Well, to start off, I'm a 16 year old high school student, and as long as I can remember, I've always been interested in film, specifically to be a director. Film was all I wanted to major in when I got out of high school. I always thought it was my future, but never took any concrete steps to get there. So I enrolled in a summer course at a college in Chicago for Film, or so I thought. I had mistakenly enrolled in Animation/VFX instead. Instead of cancelling the class, I decided that I should go and try it out, because it wouldn't really hurt. After spending a week there and making a 9 second animation skit, I could not stop thinking about animation. Since then (It was about a month ago now) I have been experimenting and still trying to learn Autodesk Maya, and I am loving it. The only problem is, I want to do film as well as animation now in college, and I'm under the assumption that 3D Animators need to draw very well, and I just can't. I was wondering if anyone has any truth to that or not, and if anybody could recommend any books on Autodesk Maya for be to learn from. I was also wondering, is there a career out there that combines the job of an animator and film? My main point though is, do 3D animators have to be able to draw well?
My main point though is, do 3D animators have to be able to draw well?
I do not see how anyone could be good at 3D animation with out being good at drawing. The only way you will improve your drawing skills is by drawing every day. If you are interested, I can give you a linkt to a person who keep a blog of his drawings over the years. It amazing to see the improvement for just his first year of drawing.
There are a number of books, videos and school cources that teach Maya.
Yes, I would very much appreciate seeing that!
Sorry I took so long to get back to you so here is the links.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870
Good luck on your dream! Keep pursuing it and don't give up!
I would say, if you want a job that combines film making and animation, I would look into working for smaller animation studios, as you might be able to get a position where you can both create the stories and animate them. You could also look into starting your own animation studio? It's a lot of work and risky, but if you really have determination and skill (which it sounds like you do), you can do it!
Earn Per View For Your Animated Short Films! http://animationcreationz.com/
Thanks man! You just boosted my confidence a ton!