good-enough" when I graduate to find a job.
Zipfinator: Oh didn't you say you were teaching the 3D-courses? The name there says Jason Stokes? :S
I said I'll be TAKING the classes, not TEACHING. Jason Stokes will be one of the people teaching me there.
Also on the shirt design, I like both Hawken and Shankerzero's designs, but I hate that lime green background on yours Hawken. Also I'm not a fan of the PROPERTY OF part above your design, Hawken.
I dropped 30k on two years at some crap college, dropped out and started studying by myself.
The first two years were traditional studies and classes, which were good, but as soon as I found out how much the seniors knew about 3d, I was out of there.
Seems that most of the people here learned what they know from polycount.
wow 30 k !?
you can already study in fengzhu school with that amount of money.!
about learning 3D, I'd say it was roughly...
15% school
15% internet
35% personal work
35% at work
now schooling seems to account for very little, but in general, learning about art and content creation as a whole, I'd give school a higher percentage. but just for pushing buttons in the 3D app school didn't count for too much.
Being a girl, i don't do 3d/2d.
joking aside, i played with programs on my own in high school using programs like maya 5, wings 3d, lightwave, etc for the 3d portion, and flash and photoshop for the 2d.
then i went to college, got some solid basic skills, but as everyone knows, you won't learn everything from a teacher, you have to try it yourself
so practice practice practice..so many trial and errors, so many failures, but never giving up.
I'm sure by the posting majority people are the same.
I am thankful for polycount though, i did learn a couple new things here and i do enjoy checking out other's projects. inspiring!
personally, i'd get rid of greentooth in those designs.
i feel like the little guy has been shoved down my throat lately.
Actually I think it's a bit too much to have as the default avatar. Apart from that, it's not really part of the site design. Do you have it tattooed inside your eyelids?
about learning 3D, I'd say it was roughly...
15% school
15% internet
35% personal work
35% at work
now schooling seems to account for very little, but in general, learning about art and content creation as a whole, I'd give school a higher percentage. but just for pushing buttons in the 3D app school didn't count for too much.
about learning 3D, I'd say it was roughly...
15% school
15% internet
35% personal work
35% at work
now schooling seems to account for very little, but in general, learning about art and content creation as a whole, I'd give school a higher percentage. but just for pushing buttons in the 3D app school didn't count for too much.
+1, first industry job was a royal kick in the teeth and a wake up call to me that I didnt know anything haha. Learning on the job is probably the more dominant part for me and continuing to learn on a daily basis. Its definetely where I have learnt the most anyways.
Mostly working on mods for the Source engine - just jumped right in the deep end and struggled to swim. Did freelance work which got me used to some other engines (Torque, mainly... ugh).
Lurking on Polycount a lot - reading all the feedback people left on other folk's work (was far too afraid to post my own artwork here, it was so substandard to what the average skill level here is). Now I pretty much live on here :P
Oh, yeah, technically I went to university to learn game art... but 2 years on Source mods before then meant that my skill/knowledge level was already way above everything they taught on the course. I quit after 2 years after being offered the job I'm in now.
Speaking strictly for my 3D because I don't even know where to begin with my drawing history:
A friend introduced me to 3dsmax ("this is how you make a box and now you select those verts" etc.) and sicked me on the Joan of Arc tutorial. That was 2007.
Then I just tried a lot on my own after that, trying different things, reading tutorials. Got some mediocre results for a long time... then I found Poop's mass blocking method tutorial around a year ago and THE REST IS HISTORY
But seriously, it changed how I did 3D from painful extrusion work that took 300 hours, to a day's work for a good base model - and made it fun again.
And then I just read Polycount a LOT and soak up that knowledge. ConceptArt.org and such sites... yeah they have some 3DCG but they are not dedicated, and other sites may have 3D focus but little space for real-time 3DCG ... it's just not the same. Polycount is the best there is so much knowledge and inspiration here.
Hoping to get into the Animation Workshop in Viborg to learn more
Actually I think it's a bit too much to have as the default avatar. Apart from that, it's not really part of the site design. Do you have it tattooed inside your eyelids?
ha. i don't.
it's mostly abuse by users. fast-track to feeling like part of the community is to spam greentooth. the use of it by polycount remains as classy as ever.
but really, i just thought the design would look better without it.
FEW!!! and here i was thinking that everyone was sitting on Diplomas of CG Art!! that's such a relief yeah... most of what i know is by Internet... best way without spending thousands upon thousands of dollars... granted you might learn faster and better but in my opinion trial and error and personal experience makes best
initially various skinning sites as I did mainly texture work,started modding unreal.
But then polycount back in about 2002 and ever since really.
I did try some other sites like zbrush central, but got about 1 reply and saw tumbleweeds after that. same with cg society:)
But i did go to art college for seven years prior to that, 2 years Btec, 2 years hnd and then 3 years BA hons.
I wasn't much of a scholar, it was just somewhere to hang out.
I started with Quake 3 tutorials here at Polycount. I attended some drawing studios which helped me as well. Of course books and tutorial videos have a large contribution too. I think the best way is to watch DVDs from Gnomon, eat3D etc. and post your work here for critique nowadays.
College, Polycount, and constantly screwing up. Nothing is better than doing something 5 different ways until it finally works the way it's suppose to!
Charlotte, you sound like me in my second year. I was so damn fed-up with it, didn't really learn much that year, felt like I was pushed into doing things I hated, etc... I really looked into studying (more) elsewhere but didn't do it. The year after that I realized I wasn't going to gain anything from more studying, I could just get further by doing my own projects or working in a company. It's not the school that's going to make the difference, you are. I'm sure you'll realize that too when the time comes.
Haha same here , I wanted to quit each year but changed my mind each time. In the end i'm pretty glad i endured all lof it even if it took me an extra year. I learned a lot from school but i learned even more by just doing personal work and trying to get feedback from different places including polycount.
Now that i'm doing my internship i realize that while working i'm gaining a lot of speed and a fast workflow while with my personal work i'm free to experiment and maybe find some new techniques to use.
Replies
I want a shirt that says I never will graduate
Just started getting into 3d Max in the last 6 months, following online, tutorials, a couple of Gnomon and Digital Tutors DVDs.
Desperately need to learn Zbrush though - just not enough time at the moment with Uni on the side
The first two years were traditional studies and classes, which were good, but as soon as I found out how much the seniors knew about 3d, I was out of there.
Seems that most of the people here learned what they know from polycount.
i feel like the little guy has been shoved down my throat lately.
For those of you who dont know, Bon Temps is the made-up town in which the series True Blood takes place. You can see this shirt and think its real, but if you know the reference it's so cool
I said I'll be TAKING the classes, not TEACHING. Jason Stokes will be one of the people teaching me there.
Also on the shirt design, I like both Hawken and Shankerzero's designs, but I hate that lime green background on yours Hawken. Also I'm not a fan of the PROPERTY OF part above your design, Hawken.
- Eat3D
- forums
- events / workshops
- contacts
- traditionnal art
wow 30 k !?
you can already study in fengzhu school with that amount of money.!
15% school
15% internet
35% personal work
35% at work
now schooling seems to account for very little, but in general, learning about art and content creation as a whole, I'd give school a higher percentage. but just for pushing buttons in the 3D app school didn't count for too much.
joking aside, i played with programs on my own in high school using programs like maya 5, wings 3d, lightwave, etc for the 3d portion, and flash and photoshop for the 2d.
then i went to college, got some solid basic skills, but as everyone knows, you won't learn everything from a teacher, you have to try it yourself
so practice practice practice..so many trial and errors, so many failures, but never giving up.
I'm sure by the posting majority people are the same.
I am thankful for polycount though, i did learn a couple new things here and i do enjoy checking out other's projects. inspiring!
Actually I think it's a bit too much to have as the default avatar. Apart from that, it's not really part of the site design. Do you have it tattooed inside your eyelids?
100% this
But of course!
+1, first industry job was a royal kick in the teeth and a wake up call to me that I didnt know anything haha. Learning on the job is probably the more dominant part for me and continuing to learn on a daily basis. Its definetely where I have learnt the most anyways.
Pretty much the same ...
polycount AND 11 second club!
but technically I gave all my money to the Bolton University instead
Lurking on Polycount a lot - reading all the feedback people left on other folk's work (was far too afraid to post my own artwork here, it was so substandard to what the average skill level here is). Now I pretty much live on here :P
Oh, yeah, technically I went to university to learn game art... but 2 years on Source mods before then meant that my skill/knowledge level was already way above everything they taught on the course. I quit after 2 years after being offered the job I'm in now.
A friend introduced me to 3dsmax ("this is how you make a box and now you select those verts" etc.) and sicked me on the Joan of Arc tutorial. That was 2007.
Then I just tried a lot on my own after that, trying different things, reading tutorials. Got some mediocre results for a long time... then I found Poop's mass blocking method tutorial around a year ago and THE REST IS HISTORY
But seriously, it changed how I did 3D from painful extrusion work that took 300 hours, to a day's work for a good base model - and made it fun again.
And then I just read Polycount a LOT and soak up that knowledge. ConceptArt.org and such sites... yeah they have some 3DCG but they are not dedicated, and other sites may have 3D focus but little space for real-time 3DCG ... it's just not the same. Polycount is the best
Hoping to get into the Animation Workshop in Viborg to learn more
ha. i don't.
it's mostly abuse by users. fast-track to feeling like part of the community is to spam greentooth. the use of it by polycount remains as classy as ever.
but really, i just thought the design would look better without it.
Then polycount.
Later on, i started buying dvd tuts from eat3d adn gnomon. Got 5 now. lol
But then polycount back in about 2002 and ever since really.
I did try some other sites like zbrush central, but got about 1 reply and saw tumbleweeds after that. same with cg society:)
But i did go to art college for seven years prior to that, 2 years Btec, 2 years hnd and then 3 years BA hons.
I wasn't much of a scholar, it was just somewhere to hang out.
50% working on mods
40% personal study (polycount and other forums)
www.3dbuzz.com
I still tell people from my class to start there to learn the basics. Then try the Eat3d DVDs.
People usually get very excited by the Eat3d DVDs and want to start on them right away though.
10% School
70% Doing it Myself
20% Polycount
QFT
I always end up hating my work not long after it's finished, so I start the whole process over again and it gets a little better each time.
Haha same here , I wanted to quit each year but changed my mind each time. In the end i'm pretty glad i endured all lof it even if it took me an extra year. I learned a lot from school but i learned even more by just doing personal work and trying to get feedback from different places including polycount.
Now that i'm doing my internship i realize that while working i'm gaining a lot of speed and a fast workflow while with my personal work i'm free to experiment and maybe find some new techniques to use.