Maya as a career

# 1 15-10-2007 , 09:33 PM

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Hi

I am 46 year old guy who has just kicked off a great career in search of pursuing my 'dream' - art and animation. I am now looking at enrolling in a full time course for Maya and 3DS. I was told its better to do both to get a good understanding of animation and architecture.

I also had a brief exposure to art when I was small but I think I still have it in me.

Two questions:

a. Is it good to try both 3DS and Maya? Is there any thing else I should focus on?

b. What are my chances in suceeding in this venture?

gp

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# 2 15-10-2007 , 09:53 PM

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Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, talent, skills, etc so your chances of succeeding rely mostly on you. However, determination, networking, etc also will play a big role. I also personally think that most people who have dreams give up too quickly. And then there's also location. I'm fortunate that I live in a place where jobs are readily available because the sad truth is, it usually takes money to make money.

Next, if you're wanting to get into animation, check out websites such as pixar, dreamworks, etc. They'll give you some good information about what they look for. Surprisingly, they really don't care much about whether you can use Maya or 3dsMax. If you can animate, they can teach you the software. So, my advice (though not professionally) is to figure out EXACTLY what you want to do. Then research on how to prepare for that. An animator will have different goals to achieve than a modeler or a lighting technician. A texturing person will have yet different goals. Deciding exactly what you want to do will help you figure out what skills you need and what areas of study to focus on.

Best wishes to you!
Eric

P.S. If there's are some specific companies you'd like to work for, you could always find out what software and tools they use and learn them.

Don't be satisfied with what you can do but rather strive to do the things you can't do!
Exceed Expectations!

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# 3 15-10-2007 , 10:32 PM

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No matter of 3DS , MAYA

Hi

There is no matter of 3DS , MAYA or other.Every thing will be fine .
The only thing in these field is creativety+practise= good result.
Just do it.

Best of luck & Enjoy the CG world

bedanta

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# 4 15-10-2007 , 10:43 PM

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I probably wouldn't recomend learning max and maya at the same time. They are similar enough that once you learn one, it's not too hard to transition to any other 3D app. Trying to learn both at once can just confuse you.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 5 16-10-2007 , 12:07 AM

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Set yourself specific goals, if you can pin point exactly what kind of job you want to end up doing then you will know what you need to do to get there.

General 3D artist is very vague and open ended.

When it comes to choosing an App it does not matter at all, instead of leaning button pushing, try and understand how 3d Graphics works, and you will be able to pick up any 3d program you want.

Most of all remember that maya is just a tool, do not get stuck into learning technological stuff and let your artisitic side suffer, work in a way where you learn specific elements when you need to.

Keep the art at the center of the work.

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# 6 16-10-2007 , 12:41 AM

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My recommendation is to learn one, decide what you want to do and take it from there.
For me, I started with MAX because I was interested in making game levels for Rainbow Six & Ghost Recon, Red Storm Entertainment released the plug-ins for 3D Max and I started making levels & learned.
After I felt comfortable with 3D Max, I started using Maya PLE, somewhat different but its the same tools. Now I am comfortable in both.
I went with 3D Max because I was interested in games and at that time, 3D Max was being used by most companies in the game industry, now it is different.

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# 7 16-10-2007 , 02:59 AM

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It's good to see someone my age persuing the dream of working in 3D.

I wish I had the guts to try it as well. I started out as a computer systems engineer and after 20 years of constantly getting layed off every 5 years due to the eb and flow of the economy and now more and more due to outsourcing, I went back to school to work on my phd in medical physics (biomedical imaging will be my focus).

But deep down I wish I was a professional 3D modeler. I truely enjoy modeling, it's so rewarding to see flat 2D images pop out into 3 dimensions. I think I have the aptitude, but I probably lack the artistic skill. I can do alright given references to work from but I would struggle to create things myself.

Best of luck to you!

PS - Although I am not an expert by any means I would agree with Micheal M. that it is best to learn one package well, then learn others as needed. The tools and workflow in most packages are similar (I have played with Maya, Max, and Modo), but there is just enough difference that learning more then one package at the same time would be confusing.

Last edited by ctbram; 16-10-2007 at 03:46 AM.

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# 8 18-10-2007 , 11:25 AM

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Maya as a Career

Guys
thanks a lot for all the support and the advise. I will take the suggestion to take one tool first than juggle with two or more. Really appreciate the encouragement and the clear insight provided by all of you both from commercial point of view and also from a phylosophical point of view. Good Feedback.

However, many of you advised on selecting the correct part of animation and sort of specialize on the same. My concern is that unelss I get into it deeply, I might not know what I am good at, right??

Would it be right to take up say Maya - work on it for some time, see what I am good at - Modelling or Animation etc and decide? Or is there a different approach to this?

gp

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# 9 18-10-2007 , 12:17 PM

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I would advise you first to try both Maya and Max or even XSI and then decide which you feel most comfortable with and stick to it.
Then begin learning to model simple objects and texturing them.Perhaps then trying a simple animation using your objects, it will soon become clear which area interests you most or even which you would not like to do as an everyday thing.
Bare in mind that if you end up working in a production studio of some type then you will most likely be expected to help out in other ereas anyway so it never hurts to be at least familiar with say texturing even if you only want to model.Some modelers are expected to rig their models where in other places animators like to make their own rigs.
Maybe you are interested in VFX and would want to study dynamics really well,in short the more you know the better your chances of getting work.
In conclusion try it ,figure out what you want to achieve and then gear your work towards that aim.

2 x Modeling Challenge Winner

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# 10 18-10-2007 , 12:23 PM

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That's pretty much what I did gputhige. I was going to play around with all the aspects of 3d but quickly after getting Maya I found myself completely hooked on modeling. I've been focused on that ever since. So yeah, I think it's a pretty good idea to start off doing a little of all.

I guess the hard part would be if you find out that you really like doing one thing but are good at another. For me, I would probably stick with what I loved to do. I personally would work much harder at learning something I loved to do than to try and improve skills I'm already good at.

On the other hand I have friends who would argue that it would be more wise to focus on doing what I was good at. In the end though, I would probably just get bored and quit.

Don't be satisfied with what you can do but rather strive to do the things you can't do!
Exceed Expectations!

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# 11 19-10-2007 , 12:28 AM

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How much do you guys make in these different jobs?

What can I expect to get paid working with maya..

modeling, animating, textures.. etc etc.

Games, commercials, movies..

whats the average pay.. I am new to this and desperately trying to learn this program as well

the new guy

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# 12 19-10-2007 , 01:13 AM

Jr.Who

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I think the average game artist/animator makes around $65,000 a year. Mike should know though.

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# 13 19-10-2007 , 04:17 AM

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pay is normally determined based on experience. When it comes to the game industry, first year artists, depending on location, can perhaps expect in the $30-35,000 range per year. Yes, salaries can get upwards of $60-70,000 after 5-7 years, again depending on location. Gamasutra.com has a yearly game developer salary survey that can be useful.

*Edited to clarify I'm talking about the game industry

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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