Staying Positive?
Hey guys, im a recent grad from Illinois Institute of Art. Im 25 now,Its been about a year and a still cannot find a game art job. Im having a difficault time staying positive about the situation and wondering if it will ever happen. I pay 50xxx for an education that i now realize is useless and i never should have went to school. Any of you that were in similar situations how did you manage mentally? I try to keep doing more work to keep getting better and better but its quite depressing even tho i love doing it so much. I at least have a 9-5 job doing wedding albums :-/
Any help would rock as depression sucks lol
Any help would rock as depression sucks lol
Replies
A lot of people will tell you to 'man up', and in all honesty while it's harsh advice... it's also probably the best advice. Negativity and feeling depressed will only yield poor results in your creativity.
Now I'm not in the industry yet, so you'll get more proffessional advice from those who are, but I'll offer some suggestions.
- Keep things fresh. Take a break from art to get inspired, go see the outside world, parks, galleries, take a city stroll etc. Play some video games, immerse yourself and take mental notes of what attracts you in all of the above, both in game and in the real world.
- Do a little bit of something creative every day, even if it's just a sketch or two, a character, prop, environment whatever, put some music on and just let it flow.
- Forget the 'I must get a job asap' mentality. This is what hurt me the most over the last 18 months or so, just ramming a load of crap work into a portfolio so I could fool myself into thinking I could start applying for jobs. I now realise that taking time to improve and develop as well as produce the very best work I am capable of is far more beneficial, even if it takes a lot longer, the quality is what will sell your ability.
- Plan a project and get into it. Like really plan a project. An environment for example. Think about all the things that will need to go into it, sketch ideas, write down a plan and then get started. Post every single bit of progress on here and get crit at each step of the way. This is another area I screwed up when starting. I'd post finished projects and get a load of crit when it was too late leaving me with a bunch of finished work that sucked rather than one or two good quality assets.
- Finally, and most importantly, just stay positive about it. If you work hard enough, it'll happen. Your portfolio shows promise, so it's not like you can't ever get there. Don't worry about getting that job asap, just focus on a better goal like having a portfolio of top quality work that shows a great amount of time and effort went into the content.
As you say, you've got a full-time job which is more than some people, it may not be what you want to do but lets be honest, barely anyone drops straight into their dream job but think of it this way, when you do get there, the sense of accomplishment in itself will be well worth all the effort you put in.
Seems to me that this is the cause of your problem, not the fact that you can't find a job.
As much as it sucks, you have to simply accept that you either assumed or were given false promises by faculty staff that your dream career would simply 'happen' if you attended that college. If you can't move past this and accept it, then the resentment towards your debt and your educational experience could easily transfer to the work itself, which will manifest itself in your portfolio.
Also, it doesn't look like you've been working on your portfolio or developing your skills in the year since you graduated. From Ben's site:
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http://poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/money_mouth.htm
A lot of people here have gone through similar experiences, and have succeeded in spite of their 'useless' qualifications from various institutions. Put it this way; would you rather work your ass off and eventually succeed, or give up and still be saddled with $50k + of debt?
Lastly, figure out if you're just discouraged or genuinely depressed. Actual depression, and not just feeling sorry for yourself or a bit emo or whatever is a terribly debilitating illness, and needs medical attention.
Now....
lol pic gave me a good laugh, i needed that thanks. Much to think about in here. I need to spend more time and dedicate myself to developing my skills to get in.
You are correct I am so damn bitter about school, i expected to learn much more then i did. I learned more from tutorials and videos posted on here or another site then i ever did in school. I need to just deal with it, its in the past and nothing i can do about it now
Ill be honest and straight up i know im not good enough yet, i need to find it in me to be positive that i can be as good as I want to, and see art work on here
thank you for advice
2nd, Don't lose sight of why a lot of people choose this as a profession. If its a grind putting a portfolio together, then its going to be a grind working in the industry. For a lot of people this was a hobby long before it was a career and many would turn it back into a hobby if they for whatever reason couldn't find a job.
In other words hopefully you do it because you love doing it, not because you have to. If you can't turn your hobby into a job at least keep the love alive until you can.
Well, it's easier said than done - don't kick your own ass over and over, that won't help. Coming to terms with it and using it as motivation to succeed anyway is the best thing you could do right now. Don't let the bastards rob you of your passion and your money.
You may not think so, but this realization alone is more than some in your situation have. Looking at your work objectively and making a commitment to improving is definitely the right thing to do.
Now get to it, and we'll see you in P&P.
Videogame courses have been all the rage recently at many small colleges, and to be honest, most of the time they just pass people who aren't ready.
I myself am art school dropout.
Just be glad that you genuinely love doing game art and that you have a job. It's great to have a goal to work towards.
If I didn't discover this goal I'd still be playing WoW all day with nothing to aspire to. Now that would suck.
its in my sig, i said i dont think im ready i know my work can improve massivly or at least my portfolio can
nicksvoid.com
I'd suggest getting started on a scene, along the lines of a "unearthly challenge", but do it on your own pace. Grab a cool concept, block it out, and work it from there, and don't stop until your done! And it feels good to have something to look for when you get home, your own little project.
Man, i just finished a personal project lately and hot damn it feels good to just stand back and see what you did. You might hate it, like every good artist hates his stuff, but it's there, it's your stuff, and you learnt a lot with it, and next time you do something similar you'll do it differently and better cos you learnt from your mistakes.
If you don't feel like making a scene just yet, and want to improve your skills further a bit, then grab a tutorial like Eat3d destroied pillar, or Racer's AK tut, and try to recreate it.
That's the way to go to build a portfolio. Keep on kicking ass, and I'll give you 6 months till you land a gig. Just be persistent.
i know and thanks for feedback. Nothing wrong with being blunt its how i can learn.
Ive watched all thsoe tuts too, i did just made a full scene. Ive done the scene with them but obviosuly cant use them as portfolio stuff, i need to use the skills and do something else
So fuck miracles I say you just need a little hope, a little cheering up.
Cheer up!=) Be persitent, don't ever give up on your dreams and be more then ready to work your ass off for them. I'm sure you'll be great. Just stay positive!
And I tell you what. When you get your job I'll send you a present as a sign of my respect. I'm serious. Of course it'll be something cheap and stupid like a plunger or something, but for you it'll be more like a trophy.=)
Just don't forget to demand your present once you get a job.)
Now go get inspired and do awesome art!)
Totally agree, I see high poly V-Ray rendered stuff as opposed to game spec artwork. Arch Viz or what-have-you wouldn't be a bad place to get started doing 3D professionally while working on a game art portfolio if that's what you're inclined to go after.
I'll be honest, it took me a while to land my first job after graduating from the Art Institute. It stemmed from the same thing I'm sure happened to you, people placating you and blowing smoke up your ass and telling you that you have a portfolio and skills that are job ready. Like everyone said, the best thing you can do for yourself is leave all that noise behind, nut up, and crank out some work. Then post said work here, let it get torn to shreds, realize you're still not cutting it and rinse and repeat until you have a respectable portfolio. Like Vig said, have fun with it, art is fun, enjoy what you do.
And as over-used as it is, it's still true: Do or do not, there is no try. Hang in there, good luck.
yes ive played with both. Now im gonig to make a full game art portfolio, and seperate it from my Arch Design Portfolio stuff
Adding a few cleaner arch/vis pieces would be needed, or so I imagine, never really explored that side of things.
One of my old elementary buddies is doing arch viz and bugs me for 3d stuff but from what he said, its a lot of vray renders of clean interiors/exteriors pretty much. They also tend to do a lot of after-render photoshop work to try and integrate it into a scene (mainly for exterior renders) I asked him if he ever thought of showing his stuff in a real time engine and he said he has no clue why more people dont do it...
I love VRAY, spent alot of time learning it. Probably know more about it then unreal 3.
Sounds like you would enjoy arch viz better
<--- just enrolled to become a apprentice electrician at 37.
I won't move for the 'job' wife has an awesome job here in Dallas and I don't enjoy doing art at home anymore.
I'm going to try and find another career and get back to enjoying doing this as a hobby. The game industry is too unstable for me. It may just sound like whining and I can see that, but I'm just starting to realize what's important for 'me', and going back to a 9-5 position and doing art to relax is where I want to be again. I thought it was awesome to work for a game company for the two years I was there, but didn't like how shit was managed and I'd come home more frustrated then when I was at work.
And since I'm married and almost 40, I don't want to move across the country every few years chasing the jobs. I want to put down roots and go to work, come home, relax and if I so choose do some art. In the game industry, you need to work, work, and get home and do more work to stay competitive in the industry and if you live in a community with less game studios, you'll have more competition for the jobs so be ready to fight and have the passion, you'll need it.
Does that help you stay positive?
probably but its even harder to get a job due to economy is housing and commercial apps, at least thats what im told. I dont even know where to really work
where did you work?
guess it would come down to your location as well. There's tonnes of building development/architecture work going on here in Toronto..
@Jeremy: Ouch 80k, and here I am thinking about how Im going to pay back my 15k in loans :poly122:
While I can claim a couple credits here and there I've yet to "break-in" after 5 years now and still need a 9-5 to keep food on the table and diapers on the baby. Keeping motivated, that can be a pretty personal thing as well because it depends on how willing you are to keep going when logic says "go be a banker" so I kind scoff at a year and a half.
5 years might sound like a long time and it does get depressing, but I try to keep it in persepective. I took design in school, not art; so even though coming out I wanted to be an artist, it wasn't for another year when I started actively applying. When I do look for work I try to make sure I've got a least 2 new peices to show which usually means it's a few months in-between. When I started out, if a company didn't auto-reply to e-mails I wouldn't hear a thing, then I started getting "thanks for your intrest/we'll keep you on file" replies; now I get actual feedback.
So if you're willing to focus on improving yourself and sticking it out for a while, eventually happen.
That's what I tell my wife anyway
The killer part is that the skills that will finally land you a job someday will probably have come from sites like this, not the school you attended.
indeed, kills me everytime i think about it
Really rather not name, lets just say we had a coder that was making way more then me and since he had the company by the short hairs he'd show up a couple days a month and get away with murder, I ask for an extra 30 minutes for lunch to watch Iron Man2 and get guff, even though I worked 40+ hours a week, worked through my lunches and in my off time would often create props and help other users for our game, and all my stuff was always checked in early. The problems I kept seeing being done over and over again and they were'nt learning from mistakes so I left for a job, I thought was a full time position which turned out to be a contract position.
So, yeah now I'm looking and just as frustrated as you.
lol really hope all companies are not like that otherwise dunno why im trying to get into this lol
Id love to start at one of these companies but i dont know where to look. Can you point me in a direction. I usually looks here, Gamasutra. Most Jobs are big time dev's
[ame]
we got to start it off with a positive jam.
all the sniffling indie kids. hold steady. all the clustered up clever kids. hold steady. i got bored when i didn't have a band. so i started a band. we're gonna start it with a positive jam. hold steady.
I currently hold a position at Electronic Arts as development support and integration for their central art department. As much as I would love to be an artist, I am merely what one might call their "bitch." And this is the result of me working my butt off from the lowest ranking QA tester job (I only accepted it in the first place to pay the bills and get the game industry experience). I thought I was following a path that would lead to my dream job, so I worked all that much harder.
The result is that now I've pigeon-holed myself into a position that is not easily replaceable within the company. Moreover because of this, TFT artists hired off the street are much easier to find than someone well versed in how the department works, is familiar with the bells and whistles of 3D, AND is able and willing to do the job (me).
Moral of the story is, while following everyone's advice, keep in mind what your goals are. Stick to the artist job family matrix (and this does not commonly involve QA). Do not bend over for any old job in the industry for the sake of experience if they are not willing to consider your skills and what you could do for them.
two actually....
Well since you got good source of income enough, you shouldnt let yourself down on the job hunt in the field you desire to work in. Just stay positive, work, do few contests, and eventually you will be noticed and get calls. Also keep on applying for game art jobs.
Also check out the jobs posted here. Even a freelance job would do good for entry level game artist.
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1195688#post1195688
The point I'm trying to get across I think most of us have to work our way up into the industry and prove we are worth our place in a very coveted job. I don't see it as a sprint but as a marathon a lot of us will start out near the beginning and as we go on it get's harder and harder, people begin to drop out and only the most determined, talented and persistent get to that finish line..
That's awesome Jeremy, hope you land something soon. It's great that your wife is so supportive, too.
Good luck, man.
I graduated last year from a big name University out here in the Midwest. I don't feel I wasted money on College at all, I just never really...I don't know. Figured out how the games, entertainment, and arch/viz industries worked. Didn't worry, I was foolish. So I graduated and figured I'd put out for both career and "job" jobs. I didn't just put out for environment art though, I put out for everything because I figured "hey I'm a generalist why not!"
Bad Move. Here's the best part, I'm still unemployed minus the freelance experience I have. Most of that has been for no or very very little money. In my area, there are barely any jobs and what jobs there are don't go to me. I interviewed for literally the exact same job I held at my school and I felt like I rocked it. Didn't get it. So yea, I feel like the kid who nobody wants.
I had a conversation with vcortis in January about my career and what he learned in his extra time living on campus but with no class from job fairs, industry visitors to the school, and sites like this really set me straight. I've done 3 environments in 6 months trying to retool my portfolio from nothing and now I'm reapplying. I didn't know anything about real time rendering software to loving UDK. I learned SO much in these 6 months it's been great.
I'm just really really bad at the waiting game after sending out an application. It's barely been a week since my first application since redoing my portfolio for environments and yea...I'm just really really bad at waiting. That's what gets me down. And if I find say a typo on my resume I flip out because THAT has to be the reason why I can't get anything.
This is probably more of a rant and I'm sorry I totally hijacked your thread. But yea, you're not alone. It's really really hard to keep your head up. I have some freelance and mod work to catch up on but after that it's back to another (and larger) better environment. Just gotta keep trying. I hope you do the same.
PS if anyone whats to see what I was passing for as an environment just say so I'll PM me or post something.
Quotes like these should terrify me as someone who's trying to break into the industry, especially since they only seem to be getting more and more common... But thankfully I'm a master at staying positive.
everytime i feel down , always watch this.
I admire Robert zubrin, many scientist has great endurance to achieve their long term goal,
I think we can learn something from them.
I became an electrician this year after ten years in the games industry. I had previously worked in electronics, so it wasn't a huge transition for me.
The improvement to my lifestyle is so great that it is hard for me to put into words. Going from working 60+ hours a week (some years it was 80+) to an average of 40 will put a smile on your face. And when I do work overtime, I get paid for it, plus double time! Every day feels like a vacation to me.
Not only has my lifestyle improved, but my artwork has improved rapidly. Having an extra 20 hours a week allows me to sit down with pencil and paint and do the kind of art I enjoy.
I don't believe leaving the industry is the right choice for everyone. Some people are a perfect fit for the game industry. They should stay if it's what they really love to do.
If you do choose to become an electrician, I would do it now. Your pension is based on the number of years you worked. Also, when you start as an apprentice, your wage will be fairly low, so the faster you can become a journeyman the better. The raises come fast and the benefits are fantastic.