Can one person do it all?
Hi,
I'm new. Not just to the forum, but all of this in general. I've been practicing modeling for about a month now and learning various other things because at some point I would like to make my own 3D animated videos but the more I learn, the more daunting this seems. To accomplish this I have be a concept artist, modeller, texture artist, rigger, animator, sculptor, writer, musician, effects artist, etc ... its all very intimidating. And while I do have help in some departments it isnt nearly enough.
So my question is ... should I give up? Is this an impossible task? Is there some way to make this easier? I'd love to be able to hire someone but I'm a student and I've seen environment artist charge as much as $5,000 for a small town. Needless to say I dont have that type of money.
Is anyone else attempting to go at it alone? Do you have any advice for someone like me? I'd very much appreciate it.
I'm new. Not just to the forum, but all of this in general. I've been practicing modeling for about a month now and learning various other things because at some point I would like to make my own 3D animated videos but the more I learn, the more daunting this seems. To accomplish this I have be a concept artist, modeller, texture artist, rigger, animator, sculptor, writer, musician, effects artist, etc ... its all very intimidating. And while I do have help in some departments it isnt nearly enough.
So my question is ... should I give up? Is this an impossible task? Is there some way to make this easier? I'd love to be able to hire someone but I'm a student and I've seen environment artist charge as much as $5,000 for a small town. Needless to say I dont have that type of money.
Is anyone else attempting to go at it alone? Do you have any advice for someone like me? I'd very much appreciate it.
Replies
A change from realistic to stylistic, from self composed to free music samples etc. ..
Whats more important? The story itself or the whole concept in your mind.
Look at maybe "Darkest Dungeon" the Artstyle is very nice in my opinion. Its a game but with nearly no real animations. But you can tell a story in this style like a collage.
Problem is though that it becomes less of a matter of being able to, and more a matter of not being amazing at all of them, and not having the time to do them all.
Learning a little bit of everything to become a better team lead is a worthy goal, but not really doing it all yourself.
But honestly, my skills only range as far as they do because my various jobs have called for it and stretched my skills out. It was never a goal, and im not even sure it would be effective, as you really need to focus on each skill one at a time if you hope to be any good at it.
Honestly it's a releif working with people again after being solo for a while.
Difficult as all hell to be passible at it all, and nearly as hard to keep all those skills sharp, but doable.
If your main goal is videos, concentrate on that, and above all, keep it simple, and use free resources to patch in places you don't have time or skill to do. Trying to do too much, or hit to high of a production standard kills teams of people, not just individuals.
One thing to remember about animation is that its telling a story through movement. Learn how to do that first. It doesn't matter how pretty your renderings are, or how fine your sculpting is if your storytelling sucks.
Go watch some animated short films. Especially ones from way back in the day, like say, Luxo Jr. No sculpting. Limited set. Sound effects and music you can source off the internet, or possibly record yourself with a balloon, some springs, and a wooden table, and you have a compelling piece that still stands up.
[ame]
So start small, get something done, then build on that. Yes you can learn it all, but you likely don't have to (and possibly shouldn't) unless you really really want to.
Well, to be fair, a character artist kinda sorta mean you are "concept artist, modeller, texture artist, sculptor" already. At least to a certain level. xD
Its definitely doable, but having someone else to work out other tasks really lets you focus on what you do best. Though from my own experience in non-professional collaborative projects, a bigger group means a higher risk of things going awry, say commitment issues and disagreements.
If I were you I'd take what you have in mind, and minimize it down to a more manageable size. Less is more, and probably better if you're alone or with 1-3 other people.
That's the reason why most humans specialize in one profession and don't hunt, grow their own food, build their own house with their own hands any more: Efficiency.
Unless you already know how to play an instrument/compose I don't think you'll have time to focus on it professionally while focusing on your visual arts and technical skills. I could be wrong as there are people out there who compose music for their own games, but then again I'm assuming you have 0 experience playing an instrument.
As far as price/paying someone to make a town for you, I would probably just simplify the hell out of what you're trying to make until you can make it if I were you. A world can be a sphere, a building can be a box, a person can be a default rig, the video uses 3 selected colors instead of a full color palette, etc.. and then spend time focusing on what you really want to show off in the video.
Is it an amazing story, a wonderful synchronization between the music and the animation, the fluidity of the animation, some visual arts poetry abstract crap that leaves your mind warped, or visual candy to the eyes. Probably picking one of those and focusing on a short narrative can help you out.
Also, cut cut cut cut cut cut cut. Student films fail when they go too long/expect the world. You can either make a very interesting 30 second piece of animation or a 2-5 minute piece of mediocrity during the same time period.
Heck, look at the intro for Pixar. It's a freaking lamp and a ball. And it still is an amazing piece of animation with a story.
I hope that helps a bit/wasn't trying to be a debby downer. When in doubt, research and plan ahead for a project like this. Write down your ideas and draw out some loose sketches. Attempt a prototype/block out what you think you're going to need, make animation tests, and refine. Blocking everything out as early as possible usually means it's just a matter of refining and refining +-changes. The best part about refining is you'll always have a video in the end.
Best of luck!
It's more possible to be a good 3D artist, OK designer, and OK gamecode programmer. Still hard, though.
It's like the blanket isn't quite big enough to cover everything. The better you get at certain skills, the more other skills, especially ones from totally different disciplines, will suffer.
If life was D&D, an indie developer would be a bard. And we all know that a fighter is better at hitting, a wizard better at spellcasting, and a thief better at stealing... the only advantage of the bard is that he can fill in for anyone else in a pinch. Say your wizard is put to sleep by a monster, your bard can step in and sling some magic missiles... maybe not quite as good though.
Needless to say, a high-level bard can be pretty deadly.
I admit it's slanted logic, but doing everything yourself will take a lot of time and times is one of your most valuable resources.
Being able to build that town well will need even more time.
On the other hand time spent acquiring a valuable skill is time spent well in itself.
And perhaps you'd be perfectly happy working on your project as a hobby and you don't even care how long it takes.
To answer your question: Being able to do your own 3d videos all by yourself is definitely possible. But of course you'll have to keep the scope small if you want high quality. And it's highly likely you'll meet a lot of people with similar ambitions on the way and you can help each other out. Either by exchanging your acquired skills or money you made with your acquired skills. The latter is more likely if you are very good in any one field which is less likely if you try to be a jack of all trades from the very start. (But it's still possible and you'll have a better overview over the whole project.) And there is demand for generalists, too, mainly in smaller shops. So there are many different ways to go about your plan. E.G. You could start as a generalist when you're relatively free of responsibility as a beginner and then concentrate on one or two areas that you like the most. Or do it the other way round. Just be aware there's a tendency for specialization and pigeon holing working inside any kind of group.
Also it's easy to acquire basic skills in any job. Becoming good or even excellent usually takes time and practice.
Compare the 3d short you have in your head to something that has been made already. Then look at the credits and see how many people it took to make it. Will give you a better idea of what goes into it. You'd have to do all of their jobs.
I've decided to keep at it and aim low, it'll be incredibly difficult but with any luck I'll eventually be able to make something I can be proud of and show it off here. If I have any problems along the way I'll be sure to stop by, everyone here seems really knowledgeable. I cant thank you all enough.
Cheers!