Which scripting language should I learn?

M-Cubed

Hey guys. I'm a 3d artist whose looking to break into the Technical Artist side of things. I've already done rigging for a few productions, but would like to expand my knowledge into scripting so I can advance my rigging, but also build tools and such for my team, and maybe shader scripting. I have no prior knowledge of scripting, and have no idea to really start, as I'm coming from the artist side, not a programmer side.

So I'm looking for recommendations. Which language would be a good starting point? Should I jump right into Max Script (As 3DS Max is our main software) or is there a better language to start from that would give me a better base to learn not only Max Script, but ones like Mel, and shander languages?

So yeah, looking for recommendations as to which language to learn first, and ideas of where to start my education, even recommended courses or workshops.

Thanks everyone, and look forward to your suggestions.

m4dcow

If you really want to cover the broadest base, you should look at python. Alot of software uses python as a scripting language.

Ben Apuna

I'd also recommend Python, there is Py3dsMax for Max, though I'm not sure how widely used it is.

Check out The Programming/Scripting MASTER THREAD for some links to get you started.

cupsster

second Py3dsMax

haiddasalami

third with python. Can easily move between apps and is a great Starter language.

passerby

python, 3dsmax has the mentioned Py3dsMax, and maya supports it native, and it is a good starter language, and can even be used for web development since most servers also have python.

Ace-Angel

Python, no question asked, if you're starting out in CGI, that's the language to snake through (pun intended).

M-Cubed

Wow, thanks guys. I didn't expect there to be such a clear answer here. I certainly heard of Python, and knew Maya supported it now. I'm defiantly going to look into it, but please keep the suggestions coming.

Kwramm

if your studio is a max house and you want to change positions within the studio, go max script and later C#. Otherwise, Python is the way to go.

Using python for max rigs which wander around your production pipeline doesn't seem to be a very clever idea.