The ol' 2D vs 3D debate
Return-ed to the deepish South, and classes begin tomorrow for another quarter of fun! This coming course load should be interesting...and adequately back-breaking, hehe. The interesting thing about my classes this quarter is that I'm only taking 2D animation....that means everything will be hand-drawn or done in Flash. No CG models, no Maya.
This has been making me a bit nervous, I guess you could say. I don't really like the idea of just putting down practicing 3D at all for a couple months, but my advisor and some trusted professors assure me its a good idea to strengthen my 2D skills first, then take on 3D more intensely. Plus they suggest I partake in this unofficial '5-Second Club' amongst students here, where everyone works all quarter to complete an animation to the same sound clip with their free time. Could be good...
I've been throwing around the debate about what I really want to focus on, 2D or 3D animation, with my Master's program and Thesis project. Thing is, I think I've got a natural skill set for 2D and I enjoy it a lot....but there are next to no jobs in 2D, everything is 3D these days. I don't mind that, but I feel like I'm leaving a lot of good skills behind to fiddle on the computer all day posing fake-puppets and tweaking motion curves in graph editors. I can do that all pretty well, I believe....at least well enough to make me competitive to get a job...but it's a bit sad to leave all my drawing skill set behind. The debate is complicated further by the fact that I'd also like to leave myself open to the possibility of working in the gaming industry, and that is 99.999999999% 3D animation.
Beginning of April I've got my 'Conditional Review'....being that I have completed all the preliminary coursework they assigned me (undergrad classes to get me up to speed, since I didn't study animation before coming here) and have to present my progress to a panel of faculty members to officially be accepted to the Master's program. This is really just a formality, since basically if you pass the classes they let you continue the program, but that means the whole thing is sort of an unofficial advisement meeting, where there they will ask about my direction and I'll have to present my work and my debate about which direction to go in....not that I have to decide anything concrete for this review or even take whatever advice they give me, but I am nervous about it and what they are gonna say. I'm sad at the idea of giving up either....maybe I'll just keep doing both, lol.
Anyhow, probably thinking too much. I will sleep on it and hope a direction materializes in front of me :O
This has been making me a bit nervous, I guess you could say. I don't really like the idea of just putting down practicing 3D at all for a couple months, but my advisor and some trusted professors assure me its a good idea to strengthen my 2D skills first, then take on 3D more intensely. Plus they suggest I partake in this unofficial '5-Second Club' amongst students here, where everyone works all quarter to complete an animation to the same sound clip with their free time. Could be good...
I've been throwing around the debate about what I really want to focus on, 2D or 3D animation, with my Master's program and Thesis project. Thing is, I think I've got a natural skill set for 2D and I enjoy it a lot....but there are next to no jobs in 2D, everything is 3D these days. I don't mind that, but I feel like I'm leaving a lot of good skills behind to fiddle on the computer all day posing fake-puppets and tweaking motion curves in graph editors. I can do that all pretty well, I believe....at least well enough to make me competitive to get a job...but it's a bit sad to leave all my drawing skill set behind. The debate is complicated further by the fact that I'd also like to leave myself open to the possibility of working in the gaming industry, and that is 99.999999999% 3D animation.
Beginning of April I've got my 'Conditional Review'....being that I have completed all the preliminary coursework they assigned me (undergrad classes to get me up to speed, since I didn't study animation before coming here) and have to present my progress to a panel of faculty members to officially be accepted to the Master's program. This is really just a formality, since basically if you pass the classes they let you continue the program, but that means the whole thing is sort of an unofficial advisement meeting, where there they will ask about my direction and I'll have to present my work and my debate about which direction to go in....not that I have to decide anything concrete for this review or even take whatever advice they give me, but I am nervous about it and what they are gonna say. I'm sad at the idea of giving up either....maybe I'll just keep doing both, lol.
Anyhow, probably thinking too much. I will sleep on it and hope a direction materializes in front of me :O