When I have something set on my mind and I really like doing that, I never give up.SilverFeather,
Really the trick is just persistence. You have redone this head and it looks much better than your first attempt and if the timeline is any indication you have become exponentially better since this one is not even close to the one month mark. Many things just take time and repetition. I first learned C4D since the Maya version wasn't sold in 64bit on the mac when I was starting out. Since then I have dumped the mac and built a PC. Do I regret learning that instead of the industry juggernaut of Maya. Nah, just a different path and at the end of the road all apps are the same at this point. Maya is the most complete of all packages in my mind. C4D just being easier. These guys on this forum will help you out though and know what they are doing. That is why I come here over the C4D forums since those guys can mainly only create simple text effects and they abuse the mograph module like it is the holy grail to job opportunities. I never liked the mograph stuff and always loved the character and rigging side of things. On the opposite end you get the reverse at CGSociety. They are good but chalk full of negativity (here and there). But many state that the most fragile form thought is creativity and inspiration. You must build it up and not kill it. Just keep at it and as you said before keep the poly counts low. There is a wealth of info out there and abuse the resources....
btw, thanks for the free hand tut jay. Too bad it only has 13,000 hits because it is exceptionally well done...
best
Collin Bishop
If it's just something that wasn't good enough, I start over and try to improve. I'd like to learn a bit out of everything, rather than just specialize in one thing and neglect the others. (Not sure if that means being a jack of all trades, but surely not being a pro in all domains). I understand that some love what they do and learn everything about it and that's what makes them happy. My first friend that knew how to model barely did any animation, didn't use any special tools, but managed to make awesome art. I wish I could contact her again, but haven't heard from her in 2 years now.
You made me smile at the part with "abusing monograph module like it is the holy grail."
Indeed I do not regret spending time on 3ds max either. It helped with getting adjusted to Maya, which follows almost same basic rules, only different places for tools and some good stuff such as fur (my 3ds max 7 had no such thing, but there was a way to copy a mesh with particles and make fur). I never tried Cinema but probably some day I might test it. Though I will focus on Maya for a few years. I tend to learn along the way, not by using tools randomly.
I enjoy this forum. It's like an epic art gallery but also a place where you can learn.
One question about the mac vs windows machine: Which one is better? Someone told me that mac renders faster. Not sure what to believe though.
Oh, well I understand that it's hard work to do on your own.Cheers Chavfister, but dont thank me mate, thank Nilla and Dave they are the ones who make this all possible. 13000 or just 13, makes no odds to me. If any one person gets something from a tutorial I've done then I'm happy in the fact I have helped them out.
Yeah CGSociety...to edgey and somewhat complacent with heads so far up their own arses you can barely see their legs sticking out.
Silverfeather: Nilla isnt assuming you want to be a professional. She is using them as an example: that few professionals make movies by themselves because of the tasks involved in CG...thats all.
Jay
Long ago, I saw a documentary on something similar about someone making a movie on their own, I mean completely on their own, making the music and voices and animation (though not in 3D) all by himself and he was saying just how hard it is.
The only thing I'm trying (though I still need directions or suggestions) to do on my own is the 3D modeling and animation part. (and some of the music too). The voice acting will be done by my friends and maybe some music too.
I know some people who just download some of the harder stuff already made, which is something that just doesn't impress me. I'd rather know that I worked on something than to just download it all and do nothing at all but move a few bones and record it or download a whole city or stuff like that.
I just want to know that all the effort will end up into something at the very least nice.
And you don't need to be online all the time, nothing would get done if that was the case, you get assigned a portion of a project like animating a sequence or modeling a specific character. I mentioned these types of projects because they would give you the opportunity to work with senior artists and draw from their experience which can be quite valuable before you set off on your own game.
