View Full Version : Welcome
leigh 03-25-2009, 12:31 AM Welcome to the new education forum, everyone. This is the place to ask about courses you're interested in, get information about schools, and to talk about everything else related to the subject of CG education.
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leigh
03-25-2009, 01:49 AM
Please welcome Chris Kautz (kanga) as the first of our intrepid moderators for this forum :beer:
mister3d
03-25-2009, 02:06 AM
This is something you deserve Chris, I'm glad to see it happening! :)
Canadianboy
03-25-2009, 02:14 AM
nice! Welcome Chris
Geta-Ve
03-25-2009, 02:23 AM
Very nice! But I have to say I am almost not surprised that this forum showed up... :D
Now we just need a 'which program is better' forum
But seriously, I hope this forum helps those that need to know stuff about education. I am curious if this forum can be used for general immigration discussion as well?
velenosangue
03-25-2009, 02:45 AM
Welcome Kanga!
Kanga
03-25-2009, 03:07 AM
Thanx for the welcome Leigh, and fellow cg addicts :)
Will do my best to keep you all happy ha ha. This is a real giant of a subject so it will be a challenge for all of us that's for sure. Looking forward to all your nifty posts.
See you in the mix.
Cheerio Chris
taxguy
03-25-2009, 03:48 AM
Welcome Chris. Leigh, I new this forum would become a VERY HOT commodity,which will eventually generate among the most posting and interest. Chris will have his hands full.
ManuelM
03-25-2009, 05:48 AM
YES YES YES!!! I'm sure "General Discussions" will benefit a lot from this new forum. Thanks moderators!
SanjayChand
03-25-2009, 05:49 AM
Cool. Glad to see this section come up. Wish it was around when I was a student.
:buttrock:
brjig
03-25-2009, 06:03 AM
cool
been thinking about going back to school this will be a good place to get some info.
boomji
03-25-2009, 06:41 AM
Phew !!! finally. :scream:
OK, so where is the best place to learn vfx :p
Thanks for the forum guys.
b
syedamin7
03-25-2009, 07:03 AM
welcome chris
Ammarkk
03-25-2009, 07:55 AM
Wow!! I'm so happy to hear that.Thanks alot leigh and cgs, Welcome kanga..:applause:
mahir
03-25-2009, 08:35 AM
Subscribed! being an educator myself I'm very interested in perusing and hopefully contributing in my own small way to this section of the forums :)
p0rcupine
03-25-2009, 09:55 AM
Welcome Kanga :D
leigh
03-25-2009, 10:05 AM
Aaaaaand, welcome to your other moderator, Clinton Koch (MrPositive), the guy with the coolest avatar on CGTalk.
:beer:
leigh
03-25-2009, 10:06 AM
I am curious if this forum can be used for general immigration discussion as well?
Nah, best to keep those in General Discussion because they are of interest to everyone, not just students and potential students.
MrPositive
03-25-2009, 10:57 AM
Hi everyone,
I have taught CG for Indiana University and The Art Institute for the past 9 years. One thing we'd really love to see with this forum, is to help people find what they are looking for in CG education. There are a multitude of truths and untruths hurled around the site and with a dedicated forum, we should be able to get to the crux of what people need. I'd also like to avoid the "learn everything online" chatter as much as possible. We all know that individuals can educate themselves online and amass wealth, positions, and feast on the finest wines and cheeses. If you are coming into a CG education forum, then you've decided that for some reason or another (personality, fiscal means, local opportunities, or a career outside of entertainment possibly-because most literature online for self teaching is focused on the entertainment industry), education would help you in your venture of achieving a career in CG. For those interested in getting into the entertainment industry, a CG education's goal is to speed up that process. A great educator of CG should be able to lead a student in the correct direction more efficiently and understandably. Many schools have added CG to the program, because it's hot and will make them fast money, while forgoing quality. These are the schools we would like to avoid highlighting in this section. Here are some of the topics we will hopefully tackle:
Actual Positions in CG: One thing I've found over my decade in CG, is most students come into the school and classes with one goal in mind: I have to work in the entertainment industry. One of my most important jobs as an educator is to enlighten students on the myriad of other 3D possibilities out there. For every 1 student we get into the entertainment industry, we get 20 in arch viz, product viz, research, medical, forensics, and education itself. I myself have written two publications on uncanny valley research and these topics tend to get drowned on the site. This forum should allow those topics to flourish.
Low Cost High Quality Local Education: We all know the big names in CG education (Escape, Gnomon, Van arts, Ringling, etc.) but what are the local schools (or amazing educators) in 'your' area that are delivering top level CG training to their students. Not everybody wants to or even can travel across the world for education. Tell us who you know, and help many others!
Training vs. Bachelor's Degree: Many people want just fast, cheap, and high quality training, while others want the security of a degree, or for Visa purposes. What do you want?
CG Artist vs. CG Researcher: Many individuals in CG are actually scientists. Who knew!? Did you think that fluids button just magically appeared in your software? :)
VFX vs Character Animation vs CG realism: What are the top level schools, regardless of cost, and, if you take cost into the equation.
Online courses : With the proliferation of online courses in CG, hopefully we can round up all the options.
Bachelors vs Masters: Why in the world would you ever need a Masters in CG. Well, research, medical, academia, and supervising/Director/consultant positions in places other than entertainment might require it.
Lastly, it will take us some time to organize this section to benefit your needs. So please be patient. We know there are many educators and students on the site, so feel free to add insight. It's an honor to be allowed to help with this.
I'll be interested to see what goes on here as I am faculty at Humber College as well as run PEN Productions.
Edenvisuals
03-25-2009, 02:44 PM
Mr. Positive and Chris, I can't wait to see this forum become the big daddy it promises to be. Mr. Positive great post, you bring up very valid points! I hope the forum stays true to what you have listed and more!
All the best!
MrHobby
03-25-2009, 04:57 PM
Awsome thread.
Welcome and congrats to the new moderators.
Me personally i learned everything i know through self taught means and almost evey online tutorial i could find, most of which i found here on CGtalk or linked through here.
It would be nice to offer the same/more help and info for future CG artists/members.
kdubayoo
03-25-2009, 05:21 PM
Glad to see this! I think it will be a huge benefit to the community and help free up the general discussion forum! Awesome!
sooperDaddio
03-25-2009, 05:33 PM
I will be checking in to see where this thread goes.
I am Terry Posthumus, program coordinator/professor at Humber College in Toronto, ON, CANADA!
As a side note, I (along with many other animation educators) will be attending the Kalamazoo Animation Festival (http://www.gokafi.com/ ) May 14 - 17. There will be great speakers there including Pamela Thompson (AWN Career Coach) and Ed Hooks (Acting for Animators) to name a few. I will be presenting several workshops covering topics such as teaching 3D animation with a traditional bent, helping students to navigate the expansive, rushing waters of the animation industry and interview/resume skills and tips.
Thanks for starting this thread and greetings to my fellow animation educators!
Cheers.
phantomworkshop
03-25-2009, 06:08 PM
Deleted and moved to Education section. Thank you.
taxguy
03-25-2009, 06:45 PM
I looked into Digital Media Arts College as well for my daughter because I really liked the curriculum. However, I didn't see any good art work by students that were impressive nor could they give me any statistics of alumni who are now working in the industry. In fact, when I posted here and on AWN forum for folks who went to DMAC, NO ONE answered me nor have I met anyone in the industry who even knew someone from DMAC. I get that "diploma mill" feel from them,but maybe I am mistaken. Thus, I think you should be careful of them. Check them out very thoroughly before you invest your hard-earned money.
phantomworkshop
03-25-2009, 06:51 PM
I looked into Digital Media Arts College as well for my daughter because I really liked the curriculum. However, I didn't see any good art work by students that were impressive...
Thank you for that, I will take that into consideration. Where did your daughter end up going? What major?
Kanga
03-25-2009, 07:16 PM
Hi everyone,
I have taught CG for Indiana University and The Art Institute for the past 9 years. One thing we'd really love to see with this forum, is to help people find what they are looking for in CG education.
Congratulations Clinton!
Thanks again for the warm welcome posters.
Ha you blew my hello message out of the water MrPositive. Nice points all.
Like a lot of the members here I am also self educated in 3d. I have an Industrial Design and Commercial Illustrator past but my mistress is polys. Although I have been offered a full time teaching position I remain a freelance instructor which gives me time to concentrate on the practice of 3dcg for personal development in that direction. Clinton and I come from different angles but indeed agree on a great number of points. The least not being that entertainment is only one area where this technology has become prominent. Being a games fiend myself, this is hard to accept but none the less true. Having had to struggle for what I know it is strange to find myself instructing others and this has delivered a spectrum of experiences from awesome to irksome.
I was shocked at how many posts are already in this new section and relieved to see a great many experts have taken the time to drop by and offer assistance. Digital Art being a young phenomenon, and education therein still younger, this will prove an interesting and challenging forum indeed.
Cheers Chris
My situation is basically that I've been self-teaching myself for a number of years,
Start a new thread here in the education section with a descriptive title and paste your story there. I think you will get more responses,.... no hijacking man :) Ah my first warning!
depleteD
03-25-2009, 07:18 PM
Awesome addidtion ...many thanks to our forum overlords :love:
phantomworkshop
03-25-2009, 07:22 PM
Start a new thread here in the education section with a descriptive title and paste your story there. I think you will get more responses,.... no hijacking man :) Ah my first warning!
Sorry. I'll do that right now.
HellBoy
03-25-2009, 10:59 PM
Sweet :D
Funny how 3 years ago I was bumping UK uni threads and this year I'm graduating lol
MrPositive
03-25-2009, 11:11 PM
Glad to see Paul and Terry here from Humber College. We welcome your insight guys. I think one sticky we will also consider (or maybe just a school news section), are current and future student exhibitions, festivals, and other CG academic functions of that same ilk. I know our school alone is having a massive student exhibition in April and any current student in the world can apply and win prizes and prestige for their work (and it's free). Up until this point, these exhibitions got lost in the CG News section for the most part, so hopefully we can now have some organization and get students this information as well.
moidphotos
03-26-2009, 12:10 AM
Thanks for starting this forum; the site definitely needs an obvious place where people can ask questions about their future educational needs and hopefully get useful advice to prevent them from getting ripped off.
I think it would be a really useful sub section to have a thread that Universities / Colleges / training establishments could have to post information about open days / graduation film shows etc, because these are the best way to learn about whether a particular educational establishment can provide the prospective student with the skills they need to realise their future goals. Also, it would be nice to have because it can be difficult getting advertising for such events out to the right people, and CGSociety is certainly full of those people, without filling the CG News section with spam for those who are not interested in future study :)
Edenvisuals
03-26-2009, 01:08 AM
Mr. Positive is right! Our SIGGRAPH IUPUI student chapter is hosting a Student Exhibition April 17th, 2009!
Hopefully that thread comes up and I would be happy to add all the details!
SIGGRAPH IUPUI Student Chapter (http://siggraph.iupui.edu)
Message me if your in the area and interested learning more!
SanjayChand
03-26-2009, 02:10 AM
The forum has moved. I was wondering why this section was under "general techniques".
:argh:
tremor5000
03-26-2009, 03:46 AM
im glad this forum is up but i feel its too late for me. i just graduated from school for 3d animation and now i feel it wasnt the best school to go to. you see when i first read about the school it was a two year course and when i went to go apply i found out they condensed it to 6 months. I decided i would still take the course but found it to be extreamly un organized. i learnt alot but they condensed 2 years into 6 months witch i got used to but in the begining the speed was unfair. now that im done i feel that i havent learnt everything i would if it was a longer course. im kicking my self for it becasue i really wanted to learn more but even working 13 hour days at school i didnt learn lots. i feel i only touched the surface of what maya can do. what do you guys think was i ripped off or what ??
khendar
03-26-2009, 04:27 AM
The forum has moved. I was wondering why this section was under "general techniques".
:argh:
Yeah sorry for the shuffling around. Still trying to work out the best placement for this forum :)
fluxist8070
03-26-2009, 01:21 PM
This is great! Really glad to see this forum.
This should be helpful.
Womball
03-26-2009, 02:48 PM
Kanga and Mr. Postiive are mods now. Whoa!
As for schoolin, I went to a college nearby in Philly call University of the Arts. They have animation program there as well, although its rediculously intense. Very good if you want to go the independent route, since you have to make 3 animated shorts( form 30 second, to at max 12 minutes) during your time there. It is also more geared for 2d animation although they do have a few 3d courses. Most of my classmates now have jobs that use flash or video editting.
Another approach to getting into the industry would be to get a sculpting BFA for modelling. I was considering doing this, but didn't decide until my senior year, which was too late.
I'm more leaning towards becoming a modeller, however there really isn't any courses on the east coast for it. Unless I go to Savanah CAD. VFS sounds tempting since its only for a year.
I'd also like to do animation mentor, someday but I want to master anatomy before that.
cbamber85
03-26-2009, 04:22 PM
Sorry, wrong place for this post.
blazelet
03-26-2009, 11:48 PM
Slick!
Congrats, Mr. Positive :)
Geta-Ve
03-27-2009, 03:28 AM
@leigh: Thanks, makes sense :)
re the new position in the forums, I think being in the Main Forums area helps for new comers to the site. It was almost non-existent being waaay down there with the other forum lackeys ;)
Bardipper
03-28-2009, 11:10 PM
This is a great forum. Getting to the point, being interested in VFX, I would like to see classes in various VFX applications, and then a series of classes that combines the use of these to build specific projects. So far, I've taken McKay's first class and am taking the second in April. I just got RealFlow which is pretty neat and would like to see a class for it. By using the experience of the CGTalk audience and staff, I would think that a very meaningful and fun curriculum could be worked out.
Tiger-Jaws
03-29-2009, 12:34 PM
Congratulations Kanga
Hope the best for you always
cheeers
Jaxko
03-29-2009, 01:14 PM
hi, im 14 and have been using photoshop for about 3 years now, im wanting to get into 3D modeling and animation, is anyone able to point me in the right direction for what i will have to do in school to get grades (subject wise) and give me a few university names i might be interested in? at the minute im doing: Art, Technology, Geography, Business Studies, Biology, chemistry, Physics, Math, English
I found Vancouver Film Schooland it has the sort of courses that im interested in, the outcomes are fantastic as well but im not sure if it is a university or if you do it after university.
thanks in advance ;)
Kanga
03-29-2009, 01:30 PM
hi, im 14 and have been using photoshop for about 3 years now, im wanting to get into 3D modeling and animation, is anyone able to point me in the right direction for what i will have to do in school to get grades (subject wise) and give me a few university names i might be interested in? at the minute im doing: Art, Technology, Geography, Business Studies, Biology, chemistry, Physics, Math, English
I found Vancouver Film Schooland it has the sort of courses that im interested in, the outcomes are fantastic as well but im not sure if it is a university or if you do it after university.
thanks in advance ;)
Hi Jaxko!
Welcome to the Education section.
Start a new thread with a descriptive title in this forum and you will get more responses.
No thread hijacking man! I am on a roll.
Cheers
Jaxko
03-29-2009, 01:53 PM
sorry dude, ill do that right now, cheers :)
chillnlikeamug
03-30-2009, 01:52 PM
Clinton Koch <-- cool name,
Providing 3D animation for the legal community is not anywhere near the entertainment industry but it does not stop it from being entertaining. I wanted to work in the film industry coming out of Full Sail, I ended up in an amazing post effects studio in Costa Rica doing 3D work for the advertising community. That experience brought me back to the states to eventually end up doing what I do now, creating 3D animations for trial attorneys to use as legal exhibits. I work on so many different projects that it keeps me fresh on all the tools in 3D as well as all of it's applications.
Still, for me, the most elusive area of 3D is the underlying code. It was the one area there was very very little attention given when I went through Full Sail 6 years ago. Wow! 6 years? That went quick. Maybe it's time for me to take advantage of the "go back through school again for free" part of what you get when you graduate from there. Unless someone has a sure fire way to learn this as easy as using Digital Tutors, or Gnomon DVD's. I picked up a copy of MEL Scripting for Maya Animators but it reads like VCR instructions, even though they tried hard for it not to.
Speaking of Full Sail, it gives you a quick semi affordable training with a degree. Covering a wide scope of criteria for a lot of folks. They offer advanced biz degrees and are located in the other entertainment capital of US, Florida. I was not paid to say any of that stuff but maybe I could be. I'll have to look into that.
Alright well I just wanted to say thanks for the forum add and hopefully someone will have a suggestion for a sure fire way to get up and running with MEL.
Thanks,
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