from south africa: a noob :D

[Ryzzhan]

guys i need some help ;/

i've been drooling over this forum for a while now. i want to do this badly. but i onyl have my base pc atm and i dont own a tablet (they expensive here)

and i want to get into character design BADLY i've been playing D&D since i was 8 yrs old and i am now 30. i've been drawing and making up my own monsters since i was in preschool (much to the worry of the teachers) plus today i am an anime fanatic and i still love fantasy and sci fi

i'm running around here doing part time jobs or jobs that i hate cause i cant do what i really feel i need to do. (getting a decent job here to get money for qaulifications is a pain. and for reasons i wont get into here cause it's a sensitive topic in my country. i just make ends meet for a while now and it's annoying me to hell and back.

so i want to use zbrush. can i use a mouse work or is a tablet recommended ??

[yvan_c]

Hi Ryzzhan,

Well I'm also from SA and I have been dabbling in ZB for a while now. It is a steep learning curve and I had no formal training either. I suspect that apart from a number of pro's on the forum who use ZB in their daily work, a lot of guys here learn from trial and error and from each other on the forum.

As far as your question about a tablet of mouse is concerned, I strongly recommend getting a tablet. I cannot see how you can use ZB the way you want to, and the way you are supposed to, by using a mouse only.

You do not need to buy an expensive tablet. Just get one with pressure sensitivity. I use a rather old Genius Mousepen 8 X 6 tablet. If I remember correctly I got it for approximately R250-00 a few years ago. I know Incredible Connection stock them. Maybe have a look at Makro also. Any PC shop should be able to help you in any event.

Regards,

Yvan.

[Ryzzhan]

i was amazed my thread showed up :lol: i posted like twice in two diff places cause i wasnt sure where my threads went. :o thanx for the reply though. i talked with one of my friends last night and he said he'll sponser me a tablet around 50 pounds worth one he said) if i level his character in warhammer online :P i have too much time and he doesnt have any to spare lol i saw there is an animation school here in sa... but they use onl autodesk maya.. plus they damn expensive. works out around R300k ($30k about) for the 3 years course +- if you stay on campus. but thanx for the reply though. i'll get that tablet asap and get to work on learning the hard way.seems there is no easier way out :lol:

[yvan_c]

Good luck!:D

[Ryzzhan]

thank you :D still very surreal for me thinking of i have to play a game people here developed to get a tablet to do what they do for a living lol:o:D

[brettSinclair]

Hey man.

I'm curious. Where's this course?

If you want my advice take something to get your head around the 3d interface. I went to damelin and was taught 3ds max in 3 months. It was the basics. With my drawings and some reeeeaaallllllly crappy characters I got an internship. Where I learnt maya. Haven't looked back since. Although the learning never stops:P. Unfortunately I have no idea what the other courses are like and how useful they are. I think if you really want to do this you'll find away to learn it. The internet is full of material.

I'm not sure what skill level your at but I think learn how to model using the correct edge flow for animation. Once you master that move into zbrush. It'll save you a lot of headaches when sculpting.

Oh btw.. It will cut into your D&D time. haha. Hope this ramble of nonsense helps you:P

[Ryzzhan]

the course i was refering too is here

http://www.theanimationschool.co.za/

i really wish i could afford it though :(

internship in damlin ??? i would not even know where to start :P lol drawings i can do.. guess if i put some serious effort into something and not just doodle like i usually do my sketches would prolyl not suck :P lol

i havent played D&D ni a LONg time. evern since my friend moved to england (the one wanting to sponser me the tablet.) he also wants to help me study something cause i helped him out when he was in sa a lil. can you gimme any links as to where i can go look at this course you telling me about from damlin ? i'd really apprecaite it.
and what u do for a livng atm ? if you dont mind me asking ?

if you want i can add you to live messenger (msn) and we might be able to chat there a bit? i have like a million questions and non of which i can think off atm.

btw i seen your sight and the work looks really good

[Ryzzhan]

i think i should do that... internship where though ? as far i know there not really any companies in SA where i can do what i want to that i know off. i'd really like to talk to you some more in depth if you dont mind ?? lemme know

[brettSinclair]

I got an internship at a company. I was paid peanuts. Basically all i could afford was petrol and maybe a hamburger.

The internship was after I did a multimedia course at Damelin. The course was a basics in 3d, there was html and java script as well as flash the rest of the time. I wish I paid attention in those classes now:P.

I'm not to familiar with what cape town has to offer for interns. But may as well just knock on some doors to find out if they have anything. Its worth a shot I guess. Try Black ginger, Also go to www.animationsa.org (http://www.animationsa.org/) They may have something.

I learnt a lot just by going to cgtalk and saving as many wireframes of characters as possible. This was after my course. But I have no idea what they teach in specialised colleges. Sorry.

Also remember that there isn't much character work locally. No idea why. haha.

[Skyboy-X]

Hiu guys

I'm also from South-Africa and recently started a Facebook group called Zbrush South-Africa in order for local users to be able to network if you guys are keen to join.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/232749996775785/