Character Animation with Cinema 4d vs. Maya

[ukirca21]

Hi,
We are starting to 3D with my group. We have to do chracter animations.
We will start to lessons, but our taeacher only knows cinema 4D.
Our aim is doing animation as the link below (maybe in 3 or 4 years)

Animation link

People says that: "You must learn Maya, you can't do good character animationa with cinema 4D"

Now, in Turkey, there is no good Maya classes. Do i have to learn Maya?

or second choice:

i can learn cinema 4D and render and lights and effects (after effects) with my teacher and get a mid-low level Maya within classes.

Thanks...

 

[handsome pete]

While I know both programs, I've not done any character animation in C4D. However, I wouldn't be so quick to rule it out. Maya is often seen as the industry standard and there are certainly reasons for it. But from what I've seen, C4D does have a solid animation toolset and I've seen some really nice stuff that others have created in it.

First and foremost, you want to learn the core concepts behind animation. I'm not sure what kind of experience you have in that realm already, whether that be in either 2D or 3D, but these core concepts remain true across all platforms. Most, if not all, of the tools will also be similar.

So in your situation I think I would recommend staying with C4D for now. While video tutorials and books are great resources, having an actual teacher for face to face instruction and feedback is a great tool for learning the complexities of 3D animation.

You can always pursue Maya on your own time. If you're eligible for an educational license, Maya offers a free version for 3 years of use. Combine that with online learning from Digital Tutors or Lynda and you would be able to translate your C4D character skills over with little trouble.

 

[pinholestars]

First and foremost, you want to learn the core concepts behind animation. I'm not sure what kind of experience you have in that realm already, whether that be in either 2D or 3D, but these core concepts remain true across all platforms. Most, if not all, of the tools will also be similar.

This is the key. Learn the 'why' behind it and you can figure out any tool you need to use. I learned Maya and 3DSMax in school, but now I'm using Blender. They all do similar things in different ways. And as long as you're flexible with what you use, you'll be more valuable to whoever you work for/with.

 

[ukirca21]

thanks for all replies, i found a maya teacher for charatcer animation.

 

[ryanmillercg]

Maya is generally accepted in the industry as the best character animation tool. This is mostly due to their advanced rigging and animation tools. I'm not sure if things are any different in Turkey, but here in North America, that's the go-to. If you're looking to launch a career as a 3d animator, I recommend doing some research on what software the companies you'd like to work at are using.