TASK 7 Developing your brand and development of your showreel/portfolio as appropriate.
You're are expected to present your brand and a range of work that will feature in your showreel or presentation. You are also to identify where you will be looking for work and if it is local, national or international and the strategy that you are going to adopt for contacting people.
I've registered with various recruitment agency's, all u.k. based for the time being, as I'd like to remain fairly local to Leeds or within a reasonable driving distance. I'll be trying to get into a paid job upon graduating but failing this I intend to do work placements to gain a working experience in my chosen field.
The places I've set up profiles in are:
Imagine Creative Personnel Interactive Selection Smooth Devil My JobRapido Aardvark Swift Creative Heads Production Base
As well as uploading my C.V where ever possible I'm going to post off my C.V to local companies. I'll also try for a more personal approach, by making a personal visit to the more local businesses.
The local businesses I wish to send CV's to are listed below:
my plan ultimately will be to have a digital CV containing hyperlinks to more recent works available. this will allow for me to get my brand accross to many more potential employers than a paper CV ever could. once paper CV have been sent out if I receive no response my digital CV will be sent as a followup.
I would hope that after receiving my CV's company's would be in touch however due to the volume of CV's they receive this may not be possible in which case I will proactively get back in touch with them for any constructive feedback they could give me around my portfolio
In addition I've bought the Domain Name http://dw3dmaya.co.uk/ where a website can be built and promote myself further
This is the most up to date showreel at the moment it is a work in progress I intend adding to it as well as modifying what is currently in the showreel
TASK 6 Developing your business cards. You are expected to present a digital proof of your business cards with all the relevant information on them. It is anticipated that the branding you use will filter through to you web presence and showreel.
My first task was to create a logo for my brand. I wanted something classy, something simple but that said everything about what I was. I'd already registered the name DW3DMaya with as many places as possible to promote myself but could do with making up a fitting logo to support my name. Originally I wanted to work on using the 3D programme I'm proficient in (Maya) which uses a dragon as it's logo, Going with this I came up with a couple of variations
but in the end I decided I didn't like them and moved on to playing in Maya to see what I could come up with.
This was my 1st effort but I decided that it looked more like an 80's T.V Company.
I was much happier with my second attempt and stuck with that idea. Then using Moo.co.uk a business card specialist, I sent off for 50 Business cards costing £12.99. The front and the back of the business card designs are below:
TASK 5 LinkedIn Profile and CV You are required to produce your web based CV using Linked in and a standard two page CV
My media presence will be initially created through the following: I've now signed up to LinkedIn. If any one would like to contact/network with me please click the LinkedIn Logo below.
I've begun to network and started joining as many Maya networks as possible.
As well as signing upto LinkedIn I'm also currently networking on a more more professional based Facebook account and on Twitter. Please click the logo's below to be re-directed to my relevant pages:
I've also purchased http://dw3dmaya.co.uk/ Web Domain Name so that I can Begin to build my site and promote myself further
I have began to clean up my exiting models with a view to uploading them to turbo squid and similar sites. These are sites that allows the sale of personal models and they take a % of that sale. this will allow for me to begin gaining an income from 3D Modeling
I have been registered for several months on the C.G. Society website. over the past weeks I have being giving websites a closer look and have found that I'm able to bid for jobs. potential customers visit the site and leave forum posts detailing the work they require to be completed. when time permits I will looking to undertake work of this nature and will be checking for new posts as and when they come up.
As a little money maker i've signed up to sites sutch as where I can sell the models I've made for a small profit I decided to take this step after various requests for models I've already built.
TASK 4 Minimum of 20 blog posts that are relevant to your practice. The commentary on the posts should be critical and articulate the what,why and how it is relevant to you. This is expected to be an ongoing process and to continue beyond this date.
1. I've just been having a look at the new Maya 2011 at the revolutionary new way to paint texture weights to skinned characters this looks 10x easier than the old way of doing things! this is something I've still to do a lot of exploring into I've touched on it but can only make life easier in my chosen field! I've not had the chance myself to look in depth at this but I hope the option of doing this in the way previous editions of Maya because I think that touch of interaction with the weight painting would be lost
2. I'm taking the time to fully explore C.G. Society I've touched on it and read up on the odd article but not bothered to treat it as a serious means of research one aspect I really like is that C.G. Society organises a Meet the Artists where it gives you the chance to chat to the people behind the special effects in movies etc via CGTalk this makes it so that the artists and people at the top of the game are more approachable
3. I've just found this article on the C.G. Society about the new Mental Ray 3.8 available with 3DS Max 2011 I'm presuming that this will become available for Maya but I haven't ruled out learning 3Ds Max Properly since a lot of Jobs I've seen require people to have a working knowledge of it
4. there's a good artical on Pixars new how point-based rendering works Renderman is a render engine I'd like to get the hang of I've had a play with a sample version but not yet had the chance to go into depths
5.Real Flow 5 now available for any of those not knowing what Realflow is, it's a program and plug in for Maya and other 3D Platforms that give one of the best fluid effect in 3D to date I've not had any experience using Fluid effects but would love to give it a try! the new features can be found here!
6.SneakPeek Xrayunwrap 1.5 Rc1is a new feature for UV Texturing Currently in 3DS Max but may make the transition to Maya at the moment the Maya's way of UV texturing is very messy and time consuming, it is some what of a talent to be able to UV map well In Maya
7. My Girlfriend sent me a link to a 100 top C.G. cars and I have to say the work is amazing although my work has come on leaps and bounds I know I have a long way to go to get to the photographic quality of some of these
8.Wacom has introduced the Cintiq 21UX I've used Wacom Tablets in the past but not extensively but this hi-tec peace of kit could really compliment the UV texturing side of things with it's interactive Screen i'll definatally look into getting one of these when they come down in price a little
9. there's a Nice interview with ADAM COGGIN - CG Supervisor on the up and coming C.G. FilmAzureus Rising he tells of how he started at Black Sun doing an internship and his gradual involvement into the project this Is how I'm looking to start out in a job within C.G. being hard to come by I'll be looking at working an internship to give me the much needed experience
10.Sculpritsis more of a fun application, created by Tomas Pettersson as a non profit program it allows you to mold and sculpt then display your work on is forum it looks very much like Zbrush and could work well! i'm not sure how or even if it's compatible with other 3D platforms
11. I'm finding more and more about how 3DS Max has been tweaked since Autodesk took over 3DS Max I'm wondering if they are trying to bring it update with Maya and then ultimately merge them? or if one will phase out the other? or maybe they will just continue to run the 2 platforms indefinitely I guess time will tell?
12. Since discussing a lot about avatar and and the uncanny valley effect in my dissertation I can't not give it a mention here in this article it goes on to discuss the revolutionary break through Avatar made Cameron Points out that you could have actors in there seventies acting out roles as though they were younger again it's proved that C.G. alone can merge that gap flawlessness who knows Arnie might still feature in a future Predator or Terminator sequel years down the line! the article also feature a very scary looking Bart Simpson that's always worth a look!
14. there's a bit here about pre-done rigs for vehicles meaning that all you would have to do is fix your home built model car mesh to this rig and suspension and even camera mounts would already be set up for you!
15. another article on easier UV Mapping, lets face it it's not the easiest thing in the world to master, Unwrella works by taking an edge loop and is able to flatten out the UV Map into a manageable surface with ease! programs like this are more than welcome in my opinion!
17. here's another free open source modeling program for building complex organic models! i'll be firing up the p.c. and giving this a shot myself!
18. Free CGI Gadget from google for your Desktop, it acts like a digital newspaper keeping you up to date with all the latest News/Articles about 3d, animation, VFX
20.UV MasterBrush for Zbrushanother program aimed at Zbrush users in a bids to make it easier to UV Map since this is one of the platforms I intend to learn it would be good to learn about the easier ways of UV Mapping too!
TASK 3
A list of relevant festivals, exhibitions, networking events etc that are relevant to your specialist practice.
Animation Festivals and Networking Events
Click Image for Networking Events
This a free service provided for any business professional to use.
It is the largest event and business marketing channel in Great Britain.
The service allows you to expand your business contacts, network, and clients.
Click On Image for Networking Details
Talent Circle is a networking site for those working in independent film and production.
The Exhibition runs from: 26th June - 18 August 2010
Animation East is a supportive tool for those based in East Anglia.
It keeps members up to date with news and events and also provides useful tools for those starting out in the industry regardless of location.
Click on the Picture above for Details
Animated Projects allows artists a space to create work that develops the relationship between art and animation.
It is an online exhibition space currently showcasing over 100 films.
TUESDAY 1st September at
The Cartoonist Pub,
Little New Street, off Fetter Lane
London EC4
from 19.00 - 22.00hrs.
This is a website promoting London International Cartoon Festival.
The Film and Video Workshop Hungerford Primary School Hungerford Rd N7 9LF London, United Kingdom
Is one of the largest animation festivals in the world.
It arranges a smaller touring festival for students.
You're able to enter your animation to the festival team and it will automatically be entered in all of their events
Edinburgh International Film Festival 88 Lothian Road Edinburgh EH3 9BZ Scotland UK telephone +44 (0)131 228 4051 fax +44 (0)131 229 5501 email info@edfilmfest.org.uk
This festival was created to run alongside the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947.
This year the festival runs from 16th-27th June 2010 however this is a yearly event.
It is a festival over 12 days screening films with special events
Watershed Media Centre 1 Canon's Road Harbourside Bristol, BS1 5TX UK
Flip Festival is being held between 4th - 6th November 2010 at the Lemmington Spa Art Gallery Museum.
It is a festival for film makers, animators and artists that is free to enter.
It will be great exposure as 96,000 people visit the gallery on an annual basis and it is these visitors that make the decision.
Stoke Your Fires c/o Potteries Museum & Art Gallery Bethesda Street Hanley Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3DW Tel. +44 (0)1782233691 Email:info@stokeyourfires.com
This is Stoke-On-Trent's third annual animation festival with a mix of talks, seminars, workshops, screenings, and master classes.
This is a a yearly festival held at the National Museum in Bradford.
It is the U.K's biggest and longest running annual animation festival.
No details are available as of yet for the 2010 event.
Is "the place for animation professionals."
It contains regularly updated news and animation as well as an online directory and networking areas.
You are able to subscribe to the Imagine magazine.
This a multi media recruitment agency specialising in games and 3D.
They source jobs in games and 3D for programmers, artists, animators, and designers.
LONDON HEAD OFFICE
Interactive Selection
44 Coombe Lane
2nd Floor
Raynes Park
London SW20 0LA
UK
They have worldwide jobs available in computer video games, and interactive entertainment.
It is an agency with 12 years of games recruiting experience.
This is an online social networking destination that has the ability to put me in touch with people in the industry.
It is a site specifically for visual effects, C.G, and post producer specialists.
Click image to search for Jobs
Is a general job site with the facility to register my C.V. online for company's to view.
This is the most comprehensive recruitment site for professionals in the video game, animation, T.V, film, 3D technology, and software tools industries.
It allows for employees to seek employers and vise-versa.
Address:
31 John Street London WC1N 2AT Phone: 020 7935 5378
This is a site for people working in T.V, film, and commercial production. It includes the facility for advanced searches, freelancers looking for work and companies looking to hire
The brit films website provides linkes to a variety of organisations who would either help with funding or point me in the direction of someone who can. It provides details of funding available from broadcasters, U.K, tax credits and public funding.
Click Image Above for Details
Angels Den provides an online forum that allows you to put your ideas in front of inverters. there are fees for the service however these are only payable if funding is approved .
Click Image Above for Details
The Princes Trust provide development awards that can be used for further education, training or employment.
The trust can also offer support to help set goals, make decisions and find other programmes of support.
Pixar Studios is an academy award winning computer animation studio with the capabilities of creating a new generation of animated feature films. The website contains details of work experience opportunity's and also potential careers.
Company Name
Full Address LUCASARTS P.O. Box 29908 San Francisco, CA 94129-0908
Lucasarts is a leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software for computer console systems and personal computers. The Website provides details of careers, work experience and training opportunities.
Company Name
Full Address DreamWorks Animation Recruiting Department 1000 Flower Street Glendale, CA 91201
Dream Works Animation produces high quality family entertainment through the use of computer generated animation. The website provides outreach information and details of careers and work experience.
HR Department Ilion Animation Studios C/ Caléndula 93, Edificio H Alcobendas 28109. Madrid. Spain
Ilion is an animation studio based in Madrid. It's aim is to create state of the art computer animated movies for worldwide theatrical release using it's own technology. The website provides comprehensive details of the recruitment aims and needs.
KING BEE ANIMATION Elstree Film Studios Shenley Road Borehamwood Herts WD6 1JG Contact Number (+44) (0) 845 - 601 - 6424 Web Address info@kingbee.co.uk
King Bee is an animation studio based in London specialising in high level 2D/3D models and new style animation.
Creative or Studio manager/director (where possible or other point of contact) Email address of contact Ian@stormnetmedia.com
Media intelligence provide media solutions. My interest in them would be their animation solutions. They provide fly throughs of buildings, product demonstrations and animated sequences.
Company Name
Full Address Atum Studios Ltd Atum House 343a Fulwood Road Sheffield S10 3BQ
Creative or Studio manager/director (where possible or other point of contact) Email address of contact 3d animation contact
Atum Studios is a Sheffield base Company. Atum Studios provide both 2D and 3D Animation services for broadcast, corporate presentations, and the web. The company also design websites and distribute mobile phone content.
Company Name Full Address
3D Imaging The Coach House Duck Street Clitheroe Ribble Valley BB7 1LP UK
3D Imaging is a company the specialsises in 3D illustration animation. They have worked in architectural renderings, animated characters, rendered idents, virtual tours, graphics and accident reconstruction.
Company Name
www.wilmobberley.com
Full Address 109 Wootton Road King's Lynn Norfolk PE30 4DJ
RJDM is a Northamptonshire based animation company. They specialise in animation and design, television and film, interactive and online work, and visual effects.
Company Name
Full Address 7322 Southwest Freeway Suite 1025 Houston , TX 77074
Tel Number Tel: 281-914-4381 Fax: 281-847-3747
Email address of contact contact@softwaysolutions.com or Contact form Houston 3D Studios is a 3D animation company based in Texas. there services include 3D graphics, character animation, models and logos
I'm 29 and decided I needed to make a career change in my life. I knew I'd always wanted to pursue my artistic side but so that I can progress further I have returned to education.
If anyone should want to email me direct it's:
gnrlee01@gmail.com
