This post is for those of you who are still learning english. I’ve made my words more simple, and done what I could to keep the basics of what I mean. I do not know how much this is needed here, but see no harm in taking the initiative…er… the extra step…er… doing it just in case. 
Summary
Introduction & Context
Boy do I talk about my path and education a lot. I’m going to be doing that here too, because I find the context to be so necessary. I repeat myself a few times in this. Then a Star Trek Borg joke…I guess? Something silly.
(Tee-Hee!)
My current path to VFX, I expect, is probably different then yours, but maybe it wont be? I like lighting for example and all, but… I don’t know. What I do know is that with this post we can both search for our needs, from the data I’ve noted from the last few months of self-teaching.
(Oh! I wish Mods were more a thing in modern gaming!)
The path to becoming a VFX artist is important to note. From it, we can understand the needs and understandings of a group. Be it of the Professionals, or those who seek becoming professionals. Ultimately it’s about each other. As this profession grows, so do the requirements. Be wary to not leave the beginners in the dust.
As I climb, the mountain builds.
I don’t know what my future path will be or how it is to be done. You see, what I have made here is more about the questions then answers I may make. These questions will be the answers, for us both. What I have made here is about what I see and my worries of them. What I have seen over months of time, as I try to understand the Realtime VFX job I want. I’m now low on available time now, I think.
Some of what I had to say, I’ve already said in the past. I said it at that time, because learning Realtime VFX as a beginner from the internet is hard, but it shouldn’t be. This post is a warning. For those of you who seek to help, you may have in your creation of teaching, caused an unwanted harm. I know that there are Realtime VFX lessons made, where much of what I point out does not apply to. This post is not about those. I feel I can help more by speaking of everyone, without meaning everyone. If I make you think with my choice of method, then that is good.
It’s an odd thing about some jobs. They seem easy, but as much as they seem, is how hard they really may be. Such as teaching. We all learn in our own way. I think that not all ways of teaching through the internet for Realtime VFX have been made.
It seems very uneven to me. Enough to write all this.
I at the start mentioned my education, here is context of that education. Here is possibly why I see as I do. It was a quality education made very quickly. It was a quality education made with the help of great smart people. If I did not understand, it could be solved quickly. I could fail without fear. I could always focus on learning. I knew that learning from the internet sources could not be just like that. Now that I’m teaching myself, its obvious how lucky I was to get it. It’s why I can talk to you all at all.
So from my Days, Weeks and Months of learning Realtime VFX from videos, I’ve tried very hard to learn. My goal is to get from knowing VFX exists, to understanding how it exists. To be able to create effortlessly.
I think I am not the only one here with that dream. I, in my right now, just want to be able to make basics.
With all this time used, I’ve noted issues in teaching. To fix what I see, if true, will be a group effort.
The Lone Climb
Some of what I had to say, I’ve already said in the past. Some of what I had said, would have been right here, had I not already said it. I’ve not linked it in this version, for reason of words. It is basically about the amount of skills needed for Realtime VFX. Both art and computers. It was not a main point that I wanted to talk about, but I felt it was important enough to still speak of. It is where we start. It is where we learn to do correctly. What could be more important than the first steps for learning?
Most Tutorials, most teachings on the internet are not made with Realtime VFX as the purpose. As a result, I have to use what I already know to figure out what is true or false for Realtime VFX context. The problem is, not everyone who seeks, has an educated background to already know.
Computer wise, your choice is to either learn all of a program, which takes a lot of time. The other choice is to somehow figure out what is true for Realtime VFX, and learn only the needed parts of a computer program. The problem with this, it leaves a lone student to risk learning sloppy messy results, depending on back round and skills. Also some internet teachings are very dated, and can use code that is redone, or no longer in program. It’s Annoying!
(Really, it is! It can stop a day of learning out of annoyance!)
On artistic side, I see mostly side talk. We in result get only basic ideas for Realtime VFX for art. This is wrong! It’s as if a distraction to the computer program teachings. Do any of the core artistic basics have anything that is only true in Realtime VFX? For now, it appears not enough to speak of. You either know or do not.
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NOTE:
Of course, the day before I had planned to post this…
… this got posted. GOOD!
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This brings me to next thought.
We need a Realtime VFX Wiki. Someplace to bring our knowledge together. Where if it is about Realtime VFX, it’s in the wiki. Maya, Max, Houdini, Unreal, Unity, Plug-ins – so on. Techniques, Good Practices, Bad Practices, Animation, Shapes… so on. Even if it is nothing more then just a set of links to official documentation and lessons. It would be a dedicated map, starting point, or continuance of learning.
If you take nothing else from my post here, take this idea here. It is sorely needed. If it’s already been said, think of this as another push for it. Yes, this is something that is needed and it won’t be done overnight. I should say that Polycount does have a VFX portion of their wiki, but it is rarely given care. It seems an after thought. If we don’t make one here, perhaps we could Co-Own that portion of the Wiki? Adopt it to a loving home, perhaps? I know this idea will require much more discussion, but I wanted to get it out. It is needed.
Knowledge of the natives is often needed for the lone climb.
The Hobbyist & The Professional
Many of you here know what you do well. Some of you have made tutorials of great quality. I can say that I have learned, but some are not as good as I think it could be. Teach how to think out the VFX process. I want to be pro, but some tutorials feel more like they are made for those who see Realtime VFX as a pass time. A hobbyist. Those tutorials may be for hobbyists! I do not know.
I have seen a number of ways to do things, but only few teach an end-to-end process, I feel, correctly. From rough stick figure concept, to final shippable asset. They show their actions as a journey, not a destination. There are far to many tutorials that teach only ONE THING, in ONE WAY, then done.
This ONE WAY making is bad. That is not what we do. By teaching this way, you risk poison in learning. By thinking for, the student does not think. Let me see If I can even more clear.
For those with very young children, have you seen then TV programs for your children? I guess they are much as I have seen where I live. They rarely teach end-to end, but instead pretend to interact.
… “What’s this!!?”…|A|… “That’s RIGHT! - It’s an A! The first letter of the English alphabet!”
Why has it been made this way? Then after they speak of the initial letters and their sounds, they speak of how these sounds blend together to form out different words to speak of language. Hint Hint. They don’t just go “HEY BABY! SEE THIS WORD! IT’S SQUIRREL! YAY! YOU CAN SAY SQUIRREL NOW!” (They just don’t tell, and expect the student to instantly get it. It requires efforts on both sides)
For some reason that example was a Drill Sargent. Goodness, what a thought.
As a result of this overall how-to-recipe style of tutorials, a VFX learner currently who seeks professional know-how, needs to watch many HOURS and more HOURS of scattered spread out videos that are… and I mean this… have different amounts of quality. There is no choice but to go around the net to get a scatter plot of an idea of how all this 
Realtime VFX magic works together. I do it because I already care. I already WANT IT. Plus I FUCKING NEED TO LEARN SO I CAN GET A JOB PLEASE!
Oh… sorry.
That got too real. Where was I?
Ah! Right, so I’ve already aimed my time to do this searching, but that is not going to be true for others. In the end, such a how-to-recipe style basically turns what is recalled to be much like the game pick-up sticks, depending on what is already known and skill of the learner.
So how to fix this? Well, seek to teach with a goal of teaching a SET of things in the end to end teaching, not just “Here is how you make X effect”. Realtime VFX is recursive. It’s about connections. Note all the paths. Take a journey, instead of just one path. Be it for the programs used, a technique, tips and tricks, things to look out for, how you could apply this lesson elsewhere in VFX… so on. To create and the problem solve is part of the fun! And there is still so much to teach.
…
Speaking of X 
– you are at the half way mark. Thank you for getting this far! I hope I haven’t bored you to tears or shocked with my sudden profanity. Honestly, if it is anything like when I attempted to learn a second language, the first thing I learned were the swear words. The “bad” words. So… you are welcome? I guess.
.
Anyway, a little silliness, now and then, is necessary I think. Especially when it is to come against…
… deeper fears.
The Speed of Knowledge (Side A)
Another thing I have seen in a few tutorials is how quite obviously the tutorial is being made by those of you who already know what you are doing. Now how is this obvious detail a bad thing, you may be thinking? Well! What I mean is, I can see you know what you are doing and you have not thought (enough) about how your audience doesn’t!
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW?!
I’ll watch a person click around in the speed of knowledge, because they know where everything is already and why. As the student, I’M going – HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!? What dots in your head took you to that point? The fix to this is simple. Speak your thinking as you do them, as you think them, as they can help! Again I remind, there is a hardness in self teaching, and anything that you can do to help the learner in the process of learning, to keep a path of what is learned, gives said learner the chance to be that one step closer. It gives something more to hold on to if what is seen is not enough. It gives the student mind more teeth to bite in to.
Also, I ask to those of you who teach your skills on the internet, to self reference your incite. We were all new at this once, and it’s alarmingly easy to forget what that is like. That doesn’t mean start holding hands, but be aware your audience.
I say this knowing that you (per the purpose of this post) would only see a camera and/or a screen. What I ask my need some educated guessing, and I admit it may be hard to figure out. That is where your personal experience and knowhow comes in. Tweak as you feel is needed. If you need an amount of knowledge already in your student, make it known (some of you already do). Be clear. What does “Intermediate skill” mean for VFX? I don’t know! I’m blind here! I need context!
Despite what video games show us, we don’t come with an absolute readable skill meter.*
The Speed of Knowhow (Side B)
If I said – Make a Sand drift effect…
https://i.imgur.com/YBy3tWX.gif
… I have little worry that a number of you here could do it. That a number of you here could type out the steps to at least make the basics of this effect. What about a Mine blowing up in water? Or flesh dissolving, bones and all? Many of you know how to create your starting point and build from it.
For those who do this, again please ask yourself while you are working this in your head - “How do I know this?”
For myself, and then possibly others, have yet to reach this skill, and it scares me. This next part, I admit, I think more of myself, then others. Reason being, as hard as I try, I can not find this knowledge. Hope-less-ness. Sorry. I wonder how this is to be learned.
I see an effect an I think – Card / Mesh / Shader / Flipbook + Shapes + Layering of said things. This should be enough I think, but it seems not to be. If I want to make, I can plan, I can concept, but when it comes to make what I want to make, I can not. Very very annoying! How is this possible?
How could I in good faith apply for a job, if I can’t even do it on my own? Or do I make my choice too harshly?
It’s odd. I can see with the best of you, which I can say by seeing what you say. You say as I would in many times, unless it is something of computers I do not know. Yet, I can not do. Is my issue of computer skill? Even as I admit, I think more of myself, then others in this point, are there others who have same problem as I? I hope so, for sake of help, then fix.
Maybe I can not find more knowledge on Internet, or whatever my mind, my brain, needs? Maybe it is because of the difference in time from when I start to now. Maybe I’m dumb, or my current lack is because of existing tutorials and teachings. Maybe I have missed some beginners lessons. It has happened before. Maybe even if it is on the net, it can’t be learned! Maybe what I need is hands on. Maybe… I do not know. I JUST do not know, and I HATE IT!
HATE! IT!
That is enough of me. Again, I speak of the group.
A Victim of Sanitation
This is the last direct point, and a core issue. No one is teaching problem solving in Realtime VFX. For Realtime VFX. Teaching may be the wrong word, but the idea is of stone. Is solid. Strong. It is very rare to see a tutorial where something does not work, and the teacher needs to use their know-how to fix it.
It didn’t go as planned, which is what many a Realtime job is all about! It is not about videogames! It’s about things not working that should be! Our job is to fix it so it will.
Of many examples I can give, here is one. Why is the flip book particle so block like? Oh! My background wasn’t totally black, so the realtime program thought its was part of the particle and not the background to be cut out. Things like that. (I have more in my fluent English text.)
I know we as artists want things to be just right! But in the end, the flawless actions of many tutorials can cause more harm then good. If you make a mistake, please show how you fixed it. I want to see masters fail, so I can see how they win. How they fix a problem. If enough people do this, we would as a group be teaching the things no one directly thinks to teach, because life in the end is the teacher.
With this said, that finishes this simplified English version. I did not know how many would use it, or use it at all, but I do not care. I hope it helped you understand the basics of what I say. Thank you! 
