New Year, New Approach
polycounter lvl 18
Hi Polycount,
I've been a member of Polycount for a long time, but I'm generally a very quiet person so I've been content in my silence. First off, I would like to thank this community, as although I haven't been an active participant, I feel like it has contributed strongly to my knowledge base, and skill as a real-time 3D artist.
I've probably been fortunate, but I have been working full-time for the last several years producing 3D assets, characters, and environments. I've also been fortunate in the sense that I haven't really had to look for work in years. I was happy, and I enjoyed the stability of the work, but I never really loved the type of work I was doing.
Last year, I lost my job, and I decided I wanted to take a solid crack at finding a career in game development. Games are why I got into 3D, and it is still the type of work I have the most passion for. Unfortunately, I haven't had any success with finding work at all.
I've been working on my portfolio in isolation, trying to figure out everything on my own. The truth is that I don't really have any real-time game artist friends I can turn to for advice, so for the time being, I'm hoping that is what Polycount can be for me.
As far as my portfolio goes, I've ripped out everything that I consider weak work, and have focused it around realistic environmental work, as it is the type of work I've spent the balance of the last few years doing. Today, I plan on revising my CV, based on another thread I read here recently. I've only mentioned these things to indicate that it hasn't been that I've been doing nothing. I will however admit that I may not have been doing enough. While I appreciate the idea of staying the course, I feel like at this point, I have to try and do more than just doing more of the same.
At this point, I'm considering the things I have been doing wrong, and I'm also considering what other avenues for income there are outside of studio employment.
Why am I not finding work:
1. My CV isn't making past filters/HR
2. I don't have much experience in the gaming industry (possible reason for not getting past HR)
3. I'm not presenting my work as well as I could
4. My work just isn't quite good enough (in which case I just have to keep working)
5. I'm not applying enough
6. If I'm missing something, let me know.
I have a few months of savings I can still float on, but I need to consider methods in which I can at least supplement my income, to allow me to get by a little longer while I remain unemployed. I've considered the freelance thing, but as mentioned in other threads, without a solid list of clients, I'll probably spend more time looking for work than working.
The other option I've been looking at is the asset stores. Are any artists here producing 3D assets for asset stores? What kind of residual income can be expected? If I'm still looking for a studio job, does it make sense to work on modular assets, or props vs. another portfolio piece?
In closing, at a minimum, I'm going to attempt be more active here. I want to post some work every day, and I'm doing to at least comment on someone's work everyday. I want help, critiques and advice, so which forum should I create a thread, if I want those things? I know a sketchbook thread might be appropriate, given that I might be posting a lot of small, incremental, updates, but I question how many views the thread would get, given that I rarely ever look in there myself.
Here is a link to my portfolio as it stands:
https://ksheriff.artstation.com/
Thanks again Polycount,
Time to get back to work.
I've been a member of Polycount for a long time, but I'm generally a very quiet person so I've been content in my silence. First off, I would like to thank this community, as although I haven't been an active participant, I feel like it has contributed strongly to my knowledge base, and skill as a real-time 3D artist.
I've probably been fortunate, but I have been working full-time for the last several years producing 3D assets, characters, and environments. I've also been fortunate in the sense that I haven't really had to look for work in years. I was happy, and I enjoyed the stability of the work, but I never really loved the type of work I was doing.
Last year, I lost my job, and I decided I wanted to take a solid crack at finding a career in game development. Games are why I got into 3D, and it is still the type of work I have the most passion for. Unfortunately, I haven't had any success with finding work at all.
I've been working on my portfolio in isolation, trying to figure out everything on my own. The truth is that I don't really have any real-time game artist friends I can turn to for advice, so for the time being, I'm hoping that is what Polycount can be for me.
As far as my portfolio goes, I've ripped out everything that I consider weak work, and have focused it around realistic environmental work, as it is the type of work I've spent the balance of the last few years doing. Today, I plan on revising my CV, based on another thread I read here recently. I've only mentioned these things to indicate that it hasn't been that I've been doing nothing. I will however admit that I may not have been doing enough. While I appreciate the idea of staying the course, I feel like at this point, I have to try and do more than just doing more of the same.
At this point, I'm considering the things I have been doing wrong, and I'm also considering what other avenues for income there are outside of studio employment.
Why am I not finding work:
1. My CV isn't making past filters/HR
2. I don't have much experience in the gaming industry (possible reason for not getting past HR)
3. I'm not presenting my work as well as I could
4. My work just isn't quite good enough (in which case I just have to keep working)
5. I'm not applying enough
6. If I'm missing something, let me know.
I have a few months of savings I can still float on, but I need to consider methods in which I can at least supplement my income, to allow me to get by a little longer while I remain unemployed. I've considered the freelance thing, but as mentioned in other threads, without a solid list of clients, I'll probably spend more time looking for work than working.
The other option I've been looking at is the asset stores. Are any artists here producing 3D assets for asset stores? What kind of residual income can be expected? If I'm still looking for a studio job, does it make sense to work on modular assets, or props vs. another portfolio piece?
In closing, at a minimum, I'm going to attempt be more active here. I want to post some work every day, and I'm doing to at least comment on someone's work everyday. I want help, critiques and advice, so which forum should I create a thread, if I want those things? I know a sketchbook thread might be appropriate, given that I might be posting a lot of small, incremental, updates, but I question how many views the thread would get, given that I rarely ever look in there myself.
Here is a link to my portfolio as it stands:
https://ksheriff.artstation.com/
Thanks again Polycount,
Time to get back to work.
Replies
So I think your problem is really not because you're not talentend,which is a great thing.
Now,where do you live? Do you live near a lot of studios? If not,have you ever thought about moving to a city where studios are?
Keep up the good work,apply everywhere you think you could fit,add HR on Linkedin,write to them directly sometimes it helps !
Actually, I should ask. How many studios have you applied to? Which ones? Have you had any interviews?
To find the smaller studios that dont really advertise, or that arent on game dev map, you should check out the grants given out by the government. Its a good place to go to see who just came into some money and might be hiring.
http://www.omdc.on.ca/about_us/Funding_Recipients/Research_Grant_Program.htm
@slipsius I've pretty much been applying exclusively for Environmental Art positions across Canada. My preference would be to stay close to home, but I'm not tied to it. In Ontario, I have applied to Ubisoft, Rockstar, Digital Extremes, and a handful of other smaller studios. Across Canada I've applied to quite a few more. So far, I have heard absolutely nothing back from anyone, so I'd honestly be happy to even get an art test.
Generally, I've been sticking to applying to studios that have Environmental Artist positions open. I'd love to work at Torn Banner, but I don't feel like I currently have anything in my portfolio that matches the style of Mirage. The next portfolio piece I was planning to do was going to be a stylized exterior piece, as I feel like it might open me open to a few more positions.
Thanks for the heads up about the Ontario grants. I really do consider myself a generalist, so I believe I could be a larger asset to a smaller studio than a specialist at a large one. I honestly like wearing a lot of hats, so those types of positions might be a better fit.
A : do more enviros with quality and post them to get feedback/attention
B : then when you have more content apply. i seriously doubt any AAA studio would hire you with just those two pieces even if they are nicely done ( altho they dont really stand out to me ).
get crackin and post more here to get feedback !
I did find this http://polycount.com/discussion/127379/learn-maya-if-you-already-know-3ds-max/p1, which seems reasonably priced if it's effective, so I have to ask if anyone has watched the series. Are there any other good resources around on the topic?