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polycounter lvl 18
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D4V1DC polycounter lvl 18
The employer I am working with is saying that he had someone already create an asset but that he wants me to re-create the same asset to see what I can do??? (Environment)
:poly117:
Is this a known practice to have someone re-create the same assets?
What would be the reasoning for this?
:shifty:
The only thing I can come up with is that the previous artist bailed on him and he sent me his file's to re-create them so that he can still use the "work".
:poly141:
To have this topic filled up besides the above would you all be comfortable stating some of the ridiculous requests you get that you feel is a waste of your or company time?

Thanks guys.

Replies

  • EarthQuake
    Are you complaining that you've been given an art test, really?

    Honestly, he could just want to see if you can match the quality of work for his project, you know, like an art test.
  • Del
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    Del polycounter lvl 9
    ~ Explain the circumstance better. Are you talking about a studio? Are you freelancing? Are you being asked to do a month's worth of work? A week?

    How long have you worked for the employer. etc
  • whats_true
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    whats_true polycounter lvl 15
    he wants me

    Hes the boss. If he tells you to do something, do it.
  • Habboi
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    Habboi sublime tool
    Exactly, he says jump off a cliff? You do exactly that!

    No but seriously, need more info.
  • Tofubun
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    Tofubun polycounter lvl 7
    You should totally tell the person who already made the asset that they suck and you personally had to step in to deliver the goods.
  • Cexar
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    Cexar polycounter lvl 6
    Jump off of the cliff and be done with it.

    harry-potter-come-at-me-bro.jpg
  • Wells
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    Wells polycounter lvl 18
    remaking an asset is not a huge deal in our industry.

    projects can last years. sometimes the crate made in the first week no longer matches the style or quality level.
  • D4V1DC
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    D4V1DC polycounter lvl 18
    Thank you Sectaurs, the situation is the scene is already done not even textured yet and I have been requested to recreate It but their is nothing wrong with the scene I was sent & even he said It was fine.

    Edit on topic:

    1 year employed.

    Not an art test, gj.

    Asset is already done and he likes It, but is requesting me to re-create It, I don't understand why, It is just holding back the project.

    Freelance.

    He probably wants It done in less than 1-3 days, probably 1 in a new application I am learning right now, this week.. probably wants It done on Thursday (same day I start It), wow.


    Edit off topic:No point.

    So I am to assume that I am out of line when I don't want to be abused? I don't care for money enough, I have self respect which has nothing to do with not being a team player It has to do with principle and how I respect myself enough to not be abused for money, your love of money has gotten you blind, I am not stressing money maybe you need to. This is off topic though, guess this will stir up some entertainment and get more response than my previous concern. lol.

    <3 PC before the storm.
  • Ben Apuna
    I'm not sure if I understand your situation.

    Maybe the art direction has changed since the asset was made and the original artist is tied up doing something else or not available to redo it.

    The reasons don't really matter all that much, in the end the boss is unsatisfied with what he has and it's your job to make it better.

    My first industry job was animating characters for a game. Later on in development we brought on a senior artist who the boss had redo the main character's animation set. This was totally fine by me as it made the game better.
  • MikeF
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    MikeF polycounter lvl 19
    I dont know if this counts as "abuse" man. I can totaly understand self respect over money, but damn, you have a job in the industry, be fucking thankfull nowadays. If you want a real blow to your self respect, try having to take on a shit minimum wage job just to pay the bills, after years of training and industry job experience.

    dont mean to sound harsh, just try to look at the big picture here
  • EarthQuake
    Seems like you should simply ask the guy why he wants it redone? If you he wants you to redo it in a unreasonable amount of time, you should have a conversation with him about that as well.

    Dont be afraid to ask questions or voice concerns.

    Complaining on polycount certainly isn't going to do you any good, especially if the guy happens to check polycount, I mean then, you're just asking for even more trouble.

    You talk about self respect, but dont have the decency to simply talk to the guy like an adult?
  • Bibendum
    So you're an abuse victim because someone asked you to do a job you don't see a point in doing?
  • fmnoor
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    fmnoor polycounter lvl 17
    If you have problems with hitting a deadline, discuss it. Being asked to rework existing assets is not abuse, you may not agree with it but that's life.
  • Zack Fowler
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    Zack Fowler polycounter lvl 11
    $!nz wrote: »
    He probably wants It done in less than 1-3 days, probably 1 in a new application I am learning right now, this week.. probably wants It done on Thursday (same day I start It), wow.

    Maybe he's checking your speed in the new app, or how quickly you can get up to speed in it. If it really bothers you that you don't understand why he's having you work on this, maybe you should ask him in a direct but non-confrontational way?

    Either way, he's not asking you to do anything wrong so I don't see what the problem is. There's self-respect and then there's having an inflated ego. I'm not saying that to accuse you of anything but just as food for thought, because it's something I needed to overcome myself over the years. You can't see what the bossman sees from your POV in the trenches, so you shouldn't worry about doing his job for him.
  • D4V1DC
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    D4V1DC polycounter lvl 18
    Thanks guys I am not really complaining I was trying to figure out what would be the reasoning behind It before confronting him about It so I don't jump to my conclusion that someone just bailed on him and he just shoved the work at me.

    I do not think of myself as having an ego, I think in the opposite direction.

    Ben Apuna:
    Thanks that was helpful, It's understandable with animation.

    MikeF:
    Yea man I hear you, I understand but the amount to work hours don't add up, I have no time for nothing, at this rate I am working 24/7 no social life what so ever, I'd rather be working at Mc.Donalds they get some time off and equal or more pay. (yea I did It to myself but read below)

    EQ:
    Yea I agree, but I was curious to see if anyone else went through a similar scenario, I am too nice that's my down fall with people/employers. About the talking like an adult comment: I don't like to hear people complaining after they don't get their way like a child, I don't like taking shit from no one. That's my problem so if anyone gets in my face I pretty much do It right back cause I live by the do unto others, their is no reasoning for yelling at anyone any time, everything can get done in the same manner without raised voices or power trips, I am not a child and people just want to feel important by yelling and trying to appear as they are better than the other cause they are working for them or in a "higher position", sorry to bring those that are back down to reality. [Off-topic, but good topic none the less]

    Bib:
    Does It make sense, I have the asset that's nearly done I like It, but here redo It exactly and let me see how It turns out...really? I am actually helping him by questioning It, he wouldn't have to pay me to model It cause look It's already modeled. I feel like he's keeping me busy so I don't go exploring my other options & that on the side lines he is getting his money's worth and then some because I work all day, all night, 9.A.m. - 12.A.M.+ - lunch, dinner, sleep.

    That is the whole story.

    fmnoor:
    Yea sadly that is life and by the rate of It, It seems most are going to be unemployed anyway even if your nice follow the rules and do what your told no questions asked, I am just breaking the silence since It will happen anyway I am voicing my opinions and hopefully others might do the same, maybe not to an extreme but we are all just putting up with It and start to let It become the norm and when someone speaks out about It everyone wants to attack said person actually trying to make a difference to sway the advantage towards the artists.

    Maybe I am still out of line, apologies.
  • glottis8
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    glottis8 polycounter lvl 9
    I will tell you this out of exp. As a lead, there is nothing more annoying than asking someone to do something and them questioning you like one is not putting any thought to the workload that we need for a project, specially if they don't bring anything to the table but just a complaint. That will just rub one the wrong way. So be very careful with things like this. I know that your intentions are good, and you just want the most info before talking this over. Be casual, and always have some solutions to the problem. Or at least some thought behind it so that you are proposing instead of just pointing the finger. I hope that whoever you are working for has a plan and knows why he asking you to do things. Good direction is being open but also being firm on the things that need to be done. So as long as you don't come across complaining then you are in good grounds.
  • Bibendum
    Not saying you shouldn't question it, it's good to do so. But claiming you're being abused because you think it's pointless is a bit melodramatic.

    If you can't meet the deadline without overworking yourself, tell him you can't meet the deadline and give him an estimate on how long it's going to take.

    It's really pointless for us to speculate about his motives when you could just ask him.
  • fmnoor
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    fmnoor polycounter lvl 17
    Really? Is this really that much of a problem for you? This is not about being nice or "breaking the silence". This is about doing something you are being paid to do. It's not your call if YOU like it, it's the lead/AD/client's call. There's probably a very good reason to why you're being asked to redo the work and you're cooking up some feelings about being abused.

    If you feel are you being overworked or have time issues, discuss it with the person in charge and work out a better timeline. There is really nothing you have mentioned that suggests you're being forced to work round the clock, only "probably wants this in X days".
  • Mark Dygert
    NO! Don't give me work, I don't want it... you can't make me accept your money for something I create. How dare you offend my sensibilities by giving me something to do!

    ron-silver-desk-o.gif

    Unless of course you think this is some kind of alpha male challenge and you fear your dick is too small... Then you might have something to worry about. But honestly I say bring it on, polish that turd, collect your reward and move on.

    You really don't have much to feel bad about, unless you talked smack about someones asset and now you're stuck having to do better...
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    less than a Mcdonald's burger flipper!? Sorry if this derails the thread but you can't drop a big stinky turd like that in the middle of the room and expect nobody to point it out.

    The low end of the scale for an in house junior artist is the top end of a McDonald's General Manager - freelance typically draw in more, I'll let one of the freelance pros drop in for that one.
  • AlecMoody
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    AlecMoody ngon master
    This is so confusing. Is the guy going to pay you to do this? If not then don't do it. Asking a freelancer to do an art test isn't right.
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    I don't know if this is ego or competitiveness talking, but if I'm assigned that, you bet your ass I'm going to do my damnedest to make it even better.


    As far as I'm concerned, there's always room for improvement.
  • woogity
    JacqueChoi wrote: »
    I don't know if this is ego or competitiveness talking, but if I'm assigned that, you bet your ass I'm going to do my damnedest to make it even better.


    As far as I'm concerned, there's always room for improvement.


    this...
  • Mark Dygert
    JacqueChoi wrote: »
    I don't know if this is ego or competitiveness talking, but if I'm assigned that, you bet your ass I'm going to do my damnedest to make it even better.


    As far as I'm concerned, there's always room for improvement.
    I agree and being gracious about it would be the best way forward. There have been a lot of times I've had to go back and touch up someones work or redo do it for various reasons. There's no sense in being a dick about it, just like there isn't much room to complain about it unless of course you're stuck doing the rework because of another persons incompetence. Even then you want to keep your bitching to a minimum. Who knows, it will probably be something of yours that someone else has to rework next time around...

    Personally I think artists need to decouple quite a bit from the objects they create and realize that making a game is a team effort and you need to function less as an individual who makes art and more as a person who helping to create something that is bigger than their art alone.

    Courtesy and good communication are sometimes things that suffer in exchange for artistic talent. But its something that will knock people out of the running pretty fast if all things are equal... Being courteous goes farther than just saying hi in the hallway. It extends to how you structure your files and how you communicate what you're doing and why to other people.

    Just like you would hate opening a PSD with 500 layers, you work in a way that doesn't force others to do that.
    Just like you don't like opening a scene and seeing 7 copies of what look like the same object, you don't do that to other people, you might leave a quick spline text note explaining things. Who knows 6mo or a year from now it might be you reopening the file and trying to remember which of the 7 was the final version.

    /rant
  • D4V1DC
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    D4V1DC polycounter lvl 18
    This is along the lines of what I was looking for:
    glottis8 wrote: »
    I will tell you this out of exp. As a lead, there is nothing more annoying than asking someone to do something and them questioning you like one is not putting any thought to the workload that we need for a project, specially if they don't bring anything to the table but just a complaint. That will just rub one the wrong way. So be very careful with things like this. I know that your intentions are good, and you just want the most info before talking this over. Be casual, and always have some solutions to the problem. Or at least some thought behind it so that you are proposing instead of just pointing the finger. I hope that whoever you are working for has a plan and knows why he asking you to do things. Good direction is being open but also being firm on the things that need to be done. So as long as you don't come across complaining then you are in good grounds.

    Thank you.

    & yes I am getting paid, LOL Mark! good one &
    you're stuck doing the rework because of another persons incompetence
    I have to do this all the time!! even here as well....

    Thanks everyone else for the important/useful feedback!
    This is solved as far as I am concerned, mods.
  • Rick_D
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    Rick_D polycounter lvl 12
    i think you need to kill and eat your employer, it really is the only reasonable way to proceed.
  • gray
    you said you got this sorted but I will give ya a little advice in this situation that you can still use. first if it makes you angry just stop and chill. you should not be angry. you don't know whats in the other persons head. what you want to know is why do I have to redo this? but if you look at it another way you want to know what does the art director want you to do that is different from the other version? so you should ask some questions about that. is there specific things he wants changed? is there a different style? different scale? try to nail down some specifics. I don't think he will say "I want you to do an exact copy of this model and do not change anything".

    this kills 2 birds. you get to find out why he wants you to model this thing again. and also you look like you actually are focused on doing it the way he want it and doing a good job.
  • RexM
    less than a Mcdonald's burger flipper!? Sorry if this derails the thread but you can't drop a big stinky turd like that in the middle of the room and expect nobody to point it out.

    The low end of the scale for an in house junior artist is the top end of a McDonald's General Manager - freelance typically draw in more, I'll let one of the freelance pros drop in for that one.

    Yeah, this. Sounds like you're being taken advantage of.
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