Hi my names Tyler Dillion, A year ago I picked up blender mainly because it was simply the cheaper alternate to Maya or Zbrush. However a year later I feel like I made very good progress in developing my artistic skill and my technical use in blender.
I decided that I was going to enroll in college for Animation and Visual Effects and will most likely start in spring. I want to be a 3D modelist and would like some insight on what the industry is like. Some of the things I was wondering about is:
What programs am I expected to have skills in? Such as Maya, Unity or Unreal Engine. And should I also need standard knowledge on coding languages?
How is the work load on animators or modelist?
How expansive should my portfolio be?
and what should I be getting out of college that I can’t get online free?
These are just some questions I have had in mind. I’ve already done some basic research like if its a growing job market, the average artist makes and the different positions that are in the field. If anybody would want to share there experiences or share some advice I would very much appreciate any time anybody could spare.
This is just my opinion,
Which software you end up using will be determined by what kind of area of animation you want to get into, eg if you want to work for a big vfx company animating characters then Maya will probably be your best choice, If you want to do arch vis then 3D Studio max is the one to go for.
I dont think coding is important right now unless you want to be some kind of TD.
The workload on animators can be pretty intense esp if you work for a large vfx company.
Your portfolio should focus on the kind of animation you want to do, so if you want to do arch vis its pointless having character animation in your demo reel. There are heaps of youtube videos on creating a demo reel, I would look at those, as a lot of them are talking with people that hire animators.
The only thing I think you should focus on with college is networking with other people who have the same interest. That is something that is hard to do with a online course, I personally think most college course I have seen are a waste of time, If you do decide to go to one make sure you look at past students demos first and see if the quality is good enough. There is nothing you can learn from a sit down college course that you cant learn online.
Focus on which area of 3D you want to get into, VFX work, Games, Arch vis, character, medical animation etc and go from there.