Need some advice, thank you
Hello all. I'm presently struggling with a damn dilemma career-wise and thought about asking about your opinions on the subject. My "resume" is kind of brief. I went to high school in the sciences area. After that i took an electronics and IT course during a couple of years. I went unemployed for a year because i was lacking not only the opportunities to get a job but honestly felt i didn't really like what i did. I was one of those kids "who is good with computers" so i really never had any question about following that path, and eventually in a rough patch i realized i did liked computers and being creative, but IT was boring as hell and couldn't stand doing the same server and network maintenance routines every single day.
One day it hit me that what i liked about computers was games, the ability to create stuff, to get in the zone (you know!) and i went back to college, and this time i took an animation and movie making degree, where i learned 3D, animation, movie making. I graduated top of the class, and was sure this was sure i wanted to work in modeling/animation/vfx. As a self taught in the technical stuff, i learned Max, Maya, Z-Brush, Photoshop, Nuke, After-Effects, all to an advanced level, even messed around with Houdini, XSI, C4D, Modo and even presently i keep learning stuff every day in my spare time. Recently i got very interested in the games industry.
I was always a gamer when i was growing up until college, where i took a break to focus on study 100%, but reading all these articles and news about indie developers and how accessible it is to create a game and publish it gave me an "inception" moment where the seed of that thought got its hold on me. When i think of it, my movie making degree even applies to that since i know camera work, directing, writing, photography, even a bit of programming and specially CG. Now i'm in a conundrum, on one hand i have the road i started in college of trying to get in the movie/vfx business as a 3D artist in a studio, maybe even as a digital matte painter or TD and who knows go freelancer when i have experience; on the other i feel like jumping into the game developing area, which in some aspects like engines, workflows etc are completely new, but still have some common ground and it feels like i could completely express myself. So far i don't have any progress in any, im a graduate trying to make a reel and portfolio and then apply, but i feel like i have to make a decision soon so i stop wasting time and make stuff. My "cons" so far about jumping into games production is that i feel like its something i just got interested recently and i don't have the baggage that people who dreamt about it since kids have, you know? Like an outsider who should have wanted it much earlier and without doubts.
But that reasoning could also be applied to the interest on the movie/animation area, since it wasn't even something real 5 years ago. I'm sorry for this wall, i'm just very undecided and i fear i end up not doing anything or keep studying studying and never actually create anything...so any comments or similar stories could be helpful and sorry again for the wall :thumbup: Thanks
One day it hit me that what i liked about computers was games, the ability to create stuff, to get in the zone (you know!) and i went back to college, and this time i took an animation and movie making degree, where i learned 3D, animation, movie making. I graduated top of the class, and was sure this was sure i wanted to work in modeling/animation/vfx. As a self taught in the technical stuff, i learned Max, Maya, Z-Brush, Photoshop, Nuke, After-Effects, all to an advanced level, even messed around with Houdini, XSI, C4D, Modo and even presently i keep learning stuff every day in my spare time. Recently i got very interested in the games industry.
I was always a gamer when i was growing up until college, where i took a break to focus on study 100%, but reading all these articles and news about indie developers and how accessible it is to create a game and publish it gave me an "inception" moment where the seed of that thought got its hold on me. When i think of it, my movie making degree even applies to that since i know camera work, directing, writing, photography, even a bit of programming and specially CG. Now i'm in a conundrum, on one hand i have the road i started in college of trying to get in the movie/vfx business as a 3D artist in a studio, maybe even as a digital matte painter or TD and who knows go freelancer when i have experience; on the other i feel like jumping into the game developing area, which in some aspects like engines, workflows etc are completely new, but still have some common ground and it feels like i could completely express myself. So far i don't have any progress in any, im a graduate trying to make a reel and portfolio and then apply, but i feel like i have to make a decision soon so i stop wasting time and make stuff. My "cons" so far about jumping into games production is that i feel like its something i just got interested recently and i don't have the baggage that people who dreamt about it since kids have, you know? Like an outsider who should have wanted it much earlier and without doubts.
But that reasoning could also be applied to the interest on the movie/animation area, since it wasn't even something real 5 years ago. I'm sorry for this wall, i'm just very undecided and i fear i end up not doing anything or keep studying studying and never actually create anything...so any comments or similar stories could be helpful and sorry again for the wall :thumbup: Thanks
Replies
And if you change your mind, it's not like you cant make the switch later on. I have friends that have jumped from games to movies, and I went from being a 3D generalist on TV commercials to a character artist for games.
My advice is to specialize in the area that you like the most, modeling, texturing, animation or whatever. And really just focus on getting good at that, and then apply for whatever you can to get your foot in the door. It's all relative, so any experience in either industry is good experience. :thumbup:
I don't usually do it, only for storyboarding or planning purposes. I started directly on 3D and i feel more comfortable pushing vertices on a viewport than a pencil on paper. To offset the lack of traditional training in the essential skills like value, light, perspective, scale, color, etc. was one of the reasons i took my moviemaking degree, since i had photography, cinematography, design and drawing classes among others, which helped me develop those core skills, which i think you can learn from any traditional art, be it drawing, sculpting, painting.
I don't mind modeling what people tell me to model, in fact sometimes i'd rather get some concept art and focus on the techniques rather than having to worry that. Other times i like to do what i imagine, of course, but i'm fully aware that in the workplace i'd be asked to work on whatever the "boss" wants.
I completely agree, but in my case its not just loving, i actually worked hard to learn the skills, but the problem is that i have to make a choice, even to make a demo reel or a portfolio. I know in a good level about all the parts of an animation/live action movie pipeline, from modeling to post-production, and i know there is knowledge that travels to a game production pipeline as well (modeling, texturing, animating, etc.) with some tweaking natural of going from pre-rendered to real time. But, since a day only has 24 hours i can't work on every area, and if i don't specialize i will forever be a "jack of all trades, master of none"
I agree again, in fact that is one of the reasons i don't consider freelancing or setting up my own business yet (whenever i make up my mind), i want to be part of a team first, i want to learn from people more experienced and contribute to a pipeline, i thrive better in that environment and lack the value of being part of a studio, contributing with my work to the bigger picture.
The second part is what do u enjoy, where do u find challenge and satisfaction. U may be over-assessing things. Best route, imo, is to pick 1 good place to start from and just start. Don't worry about the later, worry about the now. Make the best first-step u can, and once u'r finished see about making step 2. It may flow naturally by then