Fuil Sail & Gnomon 3D

[kmcall2]

I have been asking alot about colleges and it seems that I have only had 2 replies saying that Fuil Sail is the best. I was wondering if anybody disagrees with that and would recommend a better place. Please if you disagree state why. If anybody know anything about Gnomon3D and whether it is a good school please let me know. Thanks

[zanzibar106]

I've been to Gnomon and it's a very good school to learn Maya and the foundations of this industry.
Alex Alvarez has a great staff and is himself (I've heard from others) awesome at teaching what is tough in of it's self.

I almost applied to go to that school and have seen other people like my self worried about what school is the best.

I haven't gone to school but am heavily involved in the industry and have this piece of advice to pass on.

Chris Tome wrote an article responding to this very same question and what I got out of it was this:

You don't necessarily have to go to a "3D school" to be successful in this industry. It might be more prudent to take classes or study on your own at home about traditional cinemagraphic techniques, animation principles, and art.

I read this article a couple of years ago but have found personally that after I frustratingly mastered the software I was using to create 3D animations they still "sucked!" Later I began producing better projects when I focused less on the software and more on cinematography and to my surprise began to have fun again.

Lastly, school is what you make of it.

Hope that helps.

Jason Brummett
Studio - Z Inc.

[matthewomen]

Studio-Z is correct in what is said. To me, school is good for the following: being taught things you may not have learned so soon on your own, leaving time to learn the little things, getting contacts, while I know you can do this on your own it helps to learn from others that have been out there and learn from their experiances and the list goes on. I love to animate, draw and basically do almost anything creative, and one of the most important things I can do is to remember that I Love it. Whether or not I am using a 3D packadge, pencils, brushes, or my Imagination projecting device (could happen) I am happy just to have the gift to create. sorry I went off on a tangent >CYCLE INFINITY AHHHHHHHH!!!!

[aidavl]

After doing some rather extensive research on the web, and visiting some schools I decided to enroll at Full Sail myself. In the research that I conducted here is what I have found:

Good points:

-Accelerated Program (good for people who have some sort of art background)

-Very good instructors - industry professionals

-Up-to-date facilities and curriculum.

-Good location to get a job in the local area (The Orlando area has several good companies to work for such as Disney)

-Not a lot of 'fluff' electives that do not contribute to your understanding of animation.

-Very good placement department. They are dedicated in getting you a job, and will work with you a long time after you have graduated.

-It is accredited: It is accredited by the state of Florida meaning that you can get Federal Financial Aide, and will get a diploma that isn

[kmcall2]

Thats the best reply I have got yet. Thank you very much.

[aidavl]

Sure thing,

I realize how difficult it can be comparing different schools. It is often the difference between apples and oranges, and perhaps a few lemons thrown into the mix. I know that I agonized over my decision for a long time, so if sharing any insight will help you come to an easier decision then it was well worth my posting here.

Good luck!

[ryanalex]

Did you look into the Ringling School of Art and Design? It is in Sarasota, Florida. Its a great school. I am graduationg from there in a few months. Its a 4 year Computer Animation program.
Year 1 is is heavy duty traditional skills like drawing, figuring drawing color and design, sculpting, 3D design, etc.
Years 2-4 are computer animation, conceptual design, storyboarding, 1-2 semesters of Traditional animation, etc.

It may be worth looking into for you.
www.rsad.edu

[popsickle]

Please please please dont waste you time and money at full sail! That place is the biggest rip off in the industry! its total bullsh*t. The intructors are terrible, they dont care about helping you, getting help is like pulling teeth. You would be much better off useing the money to buy hardware and software and learn it yourself. It a total joke. Almost everyone i went to school with there also feels like this. They rush you through the classes. you get a brief overveiw of lots of things but no in depth understanding. Basically everything i learned there i learned myself, or from other students. I dont know much about gnomen but it has to be better than full flail. Please dont waste your time and money there. Its so not worth it. I usually dont take the time to bad mouth people or places but this place is a nightmare. A full sail gratuate.

[kmcall2]

You say buy hardware and software and learn everything yourself, but then how do you get a job? You dont have any qualifications or degrees. Everyone that I have heard from says the opposite to what you are saying. Most people think that the instructors are brilliant.

[aidavl]

I won't doubt your word woott, as I realize that different people have different opinions, but may I at least ask when you graduated from Full Sail? Full Sail seems to be looked at as either the best thing since the invention of sliced bread, or as a person's worst nightmare. I have heard much more of the former as opposed to the latter and you are actually the first person I have heard from that has gone to Full Sail and has this opinion, so perhaps your comment 'Almost everyone i went to school with there also feels like this' is not exactly true, or was true for your graduating class, but at least is no longer true.

I have heard good and bad things from every place I looked into, but generally speaking a bad reputation spreads like wildfire. If this is your honest opinion about Full Sail woott I'll send you the contact information for where they get their accreditation through on Monday (It is at my office, not at home). If you have had a bad experience then please do everyone one a favor who is looking into these schools by registering your complaint where it will help the most.

[krunko]

I graduated from Full Sail in December. I thought it was a good school. It wasn't perfect, and does have some quarks that need to be worked out, but overall I would recommend it. yes, there were some people like woot who complained and bitched about it a lot. But a lot of the people who compalin about the school, are just bitchy people. Some have more of a right to bitch because of certain things that happened to them.

If you ask me...You get out of it what you put into it. They have some very good work stations (dual pIII xeon 733mhz 768mb 600mhz RDRAM, etc...) And a lot of the intructors are excellent. I'd give the school a 7.5 out of 10.

Thanks,
Chance

[jiannjyh]

Are there others who feel Fullsail is a Joke as Woott posted earlyer?
I start school at Fullsail in may 2001. please post more info on this school if your a student or know one. your info could save my A-- and MONEY!

[fredc]

What should you do?
I would suggest making a trip down to Full Sail, on your own, not sponsored tour from the school, but by yourself. Don

[aidavl]

Actually, Full Sail will reimburse your airline ticket, and one night's hotel stay if you go to one of their open houses if you enroll there. They also offered to take me on a private tour after the open house, but I had other plans unfortunately. So there really is no reason why you shouldn't go there and check it out.

Urp is right though; you need to ask for their job placement percentage (people who actually have jobs in the field they majored in) and look at their collective portfolio, keeping in mind however that this is student artwork, meaning that you should compare it to other student work.

If you are looking for the perfect school though it doesn't exist, or we probably would have heard about it by now, and other schools would emulate their program. In my personal experience thus far with Full Sail they were willing to answer any question I put to them, so don't hesitate to ask.

Full Sail's biggest perceived flaw is that they don't have any entry requirements other than a high school diploma. So if you don't have any artistic talent going into Full Sail you probably aren't going to have any talent leaving Full Sail, except that you know how to use Maya. Many artistic principals can be taught to help people with less apparent talent become successful, but those broad ranges of topics are usually only explored in any depth in a four-year program. I personally have been in and out of art camps, schools, museum classes, and college programs since I was about 10, so I have that sort of foundation already. Even so, you can take all the classes in the world and it won

[ploi]

I know this is about which school but that isn't even a quarter of the battle. In my (draged through the mud) opinion you also have to realize that no matter where you go your skills are not going to be handed to you in an easy 13 step program that only works if you have a great leader. There is a reason that alot of people just learn from home and opt for no schooling. When you go to school just remember that YOU are responsible for about 80% of your education - schooling will help you keep on track a little and provide the other 20% which is mostly just being in an environment with others with your same interests to bounce off of. Choosing the right school is important - but remember when you get there to not expect to buy your skill - you and you alone will develope your skill - that is something (regardless of popular opinion) you can not buy.

[ywl]

I am currently enrolled in Full Sail, and aside from a few qwerks, I think that it is an excellent school. The person that said that it was like pulling teeth to get help must have been a very difficult person to work with. They tell you straight out, if you put in effort, then they will go the extra time to help you with whatever you are working on. Why should they waste their spare time if you dont care?
I have learned through my experiences here so far, that you can just pass the class and go on, or you can dedicate your entire 14 months here to nothing but learning as much as you can. Its an old saying, but you can either leave with a 500 dollar education or a 75,000 dollar education. The choice is up to you.
As far as the technology, I believe that they are second to none, with open labs at night. Some people say they can't get a computer, well its because the ones that really care are there when open labs open up. If you wait around, no one is going to hand you knowledge.
I hope you look forward to coming here, I think you will be happy with the teachers, curriculum, and hardware.
BTW, if you went to a 4 year college and had to pay for tuition and living expenses for all 4 years, you would be over 30k anyways, the difference is that you are in the job market a hell of a lot sooner.
Good luck.

[schutty]

No one will ever ask to look at grades or your diploma in the industry. The only thing that matters is your talent. If your reel is good enough they might let you in the door as freelance or on some sort of an internship. Within a week the will give you an offer to stay, or they wont. That is how you get a job. I suggest to anyone looking for a school, that if your art skills are strong go to Full Sail or another accelerated program. Learn the tools, produce a kick ass reel, and get a job. If you would like to develop an art tallent, go to a four year school. You will need the time. Full Sail runs classes 24-7, teaches you the basics, and hands you a diploma.. Putting together a reel is on your own time. Which you wont have any of. There is a class at the end that helps with that but you need to be working on your reel from day one. Any one who knocks Full Sail spent too much time acting like they were in a four year school. If you can get out to LA and go to Gnomon you are probably better off, but my guess is that it will cost you considerably more than Full Sail, and the traffic is worse. Good luck.

Full Sail grad working in LA

[dsepshn]

Does anyone have an Opinion on the Academy of Art College in San Francisco?
I go there and I think it is an awesome school myself. It is a 4-year, and they do focus on traditional arts at first, but I have learned a great deal so far. They have workshops threw out the year with people from places like ILM, Pixar, WB, Disney< etc...
I don't know your traditional abilities, but mine were not very good, but now in the little time I've been there I have excelled very much.
I'd like to here what other people think about it.
Thanx
Wes

[nr3]

I'm just finishing up the Certificate Program at Gnomon and recommend it highly. I started almost a year and a half ago in their full time program and got a modeling position in the Digital Character Group at Sony Imageworks back in December. I previously had a BFA in Computer Animation from Ai's tragedy of chain schools, which educated me enough to come to Hollywood and apply for admission to Gnomon's Cert. Prog. Although I had a good gnowledge of 3dsmax, I had no idea what NURBS were until I learned Alias and Maya at Gnomon. Now, I'm able to afford concert tickets and fine dining, just like those dental assistants or software installers from Computer Learning Center's commercials (or was it Bryman?).
But seriously, aside from being Democrats, they're alright. Every teacher I had the benefit of meeting was an expert in his/her particular field and had the film credits to prove it. From Disney's Dinosaur to Sony's Hollow Man, SuperBowl commercials and of course, Stuart Little, these instructors can't be beat. I couldn't imagine learning from better teachers- It's a small school, but it's the best in the country- and, in the middle of Hollywood (where the coolest jobs are). If you want to do Mickey Mouse, go elsewhere. If you want to gnow what 3d animation is, go to Gnomon.
Darren Urbaszewski
nurbs@imageworks.com

[farhes]

There are a number of considerations to make when choosing an education...price, location, reputation, and facilities. Each person who is reading this post has an opinion...so, here's mine.

I'm behind Gnomon. Although I did not complete the certificate course at Gnomon, I participated in the life of that school for over a year. (I took 1 1/2 terms and taught 2D/After Effects courses there.)

Gnomon is a unique experience. It's designed to be like a post graduate school, always allowing the individual the ability to control their training. Before attending, I was working the freelance circuit out in the midwest. I taught design classes at a local university so, I had a certain critical eye when looking for a new school to teach this old dog new tricks.

Gnomon is, in a way, the new kid on the block. But even after only a few years of existance, it has made a rather remarkable impression on the LA/Hollywood visual effects community. The school is designed to achieve one purpose. To get you ready to work in a professional environment, by teaching you Maya. Period. Yes, there are a few other software classes available as options...but if you examine closely, Maya is the reason for Gnomon's existance.

Gnomon understands that the community uses one primary off- the-shelf package for achieving high end visual effects...and that program is Maya. I consent that there are other programs in use..but overall, Alias|Wavefront products are the most common.

With this in mind, Gnomon excells in offering you a comprehensive education with industry proven instructors. Here lies the key. Gnomon's instructors are top notch. These aren't guys practicing our art in theory...they've been in the trenches...and every instructor I had at Gnomon had worked for some major studio at one time in their career or were still working there. I had instructors from Disney, Dreamworks, Dream Theatre, and more.

You can rant about equipment, location, or price until you're blue in the face. These are all important factors, but without good instructors, all the 1.3 ghz dual PIIIs aren't gonna make a difference. Getting hired in the community is about networking and talent...not necessarily some advanced degree. (Not that I'm knocking a degree...I have one.) The better you present yourself, the better your chance is to get your foot in the door. Gnomon provides you this by placing you in the middle of the Visual Effects Universe....LA, and they have contacts at almost every major facility you'd want. There are more companies that would hire you as a graduate in a 15 mile radius than there are ANYWHERE else. Plus...does it help that your last Maya instructor happened to work at Dreamworks or perhaps Sony? It certainly couldn't hurt.

I strongly recommend Gnomon. They will take care of you. They are fair, focused, talented, and ready to serve.

Brian Pohl
Lucasfilm LTD - Previz