ideas ideas ideas! oh ideas how you trouble me so!

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irishaspie
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20 Jan 2010, 9:04 am

so yes, i have lots of ideas, particularly with films, (animated). they are in my head from start to finish.

my question is how hard is it to learn programming (along with graphic design etc.)?

i need to get these outta my head and completed.


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shukri
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20 Jan 2010, 9:49 am

Programming and graphic design are one and the same : a combination of logic, and personal expression. You need to learn the basic steps which are logical (classes and objects, or perspective and light), but once you learn these you need to bend them so you can speak through them. If you break everything down into small steps, coding or drawing are not that hard to learn, but if you're teaching yourself (like I did) it can take years with lots of trial and error. Lots of error.

Try to find a good teacher who understands the way you think. If you can't find one (I couldn't), just be patient and teach yourself from books and by observing, and try to get as much fun out of it no matter at which level you are. It's great to have fixed goals and ideas, but these can poison the learning process by frustrating you if you aren't learning fast. It usually takes years to learn either, but if you have ideas in you, you'll succeed, and you'll love yourself for trying.



irishaspie
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20 Jan 2010, 10:34 am

well i can already draw. have done art all my life,but yeah i think ill try and find a good teacher.


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shukri
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20 Jan 2010, 11:27 am

irishaspie wrote:
well i can already draw. have done art all my life,but yeah i think ill try and find a good teacher.


I would still like to find one - for drawing anyway. I'm just phenomenally bad at being around others. I've coded for about 10 years now, all of that time professionally. I'm self-educated, which meant I took the long route. Just wanted to say that it can be done - more time and frustration, but definitely doable. Either way, jump in ! :)



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20 Jan 2010, 12:55 pm

Processing from http://processing.org/ was designed for entry level programming for visual people and artists.


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irishaspie
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20 Jan 2010, 1:37 pm

thank you!

ill give this a go. might as well get stuck in.

what do you guys usually do with your skills?


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pakled
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20 Jan 2010, 3:12 pm

?

Graphic design can be done without a computer at all (though it's increasingly rare)

Programming can too, but it's not easy...;)

There's any number of art sites out there that can teach composition, design fundamentals, etc. I can't draw to save my life, but I do a lot with 3d art.

There's tons of free programs out there you can use to do graphics; Dogwaffle, the Gimp, Wings 3d, Daz Studio, Bryce 5.5, etc., to do graphic design. Just google 'em.


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Fuzzy
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20 Jan 2010, 4:53 pm

I like povray too. Its a 3D ray tracer in which you design with scripts. Its a good way to learn programming basics too. And its free.

www.povray.org

It was povray that gave me my love of free ware.


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dddhgg
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20 Jan 2010, 5:49 pm

I myself also benefited a lot from learning how to raytrace. Like the poster above me said, it teaches you the basics of programming and also how to analyze and explore your visual imagination spatially. In addition, if you learn how to do it right, the resulting imagery can be quite stunning.

However, while povray does have a nice set of tutorials and references, it could be a bit of a detour to learn all the commands and procedures if your primary aim is to create artwork right away. In that case Blender (click here) could be more to your liking. It's a more visually oriented 3D drawing and design suite, which also offers extensive animation and raytrace facilities. Don't be fooled though, the feature set of Blender is also huge, and learning how to use it well took me the best part of five years of spare time.


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irishaspie
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20 Jan 2010, 6:59 pm

well its films im mostly looking to do,but i guess you haveto start with drawings?

its just frustrating because i know how the films look in my head.


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Fuzzy
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20 Jan 2010, 7:51 pm

irishaspie wrote:
well its films im mostly looking to do,but i guess you haveto start with drawings?

its just frustrating because i know how the films look in my head.


There are some rudimentary cartoons in the processing examples. Its in the file menu.

Python is a good language to learn as well. Pygame, a library for it, deals well with sprites and cels.


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pakled
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21 Jan 2010, 12:59 pm

Blender tries to be all things to all people, jack of all trades, master of none...;) (truth in advertising, I do actually have a copy of Blender) The interface is a bit on the convoluted side, but I think (correct me on this if i'm wrong) there's a major rewrite of it coming that will simplify the endless amounts of commands. 2.5, I think...


I mean, it's not my program of choice, but it will do modeling, animation, game creation, etc, once you master it.


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dddhgg
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21 Jan 2010, 1:37 pm

pakled wrote:
Blender tries to be all things to all people, jack of all trades, master of none...;) (truth in advertising, I do actually have a copy of Blender) The interface is a bit on the convoluted side, but I think (correct me on this if i'm wrong) there's a major rewrite of it coming that will simplify the endless amounts of commands. 2.5, I think...


I mean, it's not my program of choice, but it will do modeling, animation, game creation, etc, once you master it.


Sure, Blender isn't perfect, but once you get the hang of it, it does some pretty neat stuff.


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dddhgg
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21 Jan 2010, 1:37 pm

pakled wrote:
Blender tries to be all things to all people, jack of all trades, master of none...;) (truth in advertising, I do actually have a copy of Blender) The interface is a bit on the convoluted side, but I think (correct me on this if i'm wrong) there's a major rewrite of it coming that will simplify the endless amounts of commands. 2.5, I think...


I mean, it's not my program of choice, but it will do modeling, animation, game creation, etc, once you master it.


Sure, Blender isn't perfect, but once you get the hang of it, it does some pretty neat stuff.


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irishaspie
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23 Jan 2010, 7:04 pm

ok

1)how do i self-teach myself (until i can find a teacher)

2) should i draw most of it out on paper so its more solid? i.e drawing it frame by frame so i can add the script etc.

edit: maybe i can post my progress here!! your reactions might help keep me motivated/ improve it. :D :D :D


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Fuzzy
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23 Jan 2010, 10:03 pm

irishaspie wrote:
ok

1)how do i self-teach myself (until i can find a teacher)

2) should i draw most of it out on paper so its more solid? i.e drawing it frame by frame so i can add the script etc.

edit: maybe i can post my progress here!! your reactions might help keep me motivated/ improve it. :D :D :D


It is not atypical for web comic artists to draw on paper, scan it in and finish the colors with photoshop.


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