In great need of HELP!!!

[agarta]

Hello everyone,

My name is Marcos Antonios and this is the first time that I am posting a message on a forum. I have always been aware of their existence but never had the time or the desire to use them. Until now... Perhaps my expectations are not realistic since everyone nowadays seem to be so busy going about their own lives and problems that little time or energy is left to think about their fellow beings. In any case, I'll give this a shot.

Before I tell you all what brought me here, let me first give you an idea of my background and where I want to go to. I have for quite some time been "playing" with programming languages since I have a passion for computers. I have done self-conducted studies and am proficient in xhtml, css and on my way now to mastering javascript and jquery. Although I understand the importance of mastering basic tools for web programming, that is not where my heart set upon. I am also knowledgeable on c/c++ and have a strong background in advanced mathematics and Newtonian Mechanics. I have recent come to realize though, that I need to stay more focused in one direction and become an expert in a certain field, which I have chosen to be Computer Graphics. And because this is a very serious choice that I'll be committed to, I want to start my education in a more didactic fashion instead of purely relying on my instincts as far as choice of book and the learning process in general. I know nothing about CG but am ready to walk the tough learning curve, which may not turn out to be that tough anyway due to my background. I am a big supporter of the open source community and want nothing to do with Microsoft technologies. Period. So opengl is the API I'll stay focused on learning.

What I am looking for is someone experienced and knowledgeable in the field who would be wiling to spend a few minutes of his valuable time to be my mentor just long enough to get me started on my new education, and then I'll be on my own. I basically have a few easy questions that any experienced programmer in 3D development would be able to answer; that's all.

Please excuse my poor vocabulary. As I said, I'm a total dynasaur in the field. My first questions are:

1. Based on my quick searches, Qt seems to be currently the best and most popular user interface for OpengL that is platform-independent. Is that correct?

2. Would it be necessary or a big advantage to learn Python and Blender on top of Opengl and Qt/C++?

3. As far as getting up to speed with 3d programming and get a job in the computer graphics industry, which of the two paths above-mentioned would you start with? Or would you suggest another course of study?...

4. Would you recommend another more powerful and popular 3d software that is open source that is not so difficult to master?

I can hardly wait to read your responses. Thank you kindly for your attention.
Sincerely,
Marcos Antonios

"Be kind, for everyone you meet fights a hard battle." ---- Plato

 

[Andrew Lauritzen]

I am a big supporter of the open source community and want nothing to do with Microsoft technologies. Period. So opengl is the API I'll stay focused on learning.

It's fine to choose an API to start with, but I'd recommend dropping the dogma if you want to be a professional in the field

1. Based on my quick searches, Qt seems to be currently the best and most popular user interface for OpengL that is platform-independent. Is that correct?

Probably true... there are a lot of options, but Qt is used in a lot of cross platform open source stuff definitely. Almost certainly not a "bad" choice if the license agreement works for you.

2. Would it be necessary or a big advantage to learn Python and Blender on top of Opengl and Qt/C++?

If you're looking to learn 3D graphics (vs. just get something done quickly) I'd start with just C++/OpenGL and even forget Qt until you really need a UI. Don't start using libraries, engines and higher-level languages until you've done things at least once at the low level.

3. As far as getting up to speed with 3d programming and get a job in the computer graphics industry, which of the two paths above-mentioned would you start with? Or would you suggest another course of study?...

Do you have a degree? In what field? That's a good start if you don't (although I'm assuming you do from your statements).

4. Would you recommend another more powerful and popular 3d software that is open source that is not so difficult to master?

Don't worry about tools for now. Just start with simple objects that you can download or steal from tech demos. DXUT is actually a great place to start for this, but if your heart is set on OpenGL try to find some good recent tech demos with source. Ideally you want to look at OpenGL 3/4, but unfortunately most of the GL code out there right now is extremely outdated. I don't know a really great framework to suggest in OpenGL but probably taking a look at some of Humus' OpenGL demos is a good place to start.

 

[nbohr1more]

It is rare that I would have anything useful to post in these forums but it seems that you are looking for some rudimentary direction so I will offer my sheepish wisdom:

3) HLSL, GLSL, OpenCL, and DirectCompute coders are probably the most in-demand as far as I can tell...

4) Blender has improved it's UI recently but I don't know of an "easy" and Open-Source 3D editor. Scuptris is a good freeware one though... (Windows Only).

5) To add to Andrew's suggestion, both ATI and nVidia have SDK examples but I agree that they are probably kinda crusty...

6) (Added) Beyond3d is primarily a 3d Hardware oriented site, while the members here do discuss new 3d software techniques, the context is primarily in relation to how these techniques affect future hardware development. Unless Andrew et al. are willing to keep answering ...you may find more answers at CGTalk.

(Veterans B3D peoples, feel free to correct me...)

 

[Andrew Lauritzen]

6) (Added) Beyond3d is primarily a 3d Hardware oriented site, while the members here do discuss new 3d software techniques, the context is primarily in relation to how these techniques affect future hardware development.

True, although there are certainly a few software guys here like me That said, also check out GameDev.net - there are "general graphics" and API specific forums that are fairly well-visited.

 

[flynn]

You already got some good answers so I'm just going to add my 2 cents. Learning Python is always worth it for two reasons: It's a very clean OOP language and, most important for me, it's a great tool for quickly prototyping ideas.

I have a bunch of tools to do asset manipulation (meshes, textures, scene scripts) that I originally wrote in C and have recently re-written in Python and it was well worth it.

There is plenty of OpenGL tutorials on the web, start with the simple stuff and make progress, but don't try to rush things. Make sure you have a good foundation before you start playing with shaders and whatnot.