Which is better, tourism or CG industry?

In the list of "Talent Development in 2003" published by Shanghai, the digital media talents needed by the animation and game industry are listed as the top ten urgently needed software talents in Shanghai.

More authoritative data shows that the current digital art talent gap in China is about 1.5 million.

The view that the talent gap is 1.5 million seems to confirm the bright future forecast of CG industry (mainly animation and games). Up to now, although we haven't seen the detailed reports and materials about what kind of talents are lacking in this "15000" talent gap, all kinds of people who want to enter this "glamorous" industry and get ahead through various long-term and short-term three-dimensional training courses have become an important scene in China's just-started CG industry, and a large number of training materials and courses have also become one of the CG industries in China.

Relevant data show that in the past two years, hundreds of colleges and universities across the country have opened animation colleges or animation majors (not to mention how to solve the problems of teachers and equipment in these colleges in a short time), but the number of people who can participate in these formal academic education is still limited, and more people can only enter the industry through "training". An old teacher who has been engaged in CG training and education for many years once lamented: "In recent years, when I didn't pay attention, I suddenly found that all the training courses were attended, and the level was particularly different."

However, can the students trained by these training courses meet the needs of the industry? Where are these students going? Can they really enter and stay in this industry through training? What will happen to the CG training market in China, which is flooded by so many training companies?

Traceability of CG training

The earliest CG training in China began in the early 1990s. At first, it was mainly aimed at three-dimensional software training courses for some plane training courses to expand the teaching scope. 1993, a company affiliated to the Institute of Computing, Chinese Academy of Sciences opened the earliest 3DS training course in China, and held two sessions, with no more than 10 students each time. This should be the earliest 3D training in China.

1April 1996, 3ds max was just released, and then 5438+1June 1996 entered China and started training. The earliest enrollment of 3ds max training was in June of the same year165438+1October, and was taught by Huang Xinyuan, a certified teacher of Discreet Company. A training course lasts about 10 days, and the tuition fee is 3000 yuan. It is said that there were still many people in class at that time. Soon, Autodesk opened Autodesk China University in China, and now many CG "masters" have come out from here, such as Chen Dagang and Fang. The emergence and prosperity of 3ds max training marks the expansion of CG training in China, and also cultivates the earliest CG practitioners in China.

1997 and 1998, the CG training market in China began to flourish, and both Beijing Broadcasting Institute and Crystal Stone Production Company began to establish their own training bases. Beijing Film Academy also set up an authorized training course for Alias in the middle and late 1990s. Each course lasts for one month, and the cost is 3000 yuan/month. DBS is the first company in Beijing to carry out Maya certification training. It is not easy to maintain and develop in the highly competitive market with its own teaching materials and teachers.

In 2000, IDMT in Shenzhen began to enroll students, offering long-term classes of 150 students in the first phase. Because IDMT has a production project as a training background, it is easier to enter the application field after graduation, so it is welcomed by some CG enthusiasts who are determined to enter the CG circle. As a result, students have also raised their enrollment requirements accordingly. Students must go through an interview before entering the school, and only young and energetic people with good artistic skills can be selected.

It should be said that the initial development of CG training market echoes the development of the whole CG industry. When 3D, animation and other technologies first entered China, the overall production level was low, but as far as the market is concerned, it can be said to be "the best year for animation". Because there are few people who master the technology and the equipment is scarce, it is good to make it technically, and the requirements for artistry and visual effects are naturally not very high. It can be said that at that time, it was easier to enter the training class for a few days and come out to do things and make money, so everyone was keen to participate in the training.

But with the continuous maturity of CG technology, the requirements of customers are getting higher and higher; At the same time, after the expansion of the training market, on the one hand, more and more students come out of the training course, on the other hand, students are facing more severe quality tests. However, "this transitional stage will soon pass and the training market will soon be clear", which is the general consensus of many people in the industry.

Urban Romance of CG Training

Huang Xinyuan: Discreet is the earliest certified teacher in China. 1994 started teaching in the training class and taught 3DS. It's been 10 years. Numerous students have participated in his training courses, including some well-known authors, technical directors and heads of animation departments in CG industry. He is also the editor-in-chief of a series of official training courses of Discreet Company. Huang Xinyuan began to write animations in C language in the early 1990s. China, one of the founders of 3D animation, is now the vice president of School of Information, Beijing Forestry University.

Beijing-The training base is filled with smoke.

Beijing is the most concentrated and developed city of CG training, and also the earliest place to rise, so it has the most mature teaching experience, the strongest teachers and the fiercest competition. In Beijing, there are at least a dozen most famous and popular training places, and most training institutions have wisely chosen affiliated institutions, such as Beijing Film Academy, Beijing Broadcasting Institute, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Academy of Arts and Crafts, First Normal University and Linda University. Not only can they borrow the brand of the school, but also the support of various conditions in software and hardware is a rare resource.

In addition, the involvement of production companies in the training market is also a phenomenon worthy of attention. Just in August this year, Crystal Stone, as a leader in the field of architectural renderings, jointly held a training course of 3ds max with the Discreet Certification Training Center, which made many people flock to it. Not only did the number of people in the first phase have to be expanded from 30 to 42, but the number of people in the second phase was full before the start of the class, and the number of people in the third phase had already begun to line up, showing the fiery degree. "Crystal Stone's teacher, crystal stone's teaching material" is the selling point of crystal stone training. The practice of giving a class to teachers with practical cases and theories also shows their sincerity in cultivating some real talents.

It is worth mentioning that New Oriental, the giant of folk English training, began to set foot in CG training as early as three years ago. Their IT education department has specially set up computer art employment classes, each of which lasts for three months and enrolls about 40 students. Courses include web pages, plane and 3D. It is estimated that with the reputation of New Oriental, at least in non-professional circles, it will enjoy a certain brand effect.

Shanghai-Shuffle in disorder

At present, the production market in Shanghai is in a chaotic state, especially the training market. Moreover, the scale of training institutions is basically small, and even 800 wallets are often seen to learn 3ds max training courses. According to insiders, most of them belong to the situation of "do it if you want, and don't do it if you can't do it". However, it is worth noting that foreign countries, especially the United States and Japan, intend to use Shanghai and Suzhou and Hangzhou as the next animation outsourcing production bases, which is likely to provide a lot of employment opportunities for CG industry in Shanghai. Therefore, not only the production company has organized its own training, but also well-known training companies such as DBS and IDMT have opened branches in Shanghai.

Shenzhen -IDMT stands out

Undoubtedly, the most famous training institution in Shenzhen is IDMT, a Hong Kong-funded company, which entered Chinese mainland in August 2000. Now it has become one of the most famous CG training bases in southern China, and it is also a dream place for young CG people. The training base is built in Shenzhen University, with the school in front and the factory in the back. If you take classes in the classroom, those who learn well can immediately participate in the production of commercial projects. Is a typical production training class, very close to the market. Siggraph's choice of "Summer" this year may further promote their popularity in training and enrollment.

Guangzhou, Yunnan and Hefei-each has its own merits.

Besides Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hefei and Yunnan are also active cities for CG training. The CG training market in Guangzhou has not been standardized. There are 30 or 50 companies that only do Disceet certification, but only 34 companies are formal and large. Among them, the most influential is the "God Craftsman" who just entered the Guangzhou market a year ago. The investor is a Chinese-American who rented Tianhe Book Building, the most expensive place in Guangzhou. According to industry insiders, "the concept is new and the work is standardized." According to the person in charge, they toured several universities in Guangzhou and recruited 200 students on the spot. At present, the school has more than ten training teachers, most of whom are professors and lecturers in Guangzhou universities. Students are mainly assigned to decoration companies, lighting companies and architectural studios. According to statistics, in just one year, the number of students who graduated from this training school has reached nearly 1 000.

CG training market in Yunnan is very popular, especially in einsun. This training company used to be a professional education and training company, but it grew rapidly after switching to CG training business. Even in the off-season, it is the fastest one in Yunnan CG training market to seize market share. The teaching course is mainly 3D, and the most content is architectural performance course.

There is a paradox that education can be better in relatively underdeveloped areas. Hefei has a Shijie computer school, which belongs to private colleges and has been engaged in vocational education for a long time. There are seven or eight thousand students. Among the computer students in this school, 1/3 majored in computer art.

CG trains all beings.

How many training courses are there in China? When we walk on the street and in the community, we can see signs with the words of architectural performance, 3ds max class enrollment and so on everywhere, and the accurate data is difficult to estimate. However, what we can know is that there are not many influential training points. Take Beijing as an example, the training center has only 10. In all the training courses, less than 30% are really formal.

The teaching staff is uneven.

This is not satisfactory.

The source of training teachers is very complicated and the quality is uneven. Teachers who read books the night before and went to Taiwan to study sales the next day, according to industry veterans, account for at least 30% of the training teachers.

The teachers of CG training class are very complicated, and the best source of teachers for theoretical teaching is university teachers; In software teaching, there are many kinds, which may be recruited by the society or employees of production companies (although there are few people from production companies to be teachers); Another source is the talents trained in their own training courses, and they will also switch to teachers (usually after a period of preparation of teaching plans); There are also some college graduates who just graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts. Of course, some teachers are officially certified by software manufacturers, which is relatively more formal. For example, Discreet trains and evaluates their officially certified teachers every year.

Teachers are undoubtedly the most critical factor in training courses, but they are also the bottleneck of the development of training courses at present. It can be said that the success or failure of the training course is closely related to the level of teachers. Whether a student can really improve in the training class depends largely on whether he can meet a good teacher, but the lack of excellent teachers is a common problem in the training class.

Training teachers are usually required to have three qualities: skilled software operation and production, strong expression ability and certain teaching organization ability. Now, teachers who have production experience and understand the market are considered to be the best teachers.

The salaries of training teachers vary from 2000/ month to 65438+100000/month. The salary level is basically linked to the teacher's teaching level. Teachers' teaching is divided into long-term and short-term, and the salary is basically the model of basic salary+commission. In a formal training base, teachers generally undergo strict examination and are under great pressure.

It is difficult for students to find a way out after learning.

Be generally depressed

With the increasingly fierce social competition, there are many examples that college graduates are equal to unemployment. Then, what is the prospect of this more realistic and even more utilitarian training education after students complete their studies?

In these CG training courses, college students account for a considerable proportion, which can be seen from the statistical data of each training point. Every summer vacation is the peak of training and enrollment, and the number of people is usually 4-5 times that of usual. According to the director of a training center, 30% to 40% of the students there are rich children. They think it's fun to learn this thing, but many people give up halfway through it. Those who really study well are mostly students from ordinary families. They are more crisis-conscious, study harder and of course spend more time thinking about their future. The director of the training institution also told the reporter the story of a student: after finishing the training institution, a female student opened a personal studio in Shanghai to undertake small projects that big companies were unwilling to undertake. Although hard, this seemingly narrow market space ensures that she can earn at least 10 thousand yuan a month. Of course, there are not many people who are business-minded, willing to endure hardships and have some luck.

Because CG training courses are relatively expensive, people who attend training courses often have high expectations for training, thinking that they can make money by this skill as soon as they come out, but in fact, these students are not smooth in the process of continuing to find jobs and study. Many people need to go through a period of confusion and hit a wall, and then slowly find their own direction and orientation, or simply find another way to make a living. According to the teacher of a training center, it is very good that three or four out of ten students are engaged in this industry, and even fewer can do three-dimensional animation. Although the data we get from other formal channels are much more optimistic than this, it is still difficult to rule out such a hidden danger: "There are more and more students coming out of training institutions. How much can be digested with the current development level of the domestic CG industry? "

At present, the most common view of the production company on the trainees of the training course is: "So far, no training course has been able to form such a brand, which makes me think that the people who come out of this training course can definitely use it." Therefore, at least for now, the certificate of training institution held by the trainees is not a heavy weight for their employment, and it is more important to speak with their own works.

Come here. Come here.

Whether the training is useful or not depends on yourself. Anyway, I participated in the federal training that year, and I thought it was worth it. At least I'm painting now, and I can earn money to support myself. -Mao, a freelancer

When I was a freshman, I signed up for a training class to learn MAX by myself. I was quite complacent at that time, but as soon as I made something for others, I immediately felt wrong and the orders I learned were useless. Therefore, as a teacher now, one of my basic goals is not to make a Max quick check manual. What I want to teach them is all kinds of problems we encounter in the production company, as well as our methods and experiences to solve these problems. —— Teacher of a training center

I think the best thing here is to provide free lunch. We can talk at lunch. Now our classmates have a good relationship, and we all feel that we have gained a lot. —— Students in a training center

This industry belongs to young people. If you are over 30 and haven't seen the Max interface, don't attend any training courses. Let's do something more meaningful, such as opening a restaurant. -User A Fei

Don't do it if you want to make money. I like it myself, so I deserve to starve to death. -Internet users' emergencies

It's no use learning in the training class. If it's a big deal, you will study like me. Because your consciousness, concept and vision are not at that level, it is useless to use optical software. -Chen Dagang

Training must be useful, depending on what you think and how you learn. When I was a teacher at IDMT, what I wanted to teach these students most was not how to use which software, but how to think and solve problems. I have been in the business for so many years, and I always feel that doing CG is actually creating all the non-existent realities. Many times, we are actually thinking about how to achieve an effect. Therefore, whether in the training class or later, the most important thing is to learn how to think and how to solve problems. Xu Yi

Of course, self-study can also be successful, but the efficiency will be relatively low, because no one urges, no one dispels doubts, no one discusses, and it is easy to give up halfway or to a certain extent, and it is impossible to further improve. At this point, the training course can still play a certain role. —— Teacher of a training center

Production company

Do it yourself, have plenty of food and clothing?

Is there a shortage of people in CG industry? The answer is yes. The artistic director of a well-known production company once described their lack of people and their thirst for talents as "a mess", but so far, few people he recruited through various channels are really satisfied.

Correspondingly, students with colorful training certificates were ruthlessly rejected by the production company. When a person in charge of a production company mentioned these training courses, he shook his head frequently: "No one has ever come from a training course that I can directly make. These people must be polished in the company for at least two to three years before they can become talents. " This is probably the reason why production companies pay more and more attention to internal training.

IDMT, Crystal Stone, Shangying Digital and other production companies hold training courses. One of the initial motives and main purposes is to find and cultivate their own production talents. As the person in charge said: "Instead of letting those messy training courses end, we might as well retrain, and we might as well do the training directly." This is probably the spirit of "do it yourself and have plenty of food and clothing".

The biggest advantage of production company's participation in practical training lies in its practicality, which allows students to face the application directly and combine it with production practice. For example, in IDMT, students in the first phase can immediately put themselves into the production process after completing their studies, and consolidate their skills in actual production. Crystal Stone made its most classic 13 award-winning case into a training textbook, and the exercises were transferred from the actual project of the company. Many production companies believe that as an applied discipline, training must be combined with application, and then return to cases from application, in order to cultivate truly "available" talents.

However, with more and more news about production companies doing training, people can't help but worry about it-are these production companies really cultivating their own talents, or do they want to switch from production to training because they are eyeing the lucrative profits in the training market? Different reasons and motives may lead the future CG training market and even the whole CG industry to two completely different directions.