How has 3D graphics education and training evolved?

The youth of today are blessed with a raft of information, available through YouTube, online tutorials and instant downloads. I believe there has always been an element of self-taught artists, but in todays world of instant media, it's far easier to achieve knowledge and skills in graphics and animation, than it was in the past. I can remember a time when software used to come on a number of floppy disks. You'd have to install them one at a time. Now you just have to hit download and wait a few minutes. Advances in hardware also plays a major part in being able to learn new skills & applications. In comparison, a PC dedicated to graphics & animation is far less expensive than early tech, making it accessible to new learners.

Two words: YouTube University. That’s all you need to learn literally anything. I’ve picked up everything from Maya to Octane Render to After Effects and Unreal from free tutorials on this glorious platform. If you really want things to be packaged up nicely for you, then the best channels will typically have a premium course offering.

I asked this question to someone who is super senior to me once, and I was amazed by his answer. After listening to his answer I understood the immense ease and access we have nowadays. He mentioned how back in his time he used to buy a course which was sold as a bundle of CD's (this was back when CD storage wasn't in the GB's) which was also hard to come by in India. I can't imagine waiting for a pack of CD's to arrive to start learning any software. For anyone who is just starting out Youtube is all you need to understand all the basics of any software. If you want to learn something specific then I would recommend buying a course. Also Patreons of great designers are a treasure trove ok knowledge, which is not spoken often.

We live in an amazing time now with endless resources and content at our fingertips. If we desire to learn a new skill or expand on existing ones, we can find tons of free, helpful content on YouTube, discords and other sites instantly. There are also more in-depth courses you can pay for on sites like Udemy and Skillshare. Similar to what another comment mentioned, in the not so distant past, that luxury was not there. The ways of learning new software came in the forms of packaged CDs, full on books dedicated to the subject, or finding a course at a college or university. We are incredibly lucky now to have access to instant content!

As a 3D Generalist, I can say with confidence that Youtube is a very good source of learning for me. Of course, YT is free, and in the last 5 years the amount of content for software that I use, like Houdini, has exploded in volume and quality. Identify educational artists in your field who use your preferred software, and check to see if they have a Patreon with tutorials or scene files. The same can be said for Gumroad. There are many great artists offering scene files/ training videos/ assets for free or for minimal amounts of money. Personally I also like CGCircuit and Houdini School. I have purchased courses on there which I reference from time to time or learn new methods from.

When it comes to Youtube and learning, one thing I've found very helpful is to essentially collect and archive tutorials I've found helpful. I always recommend saving videos to your own playlists and label them. Stay organized! And don't be afraid to make lots of playlists to help categorize and archive and bookmark tutorials. There's nothing worse than seeing a useful technique on YouTube and ending up on a project months or years later where you need to reference that video. And being unable to find it.