I've gotten decent feedback on my demo reel. I've been given amazing tips on how to improve it, but I've also been told that the work that's in it is good. That makes me happy. What's a little depressing is that I get comments like, "Wow, if I'd seen this a year ago, I could have hired you. It's a shame that we don't have the money to bla bla bla". I've graduated, I have a decent demo reel, the job market sucks.
Then, you get industry people who get mad at people in my position when we want to offer our services for free, or for a reduced rate. It's not like I can go barging into ILM and demand 95k a year with no experience.
I think that's what's bothering me. I'm at the point where I just want to start doing what I love to do with other people who love doing what they're doing. I want experience in my field. I want to work, and getting paid would be nice too.
Ok, before you look at me like I'm insane, please note that I know people don't go skipping into work every day and hum a little tune as they work 10 hours straight. I don't have any illusions that work will be any different from school, where you slave over something until you beat it into submission. That's fine. But at the end of the day, I put my blood into learning a skill (that I love), so I could do what I love and share that passion with other people.
I shouldn't whine. I'm not one of those people that's been out of a job for 3 years and has a family to support. I'm a recent graduate who's only been seriously looking for work for about 6 months. That's normal, right? I should just be patient, keep getting better at what I do, and at some point something will happen.
Right?
~Melissa
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Grad Schools and Job Hunting
Yep. I'm doing both at the same time because I am a glutton for punishment.
My family and I drove to Savannah, Georgia which is where SCAD university is. It's about a 2 hour drive from where I live to where my family is, then another 8 to Savannah.
I updated the resume section of this blog, finally, then I went on a two hour tour of SCAD in Savannah, Georgia. It's an amazing, intimidating place, at least it was for me. I come from a school where there aren't 50 animation majors, and of those >50, only 3 or 4 were interested in Effects Animation. There are hundreds at SCAD! Instead of one floor, shared with several different majors, SCAD has an entire building dedicated to animation and visual effects! Their campus stretches across the entire city of Savannah, and they claim 10,000 students spanning across three or four different countries!
It was phenomenal to be surrounded by all of that, knowing that everyone there was attempting to get a degree in a creative field. Could I be one of them? I also want to look at Texas A&M's visualization department, which I hear is amazing.
I think I'll end up driving over there sometime in September or October (when it isn't dead hot outside). I'll have the time off, since I've decided not to start grad school until January.
I also won't be going to SIGGRAPH this year. :( It's an issue of money, and me not having any. Well, what can you do? I can take this time to lose some weight, get some good stuff on my demo reel and work at a Taco Bell or something, so I can save up money for my trip to Texas.
I'm also still looking for work. I'm sending out my demo reel, still learning Python, still working with Maya Fluids (ugh, shoot me now. It's so hard! lol). I applied to ILM, so wish me luck.
~Melissa
My family and I drove to Savannah, Georgia which is where SCAD university is. It's about a 2 hour drive from where I live to where my family is, then another 8 to Savannah.
I updated the resume section of this blog, finally, then I went on a two hour tour of SCAD in Savannah, Georgia. It's an amazing, intimidating place, at least it was for me. I come from a school where there aren't 50 animation majors, and of those >50, only 3 or 4 were interested in Effects Animation. There are hundreds at SCAD! Instead of one floor, shared with several different majors, SCAD has an entire building dedicated to animation and visual effects! Their campus stretches across the entire city of Savannah, and they claim 10,000 students spanning across three or four different countries!
It was phenomenal to be surrounded by all of that, knowing that everyone there was attempting to get a degree in a creative field. Could I be one of them? I also want to look at Texas A&M's visualization department, which I hear is amazing.
I think I'll end up driving over there sometime in September or October (when it isn't dead hot outside). I'll have the time off, since I've decided not to start grad school until January.
I also won't be going to SIGGRAPH this year. :( It's an issue of money, and me not having any. Well, what can you do? I can take this time to lose some weight, get some good stuff on my demo reel and work at a Taco Bell or something, so I can save up money for my trip to Texas.
I'm also still looking for work. I'm sending out my demo reel, still learning Python, still working with Maya Fluids (ugh, shoot me now. It's so hard! lol). I applied to ILM, so wish me luck.
~Melissa
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Think Outside the Knot
I don't know how many people are familiar with the story of Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot.
An oracle told the people of Phrygia that fighting would end in their region when their new king arrived, riding on an oxcart.
Well Gordius, his wife and son (Midas!) arrived in the town by, surprise surprise, oxcart! The people trusted the Oracles word and made Gordius king. In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his cart to Zeus and tied it to a pole with an intricate knot. This was the Gordian knot.
The Oracle said that who ever could untie it would rule all of Asia. Many people came, but none of them could do it. Years later, in 333 BC, Alexander the Great came to Phrygia, now named Gordium, and tried to undo the knot. However, he couldn't find the ends of the knot to untie it. He became impatient and, in a fit of boldness, he took his sword and cut the knot in half.
For all of you people who slept through history class, Alexander the Great went on to conquer most of the known world, including Asia.
What in the world does that have to do with anything? Usually when someone uses the phrase "to cut the Gordian knot" they say it to mean act decisively and with boldness.
I've always taken the phrase to mean "think outside of the box".
It's hard to do that, especially with deadlines looming and grades at stake, but sometimes that's the only way to get something to work. Sometimes, it can actually save a lot of time and work out better for everyone in the end.
There's a story floating around the production of Pixar's The Incredibles. They needed to make the giant wave near the end of the movie. Brad Bird said he didn't care how it got done. If they needed to, they could make a giant wave in a swimming pool and comp it into the movie. Obviously they didn't do that, but it proved that he was open to doing something different to achieve a result.
When presented with a problem, try to think outside of the box. Cheat! Fake it! Everything we do is fake, so a fake fake isn't going to hurt anything if it looks good in the end.
Think of how much more we could learn if we were willing to look for alternative solutions.
~Melissa
An oracle told the people of Phrygia that fighting would end in their region when their new king arrived, riding on an oxcart.
Well Gordius, his wife and son (Midas!) arrived in the town by, surprise surprise, oxcart! The people trusted the Oracles word and made Gordius king. In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his cart to Zeus and tied it to a pole with an intricate knot. This was the Gordian knot.
The Oracle said that who ever could untie it would rule all of Asia. Many people came, but none of them could do it. Years later, in 333 BC, Alexander the Great came to Phrygia, now named Gordium, and tried to undo the knot. However, he couldn't find the ends of the knot to untie it. He became impatient and, in a fit of boldness, he took his sword and cut the knot in half.
For all of you people who slept through history class, Alexander the Great went on to conquer most of the known world, including Asia.
What in the world does that have to do with anything? Usually when someone uses the phrase "to cut the Gordian knot" they say it to mean act decisively and with boldness.
I've always taken the phrase to mean "think outside of the box".
It's hard to do that, especially with deadlines looming and grades at stake, but sometimes that's the only way to get something to work. Sometimes, it can actually save a lot of time and work out better for everyone in the end.
There's a story floating around the production of Pixar's The Incredibles. They needed to make the giant wave near the end of the movie. Brad Bird said he didn't care how it got done. If they needed to, they could make a giant wave in a swimming pool and comp it into the movie. Obviously they didn't do that, but it proved that he was open to doing something different to achieve a result.
When presented with a problem, try to think outside of the box. Cheat! Fake it! Everything we do is fake, so a fake fake isn't going to hurt anything if it looks good in the end.
Think of how much more we could learn if we were willing to look for alternative solutions.
~Melissa
Monday, June 27, 2011
Pixar's Brave - Teaser Trailer
I'm ridiculously excited for Pixar's next feature length film, "Brave". Not only does it look stunning, but it's the first Pixar movie to star a lead female protagonist. It's set to come out Summer 2012 and there's already a beautiful teaser trailer for it. Watch it in full screen and full HD!
~Melissa
~Melissa
Monday, June 20, 2011
FakeDYN - amazing script
So, Remi Cauzid is my idol for the moment. He's created a tool that 'fakes' dynamics in real time. He's explained what it does himself, so I'll just quote him:
I'm dying to figure out how he did it, but one thing at a time. I'm still working on my hair creation tool. Anyway, watch his video demonstration here, and be sure to comment under his video on Vimeo.
A script I have developed for my rig in Maya.
Super fast, the dynamic result can be seen in real time in the view port.
I am using a simple expression making a delay in position on a locator. Then I am using different locator to drive the chain of joints.
One chain of joints is used as an input animation, and the other one is the result plus dynamic on it.
There is possibility to change the damping, the springiness, add some force to simulate a gravity or wind, and add some random noise to the movement for a more organic result.
I am mainly using this in my rig for animal ears, tails, little pieces of fabric, but there is many possibilities as it is shown with the carriage.
I'm dying to figure out how he did it, but one thing at a time. I'm still working on my hair creation tool. Anyway, watch his video demonstration here, and be sure to comment under his video on Vimeo.
Script for maya, simulating dynamic. from Remi Cauzid on Vimeo.
~Melissa
Friday, June 17, 2011
Updated this theme
People who know me from school know that I change my desktop background one or two times a week. I don't like looking at the same thing for a long period of time. That's true of blog themes as well. It was time for this one to change again, so I made it look like my Tumblr account (which you're free to see at http://pozest-star.tumblr.com/).
I figured out the rounded edges and the transparent post background, but now I need to make it white instead of black, and I need to add the border. Whatever. I'll do it later. Maybe.
~Melissa
I figured out the rounded edges and the transparent post background, but now I need to make it white instead of black, and I need to add the border. Whatever. I'll do it later. Maybe.
~Melissa
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Blue Sky Studio
They're hiring!
If you're into Character Simulation (like me!), then they have a position open. They're also hiring FX TD's and animators.
http://www.blueskystudios.com/content/company-jobslist.php
I sent in my information, you should too.
Still working on that Python script, but more on that later.
~Melissa
If you're into Character Simulation (like me!), then they have a position open. They're also hiring FX TD's and animators.
http://www.blueskystudios.com/content/company-jobslist.php
I sent in my information, you should too.
Still working on that Python script, but more on that later.
~Melissa
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Maya hair and Python
So Maya Hair can be a real witch with a capital B.
I've never, ever worked with Python.
Given those two facts, it makes perfect sense for me to make a hair creation tool in Python.
I am having a BLAST learning Python. It makes so much more sense than MEL (which I'm still struggling with BTW). For one thing, I don't feel like Yoda when working with Python. Granted, I've only been playing with MEL for about 7 months or so, but it still seems backward to me. Python feels very straight forward.
It's a little weird having to do the whole "import maya.cmds as (whatever)" though.
My first impression of Python is you run the risk of killing a fly with an axe. It seems like Python is better used when doing something complex but if you're doing something simple, you may as well stick with MEL. We'll see if that impression is correct.
By the by, what's going on with that nuke project I was talking about a while ago? Glad you asked.
I'm still working on it. (Not being in school is awesome. There's much more time to do things). Unfortunatley, my laptop is older than Adam's dirt so things are slow. So very slow. I need a computer, y'all.
~Melissa
I've never, ever worked with Python.
Given those two facts, it makes perfect sense for me to make a hair creation tool in Python.
I am having a BLAST learning Python. It makes so much more sense than MEL (which I'm still struggling with BTW). For one thing, I don't feel like Yoda when working with Python. Granted, I've only been playing with MEL for about 7 months or so, but it still seems backward to me. Python feels very straight forward.
It's a little weird having to do the whole "import maya.cmds as (whatever)" though.
My first impression of Python is you run the risk of killing a fly with an axe. It seems like Python is better used when doing something complex but if you're doing something simple, you may as well stick with MEL. We'll see if that impression is correct.
By the by, what's going on with that nuke project I was talking about a while ago? Glad you asked.
I'm still working on it. (Not being in school is awesome. There's much more time to do things). Unfortunatley, my laptop is older than Adam's dirt so things are slow. So very slow. I need a computer, y'all.
~Melissa
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
On to Plan B
Just had an amazing 40 minute conversation with Jim Conrads of Dreamworks animation. Nothing has been set in stone, there's still one more position that they're looking to fill for the CFX Challange but it looks like I'm probably not going to get it. Eh, what are you gonna do. I'm not gonna lie, after three months of hoping it's a little disappointing to hear "probably not", but that just means I gotta keep going on.
He went on to talk to me about graduate school work. I've always been set on going to graduate school and getting my MFA but he really sort of cemented that course of action in my mind. I think I'm going to go look at Savannah in July, maybe go to Texas A & M sometime in later, maybe early Fall. I need to see when you can tour the campus.
I guess that means I'll be going to SIGGRAPH this year. Sweet. I'll keep you posted on that bit of news.
Well, I guess my final thought of the post is this:
I've tried not to get too religious on this blog, but I've just gotta say something. I feel like it's appropriate. My entire life, I've been a church going person who's gone through church schooling. It's a huge part of me that I'm very proud of. I believe in a big God who specializes in the impossible. Heck, my situation isn't even impossible! I may have gotten a kind no, but I'm just as hopeful as I was yesterday because I believe the talent and passion that's been placed inside me wasn't put there to go to waste. When you look at it that way, you have to keep going, other wise you're doing something that just wasn't meant to be done -- we all know what happens when you bury a talent ^^;
I'm working on some hair related stuff. I'll post my progress as I make it.
Thanks for reading,
~Melissa
He went on to talk to me about graduate school work. I've always been set on going to graduate school and getting my MFA but he really sort of cemented that course of action in my mind. I think I'm going to go look at Savannah in July, maybe go to Texas A & M sometime in later, maybe early Fall. I need to see when you can tour the campus.
I guess that means I'll be going to SIGGRAPH this year. Sweet. I'll keep you posted on that bit of news.
Well, I guess my final thought of the post is this:
I've tried not to get too religious on this blog, but I've just gotta say something. I feel like it's appropriate. My entire life, I've been a church going person who's gone through church schooling. It's a huge part of me that I'm very proud of. I believe in a big God who specializes in the impossible. Heck, my situation isn't even impossible! I may have gotten a kind no, but I'm just as hopeful as I was yesterday because I believe the talent and passion that's been placed inside me wasn't put there to go to waste. When you look at it that way, you have to keep going, other wise you're doing something that just wasn't meant to be done -- we all know what happens when you bury a talent ^^;
I'm working on some hair related stuff. I'll post my progress as I make it.
Thanks for reading,
~Melissa
Thursday, May 5, 2011
It's official
No, not the Dreamworks thing. I still haven't heard from them. But I just got my grades and, yes, I am now a college graduate! I'm the first in my school to graduate with a B.S. in Effects Animation! Woot! It's been a long (long, long, long, LONG) road, but it's over... until I go for my M.F.A. I'm so excited! The only thing that would make this week any better would be getting that Dreamworks position.
Well, now I have time to focus on personal projects. Maybe. I've been pulling 10 hour shifts so I can afford to go to California if I get the Dreamworks thing, or going to SIGGRAPH if I don't.
((aww, I can't see the dance unless I click on it. Click on it!! o_o))
~Melissa
Well, now I have time to focus on personal projects. Maybe. I've been pulling 10 hour shifts so I can afford to go to California if I get the Dreamworks thing, or going to SIGGRAPH if I don't.
((aww, I can't see the dance unless I click on it. Click on it!! o_o))
*dance* *dance*
~Melissa
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