Career & Education

Topic	Replies	Latest Post
Hobbyists/hobbyists turned professional: How do/did you make time? I'm trying to build up my portfolio enough so that I can safely apply to work in the industry. But it keeps feeling like I have to work hard at sacrificing a lot of time, and upset people around me, …	10 Last	Ryusaki Oct 2018
Should I learn to code? :( I am facing a strange dilemma. I want to learn to make awesome 3D environment art. Have been told that it is more important to learn and master art fundamentals (like shapes value and color…	14 Last	norbyscook Oct 2018
Selling Exclusive Single Customer 3D assets? Hello all, Has anyone tried selling 3D assets to a single customer for a higher price so that studio/ customer gets an exclusive asset...Instead of spending a work week on an asset, only to get …	11 Last	NikhilR Oct 2018
"It's time we stopped encouraging indies" - John Warner, 'The Fall' https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-10-02-its-time-we-stopped-encouraging-indiesBelow I think is a snippet relevant to a lot of the beginning artists who wander through Polycount.#4 Sch…	14 Last	hannya84 Oct 2018
Question from a total beginner (HELP!) So, I was asked to produce some 3D art if possible for a friend. I have ZERO experience, never touched it, although I do know PS and Illustrator a bit. I was hoping someone could just tel…	3 Last	IchBinEinDude Oct 2018
Need Mentor help and advice for School assistance Hello, My name is David Roberts, and I'm seeking some help and advice from a mentor. Anyone who may be interested in helping a fledgling modeler, I would greatly appreciate some help. Thank you …	7 Last	DrekRok Oct 2018
Self Teaching Journey Hi everyone!This is my first post on Polycount and if you have time I would really appreciate it if you read my first post.I could use strong community feedback of experienced game designers and arti…	4 Last	Georgie_Run Oct 2018
8 Tips for artists struggling with motivation 'Sup all you art gangstas?! So I finally got around to tapping out another long ass article for anyone who fancy's a read. It's my response to the hundreds of motivation threads that get posted …	23 Last	cookiefrenzy Oct 2018
Looking to improve my modeling skills Hello everyone, I am in a point where I can model and I could use some good tutorials/courses that give in-depth details and tips for improving and making the models more polished and game ready.&nbs…	4 Last	Alex_J Oct 2018
How to learn environment design? What are the foundations of this area that I need to study? For instance, if I wanted to be a character artist, aside from the necessary skills in anatomy and figure drawing i'd need, to design anyth…	4 Last	Brian "Panda" Choi Oct 2018
Gumroad, Cubebrush, ArtStation Marketplace or all three? To either sellers or buyers, what do you recommend is the best place to buy/sell digital art assets? I used to buy from Gumroad but now I am noticing a lot of artists are posting their products on Ar…	2 Last	Olenka Oct 2018
Preparing an entry level portfolio dilemma - Props or Substance work? Hey guys,So I've been preparing an entry level portfolio. I started off with props while also learning substance designer. Then I really started getting into substance and thats what I've been doing …	9 Last	Parth Oct 2018
Job Application Feedback Hello all,I was wondering if it's possible to reach out to a studio and ask for feedback from an unsuccessful application?I'm not too sure who I'd contact (there are multiple recruiters) - and I defi…	3 Last	Brian "Panda" Choi Oct 2018
First Interview for Game Artist Role, but... Hi everyone,So for the first time since I started my first job 3 years ago, I've been applying for jobs. It's nice to be getting responses now that I have a few years experience, and I have just been…	2 Last	Eric Chadwick Sep 2018
What is like to have a interview for X position in gaming or VFX Industry? Could someone tell me, how studios in this industry, make interview for a position in their studio? Something like Character Artist, or Environment Artist? How do they pick people to work on their pr…	2 Last	Brian "Panda" Choi Sep 2018
Upcoming Industry Session Webinar \| Creating Hair for Games with Johan Lithvall In this next Industry Session webinar, Johan Lithvall will cover his overall workflow and process, and the technical elements to create realistic rendered hairstyles for games.In an effort to achieve…	1 Last	N_GONE Sep 2018
Do Studios hire Freelance 3D artists? Hey guys, Im new to Polycount and I'm currently thinking of switching careers from a freelance 2D illustrator on tumblr doing private D&D commissions to a 3D Artist doing both High & Low Poly…	6 Last	ToffeeApple Sep 2018
Suggestions for free WordPress themes for portfolio ? I was wondering if anyone has a good suggestion of a wordpress theme for portfolios? Something clean and simple like artsation's themes? I'm also open to paying for a good theme	14 Last	PixelMasher Sep 2018
Is there a difference in working in VFX(Movie industry) and Gaming industry? I am getting familiar with CG industry as a whole. I would like to know if there is some difference working between these two industries? Does technology is the same when someone wants to go from Gam…	2 Last	JordanN Sep 2018
New hire comes into your studio -- what skills are they usually missing? Is there some general things new people struggle with? The same type of stuff you see questions about here and elsewhere online? Baking issues, general workflow questions, lack of software understand…	5 Last	Alex_J Sep 2018
cover letter critique im a recent graduate and im applying for my first position as an art intern, i've not had to write a cover letter before so i imagine im pretty off with this.this is the guide on the application …	8 Last	Alex_J Sep 2018
CGMA 2018 SUMMER 2D STUDENT GALLERY The 2018 Summer Student Gallery is here, brought to you by the students at CGMA. Over 6 – 10 weeks, these artists have had the opportunity to be mentored by the industry’s leading master a…	0 Last	cgmasteracademy Sep 2018
Shoot 'Em Up Survey Hi! I'm currently making a Shoot 'Em Up game prototype for my Uni studies and was wondering if it was ok to post a link to a quick survey I put together?EDIT: Doh, forgot the link! https://www.s…	0 Last	y2jfreak Sep 2018
How do we grow as artists? I am using this picture just for so u guys could understand what i am saying. My every sculpt looks good upto this point where I cannot go forward. I feel like something is missing from this.There is…	6 Last	PixelMasher Sep 2018
Can i learn to become Artist on my own as a self taught? I am 30, maybe it is way to late for me, but i am really eager to become character modeler/artist. I decide it to change career from software engineering. Writing code is not for me, to much math, to…	10 Last	sacboi Sep 2018
Schools and networking Hi everyone,I thought to start a new topic, because the previous one took a bit of a detour from the original content :smile:My main issue is that I began the Game art program at Vanarts, but I won't…	26 Last	Blazs91 Sep 2018
Creating professional portfolio in school vs online course. Hi everyone!I’m a newbie on polycount, but I can imagine how many times this topic has already been discussed. But I think that my situation is a little bit different. I've currently enrolled in Vana…	46 Last	Blazs91 Sep 2018
Seeking artschool recommendations (Long read) Going to continue to work on this thread a bit per week when I have time, Finding a place for a big moose q.qtl;dr Car crash -> nerve damage -> wicked surgery -> Recovery -> Switched majo…	3 Last	Taylor Brown Sep 2018
Question about competition Hello,So this question is primarily for 3d modelers either in film or games but anyone can answer, so i was wondering if there is an actual shortage of jobs in this industry which makes them so hard …	8 Last	NikhilR Sep 2018
How to retain focus I'm pretty sure many of us have this. At times we get distracted and couldn't really focus on the work we love to do.For me, I love 3D modeling but there's another conflict of interest that I h…	27 Last	NikhilR Sep 2018
Should I not showcase decimated objects in my portfolio? Hey guys,So I was just wondering is it considered unprofessional/lazy to have game assets decimated rather than retopologized by hand? And I am not talking about characters, or things that will be de…	11 Last	driftprincess_z Sep 2018
CG Spectrum, CGMA, or Gnomon for online courses? Hi everyone, I just recently graduated from an animation program where I specialized in 3D modelling, but I’m looking to take some online courses to help improve my portfolio and learn ZBrush. I’ve …	9 Last	dizzi Sep 2018
Looking for advice about continuing self-education Hi, I'll make this as brief as possible. Self learner, began 3d art from zero computer use background about 5 months ago. Mostly learned from pluralsight in the beginning, now I piece together w…	2 Last	Alex_J Sep 2018
Upcoming Art of Lighting for Games Webinar with Omar Gatica In this webinar, Omar Gatica, Principle Artist at Infinity Ward, will share his experiences as a lighter and his overall workflow & process on achieving beautiful & practical approaches to in…	0 Last	cgmasteracademy Sep 2018
More/Less Saturated Artist Positions Hello everyone,After just graduating from college, I am currently looking to finally follow what I've wanted to do since I was little and pursue a career in the entertainment industry as an artist, s…	12 Last	pmiller001 Sep 2018
Orca's shutting down Thought I'd share this here - https://orcahq.com/ is packing up :(I remember browsing it kind of every day at some point, for me or for friends, it's been a quite handy website. so. where shall…	11 Last	Yoji Sep 2018
Announcing The Mentor Collective! Announcing The Mentor Collective!Hello everyone! We recently launched TheMentorCollective.com, head on over to the site to explore our new site and sign up now!We offer a variety of Mentorship o…	9 Last	josh_lynch Sep 2018
Learning to sculpt skulls Hi there, I'm looking for a little advice on learning to sculpt skulls - exercises to do, resources to learn from. I started the below block out initially trying to copy the workflow in the pre…	4 Last	carvuliero Sep 2018
The 3d game art graduate survey Hey everyone. Are you a graduate from a game development college program specializing in 3d game art? Working jobs not related to your field or still struggling to find work? have you …	3 Last	zachagreg Sep 2018
Character Artist Survival Guide Character Artist Survival Guide pt1: Intro via @artstationhq http://www.artstation.com/…/character-artist-survival-guide… …I recently did a lecture to a class of Uni students and got some g…	6 Last	goekbenjamin Sep 2018
Quitting a job to work on a portfolio Greetings, polycounters! I usually don't ask for help, but this time people with more experience may give me a valuable advice. A little backstory: I'm working in manufacturing making product rende…	15 Last	Arp Sep 2018
4rth Year University Dissertation Help?! Hi there, I am currently studying my 4rth year of 3D Animation & Visualisatio and my main interest is within the Modelling field of 3D. Ive tried creating my topic question for my dissertation ar…	1 Last	Brian "Panda" Choi Sep 2018
Selling my 3D work used in University classes? Hello friends, I hope you are all well.I had a question regarding selling 3D work I made and used for my University classes. I purchased MayaLT and Substance Painter 2 so I am allowed to commercially…	2 Last	DefoNotMike Sep 2018
Learning to draw as a 3D guy So, I've been quite happy with how I've progressed along my studies in 3D and even though I'm currently working in some AAA projects as a 3D freelancer, the thing that most annoy me is I can't for th…	7 Last	Fnitrox Sep 2018
Rigging Dojo I was looking into signing up for their Rigging 101 course this Fall, but I'm having problems looking for any reviews or opinions. There are also a few other questions that I wanted to ask if anyone …	3 Last	Alemja Sep 2018
What do you wish you learned earlier /before you graduated/ got a job in games/ etc ? I'm going to be a senior and working on my thesis for college this year soon, and the imposter syndrome is kicking in in a major way, I didn't get to do an internship or work on art much over the sum…	13 Last	TravisMcCallum Sep 2018
Game Characters, and how to present them Hi there!I have a rather dumb question but somehow it also seems pretty important.When i will create a game character model this would be my steps:1. sculpt highmesh2. retopo for lowmesh3. bake &…	10 Last	Biomag Sep 2018
What speciality I should aim for in the games industry? Also some pipeline questions. Hello everyone!I'm currently in high school and I'm studying 3D stuff for 1 year or so now. I got into a lot of things (VFX, animation, compositing, motion graphics etc.) before settling down on Blen…	7 Last	NikhilR Sep 2018
Where to hire a landscape artist for consultation? Hey all,So, I'm currently in the middle of trying to figure out this whole 'landscape artist' thing, and I'm trying to find someone who actually does this for a living who I can hire to give me a cou…	1 Last	Brian "Panda" Choi Aug 2018
Copyright / Legality Portfolio Question I plan on becoming a character artist. Initially, I will use images from google for anatomy studies and likeness sculpts, but eventually I want to populate my portfolio. I am concerned about the lega…	3 Last	Brian "Panda" Choi Aug 2018