I have been creating short animations for about a year now, and i want to get into this area of work. I have been told that i need to create an animated portfolio.

Just wondering if anyone can help me by telling me what i need in it and how long it should be. Also do i need storyboards and character designs.

Is it possible to use some of the models i have got from this site in my portfolio or should i create it all myself from scratch. Is it possible to get into animation just through your portfolio alone because im self taught.

Attached Link: http://kflach.home.comcat.net

One thing I've repeatedly seen is that people want to be able to view your work on the web. I finally did that - that's what the link is. You'll note that I accomodated the difference between my professional stuff and fun stuff by putting them on different pages ("The Demo" vs. "Experimutation"). I did that so I could show my lower quality stuff as examples of storytelling but make it clear that it wasn't the highest quality work I could achieve. As much as I love my "dude, you suck!" animation, there is no way that it's technically good enough for a portfolio. However, if someone out there is looking for creativity and imagination, (or music skills) they can see that I posses those. What aspect of animation are you interested in? In some animation studios they have very specific jobs - animating, lighting, texturing (surfacing), modeling. You need to be able to show things relevant to what your interested it - a texturer needs to be able to show original textures, for example and a modeler needs to be able to show wireframe meshes. I show things I've got from this site, but I consider myself a storyteller rather than a modeler or texturer. Also, if I were doing things like legal re-enactments I wouldn't hesitate to use models from here. Formal Disclaimer: In no way do I mean to indicate that the way I do things is the ultimate correct way. I am in no way an animation God. I'm not even a guru. I've talked about what I've done merely as one possible way to do things. ----- When you get some stuff online, don't forget to add it to the Renderosity Animation Outlet and post links here as well so we can all enjoy it.

I am currently working on my website, so that it is possible to show my abilities. I have attached my logo, I know its not realy possible to judge much by it, but any comments would be greatly apprectiated. The area of animation i would like to get into is character animation. In this area would i need to know how to rig a character for animation? In my portfolio is it best to creat an animation which is continuous or create lots of different animations with different characters to show different emotions etc? Also does anyone know how long a portfolio should be?

The area of animation i would like to get into is character animation. In this area would i need to know how to rig a character for animation? Maybe, whether or not you end up working in a small or big studio. Sometimes they will have their own riggers but sometimes you will have to do that yourself, so knowing how to rig would be a plus. In my portfolio is it best to creat an animation which is continuous... That would not be a good thing. It's better to show a variety of small clips. long a portfolio should be? Around 2 minutes would be ok. As for the logo. Maybe you can use a more dramatic pose. For example the guy leaning forward would show that he is showing interest or something like that. Neutral poses are not always good.

One other point... What software are you using? I ask that because that directly affects your job prospects. The professional studios around here (Dallas, Texas USA) use Maya or 3D Studio Max or LightWave - the major packages. If you want to get hired by something like them then it would be an advantage to know at least one of those programs. Within the 3D community there are many who don't hold Poser with high regard. If all you know is Poser you might consider taking a course in one of the other packages to counter any prejudice you might encounter. If you want to freelance, most people don't care what software you use as long as you can make your results look like what they want.

Thanx for the feedback, The software i use are: Poser 6 Carrara Cinema 4D I have got Rhino 3D but couldnt get used to using it. Is it worth me investing in buying Maya? In my portfolio should I include stills?

Is this pose better than what i had before?

Don't buy maya. Just dowload the personal learning edition. You should definitely learn what they call "high-end apps", though. And yes, that pose is better.

Attached Link: http://www.alias.com/glb/eng/products-services/product_details.jsp?productId=1900003

The link will take you to the download page of the *free* personal learning edition of Maya. We have a Maya forum here so you can probably find all sorts of resources there.

I've heard of some places using Cinema 4D. As far as Poser, I've seen it used in legal re-creations (I've used it myself for that once come to think of it) but I don't know if it's used by many studios (the kind of place that would hire somebody as opposed to just a freelancer working for him/herself). I also haven't heard of studios using Cararra.

Bear in mind though, that my knowledge and experience is not exhaustive. They keep making those programs so someone's buying and using them. There are small boutique studios out there, web developers, online marketers, marketing researchers, and all sorts of other places that may use or have departments that use 3D software for animation in some form or another. The "studios" I've been referring to previously are big name places like RDNA here in Dallas that does all the Jimmy Neutron stuff. They aren't the only places that hire animators.

Also, if you animate well, some will be willing to pay to train you in a specific software package. The guy who did the one-eyed alien singing "I will survive" did it in Animation Master (another very small program) but his animation was done so well he got on at Pixar.

To that end, I can recommend the book, "The Animator's Survival Kit." It's written by a traditional cel animator but the principals are relevant to 3D animation.

Message edited on: 01/06/2006 14:54

"Is it worth me investing in buying Maya?"

Actually, one of the only reasons so many large studios depend on Maya is because of it's strong connection to PRman renderer, which is an industry standard for hi-end movie and video rendering due to it's vast modularity and superior rendering quality. Connectivity with just about any other 3D app is a serious problem for any version of PRMan (although now that Autodesk owns both Maya and 3dsmax, you may see Max get a stronger connection to it as well).

I don't like to drop names, so I'll just say that I had worked for several studios in the past years that used Maya, but knowing the app inside-out was not a prerequisite to landing the job. My portfolio at the time consisted mostly of 3dsmax works, with some XSI as well.

The translation between the "big 3 or 4" apps is pretty smooth for the most part, with some exceptions. For instance, I picked up on Maya's workflow fairly quickly. The hardest part is getting used to the different interface, and some new tools.

Message edited on: 01/06/2006 15:20

What one eyed alien? BTW, I think luvver has hit the nail. You can learn to use the animation tools in any app in one month or so, but after that your animations will be as good in Maya as they are in MAX or XSI... or even Poser.

Attached Link: http://www.navone.org/HTML/AlienSongDownload.htm

You're not familiar with "Alien Song" by Victor Navone? Yikes! Check it out - it's most excellent!

Cheers for all the feedback, its been realy helpful. Started animating the first part of my portfolio this morning.

AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA That alien song thing was a killer

@rh16uk Please keep us posted on your progress, let us know when your site is up, and don't hesitate to add to the Animation Outlet! @nemirc, I wish I'd done it....

You can check out some professional demo reels here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=154

Just look for the threads with "Demo" in the title. (You may have to join in order to see the videos).

If you are planning to submit to a major studio, you might want to check their requirements for submission. They may want a certain format, a certain length, and they may ask you to demonstrate certain skills. For instance, BlueSky wants animators to be able to rig, if necessary.

Generally it's a good idea to make sure you clearly demonstrate a mastery of the 12 principles of animation. Weight is very important. (Weight is rather difficult).

Lip-synch is important. Don't expect every place you apply at to be using automated lip-synching software.

Acting is super important. It's important that the character seem like a thinking, feeling being.

If there's anything special that you know well, (Kung-fu, juggling, dancing, etc.) put that on there as well.

And in case anyone wants to see some more cool stuff done with A:M, you can find it here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?L5B722E6C

brainmuffin: Why to through the whole forum when you have "60+ great Character Animator's sites" at the top of this page ;)

nemirc: I didn't link to 'great' animators, though. Just the competition... ;) You can see the good, the bad, and the ugly there at cgtalk. Look for the ones fron Vancouver Film School. A lot of those guys get featured on the front page from time to time. But you'll also come across a lot of people who still really need practice. When you only see the super good stuff, it's easy to feel disheartened, and say to yourself, "I'll never be that good". Sometimes it't better to be able to see somebody's work and say to yourself, "I can already do better than that!"

When you only see the super good stuff, it's easy to feel disheartened, and say to yourself, "I'll never be that good". That happened to me when I went to SIGGRAPH, HA. But then I began telling myself "one day I'll be better than you" evil grin and that's why I am still animating.

The studio I'm working for is exclusively using Maya: they would not be interested in seeing Poser stuff at all.
XSI and 3Dmax skills would be OK as well: Poser is just not sophisticated enough compared with the big applications - I've seen riggers set up their 3D characters in ways Poser users an only dream of and drewl at - the morph targets in even the latest DAZ characters don't even come close to what's possible in Maya, where you can set up a character where moving the lower jaw freely in space will automatically open the mouth for you in a natural way, also if the shapes are completely assymetrical. For one character, blendshapes were made for subtle changes in the temples for acting scenes in close up.

If you want to become a character animator, that's what you need to show in your portfolio. Show that you can animate using the holy twelve principles of character animation, show action stuff, show funny, dramatic staging skills, show well acted lipsync scenes (and don't even dream about using applications like Mimic for that!!). Also stay away from any sort of motion captured stuff.
Make certain yor animations work at an emotional level: don't expect to impress people with technical stuff only.
Remember that your character animation really needs to impress: you'll be competing with people that have a lot of studio experience.
If you're not particulary good at lighting or rendering, just show a simply lit character without any background stuff at all: don't distract the studio from your animation if the other stuff sucks. There will be texturers and lighters who will do that stuff next to you if you get the job, anyway. The sort of stuff that they do in the Ten Seconds Club would be OK.
On our current production there are people involved that only do character animation (some of them old fashioned pencil animators that made the switch to 3D, and have no modeling skills whatsoever), but extra skills in modeling or rigging, or even texturing and lighting, will be considered as a bonus and improve your chances of getting a job.

Don't be discouraged after a couple of rejections: learn from that, improve your skills, and try again: that's basically the only way to succeed. Hardly anybody gets a cool job straightaway at the first attempt. Best would be to get a position as trainee in a studio (preferably a smaller one, as you get more attention there), and then learn the real tricks of the trade on the job.

Good luck !

Message edited on: 01/08/2006 03:43

Message edited on: 01/08/2006 03:45