Does a 3d artist need to know how to program? I have a basic knowledge of C++, which I’m currently learning.
No, we are a small studio, 9 employees… 3 know how to code… most of the stuff we do is python based due to the API blender has
Do game studios use Blender as a modelling software? Most of the time I see people using 3ds Max.
Some do, majority use 3dsmax
What programs should I master to have the best chance of getting employed?
learn more concepts rather than programs… these concepts are usually transferable between programs… but if i were to say programs it would be 3dsmax and maya… just target who you want to work for, find out what they use and learn that.
during a ~7 month internship at a now former EA studio -it is now a Ubisoft studio,
I had the chance to ask the Art director, if it would be OK
if someone used Blender in their studio, his answer was;
“you can model and texture in whatever program you want as long as it is good to animate and
is transferable into the programs we use to animate, for animation you have to use our pipeline tools.”
3ds max is in decline- updates are stalling, keep in mind we are talking about Autodesk which likes to EOL their tools just look at XSI <- industry tool and with a snip of their fingers it was dead.
At the current time if you want from autodesk a future secure tool, Maya would be it.
Modo is also an alternative to Blender which gets used in the games industry for modelling and texturing.
in short; Blender would be fine for modelling and texturing but keep in mind you would have to be really good at that to be considered for a job position.
I will look into 3ds and Maya in the future, and keep honing my skills.
And what about education? I’m currently studying Computer Science (3yrs)
An option I was given was engineering, but I feel like that wouldn’t be as good as something more “3d” oriented.
If you’re a student, go to the Autodesk Education Community page and sign up. You can get free copies of all their software for the purposes of learning. These are full versions with no restrictions, so you can experiment with moving models around from Blender to Maya to 3DS Max, etc. The licenses are good for three years, but if you upgrade to each new version as it comes out, the license period resets to three years again.
And there are lots of tutorials on Autodesk’s YouTube channel sorted by channels and playlists for Maya and 3DS Max. I haven’t seen any for MotionBuilder, et al, but I might not be looking hard enough.
Yeah, it may be for naught if 3DS Max is being phased out, but it’s a good gateway app for Blender users; Max and Blender UIs and workflow are quite similar.
