Commitment to education.(Knowledge & Career)

Since its inception in 1986, Softimage has focused on helping artists create art. Now the company is extending this commitment to students, who the vendor plans to help not only break into the industry, but excel in it.

To this end, Softimage held its first Education Summit at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, where the firm launched its new educational program aimed at answering the demand for artists trained in Softimage XSI professional 3D software.

Based on the success of this summit, Softimage will be hosting other training events this spring, and is planning to hold another summit at SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles this summer.

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This inaugural event included an Education Conference for instructors, as well as a Student User Group during which a panel of industry veterans discussed the importance of education for landing a job. The Education Conference was headlined by Perry Harovas, director of Flashpoint Academy; Michael Endres, art director at Crytek; and Carey Chico, executive art director at Pandemic Studios. All three men shared their thoughts on how educators can best help students land jobs following graduation. In particular, Endres and Chico focused on what their specific studios are looking for from applicants, while Harovas spoke more generally about the importance of a comprehensive education.

Educating the Educators

According to Harovas, it is important for CG artists to know and understand the concepts behind a piece of software. For him, it isn't enough to know the name of the button or how to do a single cool effect. "By focusing on the ideas underlying a tool, instructors are able to instill in their students the ability to teach themselves as new versions of that software arrive on the market," he notes.