I’ve been told that I shouldn’t just be specific in “only try to be a modeller” or “only try to be an animator” but to actually be specific within those.
As in, don’t put together a demo reel of lots of turntables as a modeller, but actually put together a demo reel of just one TYPE of model. Go for the one you do best or like best, but pick something specific like “Organics” or better “Critters”, “Architectural” or better “Virtual Sets”, “Natural Scenery” or better “Shrubberies”
I even heard about something at Pixar where an art director based his entire set of decisions on hiring someone specifically on how well they could model cabbages
I don’t know how true any of this is, of course, so I wanted to ask.
Additionally, when doing something like modelling turntables, should we show wireframes? Should we fade to wireframe across the model and do something fancy? How important is our lighting?
I’m figuring the lighting on the turntables is probably very important despite not being really relevant to modelling skills, since it’s all about showmanship. But if we aren’t that great at lighting, will it shoot us down? (I’m pretty good but no expert, but I can at least use some advanced lighting effects).
Here’s another question that at first glance may seem stupid, but…
You say Maya is the leading piece of software to know, but that that’s not the most important part.
Now, I know perfectly well that I could take on an individual client who said they wanted, I dunno, a giant chicken modeled for them, and their ad could insist that I have to be good with Maya but they’re not looking for rigging or anything just the model…
And there’s absolutely no reason I couldn’t deliver them an OBJ file that’s exactly what they want, with it never having TOUCHED Maya, nor me having to, you know, be out the 7 grand for a copy of maya when I have perfectly functional copies of Max and ZBrush that I can play like Satriani and a guitar…
Even in a full-time position, what’s it matter for a modeller? Isn’t the task simply making the bloody models? So, like, couldn’t I just say “sure, I’ll put a dinosaur in this Maya scene for ya, hang on and let me fire up my, err, peripheral software”
I mean, hell, with some software the modeller is a separate program ANYWAY.
Will they know? Will they care? Is it okay to work at a job that demands you know Maya as long as you can find your way around Maya, know the locations of the Import and Export buttons, and have your own copy of Max on a laptop?