Best way for a self-taught Blender/Maya modeler to get into the industry?
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Hi all!
For the past 2 years in my own time, I've self-taught from Youtube and forums all around the internet. I feel like I'm at a point where I want 'work' to build my own experience whether that be paid or unpaid. But I'm unclear where to go or where to start.
At the start of this year I started a general ICT degree for 6 months (programming and server management ect) I hated it moved on. Now I'm at a private institution I'm 3 weeks into the course and I feel like 90% of the time I'm teaching the tutor the institution is badly organized has poor facilities and $17,000 for 6 months. All of that has led me to the decision today that I would not be completing my studies there.
So I'm stuck. I've got all my own personal experience that I feel like amount to nothing as job listings (in Australia at least) all say that I must complete some sort of studies. I understand that by completing studies it gives the employer greater background into the individual their hiring. But I feel as though there is little point for me to complete studies when I could just go freelance and prove my own abilities to an employer through a great portfolio.
So I guess I'm asking for advice on where I should go and to what I should do.
Here are some pictures of work I've completed.
Mailbox (Maya - Renderman)
Forest Scene (Blender Cycles render engine)
Snow Scene (Blender Cycles render engine)
For the past 2 years in my own time, I've self-taught from Youtube and forums all around the internet. I feel like I'm at a point where I want 'work' to build my own experience whether that be paid or unpaid. But I'm unclear where to go or where to start.
At the start of this year I started a general ICT degree for 6 months (programming and server management ect) I hated it moved on. Now I'm at a private institution I'm 3 weeks into the course and I feel like 90% of the time I'm teaching the tutor the institution is badly organized has poor facilities and $17,000 for 6 months. All of that has led me to the decision today that I would not be completing my studies there.
So I'm stuck. I've got all my own personal experience that I feel like amount to nothing as job listings (in Australia at least) all say that I must complete some sort of studies. I understand that by completing studies it gives the employer greater background into the individual their hiring. But I feel as though there is little point for me to complete studies when I could just go freelance and prove my own abilities to an employer through a great portfolio.
So I guess I'm asking for advice on where I should go and to what I should do.
Here are some pictures of work I've completed.
Mailbox (Maya - Renderman)
Forest Scene (Blender Cycles render engine)
Snow Scene (Blender Cycles render engine)
Replies
http://forum.unity3d.com/forums/non-commercial-collaboration.17/
http://polycount.com/categories/royalties-or-post-launch-compensation-work
Your first step is to define what you mean by "the industry". It's an global term that means pretty much nothing ...
Do you want to :
Create realtime game art ?
Do digital sculpts and nothing else ?
Create assets for pre-rendered cinematics ?
Once you pick one, study it and strive to become the absolute best at it ! I know that it sounds somewhat reductive but that's pretty much all there is to it. Luckily enough if the goal is game art the path is somewhat straightforward since you have access to hundreds of existing games that you can easily study, extract models from, and learn good asset creation practices from by looking closely at the content (meshes, textures, and so on).
At the moment I've just emailed a bunch of YouTubers and other small companies who might want a simple intro animation or a 3D company logo. I'll diffidently bring up that I'm a 3D artist more often at public gatherings.
As for the degree, I want to move into professional animation at any studio I can. That being said I feel as though a degree is the best pathway forward as it might allow me to get an internship through the university.