bethel@xroads.UUCP (Ben Bethel) (01/02/88)
I would like to have a few questions answered... 1. What are some good colleges that offer CAD in the world? 2. Is it better to go into computer animation or into computer architecture? 3. Where could I see some GOOD computer animation and computer architecture? 4. How well does a job in CAD pay? 5. If anyone reading is in the field, please send me mail, I would really like to see their workplace, as I am only 16 years old, and I plan on a career in CAD. Thank You! -- \ / C r o s s r o a d s C o m m u n i c a t i o n s \/ (602) 971-2240 /\ (602) 992-5007 300|1200 Baud 24 hrs/day / \ ihnp4!crash!xroads!*
jbn@glacier.STANFORD.EDU (John B. Nagle) (01/03/88)
In article <391@xroads.UUCP> bethel@xroads.UUCP (Ben Bethel) writes: > > 1. What are some good colleges that offer CAD in the world? > 2. Is it better to go into computer animation or into computer >architecture? > 3. Where could I see some GOOD computer animation and computer >architecture? > 4. How well does a job in CAD pay? Computer-aided design (CAD) is a tool for designers, not a career in itself. If you become an architect, mechanical engineer, or electrical engineer, you will probably use a CAD system. But it will be a tool that you use when designing things, and unless you know how to design, CAD will not be very useful to you. Check out engineering schools, starting with MIT. There are "CAD operators" who just enter data into CAD systems from various data sources. Such people are not well paid; as a job it ranks slightly above typing, data entry, and word processing. If this is what you are looking for, you can obtain the location of the AutoCAD training center nearest you by calling 415-332-2344. This will be some large computer dealership with a classroom full of PCs running AutoCAD, the most widely used CAD system in the world. Most people who take such training are already familiar with drafting and just want to do it faster on a computer. Actually, if you know how to draft with the traditional tools, you can learn to use a CAD system in a few days. Computer animation is a tool for artists. The artistic standards for computer animation are rising rapidly. There's a "computer animation festival" film made every year and shown in theaters around the country. Watch for it in your area; it will give you an idea of what is being done and who is doing it. The number of people doing computer animation is much smaller than the number doing CAD, and most of the work is in the advertising field. Here you need to become a good representational artist. By now you probably know if this is a direction in which you want to go. If you want to design and implement CAD systems or computer animation systems, you need a heavy programming and math background. Most computing related jobs do not use much linear math. This is not true of graphics. You need a clear understanding of ordinary algebra, trigonometry, vector analysis, elementary matrix algebra, and computational geometry. Most of this is classical engineering math, the sort of thing one needs to design bridges and generators. See "Microcomputer Displays, Graphics, and Animation" by Bruce Artwick (who wrote Flight Simulator) for some idea of what's involved in serious graphics. Good luck John Nagle
beshers@sylvester.columbia.edu (Clifford Beshers) (01/03/88)
In article <17271@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> jbn@glacier.UUCP (John B. Nagle) writes: > >In article <391@xroads.UUCP> bethel@xroads.UUCP (Ben Bethel) writes: >> >> 1. What are some good colleges that offer CAD in the world? >> 2. Is it better to go into computer animation or into computer >>architecture? >> 3. Where could I see some GOOD computer animation and computer >>architecture? >> 4. How well does a job in CAD pay? > > Computer-aided design (CAD) is a tool for designers, not a career in >itself. If you become an architect, mechanical engineer, or electrical >engineer, you will probably use a CAD system. But it will be a tool >that you use when designing things, and unless you know how to design, >CAD will not be very useful to you. Check out engineering schools, >starting with MIT. > ... > Computer animation is a tool for artists. The artistic standards for >computer animation are rising rapidly. There's a "computer animation >festival" film made every year and shown in theaters around the country. Saying that computer animation is a tool for artists is like saying hammers are tools for carpenters; the statement is true and well-meant, but also misleading. Computer animation is simply a sequence of still frames generated by a computer, allowing us to see events which we can describe but which may be too difficult to create physically. It is a tool used primarily, but not exclusively, by artists, hence the appropriation of the term to refer to artistic works. However, just about anybody who needs to visualize something can benefit from using computer animation. Its role as a scientific tool has become clear, particularly in engineering, medicine, biology, chemistry and mathematics for example. I think computer graphics and animation could be better described as a type of abstract vise-grip, a tool that's handy no matter what you want to do. Cliff Beshers Columbia University Computer Science Department beshers@sylvester.columbia.edu