Animation Learning (no tech way)

[MauricioPC]

Hey guys,

I got the wrong idea of showing my wife the doc "Between Two Worlds, The Hybrid Animation of Tiny Inventions" and she loved. Now, even though she works with Marketing, she says she wants to learn and do this.



I know that in the video the animation is done in C4D and while I have nothing against C4D, there's few and far between animation tutorials on C4D. I know that in the animation land, Maya is King (tutorials) and given we won't be able to use Softimage and that she isn't a technical person, what do you (animators out here) would recommend?

I thought of 3ds Max. There are some free rigs, some tutorials (mostly DT ones) on animation, principles, etc, and generally speaking 3ds Max is far more easy to learn than Maya. C4D could be a option as a 3D app, because it's easy to get the grips, but there's few animation tutorials for it.

I might also add that she has no intention of working in the industry, so the "Maya if you want work in the industry" do not count. Probably, we will try to make our own "Tiny Animation" enterprise.

Anyway ... some thoughts about you who have learned and teach it will be helpful.

[myara]

I don't think Max is easier than Maya at any level. In fact I think Maya is a better alternative to a SI user than Max in that aspect. At least, I struggle with Max every time I have to deal with it at work and avoid it as much as possible.

But any software will require you to learn and practice for years to be able to do everything by yourself even at a basic level, so be sure she really, really wants to do it.

Although not having as much potential as Maya right now, I think the best ootb could be Modo or C4D. Being Modo a cheaper solution, decent and fast render, and having a quite I would pick that one, or at least give it a try before decide. GL.

[Sil3]

If she really wants to Animate and skip the tech part for now, why don't you guys use Softimage?

You have the tech knowledge so she will only concentrate on the Animation learning part. There are free rigs available for Softimage that are more than adequate to just learn the basics, even the Gear temp one is more than enough. Although I don't recommend starting to learn animation on a Humanoid Character, its too much for a starter.


Don't go DT for Character Animation learning (in fact stay away from them)... go for the proper learning channels. I suggest to try Jason Ryan tutorials before even enrolling on any online school, see if she really wants it of if she will get fed up with it after a while, because its going to be hard ;)


Jason Ryan before he started iAnimate had this incredible set of Tutorials where you can see him teach first in a 2D manner (to speed things up) and learn why he does it that way:

http://www.jasonryananimation.com/tutorials.html
(theres video examples of each of those exercises)

They used to cost 1k you can now grab the all 3 different levels for 100 bucks.

He uses Maya on the 3D part but be it Maya or Softimage its the same, the principles are the same.


You can also see how the Tutorials are by watching the free Ramp Up tuts he first did before releasing the Main ones, the style of teaching is exactly the same:


http://www.jasonryananimation.com/ramp- ... rials.html


If she (or you) become serious about learning more and what to have a more focused education then enroll in iAnimate or Animschool where she can have feedback given by industry working professionals that are usually placed in Dreamworks, Bluesky, Disney etc.

[MauricioPC]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

Thanks also for pointing out about DT. I haven't done any animation tutorials from them but I thought it could be a nice adition.

I'm actually thinking about starting out with the VTC from Keith Lango. At 100 bucks you get lots of hours too. But than I would go the Maya route.


As for the "it takes years", I know that. This is more of a personnal project to keep the creativity flowing as we work on boring corporations.

I was just wondering what software could be the "easiest" route to learning. It's probably C4D (as a easy 3d software in general) and maybe we could translate the training from Maya to C4D but I think this would be to much trouble. I'll find some intro tutorials for animating a ball and see in which software she feels more confortable.

Knowledge wise, I know more 3ds Max and I always thought it was easy to learn. I was taking a look at the AD channel and there's some more beginners videos from Maya LT. Maybe this can be a route as well. It seems they are targeting easy of use.

Softimage is cool but given what happened and given that my student license of AD products will only work for another year (I think), I guess I'll start with her in another program together. It should be fun. Or she'll file a divorce.

[Sil3]

KL Tuts might be a bit "boring" for a beginner, I mean they are great if you already know something and he explains the whys. But they are very cheap right now it wont hurt you to have them as well

Jason Tuts are a lot more dynamic and he loves to teach and you can see and feel that passion the videos.

Forget about being Maya route, Maya is the dominant Character Animation package and it will continue to be in the following years until something really really good comes along, which can take a long long time, because to be honest Maya shines in Character Animation workflow (not talking about rigging, modeling, render etc, simply Character Animation only).

What you will learn from KT or Jason or other can be translated into any package, they will teach how to move Characters and why they move, apart from very few software things they wont teach you Maya.

[Bullit]

I think the easier one - and with more coherent interface - is C4D.
You can try Blender too.

[MauricioPC]

Thanks for all replies guys. Appreciated.

[Helli]

Get her maya, download the free animation mentor stewie rig (and a bouncing ball for the start). Get "The animators survival kit" and you are ready to go.

[myara]

Since learning CG takes years, specially if you are working at something else while you are studying it, I wouldn't pick a dead software. SI is good now and will be for a few more years for those who know how to use it.

Maya LT has rendering restrictions, I mean you can't render and it doesn't have plugin support. Maya LT shouldn't be as different as Maya in usability. Maya is getting better and easier to use but it isn't there yet IMHO. 2015 seems promising though.

About Blender, Ive always found it just too weird and complicated (GUI).

[Helli]

I met people at animation mentor who never touched a 3d software.

if its only and completly about animation you are good to go in about a month of learning your 3d package.

You only need to know the basics of animation in the package, the rest is animation knowledge.
Which is enough work overall ;)

[MauricioPC]

Get her maya, download the free animation mentor stewie rig (and a bouncing ball for the start). Get "The animators survival kit" and you are ready to go.

I've downloaded this rig already, I have this book (and some others).

I met people at animation mentor who never touched a 3d software.

if its only and completly about animation you are good to go in about a month of learning your 3d package.

You only need to know the basics of animation in the package, the rest is animation knowledge.
Which is enough work overall ;)

I think the same. I'll start with Maya and see where it goes. It may be good for me as well. Thanks for the reply.

[MauricioPC]

Does anybody know this course?

https://www.fxphd.com/fxphd/courseDetai ... Course=306


It might be worth if I go the C4D route.

[nuverian]

Here is the way I see it as far as DCC softwares go. There are the "more artistic" ones and the "more technical" ones.
Technical Friendly
Softimage
Maya
Houdini

Artistic Friendly
Cinema4D
Modo
Max (with doubts)

A more technical person may feel a bit limited in the opposite category, While a more artistic person may feel overwhelmed in the opposite category.
In your case I would recommend C4D.

[angus_davidson]

If this is not about industry, softimage is a really solid choice even at eol. You have the experience to help her in it.

The new spacing chart in Modo is really intuitive and if your using something like Richard Williams to teach principles its a very easy visual link to make.

At the end of the day its all about what she wants to achieve. tailor your solution to that.

[Hirazi Blue]

If this is primarily about learning how to animate, don't discount the XSI Mod Tool 7.5 just yet.
It's free, it obviously has some severe limitations (rendering being the most obvious one),
but all its animation tools are intact and yes it is still available.

[MauricioPC]

Hey guys, thanks for the new info and tips.

I myself am learning Maya as jobs are now Maya. I cant use Softimage anymore since I wont be able to buy it in the future. But to teach my wife I think Modo can be a good and cheap alternative.

Just waiting for the trial to pop up. And for freelance gigs Modo can be good as well.