Getting Started Part II

Say you've decided to really get into computer animation, but you don't know how to start. Well, look no further, for this post will cover some of the basics.

SOFTWARE:

First off, you are going to need some software. There are a number of different animation programs to choose from and you can see a full list here: http://www.animationprograms.biz/top-animation-programs/ . However, one of the more popular ones as well as the one I used and studied was Autodesk's Maya, so we'll be going with that for the most part. Normally running close to a thousand dollars, students can get Maya for a fraction of the cost.

The link provided leads to a place to purchase a student software bundle including Maya and another popular program named 3DSMax. Note the hardware
http://www.studica.com/us/en/Autodesk/autodesk_education_suite_for_entertainment_creation_2011.html

Both are heavily used by the film and gaming industry respectively. A few years back when I was attending a school in Florida, Maya was the standard and I quickly learned why. It boasts a large number of helpful tools and is completely customizable so you can use it how you want to use it. Not only that, the rendered animation looks great! I had an old video file of my final project from an Animation Fundamentals class, but I can't seem to find it anymore. However, if you want to know more about Maya before making the jump, here is the product page from Autodesk's website: http://usa.autodesk.com/maya/ . It even includes a customer showcase which shows where and how Maya has been used. You may be surprised by some of the projects it helped create!

HARDWARE:

The following is a look to Maya's system requirements: http://usa.autodesk.com/maya/system-requirements/ . These are important to note because the requirements listed will decide whether you are good to go, need to upgrade your computer, or need a new computer entirely. In the event that you need a few upgrade parts or a new computer, two very good sites are http://www.newegg.com/ and http://www.tigerdirect.com/. I personally use Newegg for most, if not all of my computer hardware needs due to it's speedy delivery and low prices. Occasionally, http://www.amazon.com/ and Wal-Mart will offer competitive prices on some parts. Wal-Mart also happens to feature some pretty great deals at times when buying an actual desktop or laptop. Browsing around there and other places such as Fry's Electronics which will also help you get started on meeting and exceeding the software requirements. It may seem like a pretty big investment, and to a certain degree, it really is, but I personally feel that once you get to seeing your creations come to life, it is all worth it. Not only that, if you plan to get into other graphic intensive activities such as graphic design, upgrading makes the transition much smoother.

LEARNING:

Once you have the software you may be wondering if you have to sign up for classes to learn how to use it or how to go about learning on your own. Given that I left the university in Florida not too long after I enrolled, I would personally opt to learn on my own. Learning on your own may sound hard, but I actually came across a great service for that as well. Digital Tutors is a great service that offers tutorials on a large number of entertainment programs from Adobe Photoshop to Maya. I've used it quite a bit and I actually think I learned more in a week of following the tutorials than I did from a semester in class. The only downside is that Digital Tutors does come at a cost.

http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/index.php

For the price of tuition for class, you can subscribe to a yearlong membership and receive unlimited access to all their tutorials. Students even get an extra 10% off, which really sweetens the deal. However, Digital Tutors is not the only solution for self learning, though it is my preferred method. There are plenty of free tutorials around the web which can teach you any number of things. For animation fledglings, there are also great community sites such as http://www.cgsociety.org/ which are dedicated to animation and have forums with really helpful people.

I had to learn a lot of this the hard way, so I hope the information I have shared with today will help someone start off their animation career or hobby on the right track.

Hope to hear from you guys soon!