Did I mention that I joined the Pixel Corps?
Yeah, so I joined the Pixel Corps. The pixel corps is.. well they describe it as a kind of guild.. for 3D graphics, animation, special effects, design.. all this sorta thing.. lets call it “media arts.” The biggest part of what they offer, at least for me, is training. I got in on a special deal for 3 months for $50.. which seems to me to be pretty amazing.
A part of being a member of the Pixel Corps is access to software.. which you are free to use in an educational capacity. This would be software that would otherwise costs thousands of dollars.
In my case, I’ve identified 3D graphics and animation as a core part of what I’m going after.. the trouble being that this is some expensive stuff.. (see this blog post for something of an overview.) At this point I don’t even know where I left my budget considerations.. I only know that my budget could use some adjustments… I believe where I was left was thinking I’d go with Lightwave and Modo.
At any rate.. the Pixel Corps give you access to Cinema 4D for a period of 3 months.. and Modo for as long as you stay a member.. as well as other stuff like XSI Softimage (a high end 3D package on the PC)
The trouble, from my perspective, is a few fold. For one, I want this software to work on my projects.. which is not exactly none commercial use. The next problem is that 3D graphics typically takes 6 months to get you’re head around.. and really up to speed. If you go and spend 6 months learning a program, and you don’t own that program, that’s kind of a problem.
So.. my deal is like.. use the resources for tools I expect to own. For 3D, my feeling has been.. that Lightwave probably has a lot to offer, but I’ve been a little concerned that it might be a bit of a back water, at this point, in the 3D graphics industry. I would like to learn a tool that would help my employability in the long term.. but mostly just what’s right for me.
Well one of the things the Pixel Corps offers is special pricing on software. Basically.. they are this huge guild, and that gives them / us collective bargaining power.. I mean if we are going to buy your software in mass.. that can give you some incentive to give me a good price. I’m not sure how much I can tell you about this sort of thing.. only that now.. Cinema 4D.. we have a sale on… which looks very tasty indeed.
The only question, for me, is which bundle.. and how might that fit into my budget.. or how might I adjust my budget. Seeing as I don’t exactly know my budget.. I’m not really sure.. My blog post, that I link to above, talks about the different tears to Cinema 4D. I think it, to some degree, goes without saying that I need the XL or Studio Bundle. The Studio Bundle would be optimal, but at a retail price of $3495… that’s a lot out of my price range.. and at the XL bundle, at $2195, is also a lot of money.
I think, module wise, I need serious character animation, serious rendering, serious particle systems.. Hair.. And so I’m seriously looking at the Studio Bundle.. which… in the special Pixel Corps sale… is probably not out of reach.. but it’s still something that might very well require a rethinking of my budget.
On the positive side it’s looking very much like I have a Flash Job on my horizon, which translates into income that might allow me to get a few things that might otherwise not be in my cards.. so more of a push to the full studio… We’ll see what I do.. I have Pixel Corps training to go through.. the Flash Project.. this sale will be available for a little while..