Recently, I've been considering career changes. It's hard to dismiss the past 17 years that I've longed to be a 3D animator.

To all the 3D animators among us (loren, et al), I ask: How does a newcomer to animation find gainful, fulfilling employment in the field.... starting from scratch.

I think I've got what it takes - innate spatial ability, attention to detail, computer tech in my bloodstream, added value like programming experience and reasoning aptitudes, and a hunger for creativity. But I also DON'T got what it takes - no portfolio (save some self-taught renders from my free time in college), no formal training and no experience.

Seeing my information technology field littered with "no experience necessary" scam education and certifications, there must be something similar (and hopefully actually valuable) in the animation field. Kind of like corporate managerial training - take someone promising and groom them to do the job just how you want it.

Any ideas? Or does 3D animation have the same unreasonable labor demands that I hear from the computer game programming industry, which I'd do well to avoid?

Thanks for any input.

<edit>
I raise this topic after having seen the Tim Burton exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Burton had the gift, but did time drawing cells for Disney until he harnessed and brought his potential to fruition. Makes me thing, if only I could do time "drawing cells" for Pixar...

I can't give you any specific advice for the 3D Animation world, but as a person trying to break into another creative area I may have a little bit of insight.

Just over a year ago I left a very well paid job and decided to follow my passion for Photography. It has been much much harder than I thought to break into the industry and make myself a name.

I would say to anyone looking to break into a creative industry that having a body of work behind you is the most important thing. Technical ability is nothing unless you are able to use it in a creative way, and also in the area you are looking to break into, that people are willing to pay to see.

I jumped before I really thought about it, I was offered an out of my career and I jumped before I even had chance to think what I was going to do. I found myself with time on my hands and started to set myself little projects to do. Slowly I started to build on my skills and add photographs to my portfolio. Along the way I started to understand what drives me to do this and build on my skills. I have quite a few photographer, model and makeup friends now as a result and this gives me an insight to the local industry and what is going on. It takes time and at times can be very hard to keep focussed on the goal, the goal may even change a few times.

After over a year I still only half way to making a living from this. So be prepared for a long period of steep learning curve. I wouldn't worry about accreditation or education I really don't think it's worth it, unless if you don't have the talent and you need to be brain washed to learn it!

One final thing, don't just jump as I did. I could have done the first 6 months while still in my old career, getting paid, make time and spend it wisely. Pick a small project to work on, finish it, show people, put it online, get feedback and start the process again.

Cheers

Cris.

Some ideas..

Here's a nifty animation about one day in the life of a junior government agent

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=jEjUAnPc2VA

The film took nearly 5 years to complete and is the first attempt at animation by writer/director Lucas Martell.

There are a series of "how-to" podcasts presented for viewing after the main feature. If the link above fails, then simply search utube for "Pigeon Impossible."

Cheers

I'm not an animator, but I have been in the visual effects/animation industry for the last decade, so perhaps I can answer your questions.

The short version:

With lots, and lots, and lots of very hard work, and probably very long hours.


You are going to get absolutely nowhere without a demo reel, if you're trying to go the animation route. To get one of those, you have a couple of routes -- go to a school that offers an animation program. Be prepared to shell out a lot of money, work with quasi-qualified instructors (depending on the school), and work a lot of hours. There's no guarantee that you'll get a job, once you finish, no matter what the marketing material says.

The second option, is to download the student versions of one of the big 3 software packages (more on that, in a minute), and spend your spare time learning the software. Even if you want to focus on animation specifically (as opposed to learning everything), you're going to have to learn a bit of modeling, and a bit of rigging (putting the skeleton in your character) on your way. There are a number of websites that offer training material -- one widely respected site is the Gnomon Workshop.

The three big software packages:

Softimage is kind of a niche package. The company used to have a pretty solid lock on the industry, but through a bunch of bad corporate transitions, lost its hold. Autodesk now owns them, and they largely get lost in the shuffle, from what I've seen. I have heard very good things about XSI, though, and its use is growing.

Maya is the current industry leader for animation. If your heart is set on animating, this is the one to learn. It's not my cup of tea, though -- it's starting to get a little long in the tooth, IMHO, but there are a wealth of resources out there for it, owing to it's number one status. And it's a near guarantee that this is what you'll be using when you get a job.

Autodesk also owns 3D Studio Max, which is used extensively in gaming, and, I think, growing in the commercial world. I don't think you really see it much in visual effects land.

Houdini is kind of the underdog of the three. Owing to its roots, it's mischaracterized as "being too techy" or only being good at particles. Perhaps true in the past, but much less so, now. It's been used for animation, but it's primary use is VFX -- in part due to the aforementioned attitudes.

Note the trend? Autodesk owns a lot of the 3D (and related) software out there, and the fact has a lot of people unhappy. SideFX is really the only competition for Autodesk in that realm, and a lot of people think it's not enough to keep Autodesk driving forward like they should. FWIW, SideFX has far, far, far superior tech support than Autodesk, too. Houdini is my favourite, by far.


Hate to say it, but not likely. Studios expect applicants to be able to demonstrate that promise, and the way that happens in the industry is with the demo reel. Junior animators do get hired out of school, but most new-hires get groomed, anyway.

With your described capabilities, the route I'd suggest isn't to totally switch careers, but start on a migration path. The animation/visual effects industry also needs programmers. The big thing that's started in the last four or five years is a recognition of the need for pipeline developers. That's a role where you'd be writing libraries and tools that other people in the studio use, whether animation, or rigging, lighting, or whatever. The need to know much about the 3D world is much less important in that role, since you'll be exposed to small bits at a time (generally). Depending on the size of the studio, and the pipeline projects that you get, you may end up focusing on a particular area so much that you have the ability to actually do shots competently -- just from picking up the skills while you work on the pipeline projects. I suspect that's generally less true of animation, than things like lighting, though.

If you know system-administration, then that's a good thing, too -- lots of small studios are under-served in that department. If you get in at the right studio, you can plonk along on the animation software, and ask for small shots here and there, to act as your training ground. I spent 8 months animating at a small 3 person studio, because the software development I was hired to do never really materialized, and I had to do something (I was in a contract, so they couldn't get rid of me). Major studios are on Linux, smaller studios are often a lot of Windows, and/or OS X. Some of the smaller studios are also running Linux, too, though -- it (or OS X) is a far superiour platform for animation/VFX, than Windows, owing to the



Be willing to move. You don't say where you are currently, other than East Coast, but there are really only a few centers for animation/VFX (game studios are a little more widely spread). The major centers are New York (lots of commercial work, there, plus Blue Sky), Toronto (mostly small studios), Vancouver (a number of large VFX studios have outposts there), the Bay Area (Pixar, ILM, and IMD), and Los Angeles. There are also studios in London, Australia, and New Zealand (not to mention the smattering of places scattered throughout the Asian continent).

Know someone who knows people (hi!) and who can get your resume in the right hands.

Consider something in the industry, other than animation. Visual effects, for example, requires pretty much everything you listed. With no direct animation experience, you might also consider rigging.

Learn the foundations of computer graphics, from the start to finish. I'm not saying that you need to know matrix math inside and out, let alone be good at it, but you should understand local and world transformations, for example. Understand the process from modeling through to compositing.

Be ready to be a junior, again.

Do your homework. Know where the studios are, and how they hire. Each studio has their own set of hiring practices, though they're all generally the same. They're usually easily found on their website. Go to SIGGRAPH, and talk to all the recruiters there, too.


Yes, sometimes -- but I fight my hardest to get people to discourage it. The truth of the matter is, however, that it's a (mistakenly) sexy industry, and there's no shortage of people trying to get into the business. Many of them are young, with no family, and have no issue sitting at work all day, then playing at work, and working some more -- and many employers take advantage of that. Some studios consider their normal work-day to be 10 hours. Others don't. It's like the game industry -- some places suck, some don't, and you'll never know 'til you get there, because places also change over time. Some places that start out good end up sucking, and some go the other way. Some have a reputation for sucking because of a couple disgruntled workers.

Hope that helps a bit.

Isn't it true that the industry centers tend to also be where the schools have the programs to train workers for those industries.

Yes and no. For example, SCAD is in Atlanta, which doesn't have a lot of 3D stuff, outside of a game company (that I'm aware of), but it has a pretty good program. Mostly, though, the industry centers are where the film and commercial industries are, because that's where their work comes from (with an increasing number of exceptions). In general, the schools popped up where the industry is. With the explosive growth of the animation and VFX industry, a lot of podunk schools started programs to cash in -- at one point, it wasn't unusual for a 12-month program to cost upwards of $30,000 USD (of course, that was also back when you had to spend that much for the SGI hardware, and even more again for the software licenses). But the industry was so nascent at that point, that anyone with a smidgen of training, some math, and a decent eye was making $100,000+ in Hollywood.

At the same time, a lot of good schools added to otherwise good programs. For example, Vancouver Film School already had a very highly regarded traditional animation program. At the time they started their 3D Animation track, the only significant 3D work being done in Vancouver was ReBoot (IIRC).

The Savannah College of Art and Design is in Atlanta?

SCAD took over the old Atlanta College of Art in Atlanta.

Ah... is that it? I figured it was just a suburb. I never looked at a map, 'til now.

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed information and practical advice.

Cris - That's great entrepreneurial and educational advice. I see your photos occasionally on Facebook and they always catch my attention. So, you're largely self taught? Impressive! How did you build the initial public interest in your work?

Mark - Thanks for the example and reference material.

canuckInLA^H^HOR - I really appreciate the time you spent writing all of that information. You're right, I'm open to many specialties in the computer graphics industry.

Your mention of pipeline development is interesting; I'll research that further. The story behind the MASSIVE engine and its (one) creator is near to my heart. I could see myself designing that, if I had coders to do the heavy lifting.


Can you provide a link to a good overview of computer graphics? That will help me evaluate the learning curve, then serve as a roadmap to learning the various elements.

Can you also recommend some resources to get me familiar with the industry? ie: podcasts, blogs, publications, professional organizations (SIGGRAPH), and most importantly, user groups - like Flickr for animation and graphics.

Does this industry have a place for professionals who interface with people, design systems, brainstorm, support and teach? Those are some of my other skills (my current job is very broad), and I would be happier splitting my time between those and hunched over the keyboard.

A demo reel question - I assume I'll need to specialize in, at most, a few areas of the graphics industry. To develop a reel, would I work with a team to which I contribute my expertise? Then, when showing the reel, ask employers/clients to focus on my contribution?

I bet this industry has a need for my love of automation, efficiency, logic systems, spatiality, and making things less prone to human error. Thanks again.

There were a couple of links to "online academies" within the material I linked to above. Not necessarily the best, but they did seem to be good, free, online starters for everything.

Cheers

Yea, pretty much self taught. There was a lot of trial and error in both technique and equipment required, but slowly I got better. I have spent a total of 3 days with an industry leading photoshop touchup guru, at quite a considerable cost I might add, and this is the only real bit of paid tuition I have taken. It was worth every penny to sit next to someone who's work I really admire and watch what he did to my pictures, then explain it all.

I think breaking into Photography is a little simpler to break into than what you are looking at doing. My industry is largely made up of individual Photographers all trying to make a living, so all you really need to do is build a reputation and create a sense of worth about your work. Fashion and trends seem to be a big player and I try and keep on top of what people want from Photographs of themselves.

But, it's still a creative industry so there will be some parallels. I am still working on gaining the publics interest, but I did it by doing work for free basically and shooting lots of models to practice my techniques. I get referrals from each wedding I shoot and that leads onto more work. I also spent quite a bit of time making the effort with other local Photographers, helping them out on their shoots, networking a bit and trying to be part of the pack. I would suggest this is something you try and do if you can, as while it is difficult to say how much paid work it has brought me I now have a small network of colleagues (in a way) that I can discuss things with, and get honest professional feedback without getting upset about it



I would try and think about someone trying to break into the industry you are in now, what would impress you? What would you take note of and think this guy really has got something? For me personally, when I meet other Photographer wannabes, it's the passion and deep seated interest in their chosen subject that is clearly visible. There are lots of try hards (maybe I'm one of them?) but the people with a genuine interest and a talent shine through in their example work. If only simple, for me, a demo reel would have to be yours, highlighting your skill areas with a focus on your passion for the industry, ie showing that you have put the hours in during your spare time to drive to learn. It doesn't need to be industry leading, but be original, creative and unique.

Cheers

Cris.

My pleasure.


I should have mentioned, that the majority of pipeline development is now being done in Python. Both Maya and Houdini have embedded interpreters (I'm not familiar enough with XSI to know there, but I think it does, as well), though Houdini has the better integration. Both can also run PyQT apps (with a few tricks), which is getting used more, and more frequently on the UI side of things.


Not only is he one smart dude, but he's incredibly nice, too.


Depending on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go...

Foley, van Dam is considered the bible, from a computer science perspective. That covers the basics of CG theory from an algorithms perspective. The computer geek in you might be interested in that, but unless you want to get into developing graphics software (game engines, renderers, etc), there's probably little need for it. It doesn't cover production at all, which is probably more important for you.

For production, I'm not sure of a good, comprehensive review, out there, if only because every studio is a bit different, and there are minor differences between VFX work, and full-CG animation. There is The Digital Visual Effects Studio, but I haven't read it, so I can't say how good it is.

Oh, and I completely forgot about this one: How to get a Job in Computer Animation. Also unreviewed by me, but the author is pretty well known.


There is a tonne of stuff out there, most of which I totally ignore. I'm part of a private mailing list that's pretty active, which is where I get a lot of my interesting news from.

As for websites, in no particular order (and certainly in no particular importance, and even more certainly far from exhaustive):

• www.awn.com
• www.fxguide.com
• www.vfxtalk.com
• www.cgsociety.org
• www.siggraph.org

I'm sure that once you start surfing through there, you'll find plenty of other good places to visit. No guarantee about the signal-to-noise of the forums on some of those places. It's certainly not like here.

Not a broad industry-wide place that I'm aware of, other than SIGGRAPH. The larger studios, such as Rhythm & Hues, have training departments. But if those are things that you like doing, and are good at, then pipeline would definitely be attractive for you. (For what it's worth, that's a company, and position, where you'll be groomed, and if you want to apply, send me your CV -- I can send it directly to the people doing the hiring.)


Yes, or no. Depends on how much of a glutton for punishment, you are. You can work on a reel on your own, but you can also work with a team. When you have shots on your reel that a team worked on, you'll generally also provide a shot-breakdown that lists your contributions to the work. They'll know to focus on what you did, so it's not something you specifically have to ask them to do.

Cheers

I can't speak for the animation field, but on the games side, it's not that bad. Yes, some companies abuse their employees, and it's a shame the employees put up with it. I personally keep a backup plan at all times, and if conditions do get bad for no good reason, I'm gone. If you do look at the games side, make sure to straight up ask them what their "crunch times" are like and how often they happen. Try and talk to grunt level employees too, and feel out the morale. It's pretty easy to identify what the work conditions will be like before signing any paperwork. My previous employer, SOE, had a lot of people with families, from the management down to the grunts. That helped keep things reasonable most of the time, and the studio even did lots of events where families were welcome to attend. If a manager asked people to work late, they knew the impact it would have outside the studio as well.

As for getting started, the game industry is still a lot about who you know, and I assume the animation industry may be similar. It's a lot easier to get a foot in the door when you know someone already there. I worked on the sidelines for a while, doing small contract jobs here and there while keeping a steady paycheck at Compaq/HP. The SOE opportunity came up, and my resume was handed to their tech director by an employee who had worked there for a while. That helped to get the interview process started, and then a successful 3 year job. Once I was in, I made plenty of contacts, and as they moved to other companies, I was kept informed of other possibilities.

As for a resource on the gaming side, look to Polycount, hosted on the same server as this BBS.

I seem to remember Loren mentioning these sites in the past.

• 11 Second Club
• Animation Mentor

Thanks again for all of this great feedback, everyone. It will take some time to digest it all. For now, I'm going to resume my 3D creation hobby, after 11 years of inactivity. I can't wait to see how much has changed since my last render... in October 98 using Truespace 1 on Windows 95. Yes, that's me wearing the same shirt as in my BBS avatar.

Heh. That reminds me of one of my first renders. That's also from 1998, using pure OpenGL (nothing but spheres!) on an SGI Octane.

I still have an Octane in my lab, but it currently isn't hooked up. Those machines use to be beastly, including weight. I had to lug one all over the damn world, and the weight part really sucked.

Whilst not my first render, I did a video for a computer imaging module at Uni. You might be able to see it here:

http://www.facebook.com/v/121140221735

I've no idea if you need to be logged on to Facebook or need to be a friend of mine. But it certainly works for me!

EDIT: BTW, that's my flatmate in the video.