Overwhelmed and want Advice

ashriza

Hey guys,

I left my job in advertising (3D Generalist/Designer) and am looking to try to get into games. I have had a number of interviews and am now trying to apply the feedback I have gotten to go back and apply again. What I really feel I need is some work experience to see how people work in the industry. I have never really had anyone in 3D to learn off of in person. But I am sure people here will probably say that is not exactly needed is it?

Looking through these forums I am starting to get scared at the sheer amount of information I do not know despite working in 3D for nearly 3 years. I know the main reason of these forums is to learn and everyone has their own way of doing things but I am starting to worry I have been doing everything wrong from the start. I already have a list of techniques and programs I need to learn (Z-Brush, VRAY, modelling low poly for games etc.) but I just feel a bit overwhelmed and was wondering if I could get a bit of feedback on my website/show reel/portfolio and see if I am on the right track.

Thanks for your time guys! I've got a long way to go but I'm looking forward to learning from you all, participating in challenges etc. I'm just feeling slightly swamped at the moment and not really sure where to start

www.ashleyriza.com
show reel: https://vimeo.com/106944366

jhoythottle

I'm in a very similar situation. Hang in there. Looking forward some helpful responses.


bump

praetus

OK, so I looked at your stuff. First off, I think the biggest question you need to answer is what do you want to do in games? Do you enjoy modelling, texturing, animating, etc? You have a number of pieces in your portfolio but it feels like you're spreading yourself thin and not really a master of any one thing. Smaller studios may need someone who is a jack of all trades, but most larger studios may have you doing one specific thing instead.

Some pieces show promise. I like your medieval town buildings, the tractor and the tank. They're very well modeled however they feel unfinished. I would like to see the medieval buildings set up as more of a town. Right now it's just a few building props. Both the tank and tractor could use more game appropriate textures and breakdowns. They feel like you hit the texturing phase and just stopped.

Most the other pieces feel like something made for school. They don't really show any advanced knowledge base, even when done well. Your facial rig is pretty simple. It shows you know how to set up a basic rig, but there is nothing out of the ordinary and the animation you have applied is simple.

The best advice I can give is that I would focus on one aspect of 3D art creation and really push to get better at it. Right now it feels like you're throwing all your knowledge on your portfolio but you don't really have anything advanced enough to back it up.

ALSO, if you feel overwhelmed, start small. Environment are for example is still going to be made one prop at a time. Choose small projects to start learning and increase them in scope as you level up your skills. Keep at it and good luck.

DWalker

For the moment, concentrate on still images; show-reels are really only relevant for animators & f/x artists.

Cull your portfolio to include only the best - and most relevant - pieces. You will be judged by your weakest piece, so you're much better off with 3 good pieces than with 3 good pieces and 6 mediocre ones. Also, as Praetus said, you need to focus, especially when starting. Some game companies want generalists, but most large companies have very specialized artists.

Overall, your web layout is fine. The white background is a bit harsh, and the light gray text is a bit difficult to read.

It would be nice if each of the images on your project pages linked to a larger version, especially once you begin polishing the details.

Include wireframes & texture sheets for each project. When you have baked low-poly objects, include both the hi- and low-poly versions.

Include your name & contact information (e-mail) on each image.

I'm not a fan of making each image over-bright on mouse hover. I prefer the default image to be different (darker or monochrome, for example) and the proper image to become visible when the mouse is over it.

On your CV, remove "Experience in:" under "Skills"; it's really implied, and the phrase tends to imply "LIMITED Experience in:".

I'd have to agree that you could do more with the textures; they're a fine beginning, but could use additional weather & detailing. Taking the tractor as an example, you're missing all of the decals; those are a really simple step and add so much to the model. Also, it's fine to include one reference - usually at the end to prevent unflattering side-by-side comparisons - you don't need to include every reference.

garriola83

One thing that studios are looking for is the ability to take a design from concept and translate it to 3D, no excuses. Also, ask yourself what do you REALLY want to do in games? Characters, props, environments, etc? A lot of people say to generalize, but many teams look for is a place for you to work in so you are given specific tasks. If you are a generalist, studios aren't going to figure out where to put you and will most likely keep you in the backburner. I say specialize in what YOU yourself REALLY want to do and focus on that and be amazing at it. Eventually someone will notice what your doing because you will be amazing at it. A lot of us here took a while to even get noticed by studios so just hang in there and work on what you want and not what people expect of you.

ashriza

Thanks so much guys, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I have gotten the 'you need to specialize' thing a couple of times. I want to model - either hard surface stuff or environments. Need to work out which one I guess. I do realize the smaller mobile gaming studios need generalists which is why I haven't made the switch yet but I think I really need to now - plus I actually have the time at the moment. Lighting and rendering is a big weakness of mine which I think affects the way people will see the pieces I am going to create but I guess we will cross that hurdle when we come to it!

I will be posting more around here and getting feedback for my work so I hope I hear from you guys again. Thanks so much!

JustGarry

Don't waste time playing with lighting and rendering in your 3d package, you'd be better off just importing assets in an engine such as UE4 (very easy process) and then even with the default lighting setup your work will look much better.

Visceral

The tank you did looks abolutly amazing. but its almost as if you are hiding it, its the strongest peice in there in my oppinion.

BagelHero

While I don't agree that you can slack on lighting, I do think you should focus on real-time for now. And with PBR coming in with IBL as a fairly minimum standard, the ambient lighting can and will do some of the harder work for you in terms of your lighting issue.

I would actively advise against non-realtime rendering if you want to go into games. Do yourself a favor and focus on in-engine stuff, or maybe Toolbag 2 if you just need some quick beauty shots of an asset by itself.

Good luck!

Texelion

I see in your CV that you can make animations, that's one of the most wanted job in the video game industry. It's already hard to find a job as an artist with less than 3 years of XP, but as an animator it should be easier.

Unless you got years of free time to become an excellent realtime specialized artist, you should totally try the animation path.

BagelHero

Ooh, actually that's pretty good point. If you actually like animation (and I do mean have a passion for it, not just "I can do that if I have to"), there's a good place for people who actually do animation for games. Functional in-game animations are really important, and not a lot of people are really interested in that specific thing (a lot of people aiming for cinematic jobs, but I've seen far less people who are really passionate about the actual animation while in the game). Not to say there's none, mind you, but less.

Of course, if you far prefer modelling, this point is moot...

sharukhsalman

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