Recently went for an interview for a position at a game art school, mentioned polycount to the interviewer who was more than pleased to hear i visit here.
He said that pretty much throughout the entirety of the course he is always on students backs to join up.
Edit: I think i failed to see the deeper meaning of this post
I first joined Polycount through a teacher's recommendation.
And I did have a character modeling class where part of the assignment was to post our work on Polycount for critique, but mine was so bad that I deleted it after I got the grade.
I wish my university knew what polycount was. Instead, it's filled with people that find it necessary to gloat about how much money their parents have while they go and spend thousands of dollars each semester to study english and get drunk every night.
I wish my university knew what polycount was. Instead, it's filled with people that find it necessary to gloat about how much money their parents have while they go and spend thousands of dollars each semester to study english and get drunk every night.
Man I hate school.
Are you me? Oo
This. Sadly i guess I picked the wrong school, because i had to discover Polycount all by myself.
I learnt about here from a friend who studies at another university, but I recommend it to all the game art students, the huge leap from where I was at year 2 to now was pretty much all down to Polycounters!
This. Sadly i guess I picked the wrong school, because i had to discover Polycount all by myself.
Honestly to me, university in general just feels like an expensive hyped up high school. A lot of people have been telling me that I'll learn a lot in university when in reality, all of my classes are pretty much useless and I just have to self-teach myself everything.
At this point I'm just finishing my CS degree so I can just write education experience on my resume but I've been told it isn't too important in the games industry.
My university only offers one or two 3D related classes so I took them. My teacher supposedly has been a 3D expert for 10 years, but they didn't know what 3DS Max was -_-. We had to use Rhino, and we basically made cubes, cylinders, and other primitives lol.
A lot of people have been telling me that I'll learn a lot in university when in reality, all of my classes are pretty much useless and I just have to self-teach myself everything.
When people say that they don't necessarily mean that you'll be learning a lot from the university itself.
You say you regret it but wait until you're in crunch, those extreme essay writing skills will come in really handy. Oh no wait, maybe uni was feckin pointless XD
Like realising when you're being ripped off and when to dump it all and go to a trade school where you might actually learn something useful.
Also learn the sorts of people you never, ever want to have any kind of contact with ever again.
You say you regret it but wait until you're in crunch, those extreme essay writing skills will come in really handy. Oh no wait, maybe uni was feckin pointless XD
Why does everyone have to turn that topic into absolute negativity? My experience is the exact opposite but that's no matter since personal experience is not the measure.
This. Sadly i guess I picked the wrong school, because i had to discover Polycount all by myself.
Same here, I wish my teachers had told me about this forum existence. It's almost better than paying for a 3D course and it's free... well it actualy is beter in most of the cases.
Why does everyone have to turn that topic into absolute negativity? My experience is the exact opposite but that's no matter since personal experience is not the measure.
I think personal experience has some value here - I studied 2 years at a major university here and didn't learn a god damn thing (except that a lot of people are awful). After dumping that and going to AIE, I learned a lot more in the first week than I did the entire time I was at the university.
Unlike a lot of folks here, I do think there's some value in pursuing a tertiary qualification, but unless they've changed markedly, university degrees aren't focused in the right way to efficiently prepare you for getting a job in the industry.
Preparing you to get your first job isn't the sole purpose of a university degree, remember that it's partly there to prepare you for a *career* not just your first job.
So what're you paying for if not for the skills to pay the bills you're generating by studying there? You don't need to be paying whatever exorbitant price university costs these days to get drunk every day and sleep with loose women.
So what're you paying for if not for the skills to pay the bills you're generating by studying there? You don't need to be paying whatever exorbitant price university costs these days to get drunk every day and sleep with loose women.
I would even say the latter will affect your art negatively, ever tried to model drunk? lol I can draw drunk if I feel like drawing but modeling is another question entirely.
but that said I did a short course on max before after using it for several years, i've gotten more out of the wiki for sure, but I think these short courses are ideal as you can get some facetime with a person for a relatively cheap fee its usually not more than 100 or so for 8 weeks, 3 hours every week, you have direct questions or need a little guidance these people can help and more than often are glad to, most of the time they are teaching complete noobs, which is good because you go over the basics again and stuff you may have missed, this short course got me using splines again something id pretty much stopped doing, and got me weighting rigs better.
You don't need to be paying whatever exorbitant price university costs these days to get drunk every day and sleep with loose women.
Apparently then that is what all university is then and clearly that's all I do as a student then, inarguable fact. That's what I'm refuting. All I was commenting on was that clearly there are learning experiences. Depending on your discipline and aspirations your mileage may vary.
So what're you paying for if not for the skills to pay the bills you're generating by studying there?
You know what? I don't know. So if anyone wants to accuse me of being a uni apologist due to some kind of insecurity then go ahead.
BTW I don't really want to start a nasty argument or anything, just annoyed that most discussions about tertiary education here turn into an excuse to rubbish it. I'll happily (or ignorantly) believe that it should be a part of the system for game dev future, even if the industry and it's professionals blatantly disagree.
Yeah, sorry, I didn't really mean to cause any offence. I think we probably just put this down to the two of us having very different experiences in university. I look back on my time at university as one of the worst mistakes of my life, and I've made a few of them in my time. It sounds like where ever you've wound up is a much better place on a number of levels.
AIE on the other hand was definitely a worthwhile venture.
The amusing part of all this is despite all my grumping, there's a fair chance I'm going to find myself back studying somewhere in the near future if things don't unexpectedly pick up around here.
Apparently then that is what all university is then and clearly that's all I do as a student then, inarguable fact. That's what I'm refuting. All I was commenting on was that clearly there are learning experiences. Depending on your discipline and aspirations your mileage may vary.
You know what? I don't know. So if anyone wants to accuse me of being a uni apologist due to some kind of insecurity then go ahead.
BTW I don't really want to start a nasty argument or anything, just annoyed that most discussions about tertiary education here turn into an excuse to rubbish it. I'll happily (or ignorantly) believe that it should be a part of the system for game dev future, even if the industry and it's professionals blatantly disagree.
Nobody is trying to make you sound like the enemy. It's just a friendly adult discussion I suppose.
I guess university value depends on a lot of factors. Personally I hated highschool, I was always bullied for being a computer nerd and to me, university just feels like a less harsh extension of that.
To other people, university might be great because they got exposed to a new field they would have been unable to find on their own and thus they would have something to work towards in the future.
Then a third group of people would have finally discovered their new found passion for teaching...english.
I'm hoping to get something out of my CS degree but judging from the posts I've gotten from the thread I made a few days ago, I should have spent my time working on projects rather than sitting in lecture.
AIE on the other hand was definitely a worthwhile venture.
The amusing part of all this is despite all my grumping, there's a fair chance I'm going to find myself back studying somewhere in the near future if things don't unexpectedly pick up around here.
I went to AIE too and while I definitely value it (great environment, good friends, some skills) I was a dumb kid who bought into the 'game school' success story that has these days been proven naught. Whereas now I'm at university and yes my prospects are still small but the scope of learning is way bigger - which was the crux of my argument.
At least we both live in a country where choosing to go to uni, regardless of actual value, is a more personal decision than a financial one.
Considering how much education costs in other countries like the UK or the states I would believe that the students take their education more seriously?
Since it's mostly free education in Sweden we tend to get some real slackers in classes. These people never make it into the industry though however so they pretty much just waste 2-3 years of their life "taking it easy during Uni".
I believe in self-discipline and motivation though. I don't really feel that school is necessary, it can however be a great way to network and getting to know people in the industry.
Considering how much education costs in other countries like the UK or the states I would believe that the students take their education more seriously?
Not really tons of slackers in the UK too. There is a general attitude in the UK that you don't have to worry about the loans because they only start to get payed back when you earn over a certain amount a year. Gona bit a lot of people in the ass in the years to come when they have nothing to show for it
Back when I was in uni, one of my lecturers encouraged the class to go to Polycount.
It was because of him that I "discovered" Polycount and a passion for Game Art.
If I didn't go uni, I woulda spent all that time on WoW
I feel that paying £16k for a URL to Polycount at that point in my life, was definitely worth it.
But obviously I'd never recommend anyone to do the same, since I can just give them a link to Polycount myself now
My teacher told us all to post. But he made it clear to post work. Which I think is an important distinction.
But anyway, I'd known about Polycount for ages; unlike my classmates, who still don't seem to get it. I still have to actively push people in the direction of Polycount.
I've always considered uni as time out from RL to focus on what you want to do. if that is partying then fair play & good luck once it is all over. if you are there however to achieve something (like learning a skill) then you have the freedom to do so and will most likely succeed if you put in enough effort.
that's my attitude towards it and i leave it there incase i ever decide i want to learn to do something different. true you end up with alot of debt but if you are doing something you really want to do then i am sure it will work out in your favour.
although saying all that i never went to uni so i have no idea what i am talking about.
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Replies
He said that pretty much throughout the entirety of the course he is always on students backs to join up.
Edit: I think i failed to see the deeper meaning of this post
And I did have a character modeling class where part of the assignment was to post our work on Polycount for critique, but mine was so bad that I deleted it after I got the grade.
Man I hate school.
Are you me? Oo
This. Sadly i guess I picked the wrong school, because i had to discover Polycount all by myself.
I had to recommend threads and tutorials from polycount to my fellow students & teachers. They hadn't the foggiest about sites like this ;_____;
At this point I'm just finishing my CS degree so I can just write education experience on my resume but I've been told it isn't too important in the games industry.
My university only offers one or two 3D related classes so I took them. My teacher supposedly has been a 3D expert for 10 years, but they didn't know what 3DS Max was -_-. We had to use Rhino, and we basically made cubes, cylinders, and other primitives lol.
When people say that they don't necessarily mean that you'll be learning a lot from the university itself.
Also learn the sorts of people you never, ever want to have any kind of contact with ever again.
Why does everyone have to turn that topic into absolute negativity? My experience is the exact opposite but that's no matter since personal experience is not the measure.
Same here, I wish my teachers had told me about this forum existence. It's almost better than paying for a 3D course and it's free... well it actualy is beter in most of the cases.
Unlike a lot of folks here, I do think there's some value in pursuing a tertiary qualification, but unless they've changed markedly, university degrees aren't focused in the right way to efficiently prepare you for getting a job in the industry.
I would even say the latter will affect your art negatively, ever tried to model drunk? lol I can draw drunk if I feel like drawing but modeling is another question entirely.
but that said I did a short course on max before after using it for several years, i've gotten more out of the wiki for sure, but I think these short courses are ideal as you can get some facetime with a person for a relatively cheap fee its usually not more than 100 or so for 8 weeks, 3 hours every week, you have direct questions or need a little guidance these people can help and more than often are glad to, most of the time they are teaching complete noobs, which is good because you go over the basics again and stuff you may have missed, this short course got me using splines again something id pretty much stopped doing, and got me weighting rigs better.
Apparently then that is what all university is then and clearly that's all I do as a student then, inarguable fact. That's what I'm refuting. All I was commenting on was that clearly there are learning experiences. Depending on your discipline and aspirations your mileage may vary.
You know what? I don't know. So if anyone wants to accuse me of being a uni apologist due to some kind of insecurity then go ahead.
BTW I don't really want to start a nasty argument or anything, just annoyed that most discussions about tertiary education here turn into an excuse to rubbish it. I'll happily (or ignorantly) believe that it should be a part of the system for game dev future, even if the industry and it's professionals blatantly disagree.
AIE on the other hand was definitely a worthwhile venture.
The amusing part of all this is despite all my grumping, there's a fair chance I'm going to find myself back studying somewhere in the near future if things don't unexpectedly pick up around here.
I guess university value depends on a lot of factors. Personally I hated highschool, I was always bullied for being a computer nerd and to me, university just feels like a less harsh extension of that.
To other people, university might be great because they got exposed to a new field they would have been unable to find on their own and thus they would have something to work towards in the future.
Then a third group of people would have finally discovered their new found passion for teaching...english.
I'm hoping to get something out of my CS degree but judging from the posts I've gotten from the thread I made a few days ago, I should have spent my time working on projects rather than sitting in lecture.
I went to AIE too and while I definitely value it (great environment, good friends, some skills) I was a dumb kid who bought into the 'game school' success story that has these days been proven naught. Whereas now I'm at university and yes my prospects are still small but the scope of learning is way bigger - which was the crux of my argument.
At least we both live in a country where choosing to go to uni, regardless of actual value, is a more personal decision than a financial one.
Since it's mostly free education in Sweden we tend to get some real slackers in classes. These people never make it into the industry though however so they pretty much just waste 2-3 years of their life "taking it easy during Uni".
I believe in self-discipline and motivation though. I don't really feel that school is necessary, it can however be a great way to network and getting to know people in the industry.
Not really tons of slackers in the UK too. There is a general attitude in the UK that you don't have to worry about the loans because they only start to get payed back when you earn over a certain amount a year. Gona bit a lot of people in the ass in the years to come when they have nothing to show for it
8-10 hours of video games, drinking, partying
Maybe 1 hour for work
"Might get a job at Bioware some day, pretty sure I have a lot of ideas to offer" ¬_¬
It was because of him that I "discovered" Polycount and a passion for Game Art.
If I didn't go uni, I woulda spent all that time on WoW
I feel that paying £16k for a URL to Polycount at that point in my life, was definitely worth it.
But obviously I'd never recommend anyone to do the same, since I can just give them a link to Polycount myself now
sorry i had to
But anyway, I'd known about Polycount for ages; unlike my classmates, who still don't seem to get it. I still have to actively push people in the direction of Polycount.
that's my attitude towards it and i leave it there incase i ever decide i want to learn to do something different. true you end up with alot of debt but if you are doing something you really want to do then i am sure it will work out in your favour.
although saying all that i never went to uni so i have no idea what i am talking about.