Advice for September

Talix

Hey guys ive been in a bit of a dilhema recently and need some advice. Im currently a runner at a vfx studio in the UK and want to be a 3D artist. After 4 months of working this job im faced with 4 different options and need some advice.

So there are no junior 3D positions at this studio and im currently not skilled enough to meet the standard of the artists. However, there is also a motion design studio here and junior positions available, i also have experience as a Graphic designer before this job and as such could probably enter this department after a few months work and picking up cinema4d.

Option A - enrol on an ma degree (i currently have a ba in game design) in game art this september and work my butt off to get that first gig once i graduate.

Option B - work hard for a few months to get a position in the motion design department. Get the role and work on my 3d skills on the side whilst doing a fun and closely related role as a motion designer

Option C - while being a full time runner work on my 3d skills on my days off/evenings to try and eventually hit the middleweight level of the 3d artists in the company (problem i see with this is that doing a degree will allow me to work full time on my skills and improve much faster as opposed to just doing 3d on weekends and evenings) 

Option D - Get a random part time job and move back home with parents for a while, while doing 3d work

Apologies for the spewage of words here but i could really do with some outside advice, ive been thinking about this for a few months and just slowly chipping away at 3d work outside of my fulltime job.

Kwramm

I think it depends what you want to do. Game art and motion design are quite different. Working in games and film also seems to be different, especially in terms permanent employment / length of gigs.

Of course there is always the "learn on your own option" and the pro's and con's have been discussed aplenty, so I won't go into this argument. Let's assume you go with the MA: There are quite a few MA programs in the UK, and if you get anything near the quality of e.g. the Hertfordshire thread here at Polycount, you should get a good shot at entering the games industry. While it will still cost you money, it ain't nearly as crippling expensive as in the US, and there are a couple of benefits to university vs. sitting in your basement.

Option C: sounds like the toughest choice to me. You'll have to combat exhaustion from your day job, face the lure of spending your time out with friends, build your own learning path and stay motivated. Also, you won't get much recognition from recruiters for going this path as it's mostly the quality of the folio that counts, and not necessarily how you got there.

Option B: sounds like option C. Is there really a lot of overlap in terms of applicable skill between these two positions?

Option D : basically the "learn on your own" option. Ain't for everyone. Again, there are plenty of threads here on PC. All benefits and drawbacks found here apply to C and B.

So here are your questions:
* game art or motion design?
* which is the easiest and quickest for you to pull off? I'd say either A or D if you want to become a games artist. B and C are probably the most difficult in terms of staying on track, staying motivated and making progress.

Segreto

I worked in motion graphics for several years while I was working on getting into the game industry, so I can relate to your situation.

The option came up after I graduated school to either attempt to find a game job out of state or get a local gig doing something not entirely related to games. The school I went to didn't do a great job at teaching with much focus. I learned a bit of everything, and then they threw us to the dogs. Knowing that I lacked the portfolio to make a valid attempt at getting into the industry, I found a local graphics company that took me in. I thought I would practice my game art while I worked there, sort of like your plan here. While I was able to do 3D here and there at this job, most of my work comprised of animating in After Effects and Flash, editing video, photo editing stuff, etc. Now, while I really enjoyed the work, it wasn't my goal. I wanted to make games, not video.

There were several benefits to all of this, and if I were to choose again, I'd do the same thing over. One, I made waaay more money than just some part-time job to get me by while I worked on my portfolio. Two, I learned some valuable skills that I credit to working there; taking critiques well, learning new software quickly, working with clients and decision-makers.

The minus of course, was  that when I got home after working there, (I often worked long hours) I didn't want to do graphics anymore. I just spent all day pushing a shape around in After Effects or Photoshop, and the last thing I wanted to do was push verts around. The plan to work on my portfolio while I was at this job failed in the most spectacular fashion.

When the economy tanked into hell and I lost my job several years ago I still wasn't prepared to find a job in the game industry. I thought if given the chance I could succeed, but I couldn't find anything. I felt like I had wasted all that time at that job for nothing.  It was quite depressing. Cue me starting my freelancing and I kept working in motion graphics. Those skills transitioned into graphic design and web design very well, and I started taking in local clients for those. I also worked at some low paying part-time jobs to keep me afloat when work was slow. Those years of me struggling with working on my own, and working at dead-end jobs pushed me hard at getting my game art skills to where it needed to be. Nowadays I freelance in the industry, and I also take some other odd jobs from old clients when they have work.

I hold both experiences of working in motion graphics and lame jobs very dearly. I learned valuable skills in both, and I learned quite a bit about myself and what I could accomplish. I won't try to sway you in either direction, because I think you'll make the right decision for yourself given enough thought. I just wanted to share my story so you can see what I went through, maybe it'll help you decide. Do whatever you need to do to get by, and stay focused on the end goal at hand. You'll find success if you keep at it and don't give up. You can do it.

huffer

So, your ideal position would be a 3D artist in VFX at your current studio? I would recommend the motion designer path. I was in a similar situation when starting out - I only had working experience in graphic design but wanted to work in game art, so I chose to take a job in CGI for a few months, polishing 3D skills until a position became available in game art. The experience in CGI definitely helped landing the next job, and I think it's much better to have working experience in something similar than none, learning on your own, or getting another degree.

Talix

huffer said:

So, your ideal position would be a 3D artist in VFX at your current studio? I would recommend the motion designer path. I was in a similar situation when starting out - I only had working experience in graphic design but wanted to work in game art, so I chose to take a job in CGI for a few months, polishing 3D skills until a position became available in game art. The experience in CGI definitely helped landing the next job, and I think it's much better to have working experience in something similar than none, learning on your own, or getting another degree.

My long term goal is to work in the game industry as an environment artist / level designer but id definitley take a 3d position in a vfx company if one came about.

But yeah, I see your point. It would take a few months of solid work outside of my job hours doing motion design work before getting in, which would take away from the time spent currently doing 3D projects and once there, I just worry that it would take a long time to improve at 3D stuff after long days of motion design work and the potential of feeling burnt out in the evenings. 

Talix

Segreto said:

I worked in motion graphics for several years while I was working on getting into the game industry, so I can relate to your situation.

The option came up after I graduated school to either attempt to find a game job out of state or get a local gig doing something not entirely related to games. The school I went to didn't do a great job at teaching with much focus. I learned a bit of everything, and then they threw us to the dogs. Knowing that I lacked the portfolio to make a valid attempt at getting into the industry, I found a local graphics company that took me in. I thought I would practice my game art while I worked there, sort of like your plan here. While I was able to do 3D here and there at this job, most of my work comprised of animating in After Effects and Flash, editing video, photo editing stuff, etc. Now, while I really enjoyed the work, it wasn't my goal. I wanted to make games, not video.

There were several benefits to all of this, and if I were to choose again, I'd do the same thing over. One, I made waaay more money than just some part-time job to get me by while I worked on my portfolio. Two, I learned some valuable skills that I credit to working there; taking critiques well, learning new software quickly, working with clients and decision-makers.

The minus of course, was  that when I got home after working there, (I often worked long hours) I didn't want to do graphics anymore. I just spent all day pushing a shape around in After Effects or Photoshop, and the last thing I wanted to do was push verts around. The plan to work on my portfolio while I was at this job failed in the most spectacular fashion.

When the economy tanked into hell and I lost my job several years ago I still wasn't prepared to find a job in the game industry. I thought if given the chance I could succeed, but I couldn't find anything. I felt like I had wasted all that time at that job for nothing.  It was quite depressing. Cue me starting my freelancing and I kept working in motion graphics. Those skills transitioned into graphic design and web design very well, and I started taking in local clients for those. I also worked at some low paying part-time jobs to keep me afloat when work was slow. Those years of me struggling with working on my own, and working at dead-end jobs pushed me hard at getting my game art skills to where it needed to be. Nowadays I freelance in the industry, and I also take some other odd jobs from old clients when they have work.

I hold both experiences of working in motion graphics and lame jobs very dearly. I learned valuable skills in both, and I learned quite a bit about myself and what I could accomplish. I won't try to sway you in either direction, because I think you'll make the right decision for yourself given enough thought. I just wanted to share my story so you can see what I went through, maybe it'll help you decide. Do whatever you need to do to get by, and stay focused on the end goal at hand. You'll find success if you keep at it and don't give up. You can do it.

 Thanks for sharing some of your story and your kind words of course. It does help to see how others that went through similar situations decided on a path. I do get worried that if I chose to spend time working on Motion design projects (although this would get me to a better and closely related position quicker) It would prolong the time it would take to enter the games industry working as a 3d artist. Where as if I just stick to my guns and worked on the long term goal I may very well get there faster even if it is a longer and more insecure route.