Hi Everyone! Schools in CA?

# 1 03-03-2004 , 10:14 AM

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Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: Bay Area, CA

Posts: 16

Hi!
Just found this forum, and is just what I needed!

I'm kind of a newbie to Maya (even though I have been using it for more than a year now), and will surely get some really helpful information here.

Right now I'm studying animation at a community college in Bay Area, california, getting ready to transfer.
Does anyone know any good animation schools in california that dont cost way too much? Right now I'm basically looking at State colleges (I'm an international student, with a not so good economy)...

Thanx! user added image

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# 2 03-03-2004 , 06:28 PM

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Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Posts: 38

I don't know too much about this, but on the PIXAR website they mention the Academy of Art and also San Francisco State University as schools that are good for developing animation skills.

I'm sure there are other schools. You may want to talk to a counselor at your current school to see if they have a good list of other schools with strong animation departments.

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# 3 03-03-2004 , 10:41 PM

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Join Date: Nov 2003

Location: Oakland Ca.

Posts: 217

i have looked into the acadamy of art and it is a verry good school if you apply yourself it can give you one of the best equcations in the field of 3d modeling and animation in the country

Imagination will always lead to knowledge, while knowledge may not necessarily bring fourth imagination.

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# 4 04-03-2004 , 12:33 AM

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Join Date: Mar 2003

Location: union city, ca

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well if you want to go the hard but fun, cheaper road, you can always just learn by yourself and use your resources such as this website and create a really good portfolio & demo reel. with your collection of work, youll be able to market yourself, have more possible connections, and the best part is that youll have the discipline to learn on your own. user added image

i am student on that road

<a href="https://forums.simplymaya.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16675">May/June 2005 Challenge Entry</a>

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# 5 04-03-2004 , 10:18 AM

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Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: Bay Area, CA

Posts: 16

Originally posted by orgeeizm
well if you want to go the hard but fun, cheaper road, you can always just learn by yourself and use your resources such as this website and create a really good portfolio & demo reel. with your collection of work, youll be able to market yourself, have more possible connections, and the best part is that youll have the discipline to learn on your own. i am student on that road

Originally Posted by

Yeah. I've also been thinking about going halfway. Get a certificate (or AA) in Animation, keep doing it on the side, and get a BA in Graphic Design. Should widen my choices in the future a bit...

As Far as Academy of Art goes, I've heard some negative stuff about them. People keep telling me that the school I attend right now (De Anza Community College) has a much better animation program for a cheaper price.
Although, I have heard good stuff about San Jose state, so I might go for that one (If I decide to major in Animation that is).

Thanks for the recommendations! user added image

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# 6 04-03-2004 , 05:29 PM

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Join Date: Sep 2003

Location: USA

Posts: 658

I have heard good things about De Anza when I was there too. I did take two classes at Mission. De Anza is really new to animation. The problem I have run into with CC and JC is that the teachers are either not Artists or they do not know the software that good. I spent money to go to mission (not much money) to be given a book and told to to the tutorials. At that rate it would have been better on my own. When My questions arose he did not know the answer.

The problem with learning by yourself is you really do miss a lot of things. Tool, tricks and such. It is also tough to keap focussed. When there is not a deadline then you tend to lag. Also teachers tend to be brutally honest with you. Something that even people on forums do not always do. No one gives you a grade here. The grade is a way to scale your work.

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# 7 04-03-2004 , 05:36 PM

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Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Posts: 38

Has anyone else heard negative things about the Academy of Art? Anyone gone to that school?

I'm trying to decide if I should go to a school in Minneapolis, or wait to go to the Academy of Art in S.F. when I move there in two years.

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# 8 06-03-2004 , 02:39 AM

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Join Date: Apr 2003

Location: San Jose, CA

Posts: 6

Hey guys, nice to see some people from the Bay Area here, and more specifically from the San Jose area. Anyways, I heard De Anza has introductory Maya courses, just not sure how basic it is.

SJSU has a 3D Animation major now? When I went to SJSU (a very long time ago), they did not have one. The closest thing was Digital Media and maybe Industrial Design (they used Rhino). Hmmm maybe I should check up on it, and maybe I can finish my degree ha!

Rick: Mission College's animation course uses 3DSMax right?

Erwin
3dpinoy: Filipino 3D/CG Community

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# 9 06-03-2004 , 11:11 AM

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Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: Bay Area, CA

Posts: 16

Originally posted by Erwin
Hey guys, nice to see some people from the Bay Area here, and more specifically from the San Jose area. Anyways, I heard De Anza has introductory Maya courses, just not sure how basic it is.

SJSU has a 3D Animation major now? When I went to SJSU (a very long time ago), they did not have one. The closest thing was Digital Media and maybe Industrial Design (they used Rhino). Hmmm maybe I should check up on it, and maybe I can finish my degree ha!

Rick: Mission College's animation course uses 3DSMax right?

Originally Posted by

So I guess there are some Bay Area people here huh?
Yeah, SJSU has a 3d animation major. Last year I heard they were using SoftImage, but I'm not 100% sure.
I've heard the program is pretty good though, so I'm concidering to transfer there, unless I go for Graphich Design.

Oh, and De Anzas introductory classes are pretty basic, but if you already have some knowledge, it wont hurt. Then you can experiment and work on a bit more advanced things. They usually manage to get teachers from the animation field to teach. Last year I had a teacher that had been working at PDI and Electronic Arts. It was a very good class. Sadly he is not teaching here anymore, although I think they are bringing in another proffesional, but I could be wrong.

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