Advice wanted

[acuna_read]

Hi I'm a newbie to this forum so please be kind!

Firstly i'd like to appoligise if this is in the wrong place, i read that info about where to place stuff but am not completely sure what category this falls into.

I'm 17 and am sitting my A-levels (between school and uni) and should get a 'B' in graphic design and am looking at going into car or game design. I realised about halfway through the course that the teachers werent actually going to teach me skills but just prepare me for exams and coursework (cheap government education!). Because of this I have had to teach myself simple skills such as improving my use of perspective, line, basic shape, light and colour. I have also started to teach myself how to use marker pens and have got a big interest in CG. I understand that to be good at CG I must first be good at using a pen and paper and that it will take time to learn how to use the programs so no lectures please.

I am looking at getting a CG program and was looking for advice.

I have recently upgraded my computer to this:-

AMD 1800+XP,
512mb PCR,
I'm running the graphics off the motherboard (the new chipset thing) and will alocate 128mb memory from the 512mb. I intend to get a new graphics card and another 512mb memory in the summer (oh and it uses windows XP).

I have been using 'Caligari Truespace 3' for coursework and fun on and off for the past year with marginal success, the results I realised were somewhat limited by my computer but mainly by my skill.

It will be used mainly for drawing cars and motorbikes as this is my passion but would like to do many varied things such as futuristic landscapes, people, cartoon characters and cartoon scenes, and quite a bit of sci-fi stuff.

I have found out about Lightwave, Maya and 3DsMax but would be willing to look at others.
I will only be able to get vesions that are one or two versions old, the best 3Ds Max i can get hold of is 5.
I realise that it will not be easy to learn how to use these programs but I,m willing to persevere.

Thanks for any advice!

[RaeTracer]

If you want to go into game design, I would recommend Maya or Max, as those seem to be by far the most commonly used programs. I use Maya myself, because that's want i learned in school, but it is pretty expensive, so Max might be a better bet price-wise (if you're not a filthy software pirate:D ). I don't see many game companies looking for people who use other software packages. Checking out the job listings on Gamasutra.com is a good way to see what people use.

For car design, I really don't know if people usually use typical 3D packages or CAD... but the car modelers on the forum seem to be doing pretty well with what they have! Wish I could help you more with that one.

Good luck!

Rae

[Jenn]

If you are interested in vehicle design you should look into industrial design. Basically, the big car manufacturers have not switched to a digital design process. Usually they go from concept drawings, to marker renderings, to small hand built models to final life size sculpture. Now some may use a cad system to build a small 3d model and then have a rapid prototype made for them. You should do some research on that though.

[acuna_read]

I have looked into things like mechanical engineering and although it is something that interests me I failed my exam in Physics and although there are other ways of getting into this carrer I decided that it wasnt what I would like to do in the long run.
Thanks for the advice though.