Comments on: Thoughts: Should I go to school to study CG or VFX?

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:46:10 +0000

Personally I think that the business/arts combination is a very good one. Frankly, there are too many studios and supervisors who couldn’t manage their way out of a paper bag or run a business. At the end of the day that is what it is, show *business*. If you have the business/art focus I think it makes you a valuable asset. Good luck with it!

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:44:24 +0000

Absolutely. School is great, but it is also not possible for everyone and it is certainly not a necessity for most CG artist jobs. At the end of the day, they want to see your work. If you can do the job, that is all that matters! Don’t worry about being too old. I have found that the maturity offered by having already had a career helps quite a bit

By: Lance

Lance — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:33:23 +0000

Yeah sometimes I think I am too old to try to break in but I love it and think I could be quite good in vfx. I am definitely all for the classroom environment. If there was something local where I am in NZ I would go even though it would probably cost more. I do my learning off the web or buying books but learn alot quicker when in an environment of learning, if you know what I mean.

By: Mei

Mei — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:57:15 +0000

I saw your site through your signature from CGTalk. I will say that I also got a business degree and will be going back to school to learn CG/vfx soon. It always makes me happy to see a successful career-switch

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:01:00 +0000

Cheers Lance, thanks for the comments from another “old timer” That’s the great thing about courses like fxPHD. They really do provide good industry based training to help you get that bit better, but an actual classroom environment is very beneficial as well. Definitely check out fxPHD as really, for the price, nothing comes close to it.

By: Lance

Lance — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:38:15 +0000

I agree. Having re-trained into the industry when I was 37 I needed to start somewhere and doing a 1 year post-grad in multimedia was that start. I ended up in tv but now am looking training in vfx at fxphd which I am really enjoying.
It pays to know the rules first which is why I am for some sort of formal training at least from a fundamental perspective so you have a foundation to build from.