Anyone ever work a crappy job to focus on 3D?
polycounter lvl 11
I'm currently 22 and working as a graphic designer for a software company. There used to be two of us but it's just been me for the past year. On top of that, the whole company has just been slammed non-stop for the past few months. I'm putting in enough hours every week that when I come home I'm finding it really really really hard to do anything creative after spending the whole day sitting in front of the computer. I'm thinking about leaving my current job and working at some place easier so I could spend more of my time working on 3D.
I don't think it'd take too long to build my portfolio up to a standard that could have me considered for a 3D job. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this and if it worked out for them or if anyone just wants to tell me I'm being stupid. Right now it feels like I'm just stuck.
I don't think it'd take too long to build my portfolio up to a standard that could have me considered for a 3D job. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this and if it worked out for them or if anyone just wants to tell me I'm being stupid. Right now it feels like I'm just stuck.
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What I can say though, 3 years later, is that now I can easily put 2-3 hours after work and get something finished, making some showcase pieces is not such a big effort. I guess it came down to my experience at the time. I had a lot of ideas but not enough work experience, so everything was a struggle, I didn't know how to work efficiently and a lot of technical aspects were vague. That was the main setback for me, not lack of energy after work. If I were in your position now, I'd assign a third of the portfolio building time to research / learning, then start with small pieces that will get scrapped as you learn more, and finally try to get work in an non-paying project (where you have a brief, a "client", etc).
Thanks for the advice!
Eventually I was put on the inside with ac but the hours and work were the same. 6am-to 6pm on days with no over time.Monday to Sunday.
It wasn't easy. It was quite challenging. But if you want something bad enough. There's nothing that can really stop you from getting on the right path. If it feels like you're stuck I'd suggest changing something up. You don't grow when your comfortable IMO
Do not underestimate the value of being completely unbound from ANY job so that you can work on your projects full-time. I saved enough money prior to entering my formal education to live reasonably comfortably and work on my portfolio during my 2 years of schooling. Even if you don't go to school (which can be quite risky in this field anyway), having the whole day to work on your projects without having to cope with the responsibilities and burnout that is attached to many jobs can mean a level of productivity that you probably would not be able to achieve if working a job on the side. If you have the means to do so, you could enter this industry a lot sooner than if you choose to work a job on the side.
It's something I considered so I can get myself ready for the next step, but I feel too afraid to do it.
Trying to do work on your portfolio after a full day of work is incredibly draining. I usually get past 8pm before I have any "free" time, and at that point I'm usually way too tired to want to do anything.
The worst part is trying to explain any of this to my parents who just don't get how important a portfolio is; the feeling of being stuck in a rut really sucks. If you have confidence in your abilities and that you would use that time effectively (give yourself some good goals and timeframes then STICK to them) then go for it.
#FirstWorld3dArtistProblems
My advice would be to lower your expenses as much as possible so that you can get away with not working 40 hours a week, leaving some time for more important things (3d art in your case.)
Me, me, me! Been working crappy jobs for the last 7 years. At least you found sometime art related, I've been stuck with IT jobs.
I've always had the mentality, since I was 18, that I was basically a year of hard work away from being able to get a job doing game art. But obviously that hasn't worked out yet. It's a mix of life getting in the way, such as dating, getting married, moving to a new city, being an adult, enjoying my 20's, raising a puppy, working odd and conflicting shifts, and not having an ideal environment for working on game art, but the biggest issue I've been facing is a lack of discipline. I spend a lot of time experimenting with game art, but not a lot of time finishing a project, I love learning about new techniques and trying out different approaches, but that doesn't get me anywhere. For me, I am not 100% sure if it's solely a lack of discipline issue, or a fear of failure/depression, or just a habit of procrastination. I'm trying to make changes in my life to be able to pursue my interest in art and games, but I've had the same feeling of being "stuck" for the last 5 years.
Sorry I don't have much advice to give, but I hope that the one thing you do take from my post is; It's easy to get stuck, you should try to get unstuck as quickly as you can, it only gets harder as you get older.
I think you have the right idea though. I find the best thing you can do is set goals and stick to them. I've started writing a little nightly checklist of things I want to do for my 3D Projects or my portfolio or things to research on the next day. Tailor it to the amount of time you have and how much you want to spend working on this. I think either way you have to have some set amount of time where you do some work towards this. It's hard but I believe with enough dedication and time management it's possible.
I have gone through the whole song and dance of wanting to leave my job to pursue my portfolio full-time because I feel like If I just had 3-4 more finished pieces I probably could have something an employer might want to see. But unfortunately working QA and living in a somewhat expensive city I really can't afford to up and quit. Sometimes good things take lots of patience.
I know the feeling of being burned out and tired after work, not feeling like putting any time into personal projects. As a 3D artist in the game industry I still have to put time into portfolio development and research to stay ahead of the competition. After all, job security in the game industry has been known to be fairly volatile.
What works for me is to make a task list in a spreadsheet that outlines each task I want to complete, the date I must have it completed by, and a column for any notes I may want to input along the way. If I miss a deadline, I DO feel guilty. Miserable. In my experience that's the best way I can work. I fear the deadlines, man. There's no doubt - it's a struggle, but those months of work you put in after hours will leave you with something that the person who was too lazy to work doesn't have.
Also, never make excuses. "oh, I'll begin working on my portfolio soon, I'm just waiting a few more paychecks to get my new videocard." "I'm going to wait until after summer to do this project, it's too hot out." "I need a bigger monitor to work on this next gen stuff" NO. That sort of thinking will probably lead you to failure or low work output. You're the only one who can make it happen.
The game industry can be very rewarding to those who have a good attitude and work their asses off.
I have been using the equivalent to this for years and feeling much better than in any so-called "office chair" that swivels and rotates. http://static3.bonluxat.com/cmsense/data/uploads/orig/ake-axelson-wood-chair_uz92.jpg
That said, the bottom line is that you certainly should use what feels good to you. I just wanted to point out that the chair that "feels good" is not necessarily the chair with the most cushioning and features
Also, a mere centimeter of adjustment in desk height can make a huge difference.
Additionally I'd like to add to what this thread is about. Working crappy jobs to focus on 3D. We have to do what we have to in order to get by. Wont be able to work on any 3D if you're homeless.. I wouldn't necessarily call my current job crappy, its life experience too which applies in some way to the big picture, at least that's the way I see it. And when I was working in games I had to work in not so ideal companies, situations. Every successful artist has their share of horror stories of first time gigs, contracts, part time filler jobs etc...the crappier the higher tendency to push themselves so they could go play in greener pastures.
I come home exhausted and forcing myself to make art hurts. I rarely want to boot up my station and make things. Drawing while I'm working isn't too bad I guess. I don't even do labor intensive work. Its usually something simple/repetitive.
During work hours I would try new tools and workflows and time management approaches. Most was 2D but I learned some AE, PS at least. In my free time I worked on my folio.
I also have a full time job and I'm so tired in the evening that I can't make anything worthwile. You make mistakes all the time when you do 3D tired.
Instead, I now go to bed around 9:30PM and get up at 5AM. It's GREAT. No kid, no wife, no emails - a solid 2.5 hours every day to focus on your art before the family wakes up and you have to go to work. And you're full of energy too (after your first cup of coffee, admittedly). It takes some effort to switch to this routine especially if you're the type that is used to go to bed late, but it's really a great way to do more for the goal you have, in my humble opinion.
There is definitely an issue with finding motivation after work to get up, go to your workstation and essentially be at work again while you are supposed to be relaxing. For me anything that helps combine my need to relax with an ability to actually work, helps. And once the sculpt or whatever I'm making on the surface PRO reaches a certain point I transfer it to my main machine for HQ rendering.
Which version of the Surface Pro do you have? And how does it run something like Zbrush? LIke as an estimate, about how many polygons can you get to before it becomes sluggish? I've seriously considered getting one but I was just curious. I'm still mainly going to use my Desktop but I would like the option to do some work on there as well and it sounds like it works quite well for you.
I have a Surface pro 3 i5. It handles Zbrush really really well. The only problem is the screen and the pen. When pushing down the screen creates a ripple and is really off putting. It also has no where near the sensitivity and precision as my Wacom Pro Tablet.
Yeah you can hook it up and it will work well, but then you start to loose the positives of having a tablet over a laptop. You will need to be using a wireless keyboard as well.
I have a Surface Pro 2 (haven't upgraded due to the fact it has Wacom tech) with 8GB of RAM
I find it can achieve very high poly counts without slowing too much (22 million for one sub tool at last count) It only starts to drag I find when I have multiple tools at the highest sub level and I'm clicking in between them, having KeyShot running in the background doesn't help either.
Overall I find it an amazing tool for 3D sculpting, one I've pretty much been waiting for all my life if I think about it (the ability to sculpt and render on the move or under sitting under a tree in the park)
In fact the SP2 is starting to show its age (or the amount of times of dropped it) so I'm looking at the SP4 now with 16gb of RAM
Thanks for the info guys! I'm actually really pleased to hear all of this
This is one of the things I've been modelling on my SP2, rendered in KeyShot
Still being worked as it needs a fair bit of work, but the SP allows me to create stuff like this sitting down in my easy chair or on the train going home. (it's actually kinda cool the amount of conversations start off the back off someone sitting down next to you and taking a look at what you are doing)
Oh wow that's really cool!
The reason I would go for the SP4 over the SP3 is better battery life, much better pen (I tested Zbrush on a SP3 and wasn't blown away) and the fact I can get a model with 16GB.
I've noticed that I am starting to regularly hit the 8GB limit on my SP2 and would really love the extra breathing room.
That plus the fact it's slightly lighter than the SP3 and it has better design aspects (actually being able to store the pen with the device)
The only reason I'm even looking at the SP4 is the fact my tablet is starting to do odd things (its been dropped more than a few times over the years) if it was still ultra reliable, I'd still be planning to use it for a few years to come (the Wacom pen tech is something I find hard to do without)
I moved from Florida to Seattle to pursue a job in the industry. I moved with my Fiancé, my 1 year old son (now almost 2), 2 dogs and a cat. Granted we wanted to get away from Florida, it has been tough living out here away from family. I've been working a steady IT job for the past year while I rebuild my portfolio and meet people.I work from 830-530, not to mention the 40 minute commute to work and then back home. When I get home I'm dead tired and don't really want to jump on the computer again, especially when my Fiancé and son haven't seen me the entire day.
So I hang out with my son, give him a bath, play PS4 with him, eat dinner, and put him to sleep around 10:30 or 11:00, depending if he took a nap or not. Then when I'm free around 11:00 or 11:30 sometimes even midnight, I get on the computer and get to work till 2:30am most of the time. This has been the daily regimen for only the last 2 months.
Before this I would try to stay up, but I'd end up falling asleep and be to exhausted, but thinking back now I think it was more the lack of motivation than anything else.. I would start an asset and it would take me months to actually progress. I would work on it here and there and then skip a week or two (again, lack of motivation and confidence in skills) I would just go to sleep and think in my head I would just magically get that call for a job. Well it doesn’t happen like that, and it didn’t really hit me till a couple of months ago that I don’t want to wait any longer, and I don’t want to waste another day working a job I didn’t want to ultimately do for a living.
So I looked at tutorial after tutorial after tutorial to gain that motivation in skills part back, and created deadlines for myself to get shit done. I would find out what was stopping me from finishing work. I found that most of the time, it was me not thinking I am doing things right (impostor syndrome) or not having the right workflow. I have been using every hour and minute I can to work on my stuff, learn and improve myself. Bringing my laptop and trying to work on the bumpy ass bus ride to work, working at lunch time, then working on the way back home, then finally working later on at night.
It’s cliche and I’m sure you’ve heard it a dozen times, but don’t give up and keep on doing what you need to to get where you want to be. You know it’s not going to just happen magically and the more you work, the more you learn and the harder you fight against life’s obstacles, the faster you will get there.
“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” — Steve Jobs
Sorry for the long rant.