Playmation
Mike: I hear ya! 3D is really hard on the wallet. Many of us don't
go to big California colleges that have loads of idle SGI machines
sitting around to learn on, and must come up with the cash
ourselves. My 3D stuff is coming out of my college $$…
I'm planning on getting 3DS R3 for $500 here in the states. Mabe you
can too, through someone here on Compuserve. I know of one
(shameless <g>) dealer that might be able to help you out is Greg
Pyros. (who seems to be really busy right now) I'm sure there are
many others, but I haven't tacked down who is and isn't one around
here.
If you can't get R3 inexpensively, you might want to get R2, or one of
the Hash products. Using a broad generalization [keep this in
context guys], Playmation is more like a R2 type product, with
Animation:Master being like the R3. The latter being more powerful,
and better suited for business, but the former being good for
learning. The earlier versions have a less direct translation into
the business world though. Being fluent in R2 animation, for example,
is great but not the same as having R3 down pat. There's a step in
learning that one must overcome on the job. I would, however, say
that learning R2 would be a ton better than nothing at all.
About Playmation/Animation:Master, they can teach you alot about
character animation, but remember that they are not the industry
standard. Knowing R2 would probably look better on a resume than
knowing Animation:Master. (but the product is what really counts.) R3
would top them all, depending on the place you apply. I heard of
someone in a big animation place (like Rythm & Hues/etc.) that turns
demo tapes off when he sees things like flying logo's, etc. He was
looking for things that really moved.. like characters. So, it
really depends on where you want to go. Character animation is really
taking off, and Animation:Master/ Playmation would be great to learn
the concepts of it, and at a relatively low cost. But many are
looking for 3DS experience.
I plan to get R3, *and* Animation:Master. This gives me a broad base
of experience, and strengthens my adaptability in working on all
sorts of projects. I'll just spend a ton of much needed money doing
it. I don't see any option. I'm graduating this spring, and want to
be running at full speed when I leave. In the end, it'll be worth
it. I hope. <gasp>
I see a couple areas of significant growth that you might want to
learn about. One is games development. This is really big, and
personally is one area of strong interest to me. Another area, which
also can tie in with games stuff, is digital composition of grabbed
video/film, and computer generated images. Movies like Jurassic
Park, and Terminator 2 are excellent examples of that kind of work.
(which, to the untrained eye, is really hard to see.) Simpler
examples are the new "interactive movies" on CD-ROM coming out left
and right. These things are hot stuff, and I hope to be able to
dabble in both of these things while still in school.
Take advantage of everything you can right now. As crazy as it
sounds, this is our only real time to safely play around. Now about
all that homework… <g> I think the senior year should be class
free. I have too many projects I want to work on, and too much silly
classwork expected of me. Oh well. 12 more weeks..
One last thing.. do you read 3D magazines/journals? I think it's
important in keeping up with things. I'd be glad to spew off the
ones I get, if you are interested.
sorry for the rambling. good luck. JNJ
(Be sure to read the other discussions about the Hash products. I may
talk alot, but I don't begin to know it all. And actually, I'm sure
several here think I'm pretty naive. Time will tell.)