I'm part of an incredible indie studio; but where does my career go now?

zetheros

Hi everyone! So I got a job about five months ago, after slogging through a darker period of my life. It's 100% my dream job; making 3d armour for Bare Mettle's Exanima, and possibly Sui Generis. Here's a player-made machinima that I thought was fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7PC0fvdpe4
 
I've been busy, but now that I've gotten into a routine, I'm able to look back and realize I'm only one of two-ish (indie studio; everyone knows a little - or a lot/everything - of something) dedicated 3d modelers. I feel I should branch out more; my employer is really awesome and gives me a lot of creative freedom, and my job situation feels stable at the moment, however it's assuring to have a backup plan in case BREXIT causes problems for the company, or maybe pokemons become real and eat the rest of my team, and I find myself freelancing again.

I'm wondering how I should plan for the future. I have high standards for the models I make for Exanima, so I can be proud of my steamy art dump when that happens. I'm also planning on dusting off my website and beginning personal projects again, however is there anything else I could/should do? Visit GDCs maybe? I'm currently traveling around working from my laptop, so I could possibly go to one.

I also play D&D on roll20, so if anyone out there would like an additional player in their group, that could be fun.

Happy weekendz everyone

lefix

Join the Polycount Slack and Discord, attend gamejams and meetups, always work on personal projects in your free time.  
Okay, maybe not always, but don't stop doing it either.

Add3r

I was in a pretty stable position for 1-2ish years at a decent sized AAA studio under a giant publisher, but I was completely oppressed by perpetual crunch and just no drive after work to make any personal art.  The professional work wasn't all that great for my art portfolio (was primarily a tech artist, working on the behind the scenes type stuff), and when it came to layoffs, I was in an awkward spot.  Had the resume and experience, but no portfolio to back it up, and made it tough to even get started with applications.  Huge career lesson, always be working on bettering your portfolio and skills outside of your "stable" industry job, as at any moment things can go from white to black at a blink of an eye.  I was not ready at the time, and it was a tough handful of months getting my shit together to continue my career in AAA games.  

Ended up alright, as it came down to make or break, and there is nothing more that can give you the drive to get you out of a tough spot than having your back flat against a wall.  Enjoy the job, soak up the awesomeness that is indie development! But yes, always keep up on side projects and bettering your portfolio, as you never know what professional work will actually be applicable towards landing a position in the future.  Good luck!  

Joost

Live as frugally as you're comfortable with and save up an emergency fund of at least 6 months of expenses. Once you have that start investing money in your future. 
If you can live for 6 months comfortably then you don't have too much to worry about. 

Having said that, I'm living month to month right now because I can't afford to save much...

zetheros

Thanks for the advice guys, really appreciate it

Afklamer

Funny to read your situation.
I was in a very similar spot few years back.
I do agree with dustin browns points. & I really recommend GDC in the US for networking. I litterally saved all my money every year to go there. I think your network is what makes or breaks your career long term. And it takes alot of time to build it.
In my case after 4 years indie I switched to bigger productions. I currently feel like i can learrn more stuff there but thats really a subjective thing  

If you ever want to go AAA you might need someone to help you out a little for the transition since it's a fundamentally different environment.
 But apart from that I'd say enjoy the ride. Indie is awesome

JacqueChoi

Bit of advice. Especially pertinent when you're starting your career.

If you're the best artist in the room, you're in the wrong room.

zetheros

@afklamer I've been joining artist streams to see if I could make contacts and learn more, but I'll definitely try my best to attend the next GDC
@Jacquechoi you make a good point, it's an indie group, so there's only six of us, heh. I'm refining my technique, but I'm not really learning as fast as I could be, I think. Guess I'll just try to put myself out there more.

Joopson

Well, if it's truly your dream job, there's no issue with staying there. True, it's good to have a back up in case it goes under, but you shouldn't feel like you have to work in AAA, just because it's "the thing to do".

If you like it, keep on working there, and try to build up a savings just in case, so if you do have to look for work, you won't be quite so pressed. But, the fact that you said it was 100% your dream job makes me think, well, what's the problem then.

Add3r

JacqueChoi said:

Bit of advice. Especially pertinent when you're starting your career.

If you're the best artist in the room, you're in the wrong room.

One of the best, single lines of advice on Polycount.  

zetheros

@joopson yeah, my current job is great! If I stay here, I could end up with being a part of two published games, and am feeling incredibly lucky.

I just get this feeling I should keep moving, learning, and improving. It's kind of hard to describe; like, I feel like a dog that's caught up to a moving car after years of chasing it, but it's stopped. So, now I'm running circles around it wondering if the car's going move again so I can keep chasing it, lol

Daew

Of course keep practicing 3D if that's what you want to do but maybe you could try learning another medium/discipline; drawing, painting, sculpting or even rigging? You know just for fun.

Joost

What's the end goal? AAA games? Making your own game? There's a lot of different paths you can take. 

zetheros

Thanks @Daew and @Joost ! Good advice, I nearly forgot my hobbies when I focused all my attention on 3d art four years ago. I actually got into 3d character modeling so I could finance my armoursmithing obsession, heh. AAA is also on my list, I haven't really had that experience before, and I think I'd learn a lot there. Tried making my own game before, but just can't get anything done because I can't help but have a huge, ridiculously ambitious scope.

Thanks again for all the advice guys, couldn't have gotten anywhere without this community. I think I have it all sorted out from here, and maybe I'll run into some of you in person at the next GDC