Fri Mar 06, 2020 1:42 am
Hey Caleb,
I can empathize with your frustration, man. We have all felt it, and most people give up and never develop or cultivate the artistic skills to become accomplished visual artists in a professional sense. But if you as a student are ready to learn, then the teacher will arrive, as they say. So know that learning this is going to be a struggle at the beginning, and become easier as you build on the fundamental skills.
First, I suggest divide your learning/research into two categories:
a) Learning the Fusion software and how to use it, and
b) Learning compositing and visual arts
For "a", that is, learning the software:
1. Read the manual. Keep it handy and refer to it often. As your experience will grown, so will your understanding of it.
2. Use forums such as this and We Suck Less. A lot of people will ask questions that you may also have, and you will see the answers proactively.
3. There's a ton of youtube channels showing the basics. Watch these videos as these are completely free.
4. Engage with the Fusion community and sooner or later you will find mentors who will guide your development and help you with their feedback and advice.
5. And there are some paid courses out there too, if you really want to spend some cash and fast track your learning of the software.
For "b", that is, learning visual arts and graphic design and compositing and animation:
1. Check out youtube channels by great artists who explain technical concepts such as masking, animation splines, trackers, chroma keying, particle effects, 3D compositing, film effects, color effects, scripting and expressions, film making and visual effects, the whole gamut of the industry.
2. Dont just limit yourself to learning the art from Fusion sources... the concepts are the same for Nuke, After Effects, 3D programs and video editing programs, etc.
3. Practice. Start creating and experimenting. "steal" from everyone and make something new.
4. Be patient. It is a technical field, and it takes a year or two just to grasp the basics and start creating stuff that will inspire you.
With that said, search these basic terms and take it one step at a time:
Node based editing versus layer based editing.
Video formats, resolutions, frame rates, editing video clips.
Shapes, masks and mattes, transitions, accents.
Color theory, complimentary colors.
Keyframes, animation splines, easing concepts, text effects
Simple effects, such as glows, blurs, blends, motion blur.
Fusion is a very versatile tool, so you will need to decide what you want to do with it. Personally I am a motion graphics designer, so thats mostly what I use it for. You might want to focus on something else, depending on what you are trying to achieve.
In short, be specific in learning one concept or tool at a time.
Sadi
Youtube Channel: Gargoyles At Work