Recently I took part in a survey - Can a web designer really be commercially viable if self-taught... In 1996 after being blown away by MYST (first in the hugely successful computer game canon) I decided I wanted to create computer graphics. Id never switched a computer on until then. I emailed Cyan Inc. - Robin & Rand Millar (my very first email!) & asked what software they had used to create the first in the series, MYST & yes - they replied, (Rand himself!) with a huuuge list of programs used, how much they cost (ImageSfot was one) & how long it had taken a team of computer literate programmers & designers to create ..since all of the above was outwith my grasp, I taught myself Bryce 3D (originally owned by Metacreations) - daz3d/products/bryce/bryce-what-is-bryce/. Coming from a fine art background I found it hugely challenging to suddenly be working in Z-space (think of Father Ted explaining to Dougal about Near & Far Away) - & to tell a story through CGI ...well, it was a lifelong goal. ...because I couldnt achieve the textures for my 3D models I wanted without a little photography & transparency, I started to teach myself Photoshop, becoming fascinated with how post-work could improve models, especially in hair & cloth (I even went on to write a few well recieved tutorials on that!). Once I felt Id developed work of a decent beginner standard to showcase, I taught myself HTML in order to create a website to upload my work to...some of those first HTML (& DHTML, Javascript) sites were actually quite ground breaking when I look back. I always wanted to create something different & broke the mystery meat rule (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_meat_navigation) on so many occasions LOL! Called The Pale Galleria (Galleria was a trending word for 3D artists at the time :D) one of my first sites was a 3D crystal ball, which changed interior image upon menu rollovers - sounds easy now, but at the time it was all about pixel perfection in slicing - Flash hadnt hit the forefront yet - so each slice had to be exact to avoid roll-movement or flicker...then came 3D rooms showcasing everything from a goldfish leaping out of a bowl on rollover, to interactive postcards, an offworld site with one of the first sound controllers (the music changed depending on you choosing either night or day) & although I loved the intricate, over time my own site had to fall into step with the less cluttered trends! Of course, Flash came next & I totally fell in love with it once Id managed to learn enough about AS2 to do the things I wanted. The (now defunct) Flash Devils forum & xMx (aka Edwin Heijmen) were invaluable in learning new (& at the time pretty fancy stuff) & I went on to build many full flash sites - of high detail & complexity - animated spaceships & disco balls, a record player which played a variety of Abba (dont ask) & tubes which when hovered over allowed you to re-create the tune from Close Incounters of the Fourth Kind :D - & once a whole 3D street with moving clouds, real-time day/night - running water from a drinking fountain & each shop being the entrance to a client site.... ...at the back of my mind remained this nagging though, that I hadnt created my own animated journey - something inspired by my much loved MYST. I finally got the opportunity to have a stab at it in my final year at Uni (as a very mature student!) & loved (almost) every minute of it. Although it will never rival the exquisite detail, interactivity, immersive environments of Cyan Worlds, Im still quite proud of what I acheived. I hope one day to go back a create a new one, with more time to develop it on a finer detail, change the worlds & make a new journey. As for the original question - Can a web designer really be commercially viable if self-taught?.... If you are driven, passionate & determined to learn - into the wee small hours night after night & literally serve your design soul to a client, then hell yes!
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 21:36:49 +0000
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