I'm wondering if anyone have taken Vanarts' 1 month Maya summer intensive.
I briefly read through one thread i found about that course in this forum
(http://forums.awn.com/archive/index.php/t-329.html) and agree with people saying 1month crash course wont be any good for starting students.
I'm not totally new to animation though, I graduated VFS 2D animation program and worked as a Flash animator for about a year.
Now, I'm having a hard time finding a 2D job around here so I'm trying to step to the 3D fields.
So, will Maya 1month intensive program at Vanarts would be helpful for me?
I'm wondering if it would be enough education to work as a Maya animator.
Any opinion and advice will be appriciated.
Hello Vince-
This is Ken Priebe from VanArts....I also piped in a few times to that last thread you saw. Everything I said back then (4 years ago!) is still valid.
Our 1-month intensive will give you a good solid introduction to 3d animation and modeling using Maya, but I'm not sure if it's enough experience to justify getting a job in 3D or not. As I said before, our intensives are more for "getting your feet wet" and not necessarily for full-fledged industry training. I think with competition being what it is now, most studios would want to see a professional demo reel from a full-time program if it's 3D-related. For someone with your background though, I suppose it depends on the job and the studio.
3D is very difficult to get used to if you're more accustomed to 2D, but at the same time it's much easier if you understand animation principles.
Contact me here at the school if you have any more questions...we'd certainly love to have you in the Intensive course or maybe even our full-time 3D Animation program if you decide you need more training.
I think these intensive short courses are most useful for people who aren't sure if they want to going into this field or not. Like Ken Priebe said, they are not designed to give you a finished industry standard demo reel at the end of the month.
Be honest with yourself. Do you really think you will have an industry quality demo reel after a month of having to learn a new program and style of animation? Most likely not. I'm not saying don't do it. By all means take the course. I will be a good introduction to 3D. Some people just aren't cut out for it and some people are. After a month, you should have a good idea if this medium is for you or not. If it is, continue on. If not, well, it's time to re-evaluate your carer.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."