looking for a career advice
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Hello.
I am a software programmer, but i always wanted to work in something that involves some creativity. not even sure what, anything that involves manipulating shape and color, basically.
also game development is something i just started exploring and i find very exciting.
this is some of the stuff i have done so far. https://www.behance.net/odedwolff
i hope this doesn't disturb your eyes too much. i obviously i have so much to learn, so i was playing with the idea to take half a year off (i have saved some money), and work intensively on my skills. i am mostly self taught, maybe i'd take some courses, but not a full study program.
would it be realistic to train myself in 6 months to be able to apply to any entry level job in graphics, design or game dev? or maybe i am being very naive, given there are many arts and design graduates that are having hard time finding employment?
i appreciate your advice and tips
I am a software programmer, but i always wanted to work in something that involves some creativity. not even sure what, anything that involves manipulating shape and color, basically.
also game development is something i just started exploring and i find very exciting.
this is some of the stuff i have done so far. https://www.behance.net/odedwolff
i hope this doesn't disturb your eyes too much. i obviously i have so much to learn, so i was playing with the idea to take half a year off (i have saved some money), and work intensively on my skills. i am mostly self taught, maybe i'd take some courses, but not a full study program.
would it be realistic to train myself in 6 months to be able to apply to any entry level job in graphics, design or game dev? or maybe i am being very naive, given there are many arts and design graduates that are having hard time finding employment?
i appreciate your advice and tips
Replies
I think programming is one of the most creative jobs there is, so don't put yourself down man ^^ Anything that requires problem solving over such a broad area is super creative. I have a very bad grasp when it comes to programming for games, but that sounds like a better option than doing a full 180 and become someone who does Art for a living.
I think it would be great, if not necessary, to have a programmer on the team that can also do a bit of art or atleast understand the whole workflow. Same goes for artists who should know some basic scripting imo! That said I don't think 6 months seems realistic for where you're at at the moment. Here's my portfolio with which I started looking for jobs : https://jakobgavelli.carbonmade.com/
I'm proud of it, but I would never be able to get any AAA-entry level job at Blizzard or Insomniac, etc, at this point.
It's great but I don't think it's realistic to do a sudden switch over 6 months like that. I'd recommend looking for game developing jobs with your current skillset and be hungry to learn more about art from other artists on the job and work on a portfolio or a solo-project during your spare time, where you can use both your programming and art knowledge!
I'm still relatively new to the industry, so, grain of salt an all that ofc!
thanks for the feedback - it sounds very reasonable, if i can get a game development job i'd certainly go for it
A good technical artist needs engineering skills, art skills and communication skills. Most tech artists start strong in one skill, ok in another skill and weak in the third skill.
It's easier to find employment as a technical artist because almost nobody wants to do it and it requires a broad range of skills and interests. We do things like vfx, physics simulations, shader writing, optimization of art, technical animation, rigging, etc. The ability to write code to solve problems in any of these areas is extremely valuable.
IMHO you could keep saving money and playing more with art, letting to make this decision later. Try to do more characters or environments ( whatever interests you the most) before you jump into your 6 months of full time training.
I would say if it's not terrible then definitely stick with your current job and take some fundamental art classes on the side until you figure out what you really want to focus on. Then keep sticking with your current job while you do your creative thing in your free time. Even if you take 6 months off it will still probably be a year or two before you land something in games.
(Edit) huh, it posted an older draft... Oh well close enough
as far as characters etc goes, i actually work quite a lot about it, mostly drawing, but should definitely start to model it more...
Why not create game prototypes in your spare time while working as a programmer? Or save up for a few years and then work on your own projects full time? Can't get more creative than that.
Just looking at wages of programmers versus game artists, you'd have to be insane to want to switch. Tech art is an option but then you might as well be a game programmer?
For a long time, my goal in life was to work on big game projects. When I got my first job at a game studio it was extremely anticlimactic. I realized I didn't actually want to just be a cog in a machine working on my own insignificant little slice of a project for the next 40 years.
Oh well, these are just my jaded ramblings.
The main difference between tech-artist and programmer is that tech-artists are in many cases support personnel. Unless you create shaders, substances, vfx or rigs, your work will not end up in the game. It's not a job where you can load up the game, point at something and say "I did that!". For me that was cool the first few times, but the satisfaction from this doesn't last very long. For me, seeing people use better tools and workflows every day is much more rewarding.
Then again, I know a job is just a job and I wonder if making art your job takes the passion out of you. I know it's not all fun and games there either. I really don't know man. But either way don't discard programming as it is a valuable skill set. As others have pointed out, definitely consider something like technical art as a blending between the two. It's something that I've been noodling for a little bit. And lastly, don't jump ship from something secure you have just to pursue the art unless you know it's something stable and you're certain about it. I think it's a slow process and you have to dedicate yourself to it while also still paying the bills and all that until you can safely pick a new path. Idk if any of this helped any but it was just some of my thoughts as I'm going through this as well lol I'm still trying to figure it all out as well. Hopefully we both do
Programming actually comes very naturally and easy for me. it feels to me something like stacking up clothes neatly in a closet. it is satisfying to some extent, but there must be something more to life than that. now i do realize that the grass on the other side might be much less green once you actually get there, but from my current point of view, the world of graphics seems much richer and deeper, and i definitely have more hunger to learn new stuff that is related to graphics than another language, framework or library, which are all pretty much the same for me.
I have also taken the approach of not expecting too much from work and do the things i care about when it's done, but there is just some inner voice that keeps telling me i really need to get away and stay away from that industry. but that is just me, i know a lot of people who couldn't imagine be doing anything else
Im super happy with it - also when i left the game industry. Carrier wise - was the best choice ever - and who knows, maybe i come back. As the other mentioned - You already have a creative job - solving problems is super creative!
I can encourage everyone here to seek for things thats awaking passion. Try different roles - try differend things - move on!
"i hope this doesn't disturb your eyes too much."
Don't do that to yourself, my dude. Literally all of us started from nothing, so 90% of the people on these forums are going to be completely sympathetic. Don't degrade yourself to validate a realistic perspective. If you want to do this, then freakin' chase it. The road ahead doesn't diminish the journey behind you. You got this, just pursue what you love to do.