How do you choose a computer graphics school?
polycounter lvl 5
How do you choose a computer graphics school?
Wich ones are the best cg schools in the world? And why?
Are there any very good cg schools in Europe or if you're a EU citizen should you move to U.S.A., Canada, Singapore, etc. or should you take online courses?
Wich ones are the best cg schools in the world? And why?
Are there any very good cg schools in Europe or if you're a EU citizen should you move to U.S.A., Canada, Singapore, etc. or should you take online courses?
Replies
If you live in the "EEA" tuiton is just 890 Euros per year. http://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/page/81/Tuition+fee
This one also comes to mind but it's in the UK so you'd pay significantly more for tuition. http://polycount.com/discussion/68766/games-art-course-at-the-university-of-hertfordshire/p1 Tuition is £9000 per year for EU students and £11.500 for international students.
Whether or not you should go to university is a whole different story. To put it bluntly, if you're not already involved with game art in some way you shouldn't even be thinking of it as a possible career.
If you're already actively creating game art and you have a decent mastery of it you might be better off staying home and further developing your skills and portfolio by yourself.
also
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry
Meet them at an open house, look at pictures, see if the environment and gear look ok. You don't want to throw away massive amounts of cash and never understand how it got spent by the school.
Type in the name on google to find out about testimony. Check out their website. Does it look pro ? Most important : Is the student work gallery up to par with the industry standards ? Consider it as the best they can show. Do they have good relationships with studios and professionnals ? Do students find work after they graduate ?
Knowing about 3D before entering a school is a good advantage as it's much easier to judge if you're going to develop your skills well in that school. There's nothing worse than advancing at a faster pace yourself and basically being forced to go every morning waste your time and money when you know you'd learn exactly what you want FAST at home. Because you didn't know when you entered and thought that it was all nice and pink. I'm not saying that every school suck but you should choose wisely what is best for your career plans.
Joost is right, if you are passionate and can handle working your ass off at home with tutorials and polycount's community feedback among others, school might not be the best option. Depends on the school itself actually.
* Many degrees in Europe are very cheap or even free, especially in non English speaking countries. Take advantage of this! If you look at the rest of the world, what we have is a rare luxury.
* Want to work at a big studio in the US or Canada? A degree will help a lot.
* How many years do you have to retirement? Can you imagine doing the same for all this time, or do you think that, maybe in 30 years from now, you may want to do something different. A degree keeps you options open to advance your job, change careers, etc. Maybe at 20 this doesn't sound important, but at 35 or 40 it may turn out to be a good investment. Also, keep in mind, the industry changes too!
* With the Brexit looming and nationalist parties getting elected, I wouldn't be surprised if the regional job markets get more restricted. People who'll suffer will be the degree less. Maybe it won't happen right away, but maybe in 10 - 15 years? I wouldn't rule it out.
The main advantage of a degree lies in the long term.
Short term you can just work your ass off on some tutorials (*) and have a lot of success with it and even beat some of the college kids to a job.
(*) You often hear this advice from people who paid tons of money for their education - i.e. Americans. They're absolutely right. For the sort of money they pay it's better to just do tutorials. But in the EU the picture may be different, depending on the uni you're looking at.
I dropped out of High school and never went to uni.
Out of 5 interviews I've been to, including the one that led to my last job I was only asked about my educational background once. And in that case the guy interviewing me actually saw it as a positive that I never went to uni. Because it shows you're driven and independent. Independence is extremely important for game artists.
Having said that, I've met a lot of people who wouldn't be in the industry had they not gone to university. I would definitely have a much better and more prolific portfolio and I'd probably have a significantly easier time finding work because of this (not because of the degree itself!) But I'd also still be at uni right now if I had gone.
Not having a degree might fuck me over later in life but I've come this far so I hope it will never be an issue.
Personally I think if you're driven enough you'll be successful no matter what you choose. Conversely, if you're not driven you will most likely fail either way.
I've noticed that classes that have a great dynamic within the students tend to collectively push each other to be better.
I've had some classes that were cream and others that were crap.
I've seen talented students dragged down by their peers, and mediocre students pushed to become amazing.
If there's any advice for schools to choose; look up their faculty, and find ones that have alumni that have worked in the industry.