#Real '3D Women'
23 messages in this thread
Thanks for the book fliers, Michelle. I distributed them at the last
Chicago Loop Group meeting, Feb. 21.
BTW – How do I get other "3-D women" to come out of the woodwork. I
know they're out there, but our meetings are almost always all-male,
except for me. Some of the guys claim the only women they know
involved with CG are doing DTP on MACs, and that PC's (and
animation?) are "a guy thing". We have all AGES of men, from some
that arrive on skateboards (that's the solemn truth!) to one or two
who look like they might have parked canes outside…but rarely other
women. (I won't count the recent demonstration of the use of metaballs
to create a 3D female torso!)
I'd love to hear your suggestions, wry or otherwise.
Gayle G de N
There are no other 3DS women, I have scared them all away. It was the
only way I could be sure to win the 3DS Homecoming Queen competition.
<g>
I know a few other female 3DSers, and they don't go to user group
meetings much. I kinda like sitting around and discussing how to make
a tiling texture map but some people don't. I'm thinking of one
friend in particular who makes a point of not thinking about 3DS
after 5pm unless she absolutely has to. If we're out socially and
discuss graphics, we tend to talk about non-technical issues.
Annoying clients get a lot of air time. I also remember spending an
hour discussing different ways to use the color red, and this was
before we ordered the Sangria.
I don't think it's so much that 3DS is a guy thing, but that an
intense love of TECHNICAL discussion tends to be a guy thing, and
user groups are primarily made up of guys, so… If more women were
involved we might see more discussions of non-technical issues such
as freelancer marketing or client etiquette or How to Deal with
Autodesk (or what to do with the color red), but since there aren't,
we don't, and the women don't come… a Catch-22.
User groups have also got the reputation for being, um, boring. If
you've ever been to an AutoCAD user group meeting you'll know what I
mean. <g> I find the Boston 3DS User Group meetings interesting and
fun, but that's largely because it's the only time I get to see a lot
of my friends, and because Ted Boardman is so cool, and because they
let me run them sometimes. For me it's largely a social occasion.
If the party is perceived as boring or inconvenient, women won't go.
My aforementioned friend says she doesn't go to her local user group
meetings any more because they're boring, but I think it's more that
the meetings are held on Friday nights, and she simply has better
things to do than, as she puts it, hang out with a bunch of geeks.
But when I come to town we sometimes go together, then hit the clubs
afterward. Then it's social and it's okay, although she does tease me
about my vehement defense of automatic 3D Lofter beveling vs. the 2D
Shaper two-shape method.
So that's my completely opinionated view: user groups perceived as
technical discussions = perceived as boring = women have better
things to do, and user groups perceived as non-technical and/or
social occasions = interesting = women will come.
Michele
PS. I hope I haven't offended any lurkers who read this message, or if
I have, I hope they are too shy to bug me about it.
>> Some of the guys claim the only women they know involved with CG
are doing DTP on MACs, and that PC's (and animation?) are "a guy
thing". <<
interesting stuff. At my new job the vast majority of the 3d animators
(Alias and Wavefront platforms) seem to be women. Not sure why. Maybe
RISC workstation 3d graphics are "a woman thing" <g>.
I have never been to the local Tampa bay meeting, I have been meaning to go
but if no women are there forget it.<g>
Richard,
>> I have never been to the local Tampa bay meeting, I have been meaning to go
but if no women are there forget it.<g> <<
your supposed to go for the mutant-talk, dude! <g>
Hey, I resemble that statement.
And as for you Richard Smith, You had your chance while I still resided
there. 8*0
When is the next meeting? I might have time to get there, I was just about
done with school and I seem to have broken my leg. I just might pursuade some
of my "Muntant" friends to take me.
Richard,
I recall speaking to you on the phone once about comming to a meeting.
Unfortunately/fortunately I now reside in Connecticut. You'll have to
contact Jeff Reisner 595-7263 or Steve Pidgeon 977-8414 for more info
reguarding the Tampa group although we would love to have you attend
one of our meetings up here <G>.
-Lee
Thanks for the info. I haven't seen real snow in years (IPAS snow yes) but I
am afraid I my stay in the sun. Kinda like a Lizard.<g> I will give the
local folks a call.
Oh yea I love mutant talk, I never thought of my self as a computer geek, I
just thought everyone else was slow to understand.
<At my new job the vast majority of the 3D animators seem to be women>
I'm really glad to hear this … out of curiosity, do you think there are any
gender-related differences in animation style? Or would they be overshadowed by
prior training e.g. art-trained animators vs engineering-trained animators of
either gender. I haven't been able to figure out if the ongoing intoxication
with robots, and topics mechanical is because that kind of stuff is lends
itself readily to 3D animation, or because boys like trucks and transformers
…. and at least around here, its still "mostly male".
Gayle
Gayle,
>> out of curiosity, do you think there are any gender-related differences in
animation style? Or would they be overshadowed by prior training e.g.
art-trained animators vs engineering-trained animators of either gender. <<
Over here they would be over-shadowed by the art director. All paying jobs
would have an art director and he/she would enforce the art style and prevent
the animator going too far astray, whatever their gender or style. If the
animator was doing self-promo work between paying jobs, then you'd probably see
their preferences surface.
OK, thanks.
Would you know about any 3d user groups in LA area? I've just landed some
months ago in LA, and havent found any groups around here. The last one I went
to, 3dsforum, had maybe, humm, 200 guys and 4 or 5 women, including me.
Eni
Eni,
>> The last one I went to, 3dsforum, had maybe, humm, 200 guys and 4 or 5
women, including me. <<
that ratio is probably typical, sorry. I wish there were more 3d women, too.
The LA chapter of Siggraph possibly has meetings and the ratio might be more
balanced – I'm not sure I have never been. I went to the 3d art forum and it
was quite good, overall.
Gayle,
I just bopped over here to see what you were up to! I caught the beginning of
this thread when it seemed to be primarily about wife swapping<G>, so I tuned
out. Now I see that it's turned into a discussion of gender balance in our
user's group. You know, we did have a couple more females in the beginning,
but they both work outside their homes doing 3D all day. I think they liked
having a life more than they needed the group! Most of the other women have
come with men, even when they were using 3DS too. Anyway, didn't they cover
gender brain differences in your psych classes<G>? (thought you might need a
taller soap box : )
BTW -we are getting new tables for you to try your Flamenco on.
-Paul
Paul –
<<wife swapping>>
I don't remember the beginning of this thread … but I'm starting to feel like
I must have missed it. Wait, didn't I start this thread??? I'm sure there
wasn't anything about wife-swapping (a term from the 70's, I believe, which I
am not old enough to remember).
<<taller soapbox>>, <<new tables (?)>>
What are you implying here? I'm devoting all this effort to developing a
5'10"" ABT on-line personality and you are sabotaging my efforts! I'm not sure
this is a sincere ";-)".
<<liked having a life more than they needed the group>>
I heard that line. I have a very rich life outside of 3D, – I don't think
making it to a once-a-month user group meeting precludes "having a life". But
you may have hit on something otherwise … I think isolation (i.e. not working
in an office setting on your 3D stuff) greatly increases the need for contact
with others working in the field. The forum's great, but not sufficient.
Maybe if I were working in some big production setting, I'd be less enthused
about trekking downtown to a long night meeting. Come to think of it, once I
had a family, I really was not so fond of long evening lab meetings, either 😮
Gayle
Gayle,
Ok, so you didn't take the bait on gender differences. ;(
>>developing a 5'10"" ABT on-line personality
What does this mean? You aren't 5'10"? I must admit that you do seem taller
on-line. On-line personas are interesting, but I think you come through pretty
clearly. "ABT" -what's that a personal columns acronym?
>>didn't I start this thread?
Maybe I was thinking about a thread called '3D Women' which was about real
women and spun off from another thread in which a compliment was paid to a
woman at Digimation (sorry, luv I'll remember your name next time I call).
>>70's, I believe, which I am not old enough to remember
: )
I do think user groups offer the most to people who work in isolation (at least
from a 3D context), evangelists (conversion hysteria wears off after two years)
and people who can financially benefit directly from new freelance
opportunities. That's all fine; it's a good group. With whom do I have more
in common than 3DStudio afficionados?
-oops, I have to go wash the kids' hair. BTW, the tables were for the dance you
promised for the next user's group! See you tues.
-Paul
Paul-
>>You aren't 5'10"<<
I'm not? Oh. :-< Are you sure?
>>ABT<<
American Ballet Theater. Duh. With your background, you should know that
one.
>>tables<<
I didn't promise, I threatened – and only if the meetings got boring.
From the sound of the agenda, I will not yet be driven to that extreme.
>>online personas<<
In person, I am always surprised by your pigtail. According to your
online persona, I'm not surprised at all. Hmmm.
Gayle "a person's a person no matter how small" G de N (good grief, it's
contagious)
>>You aren't 5'10"<<
I think you left the '?' out of the quote from me.
>>American Ballet Theater. Duh.<<
Thanks, Something about the context threw me. It's been years since
I've seen dance let alone done any dancing or choreography. That's
one reason I'm modelling my own figure -the models I've seen aren't
built to move well -no articulation of the shoulders etc.
>>always surprised by your pigtail
Actually, after my tail got to be over 10 years long, I've grown much less
attached to it<G>. I will probably cut it off before summer. My older son has
felt compelled to sport a tail since he was three (his idea -charming little
critters), but I get the feeling that it's not 'the thing' in second grade.
>>"a person's a person no matter how small"
Quoting from 'Horton Hears a Who'? For a moment I thought you were
identifying with Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. Online I get a little
Tiggerish -Pooh is my ideal, I live in dread that people think I'm
Owl, but today I feel a little Eeyore coming over me.
>>Piglet<<
Are you being nasty? Do I to have to go look for the book, now, to see if
you're being nasty, since my kids aren't fond of that one (should have known
Susie would be sure your kids appreciated the kids' lit "classics").
>>pigtails<<
Oh, no. Father-and-son pigtails!?!
It sure was nice to have Margaret at last night's meeting, and only
be outnumbered 10:1. I hope she comes back again.
-and if you think I'm going to sign off, Gayle the Gross (de N), you
are wrong!
>> >>Piglet<< Are you being nasty?<<
No, I don't think so. I thought I was back-pedalling.
Really, I never knew that you thought of yourself as being . . . well -short.
When I originally referred to a 'taller soapbox', I was speaking totally
metaphorically As in . . . oh, well never mind.
(I just deleted two sentences here that I wouldn't have written in the first
place if I had half my mental faculties.)
Piglet is a small, hoping-to-be-courageous animal with a generous heart. Piglet
is not fat for heaven's sake! Do go get the book!
Paul 'Bear of very little brain' Lempke
Paul –
No, no, no, not a Miss Piggy-ish piglet – all I remembered about Piglet was
that he was a runty, scrawny, most unpiglike pig, more like a rodent. (I
happened to think real piglets (once their milk teeth are clipped), are really
cute critters). Noah often reminds me of a juicy little piglet, especially
with an apple in his mouth.
"Piglet of Pooh" sounds charming, (though physically unprepossessing, for
sure), and I take no offense. It's actually a rather sweet description. I'll
get the guys the book.
Gayle