Australian Uni / Game Industry
polycounter lvl 12
Hi all , Ok so I am planing to do Masters in Animation / Games and not quite sure if it is a good idea or not. Particularly I am looking at Australian Unis and every other uni say they are best.
I have checked world rankings (so called) but it dont cover up the specific subject area or student life in general, if you know what i mean.
What you folks suggest are good Universities in Australia for Masters in Creative Industry ( animation , games etc). Or even doing Masters is in this hard economic times and deadly competition worth it?
I have checked world rankings (so called) but it dont cover up the specific subject area or student life in general, if you know what i mean.
What you folks suggest are good Universities in Australia for Masters in Creative Industry ( animation , games etc). Or even doing Masters is in this hard economic times and deadly competition worth it?
Replies
In answer to your question, If you really want to study here, I'm not overly sure about your best option. QANTM college is generally a pretty good bet, but they only do Bachelors degrees.
QANTM and JMC are heavily character based while, the best IMO, AIE focused on both.
The best part about AIE is that, the second year they pit you up with the classes from design, programming and art to make a project. Very hands on practical learning.
The second thing they told me that sold me to this uni is that the 3rd year which is optional is something called an incubator program, where they supply you with 24 hours access to an office with; computers, iphones, tablets ect. to help you start your own company, and they tutor you through the whole process.
Unfortunately it doesn't appear they offer a masters just diplomas. where as QANTM does http://melbourne.qantm.com/en-gb/course/2481/
I personally believe that the little peice of paper you get at the end of a course stating your qualification comes second best to what you actually get out of the uni and can show in your portfolio.
Your profile says you're in Scotland, may I ask why Australia? I'm in Queensland and I started University last year in a non-games related course, after turning down one (Qantm college) because of the rather high fees (For memory it was $50,000 for the two-year course) and because I figured I could continue learning on my own (With the help of the internet and all the wonderful people on it of course). This has worked out quite well for me so far, and I can't really recommend game-art courses considering how much they charge.
Also, world rankings of universities are for research, not student academic performance I believe? If you've got anything specific I can try and get some answers for you. Some good forums to look at are whirlpool (General australian forum that has threads for specific uni's in the education section) and Tsumea (Has information on job postings and universities in Australia - there's a good thread on Qatnm somewhere that has a LOT of negative feedback that stirred me away from it.)
RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) is what got my attention Masters in Creative Media. Any idea on this one?
Yes I agree its what you can show that counts in portfolio after degrees, But for long run Degree helps i think cause you never know when the company will lay you off. (sort of more chance of getting work quickly)
Two reasons, the culture and system means that the teachers cannot be harsh enough meaning you will be able to walk out the other side just as unemployable as when you walked through the door.
Very few good teachers. Games courses traditionally are taught by industry vets, well ideally. The industry crashed and what vets there were, aren't enough to fill out all the teaching positions. Its a fucking joke.
" But for long run Degree helps i think cause you never know when the company will lay you off."
Ever heard of education inflation? so many dumb kids have bachelors now that nobody gives a damn about it. Especially not one in game art. Literally there is only one reason i can justify going to uni for in australia and that is if you need a visa to get into america. and even then thats a massive gamble just to be ripped off.
Go sign up to animation mentor or something if you want an education.
~My experience saying this, going over applications of graduates when i was working at halfbrick studios. Also i went to qantm and am good friends with graduates from pretty much every brisbane game uni courses.
I can't agree with enough with Muzz here. You're better off just taking the time and learning yourself.
I also went to Qantm Brisbane, and though I had a hell of a good time, met some great people, and learnt a fair bit, it just wasn't worth it in the end, I ended up getting more critical feedback from here, and I think I grew a lot more as an artist from that, and the things I learnt from talking to other polycounters than anything.
I hope you folks get where I am going with this, I dont want to limit myself just as a 3D modeller for Film and Games but some one who can engage in all aspects Digital art wise (animation, games, 3D /2D, Design, modelling)
Just adding a link to online profile so to give a better idea why I am thinking of Masters
http://www.behance.net/FahadKM
Don't waste your time and money.
its true what Muzz said about no one being harsh. You could hand in a turd and teachers would say it was amazing. You don't get the honest, actually useful feeback that you get on this site.
My main teacher, the only one who actually knew his shit, straight up told me that the course was a joke.
I'm not in the industry yet, but my advice would be to find some indie teams on the net to join. Use that for experience and just make Polycount your university.
If your only goals are to get a job, then i suggest you work out what it is you really want to do, and then we can help push you in the right direction.
I'd say yes as long is it's something that makes it worth to go to uni for and that you cannot learn on your own or on Polycount. For animation / games specific courses there are, worldwide, very few good addresses. And even fewer for masters. If you really want to stand out, get a good technical degree or a traditional art degree. Anyone with a strong traditional background in sculpting, drawing, etc. already has an edge over all the game art graduates where only few of them have this.
That would be an ultimate dream of mine come true though, cause people say you cant do 2 things in life at same time. Besides whatever job I will get (other than my field) will take up large amount of time from my life and I just dont want to let go my dream.
Clock is ticking...
If you want to get into more of that technical creation, perhaps a better direction is to go down a more practical path, you obviously can model and make good art.
Scott Robertson is a classically trained technical artist, so that is a direction you can look at.
It also seems that you are looking at more high end stuff than anything a game college can offer you.
When i suggested animation mentor i was serious btw, it is far far better education than you will get through traditional methods. I've been considering doing a course or too there as well to try and bridge gaps that i have in my knowledge myself.
http://www.animationmentor.com/
pursuing two differing goals is fine, pursuing two different careers at the same time isn't really. Really the only practical thing to do is aim for the more practical goal, and slowly incorporate the elements you want and try and work towards jobs that will allow you to bring mechanical design more into the job.
We live a long time, we have a ton of time to devote to things soley, and still have time to do the other things.
If you're in Scotland, go do the games degree/masters in Abertay Dundee. One of the best in the world, and hope to Dare to be Digital.
If you're in Australia, definitely do a degree. Just to be able to get the hell out of there, the industry is almost non-existent down under.
and fighting this dogma that South East Asian people are lazy, they are either Docs, Engnrs or run Chip shop.. I am the odd one out simply put from my country of origin and it did affected my chances of securing a job as an Artist. ( i lived in Scotland for 6 years) so I know
Muzz you are right we have time and all but I wish i was born in West lol in that case cause there are no peer pressures from family about getting married, supporting family etc, if you know what i mean.
Ahaha, yeah i hear that. I have literally no pressure put on me whatsoever. I could be an unmarried childless garbage truck man for my entire life and my family probably wouldn't begrudge that.(not that i want to do that!)
Im not saying work there, Im saying get an education there, if you really want a degree. Dundee is not that crowded.
I do agree that getting qualifications with the word "game" (and many times "art" too) can be a waste of time - at least for the next 5 - 10 years as both teaching in games design and its value in business is just not mature enough. I have a diploma at AIE. Sure I value my experiences with it, but otherwise it provides no benefit: only a folio can get jobs.
**Edit
Currently I'm doing a Graphics Design style Degree, but I get to do minors in stuff like Games Design. So if you're that gung-ho on games you could always do a course in something less-related but has better prospects and then fill it out with subjects you will enjoy more if the institution provides them.
Currently I am doing my masters but its an information technology one, since I plan to get into the technical side of 3D, like programming for rendering and animation.