University Student Seeking Advice (be gentle!)

[mathewnapier1]

Hello everyone, first of all I'd like to pre emptively thank you for your time reading this thread and any advice you may be able to offer me.

 

I'm currently entering my final year in university where I have been studying Creative Media Computing, however I'd taken a break in my studies last year for various reasons and in that time I've been very interested in your industry and the work you - as 3D archviz artists - are able to produce. I greatly admire what you do and it's become something of a dream of mine to be able to work as a archviz artist.

 

I'm currently planning the final year project I'd like to undertake and even though I don't have ANY experience with archviz, it's really a challenge I'd like to take on for my final year project and I feel my heart wouldn't be in to something else even though I'd probably find it easier.

 

My experience with 3D software is mainly in Maya, although I have some experience with Lightwave as well. I wouldn't say that I'm not a complete novice when it comes to 3D, but on my course we use a somewhat eclectic tool set and dip our feet in many different areas within Creative Media, so I'm not as experienced as someone who's on a more focussed course.

 

The project I'd like to undertake is to provide a visualisation for a real world customer who I have approached, and he has expressed interest in working with me on the project. He is renovating a newly bought property, adding an extension to the existing structure and landscaping the land with the property.

 

What I'd very much appreciate from you is some advice about is

- What -in your opinion- could I reasonably produce, and offer the "client" within a 7 month time frame. I will be learning 3Ds Max from scratch (although I have expieriance with other 3D applications)

- What sort of things do your clients usually ask for in this type of project? Would it be just renders? are animations often requested?

- Am I in completely over my head and should just think about doing something else?

 

I realise that I can't expect to just pick up 3Ds Max and produce some photo real renders etc without some real work and time, but it's something that I'd really like to try and any direction or advice would be very much appreciated. Also I'm sorry it's a long post without much information, I've never really posted on forums before.

Edited August 15, 2013 by mathewnapier1

[notamondayfan]

Sounds like you have a great opportunity there, wish I could go back to my final year of Uni!

 

First of all, the most important thing here is your degree, not spending massive amount of time trying to satisfy a non-paying client. So long as your client knows and understands this, then his expectation should be low (no offense intended at all), but if you promise him 10 high quality images, and you don't deliver, then it's slightly a pointless exercise.

 

If it were me, I'd look at how you can use your knowledge of other areas of media, and see if there's a new alternative way of presenting architectural visualisations to a client. Spending 7 months learning Max, Vray, etc is all well and good, but you'll probably never have the chance to have a free reign like this again.

 

Perhaps think about virtual reality, augmented reality, installations, interactivity, and other ways you can engage viewers. In the industry now, there are more studios doing more than just images and animations, and people are always looking for something different and interesting. If you go looking for a job after Uni, I'd bet your chances of being hired for great ideas and thinking, are greater than technical skills, as these can be taught, where as creativity and coming up with something new and innovative is much harder to teach.

 

By the way what country / uni are you studying at?

 

Dean

[mathewnapier1]

Thanks for the advice Dean, the client is someone I have been working for over the summer, I've actually been doing some part time labouring/construction to get by, the client owns the property I've been working on so he's well aware of the situation, knowing I'm a student and not to expect the most professional products. We've agreed to play it by ear for now while I prepare the project and exactly what I'll be able to produce.

 

I really your augmented reality suggestion, it could be great to be able to hold your phone up in different rooms and see them filled with painted walls, finished floors and furniture, would be great for him when he shows family around instead of having everyone "picture" the finished property.

 

The reason I wanted to just dive in to Max was because I'd come to understand it's something of the standard used in the industry, and I felt that if I had hopes of eventually finding a job in the field I should get going as soon as possible.

 

I'm a "mature" student (25) in the UK at Glyndwr in Wrexham.

[Scott Schroeder]

To be honest, I wouldn't work for someone (even if it is free) and try to learn new software at the same time. It's just setting yourself up for disaster when they come to you at the last possible second with changes and want them incorporated. The other problem is you are a complete novice at this. Your client doesn't understand this process, and no offense, neither do you at this moment. You both are going to be groping along in the dark making mistakes left and right. Those mistakes might be really painful and make you not want to work and learn the process.

 

My advice is to do the same project you have in mind, but for a fictitious client. That way you can learn at your own pace, with your own deadlines, and without the pressure of a client breathing down your neck. Focus on the process and the art, then you can learn how to manage real clients when you have that down. Truth be told, with some clients, I'd rather manage pyromaniac toddlers working in a dynamite factory.

 

It shouldn't take you a long time to learn Max if you have a solid modeling skill base to build on, which it sounds like you do. Really the biggest complaint I hear from Maya to Max users is about Max's interface and modifier stacks. Though I complained mightily about Maya when I attempted to learn it after working in Max for soe many years. The later versions of Max, 2013 and above, have a Maya interaction mode that sets Max to work more like Maya in terms of shortcuts. That should help in the transition as well, though you need to have Maya installed on the same box for this to work apparently. I haven't tried it but I know it's there.

[John Dollus]

You should set your sights higher.

For example, it sounds like you are envisioning a residential project. Nobody you interview with for a job will be interested in that showcase project and if you say it took you 7 months to produce, they will show you the door.

This is your chance to create a project that demonstrates your potential earning power to a prospective company. Think about what a global company like Apple would like to see in a product presentation, extrapolate that to architectural design and go that route instead.

As for deliverables, stick to 10-12 images with a well thought out layout/presentation and skip animation work. Animation will suck up all of your time for very little value in the end compared to a nice portfolio.

[mathewnapier1]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback and do totally understand where you're coming from. With regard to Scott, I'm fairly friendly with the client as he's a previous employer of mine and he's well aware of the situation, that I'm a student and this would be part of my final year project. So it's as if it's a fictitious client in that I'm not under pressure to perform, but I feel presenting it as a real world project and client will give it a more authentic feel in the over all presentation. I'd still work closely with him and what he'd like, but I do have a great deal of control over the project, I wouldn't dream of doing this if the client wasn't fully aware of my capabilities and situation.

 

I agree John, this isn't something that is going to wow any future employers, but I feel this would be a good place to get started as I'm familiar with the building (I actually worked as a labourer during the construction this summer to get by) and I'm familiar with the client. But I'll definitely consider your advice when I'm discussing my potential projects with my university tutor, and see what he thinks as if he doesn't allow me to undertake the project, it's out the window anyway.

 

Thanks guys, if you have any recommendations of places to start learning whether it be books, websites etc that'd be fantastic, although I wouldn't be able to pay for any courses at the moment

[notamondayfan]

I'm sorry, but Uni is about experimenting, playing and pushing the limits of your knowledge and ideas. Of course learn how to use the software along the way, but if at the end of 7 months all you've produced is several residential CGIs then to me that'd be a wasted year. You might as well save your tuition fees and subscribe to digitaltutors.com.

 

Dean

[Scott Schroeder]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback and do totally understand where you're coming from. With regard to Scott, I'm fairly friendly with the client as he's a previous employer of mine and he's well aware of the situation, that I'm a student and this would be part of my final year project. So it's as if it's a fictitious client in that I'm not under pressure to perform, but I feel presenting it as a real world project and client will give it a more authentic feel in the over all presentation. I'd still work closely with him and what he'd like, but I do have a great deal of control over the project, I wouldn't dream of doing this if the client wasn't fully aware of my capabilities and situation.

 

Clients don't work that way, even if you are chums. He has expectations and if you fail, you are going to be worse off. Changes happen with clients and often times they take away from the actual production time. Don't waste your time with changes at the expense of learning while you are in school.

 

I agree John, this isn't something that is going to wow any future employers, but I feel this would be a good place to get started.

 

Then why do it? You need to be building up your portfolio during your last year, that is where you need to be getting started. I have to agree with everyone, you need to take this on outside of a real client so you can experiment and go extremely high end.

[mathewnapier1]

Then why do it? You need to be building up your portfolio during your last year, that is where you need to be getting started. I have to agree with everyone, you need to take this on outside of a real client so you can experiment and go extremely high end.

 

I do understand that, but surely you can see why I'd be thinking about approaching this conservatively, because I'm new to this, I was just unsure of what I could reasonably expect to produce with so little experience.

 

Anyway, I appreciate the advice from everyone and I'll definitely consider it all when I'm putting together my project, I guess I should get to learning as soon as possible.