Learning on the Fly

The more things change, the more they stay the same. These words were never more true than in my current job.

Sure I'm still a 3D artist. Sure the things I've learned before are still applicable to what I'm doing these days. But there are differences, some subtle and some blatant. Fortunately for me these differences aren't so hard that I can pretty much understand what needs to be done.

And if I don't understand it I still learn from my mistakes. So far I haven't bungled anything up big time.

I have learned a lot. I've learned new rigging techniques, I've learned new modeling techniques. Hell, I've learned that I'm actually a hell of a lot better in 3D than I thought. Must have been all those trainings in my previous job. Those times I had to do revisions for art directors who wanted their products tweaked even if those tweaks were almost totally unnoticeable to the naked eye. I mean, c'mon, increase a product size by 10%? I did that in 3D and I did not see the difference. Change the hue by .005? Shit, dawg, I didn't notice anything. And yet these art directors approved those changes. Must be why they're art directors. Either that or they're the greatest con men (and women - gotta be fair here) out there. Or they just feel like they need to say something so people will think they're doing they're goddamned jobs.

But back to the present.

Lotsa new things I've learned since shifting to 3DS Max. New rigs, new commands, new techniques. Plus I've also gotten an idea how people make games. And it is hard.

Fortunately the environment I'm in is excellent. I am in the right mix of working hard and playing hard. And I've got a lot of new officemates who are pretty good at what they do and these guys are helping me learn new things.

So while I can still use the things I've learned before, I've also managed to add a shitload of new things. And that is gravy.

Out.