Hey... New to Maya, and actually modeling, animation, and all that jazz in general. I've been going through a tutorial that toals about 10 hours long and it covers most of the basic functions of Maya and concepts of modeling and animation. It's a bit overwhelming for me so I'm planning on going through it twice to make sure I retain all the details.
Animation is what I want to do as a profession, I love creating things, working with computers, details, etc. (I won't bore you.)
I looked at a bunch of options for getting an education specific for this field (public, private, online courses.) After much deliberation and research I've elected to venture alone and scour books and the internet and practice to become proficient; there's always the option of going to school later, and for now I'm saving money and fine tuning exactly what my preferred specialty would be, if any (maybe I can successfully freelance in the future.)
Like I said, I'm a newborn in a world of men of master 3D artists. I'm looking to grow up as efficiently as possible, so I want to integrate myself into the environment/community. This place looks ideal, and I'm checking out other sites/forums/groups as well. I couldn't access the boards FAQs or anything stickied above.. Sorry if this isn't quite the place for this.
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[b]BORING? Here's the chase:
[/b]1. Is there anything that you wish you knew when you were just starting out? Advice, warnings, etc.
I'm trying to avoid student debt and maintain a job while affording my spare time to learning and eventually want computer animation to be the center of my career, so I'm finding every tutorial I can and learning. Are there any helpful resources you guys know of other than forums? (tutorials on sticky in forums is 404'ed)
As above, I am just dipping my toe into all of this. Is Maya a good place to start? I've heard that if you get Maya down, you can pretty much jump into most other programs. Am I stunting my growth by starting there? Should I try start with Flash or some other program?
I'm going to be obtaining a copy of "The Illusion of Life," which I am told is the Bible of animating characters. Are there any other programs, videos, books, etc. that are essential or would really help me develop as a beginner? For the record, I fully intend to practicepracticepractice. I just enjoy efficiency.
From what I gather, if you're modeling what you'll animate, there is are strategies that are imperative to having success with the model, as in edge loop usage or poliginal faces. Any pro-tips? Sorry if this is too much of a general question.
6. I am new enough that the above pretty much entails any questions on the top of my head. Anything extra you'd add that you think would help?
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Thanks for your time. I just finished a period in my life where devoting time, motivation, and other resources wasn't really feasible. I'm anxious to learn; so far I've been ironing out a few hours a day exploring the program and following tutorials. I sincerely appreciate any help you guys could give. Have a good one!