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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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How should I move forward to improve?

Hello everyone! Something's been bugging me since the start of the year, I feel like I'm getting nowhere as an aspiring 3D artist, specializing in environment. My ever dream is to work in the video g…
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poopipe

Is it worth to pursue a career in games, if there's no industry within my country?

Hi all.I'm feeling a bit down with the perspective of game careers at the moment.I've been training my past year upon graduation, to make a concept art portfolio, I took a long journey to re-learn ar…
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neilberard

Feng Zhu School worth the investment risk?

Hey.I didn't find my question answered through the forum... even though everyone knows about this school, sorry if it has already been answered.I was talking to a teacher of 3D class and asking if he…
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miguelnarayan

Curious how unions work?

Some older polycounters might remember I was keen on unionizing back in the early 2000s in games. I still am, but remember the frustration at how little interest their was among other game devs. I've…
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poopinmymouth

Level Design 101 - Beginner

Hello everyone! Recently I discovered that I’d like to become a level designer. I’ve read everything from “don’t get a degree” to “get certificates” to “study on your own”. Does anyone have good insi…
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JamieGumb1

Does it still make sense to learn character modelling?

First of all, sorry for not ideal title but I cannot think of better one with my English... Today I watched new Unreal technology Metahuman. It's said it's going to be game changer and I'm thinking i…
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pior

What to say about your work projects in your portfolio?

I have an artstation portfolio. I"m in the process of getting ready to upgrade to a plus or pro membership and build a website. I do notice for each project you can type a description. What's should …
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Taylor Brown

Portfolio question. Is it okay to have a project that is a remake of an old game environment, etc?

I just remade a map from a 22-year-old game (Unreal Tournament by Epic Games). It just a personal project for my portfolio which I hope to find a job as a 3D environment artist. I made everything fro…
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Oblivion2500

Want to self-learn 3d, where to start so that I don't stray away?

 Hello everyone, I've been following 3d for a while and have dabbled a bit for a small projects before but want to get serious and eventually get hired at a studio. Currently I'm 18 but do not t…
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poopipe

Quick and efficient way to learn Low Poly 3D in Blender?

I need some tips for learning how to make decent low poly assets. I already learned the basics by watching youtube tutorials, but it got me nowhere. As soon as I try to model something myself and not…
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Brian "Panda" Choi

Question about pricing

I've been considering commissioning a head sculpt of a celebrity for a while, but I'm unsure.I really liked the Zoe Salanda head sculpt I found on artstation and I was wondering how much a textured s…
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gep5

Pre-Industry Artist (help!)

Hey guys. If you would be so kind, I need some advice. So recently after doing some self-search, I figure that I want to be working in the game industry. I'm totally new to this thing, I don't know m…
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Eric Chadwick

How to know when you are ready to apply?

Hi everyone, I hope you are doing good! I'm currently working on my portfolio in order to start applying for work in the industry, and I've decided to give myself a deadline for when I'm going t…
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Alex_J

Any tips for beginners?

Hi, I'm Barbra'ella and I'm a student from Los Angeles Film School. I'm completely new to 3d art. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
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BellBlueEll

Free Guide on how to become a self-taught 3D Artist

Hey everyone!Next to an Arstation Learning Course, I published this free PDF Guide that covers a lot of topics regarding teaching yourself 3D. I hope this will provide you with some ideas and insight…
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YF_Sticks

Full time 'in house' + freelance contracts ?

Hi,I'd love to start out with freelancing while still working for a studio full time. Anyone doing this? Any tips to share ?My current employer (PC/Console AAA) comes up with these 'rules' making it …
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another caveman

A Question on 3D Artist Job Openings

I have been looking at job openings for 3D Artists within game companies, 3D Character Artist more specifically. I have noticed something interesting. A large number of positions available all seemed…
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jose.fuentes

Does anyone know what happened to http://hippydrome.com

Most people point to it as an eductional resource to learn topology and othe rtheory but when I got to the site all I get is an ad for an ebook on the apple store
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Eric Chadwick

Feeling too nervous to post to Artstation

I am a hobbyist for the most part and a beginner. I have just finished this and I am really happy with how it came out. I want to post it to Artstation but I am really nervous. I don’t have an issue …
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Eric Chadwick

Need some advice on self-education!

I have been trying to decide how to proceed on learning game-design for a bit, and I figured it would be best to get some advice as I have no real experience in this. I have made a few levels using U…
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poopipe

How much would you charge for the creation of a Hyper-Realistic Character?

Hi guys I'm collecting some data for a personal project which involves the production of a series of Hyper-Realistic CG Character. Since I'm not that experienced in this field I would like to as…
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Torquedaras

Trouble breaking into the industry

Hey everyone, I don't post much here, more of a lurker than anything. I feel like I am missing out on something key in breaking into the industry. Back in 2016 I had about three interviews and landed…
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Meloncov

What's expected to be seen on a Resume for an individual coming out of Uni into Game Dev

Hi,So while I feel I have a proper resume I don't really feel its geared towards or even right for game development. I would link it normally but it contains personal information such as address and …
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Meloncov

What do I need to learn to become a Material Artist?

Hello everyone!I want to specialize in creating PBR materials. I like the works of Daniel Thiger, Joshua Lynch, etc.Honestly, I don't really like modeling, UV mapping, baking.Since I just started lea…
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poopipe

What Could Recruitment/Staffing Companies Do Better?

Hey Polycount,I got an interesting phone call today from a previous recruitment company that I was hired through for a previous gig, and they were asking me what they could do to better make me feel …
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poopipe

Maintaining steady remote work?

Hey guys - just curious what your thoughts are on maintaining remote jobs at studios rather than moving for jobs? I currently live in a city that does not have a big game dev scene and most of the jo…
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Ripples

Looking for Guidance - A students questions & concerns with getting into the industry as a 3D Artist

Hello All! This will have been my first post on polycount. I will try my best to keep it short but have much I’d like realistic advice on.BackgroundFirst for some background information. I am current…
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CommanderJoJo

Do you freelance or work at a studio?

Do you freelance or work at a studio? Why?
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another caveman

Research about art-battles and challenges

Hello lovely people!For my study UX project, I need some answers from an engaged community that loves art-battles and challenges. You. Yes, you! Please, help a poor student with your answer…
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sherbul

Question about where to study?

greetings, I'm still learning 3d modeling animation on maya and zbrush and i will start soon learning houdini for vfx and i love it, now my problem is that i live in the middle east and there is no j…
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kod

Portfolio Crique

Hi there not sure if this is the right place to post this but I like to get opinion on making sure this is the right approach. I just put up some of the art I did for a gamejam in my portfolio and wa…
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lluc21

A sad reflection on the industry and my and my friends (limited) experience with trying to get in.

 
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Eric Chadwick

Do you need a degree to work in the vfx industry?

Hello!In the last about half a year I became very interested in vfx and made myself "familiar" with Houdini and Maya and especially the modeling and fx part. So because I'm still in school I got inte…
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Ashervisalis

How high are the chances to get hired from a Studio from another country when being self taught?

Hello everyone!,As an example:You are an Environment Artist and you live somewhere in Europe and you want to work at an other AAA Studio lets take as an example a AAA Studio in the US or in Canada yo…
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PixelMasher

Advice for looking for job in gaming industry after big life event?

I haven't had a job for a long time. Almost 3 years now. I graduated from school at RIT with a degree in 3D Digital Design in 2016. I also studied game design. It's my dream job to be a game designer…
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Oblivion2500

Questions regarding modeling for video games

Hi all! I have about 2 years of experience with 3DS Max and about 3 weeks experience with Substance Painter. I graduate with a degree in 3D arts and animation in March, but honestly, I don't thi…
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sacboi

Americans: Search if your State Gov. has money they're holding for you via Escheat doctrine.

Under escheat doctrine, your state government might be holding past paystubs, refunds, rebates, etc. that they couldn't deliver to you for one reason or another.  "Unclaimed property" in other t…
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Brian "Panda" Choi

How many time should it take for making this (texturing and hair not included)?

And supposing we start from a basemesh for the anatomy, do you thing it's possible to make all the armor, clothes and weapon in one day ? This particular example feel quite heavy on that part to the …
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Stensword

How to see more?

Do you guys have sometimes moments when making a model or drawing. You see that something is off but you can't point exactly what it is?For example I model a door and i can't finish it…
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Larry

Finding time for your art growth and development

I have a question for professionals and amateurs alike. How do you guys find the time do you art and improve when you work part time that’s draining the life and time out of you? I want to improve th…
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ChrisTheArtist

Environment sculpting

Hi I've been trying out Zbrush and love it, I was wondering how often environment artists use it? If for example a statue needed sculpting would studios normally get a character artist to do this?
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jamespr

Getting started with character sculpting

Hi everyone.I'm trying to learn to sculpt characters in Zbrush. I've found quite a lot of tutorials but I noticed a lot of them use a basemesh and don't explain a lot of more in depth stuff abou…
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Brian "Panda" Choi

Back-2-Back Art Test Survival

I should count my blessings here that I'm still competitive on the market, butto anyone who's had to deal with back to back art tests during a season of interviews, how much (qualitative) time are ya…
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SDimitrius

What to look into regarding (Mobile) Technical Art?

Hey ya'll,I'm starting a new job soon, and besides my personal educational interests, I'm looking at a situation where most of the stress and work isn't going to be with the visual art direction as i…
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Eric Chadwick

University- I want to become a 3D modeller, not an animator.

Hi, I'm a highschool student and I'm trying to go to an art college/university. However, all they have are Animation courses which Isn't what I want to do. I want to be a 3D modeller/sculptor. Do I n…
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Zi0

Confused about moving forward

HelloI'm having a tough time thinking about my current problem. I finally got a job at Quixel which opened up in Pakistan but I really want to move out of my country and apply to other places, I like…
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Frankythebeast

Has anyone here gone to FZD?

I am strongly considering going to FZD and was wondering if anyone on polycount could share their experience there.  What challenges did you face? Did you land a job upon or shortly after gradua…
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Maned_Wolf

Anyone had any experience with GameFilmHub?

I got contacted by a dude, Ade Smith, through LinkedIn suggesting I should register on his site gamefilmhub.com to automatically get matched with jobs to various studios. There's been no mention of a…
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Eric Chadwick

BIll and Ted 3 Body Suit Creation - Educational Info on Approaching Muscled Anatomy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVqgzW2V9OA&ab_channel=Insider Some interesting perspective on the workflow and reasoning behind color decisions and sculpt decisions when creating the bodybu…
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Brian "Panda" Choi

Dumb question on zbrush

Hey! so i'm pretty new at 3d and I haven't sculpted before. I'm doing the flippernormals intro to zbrush course and i feel okay in how to use it as a tool now. This may sound a bit ridiculous, but th…
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lenteja

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