I have always been interested in 3D graphics and have been an avid gamer all my life. When I decided to immigrate from Israel to Canada in search of a better life, it seemed like the best time for me to try and make my dream of working in the gaming industry a reality. I did have some computer graphics experience as I was a Flash programmer and animator but most of my knowledge came from books and tutorials. Other than a technical Maya foundation course I never had any formal training.
…my attention was focused mostly on the price which was about half of what I was expected to pay for VFS at the time.
I have to admit now that I did not do enough research before registering to PAVI. I looked at the website and the program breakdown, but my attention was focused mostly on the price which was about half of what I was expected to pay for VFS at the time. I also found the fact that PAVI was a technical school appealing. The program promised to be a short one-year program that would teach me the skills that were currently needed in the job market. The fact that they had posted a 100% job placement rate on the website was also a big draw for me (you can still find some sites that advertise that statistic). Being a new immigrant, money would be a huge concern for me and the fact that a job would be at the end of the rainbow convinced me.
The entire program consists of just one class which holds students from every semester.
The Game Design and 3D Program
The entire program consists of just one class which holds students from every semester. When I started my first semester, I had 3 students that were finishing their last. As each semester passed and students graduated, a new batch of students would join us. This would always keep the class size full but students would have a wide range of skills. The way the program was structured kept students at a very basic level. With new students coming in with sometimes no 3D background at all, the teachers had to keep the class focused on low level techniques leaving the rest of the students to fend for themselves. This structure also caused problems with classes being mixed up throughout the semester as well. There were times when life drawing and basic art skills were being taught to first and last semester students.
As for my time at PAVI, I had some good teachers and some questionable ones as well. As a whole, I did feel they tried their best to provide for us but were constricted by way the program was built. There was an overuse of one teacher in particular. It seems they used him as filler when they could not find a suitable teacher to teach the course. While he was a wonderful for some subjects, I felt that he did not have enough technical knowledge to teach some of the other classes he was assigned to. There was also extensive use of tutorials in some of the classes which I found extremely disappointing. In some classes, all we did was spend hours learning from online tutorials from either free websites or digital-tutor CDs.
All the classes took place in a single room which made things a bit awkward when it came to the traditional art classes. You could not remove the computers from the room or from the desks since they were chained to them leaving the space a bit tight work with. You share a desk with a fellow student but each student has his/her own computer station with one monitor for the duration of the semester. The computers were not the most impressive on the market but were sufficient for basic 3D work. You could also sign out a small Wacom tablet for use in the school property (you could not take it home). Personally I found myself working mostly at home where I had a computer better set up for heavier 3D work.
I would not recommend PAVI’s Game Design and 3D Animation program to anybody who even has just a basic knowledge of the 3D field.
The Verdict
I would not recommend PAVI’s Game Design and 3D Animation program to anybody who even has just a basic knowledge of the 3D field. It might be good if you have absolutely no knowledge and would just like to experiment for a year. Other than that, I would recommend you do some more research and try another school to develop your skills.
As for me, I was disappointed with my time at PAVI. I did learn some new things, but not nearly as much as I expected. I was hoping for a school that would make my transition into the Canadian job market smoother and in that I was highly disappointed.
You can see my portfolio at http://www.danielaichler.com where you’ll find some of the projects that I worked on while at PAVI.
(9 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...
