Tips for getting more technical

Hi!

I’m looking to expand my knowledge into the more technical side of VFX, where I’m able to support development by creating tools and more complex, custom shader work.

I have no idea where to begin with programming and scripting, or what area I should be looking into, or what kind of resources I should be looking for. I want to better understand the back-end workings of visual shader editors and things like that.

Does anyone have any pointers for resources that can help me get a better understanding of the maths behind tech art and how I can branch into learning to code? Perhaps resources on how I can begin to learn Python?

Saying just getting more technical will get you overwhelmed at the possibilities of what that entails, I’d recommend instead setting yourself briefs and take them an extra step further than you usually would. Make a weather system, have it hide the rain/snow when it gets inside a building. Want a splash on the floor make it deform to terrain. It will be a lot easier to learn more when you set yourself specific goals.

Yeah that makes sense.

I guess I mean like, if this was my brief, I’d probably be able to come up with a working solution (perhaps using blueprints), but I feel like I don’t fully understand the goings on below the surface. If I hit a point where deeper knowledge and an ability to code would help me take the system to a more advanced level, that is a blocker for me currently. So I guess I’m looking for resources or advice on how I can begin to expand my knowledge in those areas - the maths behind things and beginning to learn some code.

For maths Khan academy is always good. I also saw Freya post some math explanations videos on her twitter recently.
https://twitter.com/FreyaHolmer

No idea what you need for coding though, so far I’ve been able to just bungle along and not think too much about the underbelly of something working.