Gnomon vs Self-taught

ripper351

I have read a lot of forums debating whether people should go to art school or not and whether it would be time well spent to go to an arts school. I hear a lot of people saying that older students should just be self taught since some schools don't teach you very much. My problem is that all these threads are directed towards older students around 20. So what I am asking is that as a high school student, myself, what do you think about attending Gnomon for the three year program in 3d modeling and texturing for college. Is this school as good as it seems? :poly121:

maximumsproductions

You can be self taught right now? It's reputation holds up but so does the $100,000.

ripper351

maximumsproductions wrote: »

You can be self taught right now?.

Not sure what you mean by that.

NegevPro

ripper351 wrote: »

Not sure what you mean by that.

There's no magical difference between self-teaching when you're 20 and when you're in highschool. He was saying that you can start self-teaching yourself now.

The discussion can basically boil down to the questions of "Are you self-motivated?" and "How much money do you have?"

If you want to work in the games industry, or even as a 3D artist, then the ability to be motivated by your work is a VERY important skill to have because this isn't going to be an easy job to hold.

A school isn't going to magically make you better at something, in the end, the school is just going to try and kick your ass into getting a stable work schedule so you can work hard yourself. Schools do this in different ways and I'm sure in this case, it's the price tag.

If you can be self-motivated, then you don't need somebody to kick your ass into gear, you can do it yourself.

There really is no single answer to the question of "Should I attend a university for x?" because it's such a personal question. You've got to be honest with yourself and make a decision from there, even if you don't like the truthful answer.

Good luck.

ripper351

I can be very dedicated towards my art, and I can be disciplined. I have always just loved the idea of working at a college, in studios, with colleagues, with professionals and just the whole experience of Gnomon. I love the idea of learning physically in a studio and from lectures, etc.

maximumsproductions

Sounds like you just want to be with like minded people. Check out local meetsups. Not sure where you live but Check and see if you have any local community colleges in the area and attend a class that is relevant to the industry, you'll make friends etc.. I thought I really wanted to go to a college for this stuff but after a month I can already tell it's not my cup of tea for many reasons. And all I had to fork over was $300 minus my refund (instead of moving to california and signing up with a bunch of classes 2 g each that probably don't offer any refunding after a week.)

After a while the whole self taught gig wore on me a little, I'll be 100% honest. Took a single online class with a professional I knew I could trust after research and I feel completely renewed with passion... so that's my take on this whole thing...

And that $100,000 you're saving can go to so many things. Hell go get your dream machine 3 4k monitors and 4 year subscriptions and dvds from gnomon, digital tutors, eat3d, 3dmotive, and the whole kaboozle. Maybe you decide you like Special FX on the side of your game design, Bam you just bought yourself 3 render nodes and now you just made 90% of that industry jealous as well! While we're at it, That cintiq 24 inch is yours now too :P

I'm just saying this cause I guess I felt like you literally a year ago in the same position, wondering how I wanted to approach this industry and just a couple of months ago realizing I don't even want to attend my local college. So now I have all this money (well not gnomon tuition amount but a fair amount still!) that I can play around with and practice other somewhat relevant hobbies that'll still be in the smallest way helpful to me down the line like FX, Arch Viz, and Digital Painting.

Course I could have read you wrong too.

ez_flow

I've taken both routes. If your completely green I do suggest that you take some form of formalized schooling. The rate of learning you will experience in that environment will be far greater then if learned on your own. The connections you make in school will also help you land jobs in the future. It's really hard to progress in a vacuum. That being said, after a certain point you will have enough technical expertise to learn on your own. I attended Gnomon back in the day. It is an excellent school. Rather then take the full certificate program, I choose to take only the classes that would help me become a character modeler, because I didn't have the time or money. It was well worth it.

-J

ripper351

Hmmm, i do like the idea of have a cintiq and accessories but the atmosphere of LA, Gnomon, Lectures, Homework, and just a classroom atmosphere would feel right to me. Then teaching myself in my additional time.

ripper351

Also what is IGDA, obviously i googled it and found it was the Game Developers Association, but what do they do and is it free?

slosh

If money is not an issue, and you have no experience yet, I would say go for Gnomon. No finer school to learn this stuff than at Gnomon. The hardest thing to do is to build a portfolio that will land you a job as a student. Gnomon is one of the best schools to get a head start on pieces that can help you do that. Obviously, you have to be extremely motivated and hungry. And talent is also important. Too many people want to become game artists and unfortunately, most don't have the talent. You don't need to be the most talented artist as long as you work hard but some talent is definitely required...this is art afterall. Good luck!