The Art Institute in Santa Monica had similar requirements. And if I'm honest, they were some of the most enjoyable classes for me, and some of the only classes that taught me things. Those are the teachers I'll remember for years to come; not the ones who taught game art (with two exceptions).
I understand that people hate those requirements, but every degree has those requirements, and they do help broaden horizons. Learning about other things can only help your art be better.
The broader your knowledge, the broader the base is upon which your art stands.
Time and money spent on extraneous classes, is time and money not spent on stuff that actually matters and directly helps your career.
Taking a class in geography means not taking an extra class in game art, for example.
I fully disagree; if all you know is game art, you'll not be as flexible of an artist.
And besides, more game art classes doesn't mean learning faster or learning more. If I had had more game art classes, I would have had no time outside of school to work on the things I wanted to work on, which is where I learned 90% of my skills as an artist. More game art classes means more game art homework; more assignments that don't interest you, more work to hurry through before the next day of class. I don't think cramming loads of game art into a short time period is conducive to becoming a great artist. It teaches you how to skirt by, and cut corners. How to pump out work that's good enough. But it leaves an artist with no extra time to work on personal work, and really take their time on it. I think it can also lead to burnout, well before one's time.
A good comparison: you can read Moby-Dick in a day, but you won't get anything from it. Take your time with it though, and you'll get the most out of it.
Not to mention, these are government regulations that need to be met to issue degrees.
Yeah, the Marmoset viewer scenes are a HUGE source of quality content. As a matter of fact I would say they are just as good if not better than having access to the source material, since there is zero time wasted setting up the scene. The viewer really does a great job at promoting game art appreciation. It sure had an impact on me, as it motivates me to work towards a real end product rather than just static renders.
Besides that, more thoughts on the issue : I think the request for model donations would have been met more positively had LC/the school been first coming forward with a compiled list of links to already freely available resources - like the aforementioned Dota2 models, remarkable Artstation Viewer scenes, and so on. No one would have had any problem contributing to such a list or even zipping together a few models to add to it. Had the problem been tackled from that angle, the whole debate about a for-profit school asking for donations would have been totally bypassed and LC and the school would have been seen as more proactive contributors, even if just by proxy.
Of course the question of whether or not teachers should mostly rely on such material for their courses rather than producing their own remains open, but at least this topic would have been kept as a separate subject.
Marmoset viewer is nice but I don't think it really compares to having the asset construction in front of you. There is a big difference between seeing a nice bake, and seeing all the work that goes into a nice bake - how certain situations are handled, how uvs are packed and overlayed, how the high and the low match up and choices in hard edges etc.
Of course, all that should be taught and I'm sure it is, but I still learn new things and tricks every time I open up a high quality asset for whatever reason, stuff I don't think you could get from just a viewer file.
If you check out my Gumroad, there's a ton there for free (or donation) - you can use them for reference if you want. Sculpts, game art, older gen stuff...etc.
Wauw! See what can come out of a thread like this. That blew me away, am downloading the material for a peak. Bless you man, may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your enemies.
Replies
Time and money spent on extraneous classes, is time and money not spent on stuff that actually matters and directly helps your career.
Taking a class in geography means not taking an extra class in game art, for example.
And besides, more game art classes doesn't mean learning faster or learning more. If I had had more game art classes, I would have had no time outside of school to work on the things I wanted to work on, which is where I learned 90% of my skills as an artist. More game art classes means more game art homework; more assignments that don't interest you, more work to hurry through before the next day of class. I don't think cramming loads of game art into a short time period is conducive to becoming a great artist. It teaches you how to skirt by, and cut corners. How to pump out work that's good enough. But it leaves an artist with no extra time to work on personal work, and really take their time on it. I think it can also lead to burnout, well before one's time.
A good comparison: you can read Moby-Dick in a day, but you won't get anything from it. Take your time with it though, and you'll get the most out of it.
Not to mention, these are government regulations that need to be met to issue degrees.
Besides that, more thoughts on the issue : I think the request for model donations would have been met more positively had LC/the school been first coming forward with a compiled list of links to already freely available resources - like the aforementioned Dota2 models, remarkable Artstation Viewer scenes, and so on. No one would have had any problem contributing to such a list or even zipping together a few models to add to it. Had the problem been tackled from that angle, the whole debate about a for-profit school asking for donations would have been totally bypassed and LC and the school would have been seen as more proactive contributors, even if just by proxy.
Of course the question of whether or not teachers should mostly rely on such material for their courses rather than producing their own remains open, but at least this topic would have been kept as a separate subject.
Of course, all that should be taught and I'm sure it is, but I still learn new things and tricks every time I open up a high quality asset for whatever reason, stuff I don't think you could get from just a viewer file.
I have softened my opening to this thread to help better explain why I am asking for quality material for my students to explore.
I have also added the links from this thread.
@ysalex - Your right about the Marmoset Viewer, its a fantastic tool especially the way it breaks down the textures and shows the wires.
YOSUKE ISHIKAWA work in the Marmoset Viewer blows my mind.
Thanks again for all your help.
http://www.gumroad.com/GavinGoulden