Question About Professional 3d Animating I.E. Pixar

[Kyole 0]

Apologize for it being so lengthyI had this conversation in depth with a guy who worked on the matrix sequels.Maya IS the industry standard if its not propiotary. Because like most for you know most major effects houses do write there own software.But few things to note.Outside freelancers- We all know ilm works on Star Wars right? Well something that goes unnoted that ive read is the amount of people they hire just for that show. You do have a large chunk doing animation modeling. But then the other half matte paintings, explosions all the particle simulations and any other off the wall stuff is mostly done outside by using anything and everything under the sun.With that said..Alot of questions arise? What programs best for doing what.What I keep getting told is dont be a "jack of all trades"Find out what you really wanna do and become good at that because if you do wanna get hired by a company theyll only have you working on one task. Its logical 1 man cant do everything. So really nail down what you want animation, compositing, modeling, fx.Back to software.What do I need to use. My friend asked the fellow from the matrix whats the best software.Whatevers the short basic awnser. Dont fret over needing to be able to work in other packages. If for whatever reason our using something as long as you like it and are good at it stay at it. If your good enough to hire then they make way for your needs but I havent ever heard of someone having problems or not being able to convert max to maya or maya to blender or so on or so fourth.But recomendations3ds max for modeling and known as a all-in-one which is character animation, modeling, fx, dynamics yadda yadda,Now I stick to fx, and modeling so I wouldnt know but alot of people I know HATE character studio in max and animating characters in general.But the best choice for a beginer just getting into itMaya ive never heard any real complaints about accept how long and hard the learning curve is. If your a programming type of guy youll like how open maya is to writing your own stuff and collaborating.Blender- Cant say much about blender I didnt use it more than 3 days out of frustration and went on to max.Poser- This Ive been told is awesome for animating if your jsut getting in. but like I said im not much of a animation guy so try a demo or something first.Sites...3dluvr.com3dtotal.comMattepainting.orgfloridafx.comHope this is helpful

[iGuest 3]

... Hmph ...First you should understand the distinction between Modeling (building 3D Geomety), Animating (programing motion in or around the Geometry), and Rendering (generating 2 Dimensional imagery from the Geometry).If you haven't ever used a 3D application before, I would suggest getting your feet wet with something like Google SketchUp. It's free, and a good (albeit extremely limited) software.Modeling.What's best is a loaded question. There are multiple modeling geometry types Polygon Mesh, Triangular Mesh, NURBs, Solid, Paremetrics ...There is software that works best for one or another geometry type, and software that works decently for some or all. Depending on what you will be modeling will help determine the best geometry type and based on that the best modeling software.Most of the time, a modeling software will be part of a package that also includes animation and rendering solutions. The default rendering solutions in most packages are typically either needlessly complicated, sub par in quality and technology, and/or require ridiculous rendering times.After market or plugin rendering packages mitigate this issue. Software such as POV-Ray, V-Ray, Maxwell Render, Renderman, or Brazil are renders. You cannot buy a renderer and do anything with it if you have not already generated a 3D model and/or animation elsewhere (and some of which that are plugins require a software package to attach to).Some of the more popular 3D Packages are Autodesk Maya (Maya is evolved from Alias products, and Alias was since purchased by Autodesk), Autodesk 3D Studio Max, Maxon Cinema 4D, NewTek Lightwave, Softimage XSI, etc. Cinema 4D is likely the least expensive, with 3DS Max the most widespread, and Maya likely the most powerful.Maya is very robust, but has a steep learning curve as previously mentioned. Pixar Renderman is in fact commercially available as a plugin rendering solution for Maya.My standard workflow is modelling in Rhinoceros 3D, Layout and Animation in 3D Studio Max, and rendering in V-Ray. This workflow is the product of years of work and experimenting to get the results and toolsets best for me. If you are just beginning, working with Maya or 3D Studio Max will probably give you more than enough to keep you busy for some time.Autodesk provides a personal learning edition of Maya for free download on their website. So if Pixar is what you want, and you are committed enough to learn, I would suggest downloading Maya and toiling away.

[iGuest 3]

Replying to lacking_imaginationI know for a fact that the people at Pixar use Maya 2008 or Maya Pro. I know this because I work there.-reply by phyll

[iGuest 3]

I used Maya for about 2 years when I was more into detail 3d modeling and animation four or so years back. If you want to do more animation based work, definitely go for the latest Maya. Buy a few books, get the basics and let your mind flow. Maya is a much better program than 3dsm which is basic for game and limited graphic development. Although some pros can make stunning stuff with 3dsm, it's much easier for moderate users of Maya to make the exact same stuff.. And then they can animate theirs also. You're going to need some serious computing power if you plan some of the animation renders though. Just a heads up. It should also be known that Adobe CS3 photoshop accepts .Obj files now also, which is the main Maya object file type. This makes them easy to texturize in photoshop if you don't like. CS3 runs around $600 for a student, and $1,800 for any average designer.Pixar tweaks the mathematics behind Maya to optimize their animations. However, this isn't necessarily better or worse for what any new to moderate to experience animator needs to make some incredible stuff.Maya = amazing-reply by Patrick

[iGuest 3]

3ds max

Question About Professional 3d Animating

 

Now I m doing 3ds max now you can say I m new in 3d. I have completed modeling. And now I m doing animation but I want to know Is 3ds max is not useful in future... Everyone say that maya is best. But I think the software is not important the important thing is your creativity... And basic of 3d.

Any one can tell me...

Which software should I learn if I want to work(modeler) in walt disney com.?

 

-reply by sujal gaur

[iGuest 3]

Replying to PloforiaRenderman is a system where it renders every single frame. Its pixar render farm, where the computer gets all the data from that one frame from the 3d software it uses. It gets every geometry every little detail in that frame and output it to an .Avi or .Mpeg format.-reply by chili

[Animator 0]

I have used a few 3D apps, but Blender and Maya are the two I know best. Neither is better than the other, though each are better at different things. Generaly, there is more detail in most of Maya's tools than in the same tool for Blender, although there are some exceptions. Don't underestimate Blender. I personally find Maya to be the better animation package, but Blender the better modeller. Maya has better shaders and texturing effects and Blender at least has its own compositor (movie mixer).I understand 3DSMax is good, not used it much more than a quick looksee.

[iGuest 3]

you don't work at Pixar because there is no such thing as Maya "pro"  there is maya complete and Maya unlimited.  differences being that unlimited has fur and fluids.  

Renderman isn't an animation or modeling package its a renderer.  it renders images you made in other packages.  you can use it by yourself without a team of engineers.

 most big studios use proprietary software that they develope in house.  but they also have licenses for maya when they need to hire extra help or freelancers during crunch time.

3D is hard!  to you people who think you can pick it up in a weekend and be a pro, go find something else to do.  Because your not going to stick with 3D.  It's hard, tedious, repetitive and I love it.  But its also misunderstood.  People assume its easy because its done on a computer.  Its not. 

[iGuest 3]

WHAT KIND OF COMPUTERS DO PIXAR USE?Question About Professional 3d Animating

I do not work there, but aspire to.  As a result I have done my homework on the systems and software they utilize to create their features.  Software wise, Pixar relies heavily on proprietary software called Marrionette to complete their character animation.  This is an internally developed software package and is not available commercially.  Animators who are brought in are presumably "schooled" on this program, however I cannot imagine it being much different from some of the other high-end 3D animation programs out there like 3D Studio Max or Maya.  If it were the learning curve would likely be too great.  I believe they also use other commercially available software as well, but Marrionette is the main one.

Renderman is the software they use to draw the finished frames of animation.  It is commercially available and can be purchased directly from Pixar.  The license fees are quite steep, however, and its unlikely that most individuals would be able to afford it for their own personal use.  Animation and effects houses, however, are definitely free to license it on a year-to-year basis.

Hardware wise, I believe that Pixar is using standard, off the shelf computer boards and CPUs, although they are very likely high end (ie. Opteron / I7 / Xeon) and definitely on a massive scale in the order of several thousand processor cores. As for workstations, I am unsure, however my best guess is that they would be using some pretty high end equipment in that arena as well, as anyone who has ever worked on CGI knows, that a fast stable workstation is crucial to time-sensitive and mission critical work.  Their lead animators are very likely utilizing/sharing something like a mini Cray, like the Cray CX1, which they would need if they were handling large scenes with massive polygon counts and thousands of keyframes.  Hope this sheds some light on the matter. 

EBS

[iGuest 3]

how old do u have to be to be a pro animaterQuestion About Professional 3d Animating

I'm curently 14 and I really like to animat stuff I'm kinda good but I wanted to know how old I have to be to start a cerrer in it if anyone knows Please tell me thanks

-reply by richard

[yordan 10]

I'm curently 14 and I really like to animat stuff I'm kinda good but I wanted to know how old I have to be to start a cerrer in it if anyone knows Please tell me thanks

There is no real age to start a career.However, there is a philosophical problem first : your first job is to go to school, in order to get educated and obtain some diplomas : in real life you need to have some diplomas, and you have to go to school while you are young, after that your brain will not be so much able to learn things.
Secondly, if you want to be paid, your parents are in charge of your money until you are adult.
Third, while starting your new career you will face the same problem as each of us : who will trust you, who will give you your first chance?
Websites as Xisto can help you, if you can show good anime scenes, you can put them on your website; however this will not solve the real problem, this will give you a way for showing your work but you will have to find by yourself whom you have to show your work.