Maya continues... is it getting on your nurbs?

The struggle with Maya continues; this week my thanks go out to Jacob who rescued me more than once! That said, there were brief moments in Tuesday’s session when I started to feel maybe all hope was not lost. What was that!? A faint glimmer of understanding? That might be putting it too strongly, but it’s just enough to stop me giving up. I’m still frustrated by my choice of computer at the back of the room as I am continually twisting around to see what is being demonstrated. Maybe - as someone recently suggested to me - that’s why we have chairs that can spin!

So, a little less negative this week I hope; fingers crossed that by the next session I have retained some of the information we learn this time around. The tuition seems a little slow, but I think it is inevitable when teaching a group of this size. I think I would personally prefer it if we had more intensive training sessions in smaller groups. I am annoyed with myself for not understanding what we are doing in Maya, I can’t quite make the connection between the tasks we are asked to perform in all the various modes, (object, vortex, whatever), and the results. I want to be good at it straight away, but at the present time I’m a long way from building a convincing chair.

With the presentation looming, I found it quite challenging to keep my mind on what we were working on in Maya at all. A little voice in the back of my head said “you should be doing more research; you’re letting your group down”. Oh well. I now think I know more about Halas and Batchelor than I ever realistically wanted to and it’s probably still not enough. I have always been aware that there’s a lot of information in the world that I’ll never know or understand, but even when you narrow it down to one specific area of study such as animation, then one studio, then one film…

Maya and other struggles...

So, this is my first real blog entry, it’s finally time to set type to electronic page.

I guess I’ll start with the Maya workshop we had on Tuesday, as it was the first Animation Practice session I’ve been to for a while. I’m familiar with using computers and was looking forward to receiving training in some new software, but found most of this day dull and frustrating. I think this largely came from the fact that the computer I am working at is situated too far away to either see the demonstration on the screen, or hear clearly what the tutor is explaining. This meant that if I missed even the smallest stage in the process it was very difficult to catch up. Luckily Richard was always on hand to help explain what I’d missed, but ultimately it meant the session was slow, stilted and maddening! I also have no idea what project we were set to complete for next week. Hopefully I can find someone to explain it to me before it’s too late! Little help?

I am very comfortable creating 2D images in Photoshop and Illustrator, but I struggle to visualise in 3D; my brain doesn’t hold 3D layouts or images very well. This is not to say I don’t want to work in 3D, but I think it will take a lot of practice to be confident with Maya.

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I would also like to comment on the Wednesday Screening. As I mentioned above, I have missed several of the Animation Practice sessions and feel quite a long way behind the rest of the group. Seeing what everyone had produced was both inspiring and intimidating! The progress since the first project “Heavy Figure on Springboard” (which incidentally I am still working on – argh!) is amazing. Probably the one I liked the best was Cherie’s, which really seemed to be telling a story through the interaction between the two characters. I’m even more aware of the work I have to catch up!

This is my first blog...

...and I hated every moment.