After publishing article with Steve Warner, Executive Director of The DAVE School we proudly presenting a new interview with Digital-Tutors, the leader in digital education. In this interview we were asking Digital-Tutors various questions about them and their company and also about their plans into the future. This way we would like to thanks Digital-Tutors again for their time. At the end of this article you can find a small gallery with results of Digital-Tutors trainings including links to them.
Q: What was behind the formation of Digital-Tutors?
A: I was teaching advanced computer graphics at a college and there was a real lack of good books for students. So I began creating training material in the form of videos so my students could continue their education outside of the classroom during the evening lab hours. With this video-based training, I saw a major increase in the creativity and quality of their work.
Keep in mind, these were the days before YouTube or videos on the Internet so their results were like unlocking a hidden door and I thought these videos would be really helpful to other instructors and students. And this is how Digital-Tutors was born. I quickly found that video training for the film and game industries was not only for teachers and students but also for artists and professionals all around the world.
Q: What is the typical day at Digital-Tutors?
A: A typical day at Digital-Tutors headquarters is that there is never a typical day. Our instructors, team members and staff come to work every day with one goal which is to create new training and solve creative and technical questions posed by our members. Once a new course has been created and the questions solved, we move onto the next challenge of teaching workflows, tools and techniques that have never been taught before.
Q: Many of our readers want to become 3D artists. What recommendations do you for new tutors?
A: Constantly learn and constantly practice. Artists new to the industry need to build a strong, solid computer graphics foundation by first learning the basics. Once they grasp the fundamentals, I recommend continually practicing those techniques then starting to learn more intermediate topics. Once you feel conformable, slowly transition into advanced training.
Keep in mind that no matter your skill level, new or experienced, it is always about staying on top of your game and that requires true dedication and working harder than any other artist out there.
Q: What do people get when they subscribe to Digital-Tutors?
A: With a Digital-Tutors subscription, members receive unlimited and instant access to our entire library of over 17,000 videos for more than 30 of the industry’s leading software applications. They also get new training every month as well as all project files. In addition, they have the opportunity to use Vault, our offline video player that lets you download training to watch anytime, anywhere. Simply said, customers get access to expert teachers and artists for a small fraction of the price of hiring your own tutor.
Q: How many training videos did Digital-Tutors have at the beginning and which software you were supporting?
A: When we started Digital-Tutors we had one course for Maya. So basically, we’ve gone from 20 videos to over 17,000 videos in ten years. And 10,000 of those videos have been added just in the past two years so we’re constantly releasing new content every month and making sure our members have access to all the latest tips and tricks.
Q: What is the main difference between your training videos and those on Internet which are free of charge?
A: There are numerous differences between our training and free training you can find on the web. I think it’s a combination of several things including our teaching method, our instructor’s education and experience as well as our video quality. Our teaching method focuses on making difficult concepts easy to understand and complex topics fun to learn while making sure to teach the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ behind a specific workflow, tip or technique. Our instructors, ranging from industry professionals to experienced educators, stand behind this curriculum and are truly passionate about creating world-class training and enhancing the lives of artists across the globe. Another main difference is the quality of our videos. They are clear and easy to understand so you can focus on really learning the material.
Q: You cooperate with the most important companies in CG industry like Autodesk or Pixologic. How looks this cooperation?
A: We are truly privileged to have strong partnerships and great relationships with leading software developers including Autodesk, Pixologic, Houdini, Luxology, Adobe, Pixar, MAXON and many others in the development of our training. There have been numerous instances where they contact our team to create specific training to go along side a new software release. We also have times that we collaborate with them to produce training for our library. Another great benefit of having such great relationships is getting beta access to software that hasn’t even been seen yet.
Q: What is the most important award Digital-Tutors has received?
A: The one that sticks out most to me is our Autodesk Maya Master Award. This accolade was a great honor as it signified the contribution we’ve made toward the advancement of education and art. It was inspiring to know that artists around the world thought of Digital-Tutors as resources that made a difference in their lives.
Q: What is the biggest benefit of Digital-Tutors?
A: I would say that the biggest benefit of Digital-Tutors is the opportunity to always learn, better yourself as an artist and achieve your creative goals. The very best part of my job is receiving emails and phone calls from our customers letting me know they have been able to accomplish their dreams, get raises and improve their lives and the lives of their children all through using our training. Those are humbling responses that let me know the true benefit of Digital-Tutors.
Q: What are your next plans for the future? What we can expect?
A: I can’t give away too much but I can tell you that we will continue releasing new training every month. We have a lot of really cool new announcements coming soon and they are really going to change the way people learn. It’s going to be great!
Digital-Tutors trainings:
Professional Series - Texturing Military Vehicles in MARI; link
Infiltrator Production Pipeline; link
Creature Texturing in MARI; link
3D-Sphere Administrator