Basic computers/3d modeling

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Hey all.

I'm reaching out to the community to ask for help. My son is in his second year at a local art school and is really having a hard time this year with one of his classes. Now, I know I'm sounding like the "helicopter" parent, but he's tried the tutoring services at his school and they don't have anyone available to help with this particular class (seriously?). He's an animation major and the class is 3d modeling. He does have the name of one person who is willing to help, but he's also a student, not an official "tutor", and also has time constraints/schedule conflicts, etc. He's also been told there are online tutorials, but he's one of these visual learners (like me) who really needs to be shown first. Doing it on his own ain't gonna happen.

Anyone know anyone that might be willing to tutor a young struggling animation student? Or, better yet, anyone know of any classes through local adult-ed programs that might offer said class, so he can take a no-credit class first?

I know I"m grasping at straws, and I'm going to do more investigating but thought I'd throw this out there first.

Thanks in advance.

(xposted to the b0st0n community)

Comments

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Thank you. And yeah, besides not having an LJ, I really didn't want to mention the fact that he has other issues (learning disabilities) he's dealing with.

[wheeiminvisible.livejournal.com]

I apologize for sounding judgmental... good luck getting him help in class.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

+1 for independence over helicoptering. Sometimes you have to learn by failing.

That said, if he's asking for advice, giving advice is not helicoptering. As a tutor (math, not animation; can't help there unless all he needs is rudimentary Maya/Blender/raw OpenGL), I've found students through

- word of mouth from the official tutoring center (which was very limited in scope and pay; I treated it as a loss leader)
- paper ads around campus
- Craigslist.

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

The man/child having a meltdown.

As I mentioned above, he's tried he tutoring center, and there was no one available.

See what sparkgrrl658 said, she's spot on.

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

As _meej_ said, the specific software the class is using matters a lot, because the assignments will be done in that software and it may have a file format that is not compatible with other software.

I would get the name of the software, search for it on Craigslist under "services" and "resumes", and post an ad under "gigs" saying you need a tutor and mentioning the name of the software.

(Besides Craigslist, other tutoring-specific sites have sprung up in the last few years, but I have been out of the business for a few years and am not familiar enough with them to recommend one.)

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I didn't realize that there were so many variations to the program, so thanks for that info.

I managed to xpost this to the b0st0n site, and someone who is working in the field as a 3d artist (and went to the same school) is willing to help out if needed.

Luckily, son did manage to find some one at the school (a current student) who might be able to help.

As I said on the b0st0n site, he's so upset about this course, that he wants to leave the school, so having someone like this person, who is in now working in the field (and not a student/instructor at the school) give him an encouraging word might do the trick.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

the OP already covered that he seems to have exhausted avenues via his own school, sadly.

i don't know where you went, but i'm an AIB grad and there were no grad students, lab teachers, etc. and unless you were a dept head you didn't have an office either, so often there weren't office hours to stay late.

just putting it out there for anyone else going "wtf?" - it does happen and it's not uncommon :/

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

THIS.

THANK YOU.

I'm not mentioning where he goes, but yeah.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

you're welcome, i hope you have luck finding someone.

all the comp classes i took were measly things i could have tested out of but i wanted the easy credits (that i needed) but god forbid i needed help in any of them i'd be pretty effed. sitting there with the manual isn't the best. in fact, the only classes i retained anything useful from is when the prof showed us something, and then made us all do it right then. of course the rest i learned by just being submersed in the stuff out of necessity on a daily basis. (when we returned one year to find they had entirely REPLACED quark with indesign, that was fun.)

but yeah, you could email the prof, sure, but you can't tutor via email. the other problem was that our labs were back to back with classes the majority of the time. there were very few free blocks where people could come in and work, and so then, space is not guaranteed and very limited. so, trying to get a prof, or anyone, to agree to show up in between classes (that they might have or teach elsewhere) to a lab where there might not even be a place to work? yeah.

memories!

[smammy]

You're davis_snark famous!

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Wow. Do I get a tiara or something?

Seriously, those are funny. I'll have to go back and comment when I've had some sleep. Sleep deprived snark is useless.

:D

[http://users.livejournal.com/_meej_/]

Given that (as far as I've seen) there's a decent amount of difference out there in terms of 3D modeling programs (even though there are basic concepts that translate from one to another), it might help to know what the program he's learning in is.

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Ok. See, I'm clueless about this stuff. Never knew there was more than one program available. But, how would I know that? Thanks though.

This

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

that is my question also what software/program is he using in the class? Most likely he was required to buy at a student rate or is using the free/watered down version for home use, which some of them have available. Basically I would ask him what he is using, most likely it would be Maya or 3-D Max, and I doubt he is using Blender unless the class is specifically for Blender but with a tutor shortage def not.
I would assume,hopefully, that the school is not the BU extension out in waltham because they had a good student to teacher ratio. My experience with that type of software is it does help to watch others do it and yes have them help you along the way-but also a trial and error, jump right into it type of learning. Please let us know how it goes

Re: This

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

No, it's not BU. (goodness...., lol)

And I think it might be 3d-Max, that sounds familiar.

But, as I mentioned, I xposted this to the b0st0n site and got a great response from someone who works in the field now, and went to the same school.

I just wanted someone as a back up for him in case he couldn't find anyone. He was so upset that he was considering quitting school, so I reacted accordingly (NO!!!!!!!!!!!). He did manage to track someone down (a student) at the school who might be able to help so I have to wait and see how that goes.

But thanks for the info. :)

Re: This

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

I do understand the learning roadblocks myself but I do recommend, as mentioned, is watching tutorials online because I know seeing 1 or 2 doesn't always do the trick but I might see something in them that make sense of something else I had been working on.

He could try post mortem boston also they meet up once a month and are not always 3-D related but it is very important to network. I know also a place for tutorials I have seen in the past is cgwhat website.

Along with helping him find teaching help you need to remind him to enjoy this first! really it needs to be fun first no matter what

Re: This

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Very Sorry to double post but I wanted to add that even with a student discount the major 3-D programs can be expensive, though it is worth, but not if the home use is minimal. Blender is the option to download for home, it's open-source and free-great stuff and the online community is helpful! good luck and let us know how it goes

Re: This

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

He's gotten some help through some school mates, and they also rec'd the online tutorials, so yeah. Also, he was able to download the 3d Max program to his own laptop (he got the speshel student secret code and all....), so he's not limited to using the program at school anymore, which helps since it's been closed so often from the snow.

Thanks for your help!

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Might be worth sending a note to the Dorkbot Boston mailing list (membership is open to anyone, you just have to have some kind of Google account). Mention the specific 3D modeling program. If you don't want to get into the whole "son in school" thing, I'd just put the request out as "I need to find someone who can offer tutoring in Name of Program," and then fill out the details to whomever replies to you.

http://groups.google.com/group/DorkbotBoston?hl=en

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

OH thank you! I don't frequent google much so never knew that place existed! Thanks for the help! :)

[pandaposse.livejournal.com]

First off, I do not know what the specifics your son needs a tutor for, whether it be how to use a specific computer program or to be explained a specific topic or to learn a certain skill. So if this is not at all helpful I apologize in advance.

Either way, I have found that there are a lot of bloggers out there with special interests and they like to make how-to videos and tutorial videos. Perhaps there are animators out there that do the same. I have learned really neat things to do in Photoshop just from watching videos on Photoshop tricks.

A simple Google search for "how to do 3d modeling" might be worth a look.