What is 3D? And what are the different
applications of 3D?
3D is a term used for describing software that
can create 3 dimensional imagery in animations that has now become very popular
especially with block buster movies such as Toy Story, Jurassic Park, Lord
of the Rings, Finding Nemo, Spiderman and many others. 3D is also used to
describe the effect you see in the IMAX screens made popular with the movie
Avatar.
3D content is also used in the video game industry
such as the Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo consoles to name a few. Architectural
companies use the term 3D to describe 3D visualizations and fly throughs of
client homes.
3D content is created with a computer and software
such as 3DS Max, Maya, Revit and AutoCAD. The final animations (movie files)
can be transferred from the computer to other mediums such as film, video
tape, CD's, DVD's and can also be published on the internet. The still images
can be printed for magazines and physical models can be produced using a 3D
printer.
What is the growth potential of this 3D industry?
While 3D Animation, Design and Visualization
may be new to some industries the future has unlimited growth for those skilled
in today’s hottest software packages like Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, Revit,
AutoCAD and Inventor.
If you are interested in the Entertainment
side of the Industry for movies and TV, then the future looks very bright
especially with Avatar making history by grossing over $1 billion in just
one month, big studios are releasing more and more 3D movies each year. In
the movie and television industry Maya is very popular, though some studios
use 3ds max as well. For those of you who are interested in gaming, the market
is huge. It has actually overtaken the movie industry in terms of the revenue
it generates with the Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and the online games such as
the World of Warcraft.
For the gaming industry, we would recommend
3ds Max (again some studios use Maya as well and at the end of the day it’s
not the software you learn that is very important, it’s really the quality
of work you can produce.) In architecture, software like AutoCAD is still
popular with many architectural firms and they also use 3DS Max for design
visualizations (walkthrough & fly-through), but BIM (Building Information
Modeling) is now becoming an industry standard and more and more firms are
now using Revit to meet their BIM requirements to remain competitive in the
market today.
The actual growth of the 3D CAD market, (Computer
Aided Design for architecture and engineering applications) is expected to
exceed $7 billion in 2011 and will continue to grow rapidly at the rate of
15% each year. Quote John Peddie Assc. Also another area to keep a look out
for is new emerging technologies and new markets for 3D applications such
as medical, legal, corporate presentations and the web.
Another hot area is content creation for cell
phones and mobile devices such as the Ipad. So in conclusion, the 3D industry
is booming and some people say this is just the tip of the iceberg. So once
you get really good with 3D, you will have lots of creative choices for work
and even business possibilities for those of you who are entrepreneurial in
nature.
What do companies look for when hiring
3D talent and how much can I expect to earn?
Since you get hired not based on your degree or diploma but
on your demo reel/portfolio you can get started in this field within a few
months instead of years like other professions and increase your income by
gathering more and more work experience. Earnings can vary according to industry
demand and area of specialization and can range anywhere from $40K+ starting
to over 6 figures. Entry level freelance talent can expect to earn around
$ 150-200 per day, professionals with 3-5 years of experience can earn around
$300-500 + per day. Experts who specialize in particular aspects of animation
earn $750 - $1200 + per day.
What are benefits of working in the 3D Industry?
The benefits of choosing 3D as a career or profession are numerous.
To begin with you are working in a highly creative environment using cutting
edge software and hardware technologies. Industry such as movies, televisions,
architectural etc treat 3D professionals very well, especially if you are
good at your work. Also you can work from anywhere, as long as you have a
powerful laptop, software and high speed internet access. For those interested
in the movie industry, or video gaming seeing your name on the credits can
be a big payoff. Also once with professional work experience you can easily
start your business with very minimal investment, and undertake projects through
the web from any part of the world.
What is the work environment and what
do companies and clients expect?
3D animation is a creative, high-tech profession.
The work environment is usually casual and flexible to best accommodate the
preferences of individual designers. Animation studios usually take excellent
care of their creative talent.
As an animator you have the flexibility
of either working on a full-time basis or on a freelance/per-project basis.
Many animators prefer to freelance and select the projects they like and work
with several companies concurrently. Some animators prefer to work from a
home-based studio, create a web site to promote their work and deliver their
completed files to clients via the internet.
Do I need programing skills to learn
3D?
Not at all. 3D animation programs are user-friendly applications
that design resemble programs like Word, Paint, PowerPoint, Flash or Photoshop
but are much more complex. The applications use the familiar mouse/windows/icons
interface-just click and create.
Do I need to be an artist?
It depends on which specific area of 3D you want to focus
on. In some areas of specialization prior artistic skills are very important,
and in others they are not. The 3D animation software is so advanced today
that it also provides you with tools and libraries of 3D models, textures,
and animation files and with some experience you can create stunning scenes
and images. We have people from all walks of life taking our courses, from
students to professionals in diverse fields such as accountants, programmers,
engineers and even people holding doctorate degrees, who either want to use
3D in their existing profession or want a change in their careers.
Which of the 3DTi programs are
right for me?
3D Training's most popular course is the 12-Week
3D Project Based Course which is
an intermediate level program. In order to attend this program you would need
to submit 3 still rendered images of your most current work done.
Since not everyone has this experience we offer
beginners or the hobbyist a 4 Week 3D Foundation
Workshop which provides students with the fundamental core animation skills
necessary to effectively participate in the 3D Project Based Program. During
this 4 Week program you will learn how to model, texture, use lights and cameras
to create an architectural walk-through project. This class is for those that
have no experience with any 3D Software.
For more detailed information on the courses here at 3DTraining.com
including course pricing and start dates, fill out our inquiry
form. We also highly recommend you to schedule yourself for our one-hour
FREE online intro class to see how our courses
are conducted. We will also provide you with a FREE
starter pack which includes software and project tutorials to get you
started learning 3D right away.
