Just curious about the thoughts on the value of knowing blender from a career perspective.
My impression is that few commercial firms are using Blender for production work. That being the case - from a job/career perspective - what are the benefits of learning Blender as opposed to a free student version of a more commercially used product like Maya (besides the fact that it has a watermark on all output).
Don’t get me wrong. I like Blender. Thanks for your thoughts!
nuance9,
If you want to get into a career in 3D knowing Blender definetly won’t hurt you! First and formost you need to be a solid artist in both traditional and 3D techniques. Most companies are just looking for good artists although I’d be lying to you if I said that no one cares what software you know. If you know the ins and outs of 3D a lot of companies will train you to use the software they use. Blender is a great program but if you want to get a job in the industry it would be to your advantage to learn at least one of the big name software packages just so you can put it on your resume. Just remember, if your portfolio sucks you aren’t going to get a job no matter what software you use, but if you are a really tallented artist that only knows Blender there is still a chance that you will be able to get a job.
TorQ
but if you are a really tallented artist that only knows Blender there is still a chance that you will be able to get a job.
this thing keeps my hopes alive. 
If you are a good artist and understand the concepts of 3D, you will be able to learn other software more easily as it is just learning the new interface.
Whatever tool fits the job. If you can do the job in blender and you know blender better than any other 3D program… go for it. Its all about the final project. Some clients may be worried that its a program they’ve never heard of but then again… if clients knew anything they’d be doing it themselves. Also it helps to show clients some of your own work that has been done in whatever program your choosing to use for a project.
If you have a demo good enough no matter in which software you work, they will hire you. Some studios ask for specific programs because they don’t want to train you or don’t have time.
There’s a guy who made this animation with a $199 program, he was hired by Pixar.
Long time no see . . .
Anyway, my experiences tell me the better the company the less they care what program you use. The lesser companies get obsessed by it.
For example, to work in 90% of games companies learn 3D Studio MAX, else they won’t touch you. Maya seems to be catching up too. The 10% of top studios don’t care, partly because they have a habit of switching product or using several on a per project basis. A classic being models in Lightwave, texture applied in Max etc.
The same goes in tv land. I work in interactive tv and the tools we use are so odd no one would have a chance of using them outside. (Yes I do use Blender at work, in combination with Photoshop and something called Modelstream.) Anyway the tools at the top companies (Maya, whatever) are so modified (loads of custom tools/scripts) it’s like learning a new program.
At the end of the day the best places mix and match tools to their hearts content, and have script monkeys to write plugins as they need them. If you can demonstrate a certain flexibility that’s good (although I’ve also heard it said you’re better specialising I’m not so sure). I would certainly look at Maya, XSI and Houdini (if you can get that to run).
The breakdown at the mo seems to be
3DSMAX - games, low end film
Maya - if you want to work in games/some tv
XSI - taking over tv and film work this is now
Houdini - high end special effects for film and tv, but you’ll need to be based in London or Los Angeles to get employed
Lightwave - odd jobs it’s good at
Anyone who has a ‘one size fits all’ attitude to 3D is going to be producing second rate work, and I wouldn’t want you working for them. Show stuff you’ve done in Blender/Wings/XSI and mixed etc. I’d also add that demonstrating an understanding of the ‘pipeline’ is crucial, so learning compositing and editing is also useful, which helpfully Blender does, even if it’s somewhat basic.
(I hope this makes sense, but of all the current tools I’d say learn XSI, because it’s now huge in tv/film, and will be in games, because its what you use to mod Half Life 2).
oh, wow, that video is actually one of the things that inspired me to go into 3D. I saw it once but i was never able to find it again. Thanks for that!
d52477001
Maybe if Ton placed an ad in Variety or some top flight 3D industry rag and ask for $3000.00 some the these hot shot people that are mad at their money would try it and find out just how good Blender really is.
In my opinion there are two ‘most important’ things for a landing a job in any Creative market:
If you have that extra ‘spark’ and if you succeed in letting it shine through into your presentation and portfolio, you will definately be invited for second or thrid round talks.
It’s about the art, not about the tools.
Tools are about workflow, and workflow can be taught pretty quickly. Inspired work on the other hand is rare and valuable. A good employer/studio will be on the look out for inspired work, not the choice of tool.
Secondly, if you know sombody on the inside of a company you should go on a ‘visit’, and get the feel of the place. In my last job working for a large design outfit, we regularly turned down people that had pretty good art in their portfolios because we felt they wouldn;t ‘fit’ into our crew. If you hit it off with the people at the studio, they will want you to work for them because you fit into their gang. If your portfolio is up to scratch you’ll be hired.
I’ve seen it happen many times.