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pyricpyramid
12-20-2004, 06:46 AM
Introduction-Hi, my name is Josh & I'm new to the forum. This is the second time I posted this & it didn't show up..I guess because of the voting thingy. Anyways, I've been thinking of my future latley & I think animation is something I wish to take very seriously. I was attending college majoring in Computer Science & minoring in music, but due to the move I had to quit. So, now before going back I think I will to change my major to something that would bring me greater happness in the future. Maybe something like doing storyboards, music compostion, animating, writing, and even doing voices for characters would be fun. Well, on to my questions.

Questions-How long did it take some of you to become skilled animators?
(was it a gift or did you have to work hard for it)
What kind of programs/art utilities have you seen being used or that you use?
(what kind of computer would someone need to be able to run 3D Studio Max..etc.)
What kind of class in school did you take?
Do you enjoy your line of work?
(which is?..)
any other questions or answers are welcome. Thanks for your time.
pyricpyramid
12-20-2004, 07:01 AM
I guess another question would be:

Any helpful animation links or text books you use?
maninflash
12-20-2004, 09:49 AM
Man! Answers to your question would be a book maybe two! Just do a search on each subject on cgtalk or head over to CG Char forum and read the FAQ:
http://www.toonstruck.com/cgchar/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=9&t=8

But to give you the general idea,

Questions-How long did it take some of you to become skilled animators?

That's a tough one, animation is a way of life, you can never know everything and you can never consider yourself perfect as far as skills go, so you have to keep learning even after you end up in Disney. But usualy, you'll have to invest at least one year fully to learning animation before your stuff start to come around as good.

What kind of programs/art utilities have you seen being used or that you use?

As far as programs, softwares and packages go, it really doesnt matter. animation princicples are the same and most of the softwares available off the shelf has more or less the tools necesary for creating good animation. But then, some are more popular, Maya seems to be a favor of animators mainly becasue of it's character control tools.

what kind of computer would someone need to be able to run 3D Studio Max..etc.?

You're going to need a fast one, CPU at 3GHz, more than 1GB RAM and a fast graphic card with lota memory.

was it a gift or did you have to work hard for it?

Usualy it's both, Richard Williams said it's 90 percent hard work and 10 percent talent.

What kind of class in school did you take?

Drawing classes, figure drawing, color theories, composition, art history, but the most important one is drawing, even thou it's called CG animation, you still need to have some degree of drawing skills to thumbnail ideas and do quick checks on paper.

Do you enjoy your line of work?

That's an obvious one! Animation is hard work, and you should truely love doing ti in order to be successful.

Any helpful animation links or text books you use?

Again, do a search on the forum for books or on amazon and you'll end up with lotsa lists and links to resources. Two books, in my opinion are essentionals:

Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

hope that helps :)
pyricpyramid
12-20-2004, 04:49 PM
Thank you for your reply. Sorry If there are threads that ask the same questions-I'm just new. Hopefully I will get use to this amazing web site & fourm.
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