I got the money, I got the time. How long will it take?

# 1 12-11-2012 , 04:23 PM

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Join Date: Nov 2012

Posts: 3

I got the money, I got the time. How long will it take?

Alright!

So a lot of things have come together over the passed year, and I find myself in a situation where I have plenty of money, plenty of time, and a computer with the most current, top of the line hardware.

Now I got to make a decision as to how to spend that, and I was thinking since this is a unique opportunity that probably won't present itself again, that I'd use this time finally get a good foothold with Maya. Its always been a dream of mine ever since I first fiddled with modeling and animating as a 12 year old (10 years ago), I just never had the time nor the resources to dedicate myself.

So I'm asking here. How long would you reckon it would take me, a computer geek, with plenty of computer experience (I make my living as a freelancer/video producer/web designer) to get to a decent production level with Maya? We are talking everything modeling, rendering, and everything in between? I'm not talking professional movie production level stuff, just good enough for it to be fluid. Keep in mind I will have access to any and all tutorials thanks my decent last pay, so far I'm planning to start out with Digital Tutors, but I have also seen some very professional guys on YouTube, in order to get started.

Also any recommendations for starter tutorials, or courses would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

/Sokar

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# 2 12-11-2012 , 05:19 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

Well first off congratulations on a very good position to be in. If I can offer one piece of advice, don't worry too much about your timeline, since you seem to have lots of time anyway. Set yourself small goals and see if you can hit them. I wouldn't be surprised if you could put out a nice 30s - 1min short film at the end of a year. Don't aim for a 10+ minute project right away, you'll just get frustrated. What do you want out of this? Is it just for "hobbying"? If so, again, don't worry about where you are at, and just enjoy the process. If you want to get into the industry, well that will probably take several years unless you are really dedicated and fortunate. Good luck! We'll be here to answer questions and help out.

If you've got the money, get a lifetime membership here, it doesn't expire. And DT is great too IMO.

-stwert

Website - Blog - YouTube - Vimeo - Facebook - Twitter

-->How to Effectively Ask Questions on Forums<--

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# 3 12-11-2012 , 06:02 PM

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Join Date: Nov 2012

Posts: 3

Well first off congratulations on a very good position to be in. If I can offer one piece of advice, don't worry too much about your timeline, since you seem to have lots of time anyway. Set yourself small goals and see if you can hit them. I wouldn't be surprised if you could put out a nice 30s - 1min short film at the end of a year. Don't aim for a 10+ minute project right away, you'll just get frustrated. What do you want out of this? Is it just for "hobbying"? If so, again, don't worry about where you are at, and just enjoy the process. If you want to get into the industry, well that will probably take several years unless you are really dedicated and fortunate. Good luck! We'll be here to answer questions and help out.

If you've got the money, get a lifetime membership here, it doesn't expire. And DT is great too IMO.

Originally Posted by stwert

I'd love to get into the industry, which is ofc the end goal. However the road to that goal might not be what you expect. I earn a good bit off YouTube via gaming (just been doing in my spare time for shits and giggles), and I myself just hit 15k subs there, and got several close friends with more then 100k subs. My intermediate goal would be to learn and have fun with Maya, and use some of my projects, as material for the channel. Considering gamers, which is my demographic, are intrigued by animation, special effects, and so on, and the network of friends I got on there, I should be able to get a little something for my trouble there while learning.

That's basically how I come to the spot I'm in at the moment. Leverage my passed online work, in order to gain more success in the next one.

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# 4 12-11-2012 , 07:29 PM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

It all depends. I've seen people get up and running within a year, others in multiple. I've been using Maya for 9+ years now, and I'm still learning things from day to day. Don't get fixated on the time. Fixate on what you enjoy, and the time will be the least of your concerns. If you're looking to get into something that's quick, 3d is not it.

Best of luck.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 5 12-11-2012 , 10:12 PM

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Join Date: Nov 2012

Posts: 3

It all depends. I've seen people get up and running within a year, others in multiple. I've been using Maya for 9+ years now, and I'm still learning things from day to day. Don't get fixated on the time. Fixate on what you enjoy, and the time will be the least of your concerns. If you're looking to get into something that's quick, 3d is not it.

Best of luck.

Originally Posted by NextDesign

Oh I have no need for it go fast by any means. I just like to have a general idea of how long it'd take me to get familiar with it, since it feels like looking up at the pyramids.. an impossible task user added image

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# 6 12-11-2012 , 10:58 PM

Lifetime Member
Join Date: Feb 2010

Location: Australia

Posts: 4,255

Good luck man! Im with ND, you never stop learning...and yes the pyramid is HUGE. I would sit down as stwer said and make some plans and goals. Start small and work from there, I think its hard to predict the time thing anyway. It will really depend on you and what you put in and how quickly you pick up the skills.

cheers bullet

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 7 13-11-2012 , 05:11 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2011

Location: Sliema Malta

Posts: 497

Well I have watched 143 hours last count at DT alone and have steadily been working on my 3d skills for about 3 years now. I can do practically anything at this point. So that is my timeline as a example. Mind you I put in about 8 hours a day after my daily work routine is over. I too am a Film/Video specialist and was one when I started learning.

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# 8 13-11-2012 , 05:58 AM

Technical Director
Join Date: Feb 2004

Posts: 2,988

Just remember that you won't learn much just by watching videos. Work along side them, or after watching them, try to recreate their results. The act of doing sticks in our heads much better than just watching.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

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# 9 26-11-2012 , 08:51 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2011

Location: Sliema Malta

Posts: 497

This is true. I usually watch the video and then replay it going along with the actions after having focused on learning what they were doing rather than just pressing the button that they pressed. The biggest thing to remember is that you have to keep pushing yourself for yourself.

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# 10 26-11-2012 , 10:27 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Aug 2005

Location: Austin, TX

Posts: 496

depending on how quickly you pick things up I would give you a time frame of about 6 months for a 5-8 minutes short if you can get everything running smoothly. Otherwise i would say about a year to completion from start to finish. The best way to get it done is to make a production schedule once you feel confident enough in your abilities to get what you want made. Especially since this industry is all about getting stuff out on time to make the maximum amount of money. Good luck to you man and I look forward to seeing your work as you progress user added image

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I got the money, I got the time. How long will it take?

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