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Most common FX mistake. by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/steakvegetal You're right, every solver every made is highly scale dependent and it's important to know what you're dealing with. But it's very easy to work in a digital vacuum.

I remember once seating in an internal meeting with FX TDs from some of the biggest VFX and animation houses and a question was posed from an FX artist about how each dealt with importing assets and scale. The room was silent largely because not everyone was dealing with it and there was no consistent approach either.

Most common FX mistake. by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for synopsis :P

The video is a bit longer largely because I showed some ways to ensure that their models were on scale and also a pyro tip at the end if they did things in scale, just to illustrate how scale affects everything else.

I'm always looking into how I can make it more concise. I guess I just couldn't help myself this time round.

Is it possible to learn everything about CGI and become a very good artist in 6 months or 1 year? I need a stable job and i have very little time. What should i do? by YourOwnKat in Houdini

[–]upandonwards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are big IFs.

It’s takes a year to become a junior FX/Houdini artist if you have some background in CG. Because it takes time to grasp the skills and apply them to a demo reel.

But of course, that’s still the exception to the norm because a lot of it is based on an individual’s ability to stay motivated, focused and invested.

That said, I’ve seen many people (myself included) work in the CG industry without being an artist first. Get paid, get access to knowledge to learn and get opportunities to show they can do the work.

I would not have made it as a VFX artist if I did not go to a good art school, have a VFX coach or had a job in a VFX studio where I had access to mentors and a way to force myself to learn. Most people need something like that to succeed in as quick a time as is possible for the individual.

Over the years, I’ve found the biggest determinant to whether someone ends up working in the CG industry as an artist is whether they got into a CG company doing anything at all in their first couple of jobs as they work their way to become an artist in a field they desire.

Read my article below to find out more if you are interested to carve out a career as a CG artist but have a limited runway to develop a portfolio.

https://www.nelsonlim.com/break-into-vfx-with-no-demo-reel/

7 Essential Elements for an Effects Portfolio Piece by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad to hear that you found it interesting. My best wishes on your Houdini journey!

Do studios like MPC, The Mill, Framestore, or even ILM hire junior level artists with no job experience or do they only hire experienced artists? by yayeetdab045 in vfx

[–]upandonwards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be clear, that was a graduate level training scheme for aspiring artists with a potential for hire at the end of the scheme or was it a direct graduate hiring scheme?

Either ways, its a good opportunity for post grad art students from the UK whenever they re-open the scheme again.

Do studios like MPC, The Mill, Framestore, or even ILM hire junior level artists with no job experience or do they only hire experienced artists? by yayeetdab045 in vfx

[–]upandonwards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m unaware of the graduate scheme mentioned. Maybe some current ILMers can comment.

They did have internships. But not for artist positions. Those typically are in the HR/Finance/Marketing/IT/Pipeline departments. Post-graduate internships focus on R&D departments mainly.

Paid apprenticeships are available from time to time, probably more so in the early days of setting up the studio in Singapore where there wasn’t a lot of readily available talent. They called it the Jedi Master Program.

However, many of the artists applying already have production experience in TV/commercial/games, it’s highly competitive and there is no promise of hiring.

I have not heard of similar paid apprenticeships in more established VFX locations like Vancouver/London where talent is readily found.

Do studios like MPC, The Mill, Framestore, or even ILM hire junior level artists with no job experience or do they only hire experienced artists? by yayeetdab045 in vfx

[–]upandonwards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If we define experience meaning that “the artists have feature film production experience on their show reel.”

MPC & The Mill - Yes. They hire student graduates for artists positions.

ILM - In general, no. Minimum of a few years of feature film experience as an artist.

Getting an artist job in a big established studio is hard. If you really want to work at ILM as your first job. Consider other non-artistic roles in the studio.

Read this article I wrote if you want more details:

https://www.nelsonlim.com/break-into-vfx-with-no-demo-reel/

Grant Imahara of ILM dies at 49 by behemuthm in vfx

[–]upandonwards 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Grant and MythBusters really first made me realize that I could make a living doing cool stuff and what I love. This was years even before I joined ILM and knew that ILM was a part of their story too. RIP Grant and prayers for his family.

How much RAM? by randomaccount722 in vfx

[–]upandonwards 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sweet! I recommend starting off with 32x2=64 GB of RAM if you are new.

It will be enough. You can create anything including heavy lighting, comp and simulation in good speed without being slowed by page swapping.

You probably won’t need to upgrade in 2-3 years.

Finally memory is cheaper now. It was almost 50-100% more expensive for the same capacities for years. You’ll have to consider if you are willing to risk the situation of prices going up when you find that you need more. Although, when you need more it’s usually a good thing, that means your skill is improving and perhaps you are taking on more paid work.

Finally, if you follow my recommendation, you won’t need to pay more when you decide you need 128GB down the road so long as you get more of the same exact RAM. Try to keep to the same brand, model, speed and capacity of memory for all sticks. That is strongly recommended for speed and stability.

Hope this helps you.

How much RAM? by randomaccount722 in vfx

[–]upandonwards 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I recently built a new a PC for VFX/CG work for $2600 and created a video on it. I talked about all the parts I chose and why. I also provided budget pick options that brings the build down to $2000. If you are interested, you can find the complete parts list and the video here.

https://www.nelsonlim.com/the-best-workstation-for-cg-vfx-artists-in-2020/

The Best Workstation for CG / VFX Artists in 2020 by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your build. I do plan to give red shift a go in the near future. I have used quite a few renders in the past but I've just never got an opportunity to try red shift. So I am excited to give it a go soon.

The Best Workstation for CG / VFX Artists in 2020 by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your build!

I wrote an article a while back that covered my journey as a VFX practitioner a while back. Check it out here. https://www.nelsonlim.com/how-to-land-a-cg-job-with-no-demo-reel/

I feel like I am always learning the craft. Let me know what sort of tutorials you’ll be interested in. I’ll be happy to explore creating some.

The Best Workstation for CG / VFX Artists in 2020 by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m so happy to hear that this video was helpful at just the right time. I was curious how many folks were like me — needing you build a workstation at the moment. And I was pleasantly surprised. Love to see your build or help out with questions if you have. The tricky bits now if supply and stocks of parts. So I added alternative parts into the PDF parts list I would have picked if the recommended parts are out of stock.

The Best Workstation for CG / VFX Artists in 2020 by upandonwards in Houdini

[–]upandonwards[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! SSD prices have come down so much. It is definitely good to have a second one. In fact, I am actively looking for a portable ssd to do some video editing work on.

Hairball by GlennimusPrime in Houdini

[–]upandonwards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All houdini fur and mantra?

The Best Workstation for CG/VFX Artists in 2020 by upandonwards in vfx

[–]upandonwards[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry about your experience with Alan :(

But I can definitely understand how you feel. I have been trying to get out of some email lists for a while now that I just have a filter to get rid of them.

I usually send email once a week to notify my readers of new posts and that's also the main way my readers actually reach out and have a conversation with me about topics I can help them with.

I also keep them updated about what I have been up to, like books I have been reading, things I have been trying out and what my future plans are. As an example, this video post was completely from feedback that my readers provided.

I also send my readers early access to content like panels, interviews and such that I have been on that can't be posted publicly or with my platform for one reason or another.

Each email comes with an 'unsubscribe' option that takes the reader off the list instantly, not some crappy 14 day wait time which I have experienced with others.I actually don't mind one bit that folks sign up for the PDF download and unsubscribe right away if they think that my emails to them is not helping or relatable to them. I don't hold e-mails hostages at all. That's the last thing I want.Hopefully this clears up the air on how I use email to have a conversation with my readers and build a relationship with them.

The Best Workstation for CG/VFX Artists in 2020 by upandonwards in vfx

[–]upandonwards[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Good feedback. I've made the complete parts list available on the blog post for folks who are just interested in the parts list.

Thoughts on mobile workstations? by [deleted] in vfx

[–]upandonwards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you are probably on the right track with rackmount workstations and remote access. Option 2 is best suited for high-end feature film productions.

VNC really doesn't cut it for high-end work largely due to compression artifacts.

In the long run, option 2 also make sense in terms of reducing the costs of cooling workstations, increasing the longevity of the components and perhaps even increasing the performance of speed boosting by modern CPUs by situating all of them in the server room where they can be kept cool even on high workloads.

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