hoe did/are you learning maya?

[elephantinc]

im teaching myself through tut dvds
how did you learn?

[ColdWave]

reading , watching dvd's , trying some stuffs , asking here in the forum ... that's all no body teachs me or smth like this ... only you my friends helps me :blush:

[Zel712]

Yikes! You've got guts. :-)

I completed first year, Basic Animation at The Animation School ( formerly UCAA) in Cape Town SA last year.
We did history of animation, stop frame, claymation, and then we got into Maya.

[ColdWave]

I wish one day to be in 3D school that's something like a dream :( :shakehead :( But in my country there is one school and it sux ... and yeah i don't have money so i will teach myself ... :p

[Jr.Who]

Mainly this site and a couple others (DT, TGW, Lynda, etc.).

[elephantinc]

im just gonna carry on teacjing my self
i think it will always remain a hobby

[bendingiscool]

I learnt through the help file tutorials/explanations for stuff, then when I got the hang of the basics some of the tut's on here and DT in particular helped me advance. I did this in the summer before uni so that I could stay ahead whilst studying there.

Chris

[Rhetoric Camel]

I've learned through this website with their dvd, and the forum, other dvds and tutorials, and just toying around in maya randomly trying things.

[ColdWave]

I think the best thing that we could do to learn each other is to keep posting , keep doing 3D things , and we all keep helping each other . That's the key we all helping each other and experiment :P

[jsprogg]

i am learning mostly from reading stuff and watching video tutorials and dvd's.
The rest is experimenting and lots and lots of Practice.

[jm82792]

Well I am polishing off Maya tutorials then I'll go more inot the sites tutorials,I do go online like how I learned to make glass liquids and so on.
I hope for a career in this since owning a plant nusery is not a viable career unless I am a tissue culture tech or something around there.
i am gonna most likely buy points then learn more and more prepping myself for college then I can land a career I hope.
I actually have an idea for a tutorial :D And I dunno I may try to make a short film then upload not sure since I do not see it here.

[Mayaniac]

I'm learning mostly through Trial and error, and reading as much material as i can!

Fortunately, I Live near Downtown Orlando, So i have access to a HUGE library of books on Maya!

When I first decided to Get into Maya, I downloaded PLE, and went to the library and borrowed a Awesome book. 3D for beginners: Introducing Maya. I followed every Tut in the book, and read every word.

16 months later... here I am!.... Still learning..... Still loving every moment!

I like to use the Help files allot, and also I like to converse with my fellow Maya Fanatics! ;)

[Agent_Dick]

experience with other programs and so far about 10 tutorials.

[jm82792]

Well I have 3 options for career options,
Computer based things like maya(duh :) ),
Animal/livestock/husbandry stuff/
Then finally MY favorite hobby Horticulture ..
I figure If I get a good start on maya while I am 15 by the time I get into college like when I am 16-17 or so (homeschooled) then persue a Maya based career . So then I guess I am currently doing an elective (art),am learning for the future and having fun :D

[Mayaniac]

Originally posted by jm82792
learning for the future and having fun :D

Thats the only way to go! FUN FUN FUN!

[Zel712]

Sounds like a really good idea Dude!
I know what homeschooling's like and I think it's cool that you're willing to start learning now.
Maybe you could animate plants growing?;) Seriously, you could do all the cells and show how water circulates in them etc. Like a 3d tour of a plant.
Or try designing an animated Logo/intro ( like the Universal Studio's globe, 20th century fox logo, Pixar logo) of a seed growing into a tree then you pan out to show your company name like "The Sapling".
Only needs to be about 20 seconds long. And if you've ever done anything in film ( NTSC being 30 frames per second and PAL 25 fps) that adds up to about anything from 3weeks to 2months of work. Depends on how perfectionistic you are.

If you think it's a dumb idea that's fine. You will find out some day that animators are quite nutty.

The best advice I can give you is never stop looking. What?! Yes, looking. Also keep doodling and scetching, whatever, whenever. Because if you understand how things work and what they really look like, it's so much easier to do them in 3D.
See if you can redo the adverts on TV. Build your room in Maya. nothing needs to move, but see if you can do it.
Last but not least. Don't take yourself too seriously! Animating can get you seriously tensed up. Take breaks even when you don't feel like it. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you're stuck.
And do incremental saves.

Keep it up! And have Fun :-)
Z

[mtmckinley]

got my foundation at art school but the rest was through self-teaching and on-the-job training

[gster123]

I pretty much learnt myself using books and messing about, I started as I was using maya fior my final year project at uni, i'm now using it to help gather data for my PHD, and as a hobby

[effacer]

after finishing 2d animation from an institute, i got training in 3d max and then in Maya. But here in my country, there's no official training centre.:headbang: So i only got basic training, and secondly the faculty wasn't good enough(not kiddin, here every student says so). to put straight, i got the basic interface introduction and working of maya. Then onwards, i've been studying on my own, studying every books (3) i could lay my hands on, going through the tutorials i could find in internet.

[gubar]

First I done all Maya's in built tuts, worked through Mckinley's The Game Artist's guide to Maya, then was given a bundle of video tutorials by a friend, then I started my project for Uni (we never studied Maya on the course).

And of course I've posted here countless times and will continue to do so.

Gubar

[Agent_Dick]

Hey keep it up, every art colege I've talked to s very interested in people who taught themselves maya. Rocky mountain college of art and design (one of the best art schools in the country) said that it was the equivalent of having some teach themselves calculus 2.

[elephantinc]

im glad to see its possible to be a good 3d artist without taking a course
im only a hobbyist and thats all i ever intend to be
thanks for the responses

[marlonjohn]

Self taught, books and some cool dvds on this site ...

Mainly trial and error i reckon,

[Chirone]

Wow, looks like a lot of you were self taught...

for me, since i live in New Zealand there isn't actually anyone who sells Maya (or if they do its some obscure online shop that you can't google) and Autodesk points to websites that are supposed to be legal resellers of the software, but nowhere on the site does it say.
but that's not to say its not available, as far as i know there is some place that teaches Maya (i can't comfirm since i've only heard rumours and their website doesn't mention anything about any of the 3D Software)

so in conclusion i'm self taught. got me the PLE and learned from the help file tutorials and videos from here and 3D Buzz and from experimenting

although i haven't done anything organic so i've only been working on polygons for the past 3 months....

[gster123]

Originally posted by Chirone
for me, since i live in New Zealand there isn't actually anyone who sells Maya.

hehe, nip to wetta!

There should be a reseller, but maybe you have to go via somewhere else, send Autodesk an e-mail and i'm sure that they will get back to you.

[Chirone]

ah yes, i should email weta studios and find out where they are hiding their software and motion capture! :attn:

AND SOON ALL WILL BE MINE MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAH

or at least until i get caught and jailed.....

[shon8000]

I just started with Maya a few weeks back, and enjoying every moment :) Watching video tutorials mostly. They are great, however there`s always a few questions remaining after watching tutorials, cause they mainly go through one specific subject. I`m looking for video-tutorials for "complete projects" from start to finish, to some extent. I think that would help me and other people new to maya alot to see how it`s all connected.

[arran]

i studied painting in london and then moved to new york to do an MA. my wife started to get into maya about 2 years ago and once i took a look I was hooked. i've been teaching myself through books, online tuts, F1, videos, vodka and other amenities.