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Career & Education

Getting into game development, education for game artists, working in a studio vs. freelancing, life/work balance, managing your career.

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Why don't video game people unionize?

It's no secret that game developers are overworked, underpaid and exploited. It should go without saying that what is happening at Activision Blizzard is absolutely discussting and I can't see a case…
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Ashervisalis

"Nature" as a narrow niche of environtment 3d art? Need for advice...

I'm a medium newbie in 3d art, just had my acquaintance with all the tools in Blender, also have some experience in Unity. Looking forward to becoming a 3d artist myself, but can't pick a specif…
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Alex_J

Help in my CV

Hello,I'm going to write my CV, and this is the form I came up with. I feel it not good, Does anyone have any …
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Larry

Internship Thread/Apprenticeship thread, for Students or Juniors, summer, or year long please post

HiPlease share any news you have on Internship's. This is to help students or Junior Artists and Programmers. I will leave this Google Doc open in the hope it does not get any spam, if so I…
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JearBear The Mighty

YCFCG Character English class Review , Not Recommended

Hi, I am a CG artist and started learning CG a few years ago.I wanted to learn CG Characters.Here is my experience with YCFCG Character English Class:This class is just a Chinese voice over tutorial …
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cgartist07

How can I stay motivated?

I've been modelling for around 6 months and all I can make is things like           And often I go look at other people's work and I see things likeA…
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PixelMasher

Recent Salary Surveys?

Have you guys seen any decent salary survey's for the USA lately? The ones from Gama are very old, and recent data I've seen is from Europe. Any word on USA info?
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PeterK

Art recruiting email - Scam?

I'm a junior 3D artist that recently graduated from college and currently just now seeking job opportunities. I recently got this email that was oddly sent directly to me from a supposed HR for this …
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JSM

Watch out for new Scam Jobs

NVM This isn't new as I thought. Already been a thingas evidenced by another topic here https://polycount.com/discussion/226667/art-recruiting-email-scam So I randomly started getting job o…
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JSM

Portfolio feedback and advice for getting the first Job

Hi all,I have been applying for Character/General Modeling Artist job postings for the last six months. The only successes I had were from Taiwanese studios. However, due to visa restrictions, they c…
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defragger

Drawing, Concepting and Sculpting - Resources

​  Hi Here are some resources to help with drawing and sculpting. What do you think needs to be added for some summer time research? ---------------------------------------------…
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oglu

Unpaid work as level artist - dillemma

Hello guys, this is my first post on Polycount, so if I posted in wrong forum let me know! I have an issue with the approach of my employer to my workflow as an level artist - some things that I do …
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Eric Chadwick

How to protect your artwork? Contact info?

I'm in the middle of finishing up my portfolio and resume this week. I have to re-render everything and update all images on my ArtStation website. Is it a good idea to protect your artwork/property …
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sacboi

Hello, I want to know about term of 3d character work in company.

Hello, I'm working in Korea and I'm interested in working in countries like America or Canada. So I want to know about the work term of making 3d character costume(texturing and modeling) in AAA…
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thomasp

Really struggling with foundational and observational aspects and applying that to 3d space

So, I've been doing some digging over the last few weeks and I will say I've currently moved more off the game stuff to product viz maybe even looking into archviz but I'm still bouncing around a few…
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Larry

Help writing my summary and biography?

I'm updating my resume and summary page from feedback. I'm not very good at talking about what I did or what I do. I'm usually very awkward about saying good things about myself. I got feedback that …
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Larry

How should we teach new artist to be classically trained in the fundamentals of art?

Good day everyone. I understand this question has been asked several times. I understand it is not the first and it definitely won't be the last and I also understand you guys have an extensive Wiki.…
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Larry

How to develop my work further

Hi all,I'm a graduating student and I've been working on 3d game art for a year and half now.I'm kind of lost at this stage.When I see my work, it's not there yet and it still looks like a student's …
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Bedrock

New to the industry? How to utilize your Linkedin Account

Original blog post link: https://lazarosinep.wixsite.com/home/post/how-to-properly-use-linkedin-and-why-it-is-importantGreetings everyone! I've been speaking to a couple of friends starting …
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Alex_J

Virtual Production - Cinematographer Experiences

My First Mixed Reality Shoot - Recorded Live at ARRI Studio LondonCinematographers share their experiences of mixed reality shooting in a panel discussion brought to you by British Cinematographer an…
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littleclaude

Looking for artist(s) advice on approaching an anime themed art style

Greetings, I'm trying to wrap my head around what would be the best way to approach environmental assets that would fit a fantasy anime setting. I mostly create stylized art pieces that fit the WoW s…
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pior

GJL Summer Jam - showcase your skills to industry professionals!

Games Jobs Live is excited to announce the next Game Parade game jam, kicking off on Sunday 11th July! The jam lasts a week, but you'll be able to submit updates for bug fixing and polishing for a f…
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Wandering_Owl

Scholarship Interview Advice

Hello everyone! I've recently been invited to an interview for a BAFTA games art scholarship. I'm a first-year at the University of Hertfordshire studying 3D Games Art and Design, and would really ap…
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Eric Chadwick

How to get professional appraisal?

Hiya! I'm gonna keep this short just for time's sake. I've been practicing prop, weapon and character asset design for games about a year using Blender, and I believe I'm at a roughly intermediate le…
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Alex_J

How to become marketable to employers as a 3d character artist?

Henlo,Being able to do just nice sculpt, retopo ,UV , and paint it seems is not enough today. So, what would make some 3d character artists marketable? Do we need to show some facial and body ri…
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Neox

Salary negotiating

Hi y'all! I was wondering how much do you up the ante when you negotiate your pay? Unfortunately I was pretty underpaid when I first landed my job after graduating, and since I used that as a re…
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kierangoodson

Portfolios - AS Learning - Guide to Game Art Applications by Kieran Goodson

The Guide to Game Art Applications, now live on ArtStation's Learning platform is a 3-part series based on my experience breaking into the industry and is a compilation of topics that I've …
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kierangoodson

CANT FIND A JOB : DONT BECOME AN ARTIST ?!!!

hey guys my name is adrian im a hard surface game artist I do props/environment  check out my website and the quality of my work https://adriancgmask.com/my youtube channel free tutorials h…
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adriancgmask

Interview request: The future of AI in Games art & VFX?

I have a huge interest in technology and recently I have been into AI and the possibilities it could have in the media industry as a whole. I have done some research into some and even tried the art …
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oglu

I need Advice

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a good  day!!Since I got my first PC, all I wanted to do is to playing games and someday learn how to make them.so I hope you would advise and support me whe…
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poopipe

Should I even bother applying as a Junior Game Artist with this portfolio?

Hello,How realistic is it to expect landing a first job as someone who just graduated from a short Game Art education?https://milokalita.artstation.com/ I’m only looking for honest replies, thanks.
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InvaderRoxas

Is it a good idea to have a vehicle as part of an environment artist portfolio?

I decided lately to switch from 3d product viz to game industry planning to work as an environment artist hopefully in big studios, Currently i have several WWII vehicles that i modeled 8 years ago a…
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Alex_J

Mentorship for Junior Environment Artist?

Hi everyone!I would like to know if you know about some good Environment Art Mentorship.Thanks a lot!
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SuSo

Are environment asset creators less desirable than environment artists?

I'm more interested in creating environment assets from scratch rather than building whole environments in-engine from already existing or modified assets, but I noticed that a lot of games these day…
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sprunghunt

AAA game development and motivation.

Hi, everyone.I've been working in the game industry since 2012. But most of my career was in mobile games. That's not why I started learning 3D and came to game development. I plan to stop making mob…
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garcellano

Is it okay to have weapons as part of portfolio of 3d environment artist?

I'm a 3d environment artist and I'm currently working on my portfolio (https://olliverpetkac.artstation.com/ ). I'm working towards smaller projects with more focus on quality and high detail. One fe…
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Roomper

I want to learn Unreal Engine 4 as an advanced artist, where do I start?

Hey Guys,  I’m a 3D Artist, who has worked with 3D Programs for about 7 years now. Mostly Blender and Maya.  I want to get into Unreal Engine 4 and later 5, but don’t really kno…
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DerMalt

Advice for wannabe technical artist's career direction?

Hi everyone! Thank you in advance for any advice you may have for me.I graduated in 2017 with a degree in 3D art, and have been working in mobile game studios ever since, up until 5 months ago when I…
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kaisla

Is it worth applying to positions outside of EU? (US, Canada, Australia)

I'm just wondering if it's even worth applying to positions as a Junior Artist in those countries? I see a lot of job postings there but I'm not sure if it makes sense applying as the visa seems to b…
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lluc21

Selling 3D models on various websites

I am selling models exclusively with TS for a long time and I have no idea how other places works nowdays.Is here someone selling models on Turbosquid, Sketchfab, CgTrader, BlenderMarket or Gumroad?A…
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Eric Chadwick

Art Test Building Texture

Hi Ladies and Gents,I applied to a company, they liked my portfolio and gave me an art test. Im about a week into the test now and Im at a critical stage that will affect the quality of my submission…
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Sloth_42

Creating environments without a Concept and having no Ideas.

Hey everyone!,So I've got 2 Issues where I just can't find a solution for.. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________My first Issue wou…
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sprunghunt

is there situations where you need to concept as a 3d character artist?

Hi,I know there is a job position called 2d concept artist and 3d character artist. It's not the same. The roles are not the same , i am aware of that.So, the pipeline goes basically on getting the c…
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Blaizer

My 3D Environment Artist Portfolio is Finished. Feedback?

I have just finished building my portfolio website, updated my ArtStation profile, and resume. I am ready to work in the gaming industry as a 3D environment artist. I would like feedback on my port…
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Oblivion2500

Alternatives to Movies and Video Games for hard surface artists

Hello Polycount community,I spent some years studying subdivision surface modeling, by practicing concept designing and vehicle/props modeling, although upon searching for jobs, I've noticed that the…
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SnailOff

Digital Arts and Animation Bachelor's Graduate - A bit rusty and could use some career guidance

Hello,So over a decade ago I graduated with a Digital Arts and Animation bachelor's, more geared towards the game art industry. However, at the time of graduation, a job opportunity presented itself …
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Zi0

I'm hearing impaired and wear hearing aids. Will this affect my job in 3D game industry?

I am hearing impaired. I wear high-end hearing aids and can easily understand speech in person and in small groups. I do use subtitles or close captions whenever I can. Texting, email, video calls …
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PixelMasher

Think Tank Training Centre online good for making connections???

So I'm thinking about eventually enrolling in the Think Tank Training Centre online program for VFX. It looks like a really good program but one thing that I am concerned about is making profess…
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Meloncov

interview disappointment

say no more.
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Ruz

Specialize or Generalize?

Hey guys,I will make this topic short and very straight forward. I have 5 years of work experience as game artist. I'd glad to say that I also have a solid pipeline skills (modelling / sculpting / re…
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Domslice

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