>>523492
>Am I crazy or is this possible?

It's almost the other way around anon. It's possible, but only if you are crazy.

>>523493
Yeah pretty much. I did it, and a few of my co-workers did it too. Everyone I've met who went to school has regretted it to some degree since they had to end up learning most of the stuff themselves anyway, and now have a shitload of debt to pay off too. I'd only really recommend school if you're trying to move to another country and need the student visa. If you're already in the US where most of the jobs are you may as well stay comfy living with your parents and grinding on your art all day, as long as you take it serious it'll pay off.

I would say in general that right now it seems like animators are more in demand since everyone wants to be a modeler, so you might be on the right track with getting into animation rather than just 3d art.

It's not easy and isn't really worth it for most people, but if you really wanna do it there'll be no stopping you anyway.

>>523492

There is no limit to what you can learn without going to school if you are fully motivated to learning. Anything from neurosurgery to advanced aircraft design can be learned on your own if you are motivated to do so.

The question is whether or not you're going to get a job being self taught. You could end up being the most knowledgeable person in the world when it comes to medical science but there's no way you'll (legally) be able to work as a physician without the proper educational credentials.

Now the 3D field is a different matter all together. To a certain degree it's how well your merits as an artist should get you work. Shitty portfolio, shitty work (if any). Master portfolio, your chances of getting work increase.

However there are advantages to a formal education that are rarely talked about.

1) Old Boys Club: It has been a long standing tradition, still largely followed to this day that people hiring will give preferential treatment to alumni. You went to the same school as the person hiring then they're more likely to hire you over someone who went to another school (or none at all).

2) Networking: When you go to school you socialize (unless you're a complete retard who can't manage even the most basic of social skills). You make friends with the people you go to school with and keep in touch with them after graduation. Your friends get hired by studios and get work in the industry and that benefits you because now you have people inside all these potential employment sources. A lot of times jobs never get listed, but if you have a friend inside the company they can let you know if they people they work for are hiring. As well they're able to give the boss a good word or two about you. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've picked up work because I had a college friend on the inside.

3) Tie Breaker: You and another applicant have a dead equal resume. Job goes to the one with the better education.

>>523497
This, especially 2. Knowing people from other jobs or school especially, is one of the best ways to get jobs.

In same boat at OP only have less experience. I've never even used any of the software but I wanna try this out to see if I can do it.
Can you really use fake email/credentials for getting the education version of Maya and all those software?

>>523530
You can and nobody at Autodesk will care. They don't care if you pirate their stuff, either, as long as you're not a pro who is making bank.

>>523495
>>523497

These are good responses, OP.

Also, it won't take several years to reach the minimum level to get a job if you focus.

What do you mean by animation? Character animation?

Anyway, if you do go this route, I would still suggest taking an online workshop or two at some point. You'll learn, and as a plus it will look a little better on your resume.

>>523533
I also want to point out the importance of having a strong artistic sense. You're learning programs right off the bat which is fine (I didn't), but remember that software proficiency is not the core skill you need to learn, unless you want to go into something really technical. While in school, I saw people with way less software skills start out in 3D and make far more appealing stuff than people who knew more software, because they were stronger artists overall.

>>523492
It's possible. The best modeler I know only finished high school. He's a coworker, and he gets paid pretty well.

>>523492
Totally not worth going to school for animation. I would only go to school if you were trying to learn a more technical skill like dynamics. Majority of the stuff in school are critiques anyways. Find a rig and start practicing. Everything can be found online these days from walk cycles to the 12 principles of animation.

>>523492
If you want to get into the industry, realize that the only one holding you back is yourself. Below I've linked two people who never went to school for this and just participated in a mod community called FPSBanana. They both work in the industry now, and did it through dedication and the internet. The last Youtube link I linked is a guy who never went to school for animation, and just learned it through Source Filmmaker. There are hundreds of animators just like him who are self taught using SFM, and it's a good entry level animation program to learn animation. You can create really nice videos already in it, and if you feel like stepping up into the big leagues you can always move into Maya or etc. You are the only one holding yourself back, just food for thought.

https://www.artstation.com/artist/millenia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSyLki7yhQ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgzT8NxFtsDCdkz-ycKciKQ

>>523845
How well?

>>523949
probably shit