Learning alone, need some advice
I am really sorry about posting such a stupid questions,but i need some help
I know that studding this alone without school will take years, but i have no money to go to school, it is damnn expensive.
For those you have learnt, how hard was to be able to get something "awesome"
How many hours did you spent learning alone?
I have brought Max, and i am studding from DT, and so far goes well, sometimes i stuck on something.
I want to focus in modeling and texturing, my goal is to be Environment modeler for games.
I know that studding this alone without school will take years, but i have no money to go to school, it is damnn expensive.
For those you have learnt, how hard was to be able to get something "awesome"
How many hours did you spent learning alone?
I have brought Max, and i am studding from DT, and so far goes well, sometimes i stuck on something.
I want to focus in modeling and texturing, my goal is to be Environment modeler for games.
Replies
If you have: Than you know the basics of how things are done for 3d arts and how to use the tool. The rest depends on your practice and if you are working full time, I'd say spare atleast 2-4 hours a day for 3d modeling and texturing. Start with one idea, and work your through, ask questions here if you get stuck somewhere and cant figure a way out of it. Watch other people's work and speed sculptings videos for motivation and inspiration.
I am one of the self learners. I learned the basics and some what advanced stuff from Digital Tutors with an year subscription. After that, I roughly draw the concept in photoshop, or sketchbook, and start working on it one at a time. Major part of self learning is, learning the tool first, than it is, Observe, Adapt, Implement, Practice.
Also, get this out of your head, that first piece you'll ever make will be awesome, because there are no born artists, and you being at the starting point will always make mistakes. So post your work after you are done here in pimp and preview section and see what others have to say about it. You might get pointers from their critics on your work. You will get the awesomeness when you grasp the flow of your work, pin point your own the mistakes out, and fix them.
Good luck
a) When I make something I would be happy to call "awesome" I'll let you know
b) About 5 years or something by now. I'm still learning.
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89972
There are plenty of examples of people who did it without school. It could take years, sure, but then again so does school doesn't it? I know people who graduated in 4 years, and I know people who did it in 7 years.
Bottom line, who cares? If you're having fun doing it, just do it. There are plenty of tutorials online on all sorts of things, and when you finish going through them you should be able to understand what's up.
Pixologic has amazing video tutorials on their website. So as far as ZBrush is concerned you can learn nearly all the basics fairly easily within a week or two? If you want to expand that knowledge places like Gnomon and Eat3d have video tutorials for all sorts of 3d software techniques for about $50 each.
I also took a single (ZBrush) course from FuturePoly, which is about $500 or so per course, far more doable than 4 years of college. I wasn't greatly pleased with the level of interest my teacher there had in my success at finding work, but I hear their environment guy is way better. Also they are willing to look at portfolios and give critiques to anyone I believe. If you aren't in the Seattle area you could probably email them.
It's great that you have a copy of Max. If you have questions email me (check my website for my email) and I can try to answer questions.
edit: Also even if you don't think something is "awesome" who cares, stick it up on your personal website and start amassing things. Even if you don't think it's awesome yet you might be suprised who does. I got hired for 6 months at a primarily Flash company doing some 3d stuff because they liked not just my 3d but also my drawings and paintings. They thought my stuff was "awesome", you never know who might like your stuff. Maybe you can get freelance work or even just get involved in a free project to give yourself some deadlines and force yourself to make a product and then move on to the next product.
Once the process is down and you are comfortable getting something done (ie getting something simple like a crate or a rock modeled, uv'd, and textured), start to think more about how you can get to the point of making something that you consider awesome.
The bottom line is to actually start making things. When you run into something that you don't know just look it up or ask on a forum. Trust me when I say don't pursue "awesome" while you are learning, pursue it when you have been through the process to the point where you don't have to think much about it and can actually focus on what you want.
But I would say to not worry about whether you are learning maya or max. Or one thing or another. Just focus on learning. If you spend time learning it is never a waste of time.
Also google is your best friend.
Also (a much less flowery suggestion) would be to buy Game Environments & Props by Mike McKinley. It's a little outdated (no sub-D modelling in it), but it's a great introduction to the concepts involved in game art, like normal mapping, ambient occlusion, specular maps, modularity, animation of mechanical props, that sorta stuff.
I recently saw a clip from a max tutorial that regularly used the model breaking mirror button (it screws up your normals) instead of the mirror or symmetry modifier. So tutorial dvds are not always teaching you the best practices.
Because i want to focus on environment modeling, texturing, and lighting. Do i need to know how to draw? I mean, i drew few times before, when i was 14-17, but i must admit, i never like to draw, never enjoy and after all was boring like hell.
But, i do like hand painting, found good tutorials about hand painting vehicle, texture at 3D motive.
that's confusing, hand painting is drawing