One Last Time

What hardware and software do you use?

I now work with Alias Maya 7 Unlimited, running on pc's (most of them dual P3 1 GHz with 2 Gb RAM or close). I've never used 3d Studio Max or Lightwave or any other important 3d software. (Well, Max a little, and LW even less, not enough to answer any questions.)

Tell me more about Maya. How much is it? Is there a demo version?

Prices vary, after a recent price drop it's usually in the range of 2000 to 6000 US$, though there's a watermarked free version called PLE. For more check out their web site.

I've used 3d Studio Max for several weeks, it seems very hard. How do I start a model? What software and books do you recommend?

If you're a complete beginner, there are a few things you should know about 3d cg. Most people who have no close-up experience with it have the impression that it's much easier than it actually is, this illusion comes from only seeing the end results of thousands of man-hours' work. This myth is also fostered by the software companies, who all try to make their software seem easier to use than the other guy's. Learning to create good stuff doesn't take a few weeks for most people, it takes months or even years, if ever. To start with, if you haven't done so, you must read the manual over and over again, and test all the functions over and over, and do the tutorials, yes over and over, or at least until you 'get' them. Experiment with all the variables. Do endless tests, each time changing just one small thing. Find a good forum - atm imo CGTalk.com is the best. Find all the tutorials you can (for instance, there's a Maya tutorial sticky thread on CGTalk with literally hundreds of tutorials listed).It doesn't really matter what software you use, except with regards to which software will be required at the place you want to work. And that depends.As for what books I recommend, first the manual - then - any book that makes you better at traditional arts - anatomy, design, lighting, acting, photography, painting etc. Here's a good link to books and many other useful things: Jeremy Birn's website.

Do you have any other stuff I can see?

No, as soon as I finish something I think is cool enough I'll put it up on my site or on a forum, I promise. The forum I use the most right now is CGTalk.com

Is everything I see in the images done by you alone? Can you send me some virtual actress geometry files?

Yes, it's all done by me from 'scratch'. No, I'm sorry, I can't give any virtual actress geometry away.

How long did you spend on your virtual actress?

It has taken me over 10 years, and of course she's still not finished. She may never be.

Would you like to collaborate with me/make me a logo for my site/chat with us on ICQ? Why not?

No, I'm sorry, I just don't have time for that right now.

Do you have higher resolution renderings?

Yes, some, if it's for printing in a magazine etc please email me about it.

But the image still says "72 dpi" or pixels per inch when I load it in Photoshop - that's not high resolution!?

That number is a default that has no meaning unless you specify in the same dialog box how many inches wide or high you want. If you're not going to print the image, don't worry about the dpi, just look at the pixel measurements (don't use size in bytes, it's deceptive if the image format's compressed, like jpegs). In fact even if you are going to print it, it's safer to talk in BOTH pixel measurements AND dpi. Exampel: a magazine uses 300 dpi to print, and the size of the finished printed image will be about 11 inches along it's longest side - so to print in that magazine the image has to be at least 3300 pixels along that side.

But then your image is still too small to print very large?

I've found that one can enlarge my images (in Photoshop or whatever) by at least 200%, and even more, without any ill effects to the quality IMO. Yes, this adds a small amount of blur, but this I have found is actually a good thing - I really hate super sharp edges, for several reasons. First, you never see them in photographs, and hardly ever in real life, so they are clearly un-real. Second, they always remind me of razors and scalpels (probably from the days I worked with mask cutting). And third - the very worst place of all for super sharp edges is in the female face and body.

I'm aiming for a career in 3d cg, but I have no idea where to start. What are some of the best schools to go to get a diploma in cg?

This changes over time - as I'm writing this, In the US, Ringling, Savannah College of Art and Design and CalArts are very good I've heard, and in Canada Sheridan and Vancouver Film School. There's also University of Southern California, and many others. There's more help for beginners at CGTalk.com, General Discussion Forum, the sticky threads at the top. There are other ways to go, though. Here's some reasons why I think art schools generally speaking might be better than cg schools (note this is for artists, when it comes to programmers I don't know much except that if you can combine art skills with programming skills you've really got it made!)
1 - Graphics are graphics, whether done on computer or not, and graphical knowledge is more important and harder and slower to come by than computer knowledge. And all things considered, generally speaking - across the world - you stand a better chance to learn more about graphics in art school than in cg school.
2 - the most important thing, even more important than graphical ability, is motivation and long term commitment, and taking part time art classes for a while might be a better way to find out if you have enough of that. If you find that you're good at it, but hate it and can't be bothered with it - or if you find that you're not good at it and still can't be bothered - you probably don't have a future in any graphics related business. (It IS possible to raise your level of competency, to increase your apparent 'talent', quite a lot if you're motivated enough to practice a lot!)
3 - a cg school diploma is not as important as they'd like you to believe. I've heard from many recruiters the showreel is usually the only criteria used when doing the initial culling of the pile of applicants. The CV can be important, it depends what they're looking for, and what's in it, but the diploma is often only a minor part of it.

I think learning to use a software to the point where one doesn't consult the manual too often is comparatively easy, something a motivated person can do at home in their spare time in a few weeks or months. After that, to really learn how to use it fluently in a production environment, is just a matter of a few thousand hours of practise... for that a school or even a tutor is not strictly necessary, the only thing truly necessary is motivation.Before you spend 100,000 US$ or more (not counting lost salary) on a BFA, go for a long walk somewhere and meditate on these very important questions: ask yourself 'Do I really want to do this? Am I motivated enough to give it a 100%?' For some reason or other, many students in expensive cg programs seem to not have asked this of themselves, or if they did, to not have answered truthfully. (Sure, if you go to Sheridan for example, you pay much less, but you still have to be just as motivated.)

If you are motivated enough, one way to do it could be to have a part time job, or an easy full time job like postman or something, and take a few art classes every week (like Life Drawing, Painting, Design, Photography, Sculpture, Acting, Film Editing, etc), and practice the rest of the time at home on your own chosen software/hardware. This way there are no loans to pay back at graduation, and you can spend as much time as you like on perfecting the all important showreel. You can even start freelancing if you want, whenever you want. There's much less risk if you for any reason decide to not follow through with a cg career.

Some people say school helps them stay focused and motivated. That's a good point, but if you're not motivated enough to do it on your own, you might not get a whole lot out of cg school either.

The advantages of cg schools I think are 1) that you can learn the basics on several softwares (still, maybe it's better to focus and excel on a single app?), and 2) the friendly competing - extremely motivating - that may happen between you and a couple classmates, and 3) the contact network you usually get - which can be quite valuable to have after graduation.The disadvantages: 1) you may be blocked from access to the hardware by the crowd. 2) It's usually VERY expensive. 3) you only have a limited number of years. 4) you may be stuck with subjects you think are a waste of time. 5) instead of motivating competition, there might be too much partying and slacking off.I hope this helps. Best of luck to you, whatever you choose to do.