Hi all!..

I'm hoping you nice people can give me some advice on a couple of Maya topics.

I am looking to learn Maya and first of all I would like to see if anyone can recommend any books/online courses?, how do you go about learning such a vast program?...

I studied art & design to degree level, I specialised in traditional oil painting, after I graduated I studied AutoCAD and worked in architecture for 8 years, I have also learnt Photoshop to a high level during this time. Will my artistic background be of benefit to me using Maya or of no use at all?... also I'm guessing AutoCAD and Photoshop experience will help?

I have read of the many areas in Maya that one can specialise in and I don't want to spend needless days or months learning something I'll never use. My decision of what to specialise in depends on what I am interested in and what the industry needs and has many jobs for. As I've stated I am from an artistic background and I'm currrently working as an artist, my work is highly textured and detailed.. if interested this is my website www.mhc-art.com ...the reason I'm giving all this information about my background is in the hope you can advise me on an area in Maya that I may find of interest and what kind of job title I would train up for, I was thinking of 'Texture Artist' or 'Environment Artist'.. are there other roles that I should look into?

Thanks to all who have read this and can advise.

Cheers all!

since no one has answered i'll take a shot...

sounds like you're a texture artist... although i dont know whether its the texture artist's job to layout UVs or if that belongs to the modeller...

anyway, if you want something different then you could specialise in lighting or animation or particles

as far as i'm aware, if you're looking to specialise then that means you're looking for a job in a real big company who can afford to hire specailists
and if i'm right to say this, those are the difficult jobs to obtain (speculation, someone can shoot as many holes throught that as they want)
smaller companies will want generalists, either way, imo if you can't do a bit of everything you're useless... (strong words i know, but that's how i see it from all the stories i've heard and all the stuff i've been through)

i think for you texture artist would probably the easiest to look into and pick up. (i've not used AutoCAD but i'm under the assumption its only meant for mechanical models so people can build them, rather than anything else)

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that's a "Ch" pronounced as a "K"

Computer skills I should have:
Objective C, C#, Java, MEL. Python, C++, XML, JavaScript, XSLT, HTML, SQL, CSS, FXScript, Clips, SOAR, ActionScript, OpenGL, DirectX
Maya, XSI, Photoshop, AfterEffects, Motion, Illustrator, Flash, Swift3D

Thanks Chirone, that's useful to know... by 'Generalists' what do you mean?, what are the kind of areas of MAya that really need to be covered?.......

Sorry if I'm asking dumb questions but of what I have read of Maya it's so vast that it would be impossible to learn everything, so as a beginner I'm worried about going down the wrong road

I don't know, these days, with the way the economy has hit the US, I'd be willing to bet that more and more people are looking for folks who can at least handle modeling and texturing or rigging and animation, or some combination there-of.

In my opinion, the specialization typically is more like:

Character Artist
Environment Artist
Effects Artist
UI Artist
etc

If you've used CAD for that long, I would think Maya would be relatively easy to pick up.

I'm an Environment Artist myself and I do modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation of environment assets.

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-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

hey man,
You are kinda in the same boat i'm in... in the fact that you want to know what area you would like to work in.

Would you like to work in visualisation as you have an autocad background? (assuming you used autocad in an architectural aspect)

...or would you prefer to move into post-production in commercials or movies?

I am trying to get into commercials or movies. If you are looking to get into movies as a modeller or texture artist you need to be very very good at modeling and or texturing. (texturing seems to be mostly camera projection tho, at an entry level that is.)

there is only a need for such high levels of specialisation in movies, commercials will generally be done by lots of people who are pretty good at most things. I spoke to the head of modeling and texturing (movies) at my work recently and he said my work is pretty much aimed at commercials right now. cos it shows lighting texturing, compositing, modelling and matchmoving.
so i would need to work more on one specific area to get a job in movies.
...which is what i need to think about right now



oh yeah forgot all about games... um i know nowt about that

My interest lies with film and games so I'm specializing in modeling. Now that I'm getting very comfortable with modeling, I'm learning how to texture, light, and rig. Therefore in about 1 year, I will be a very professional modeler who also has the ability to texture, light, and rig.

From what I've learned, there is ALOT of competition out there because soooo many people are learing CG. Schools are teaching CG, websites, books, etc. Therefore, it is more challenging to "Stick Out" amongst the crowd.

My unprofessional advice is "Since you have an interest in texturing, then yes, focus on that and become so good at it, that your work STANDS OUT. You are also very good at drawing/painting, so perhaps being a concept artist is a good goal too. But, as you specialize in those areas, also learn other areas like lighting, modeling, etc. The more well rounded you are, the better your odds at getting a job in the CG industry. But something about your work needs to say "HEY, I'M THE GUY YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR" which to me seems to be the texturing and artwork.

Best wishes m8!

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

Thanks everyone for your advice!

So as I understand it, the more you know the more chance of employment but it would be advantageous to be have skills in one or more area that stands out. So a traditional art background can be that if used in the right area?

Regarding the jobs market, I was understanding that at the moment there is a skills shortage?.. I found this a surprise, is it that many people know Maya but you have to be extra special to get into this sector?

I think my CAD skills may be of benefit in some areas but what interests me more is the texturing, are many textures artists also experts on Photoshop?, I imagine they go hand in hand?.. or is Mudbox the package?

Is there a site anyone could recommend that might tell me what all these job titles entail?.. 'Concept artist' , 'Environment Artist' etc

usually a job ad will list what the job entails. it can be different for different companies and for what industry you are applying to.

Games for instance. Most artists are expected to model and texture and/or rig and animate.

Film may be a bit more specialized, but I don't have any first-hand knowledge of that industry.

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-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

Originally posted by Gooner442
Thanks Chirone, that's useful to know... by 'Generalists' what do you mean?, what are the kind of areas of MAya that really need to be covered?.......

Originally Posted by

basically what mtmckinley said in his first post

from what i can tell mudbox and zbrush are tools to aid in adding details to your model by adding things like displacement and normal maps

i can't answer your question about the titles, sorry

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that's a "Ch" pronounced as a "K"

Computer skills I should have:
Objective C, C#, Java, MEL. Python, C++, XML, JavaScript, XSLT, HTML, SQL, CSS, FXScript, Clips, SOAR, ActionScript, OpenGL, DirectX
Maya, XSI, Photoshop, AfterEffects, Motion, Illustrator, Flash, Swift3D

btw i have a fine art background

it all depends what you want to get into. if you want to be a texture artist you must want to get into films or games?

Hammerhorror, yeh texture art is what I want to get into, even if I've been working in architecture on AutoCAD for 8 years and it may make more sense to go into visualisation work it's the texture work that excites me more. I guess I will not know precisely until I've had a proper look at Maya. The computer game industry is more of an interest to me, think it has more possibilites as well.... but a job in any field is some way off!

Check these links out for a little insight of what some bigger companies expect.

https://www.blueskystudios.com/conten...y-jobslist.php

https://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/career_faq.html

https://www.dreamworksanimation.com/

For the last link (dreamworks), after you follow the link, click on "Company" at the bottom and select careeres.

You can find lots of similar info on others studios through google.

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