HEY, I am studying to be a 3D artist in the gaming environment and i need some infoabout theindustry

Pradz_00

so i am 21 right now i am studying a game art and design course that basically lasts for one year and i have no clue what they are gonna be teaching me but i have little experience in maya and still developing my 2D art  , what i am worried about is that after reading and seeing all the videos or notes about people talking about the gaming industry being harsh environment to work in with people working 100hrs per week and having no work life balance or him running them selves off caffeine , as much as i love modeling , texturing or creating stuff i dont like the idea of crunching it out every time .... if anyone does work as a artist in the gaming industry pls tell your experience working as one  

aryarie

It really depends on the studio and their culture. I've worked in a studio as a scripter/designer where I never had to do overtime (I think I maybe stayed an extra hour on a couple of occasions because I wanted to finish something off before going home) and neither did any of the artists that I worked with. Equally, I've been in a situation at a different studio where there was pressure to work more hours for no pay. I think there's more of an awareness now though within the industry regarding crunch and the damage it can cause and I have been noticing some studios even advertising themselves as being anti-crunch (this is in the UK though, I am unsure of what the situation is elsewhere).

Not all studios are the same so I think it's a case of researching the studios you're interested in and finding out what their approach is regarding working additional hours.

Bletzkarn

I think it can depend on exactly what kind of 3D you do. This type of extreme "crunch" seems to only happen at AAA studios where your job is to create 138 different assets for a single level. You're a very specific cog in the machine at that point.

On the other hand I know 3D modellers who work for large UI/UX design companies that work on VR/AR mockups. Another person runs their own company as a VR business app developer. 

Although the later examples require less knowledge on 3D modelling and require a bit more "all rounder ability" such as programming, video editing, rendering etc.

Pradz_00

so working in a AAA environment would be a short term thing jus to get that extra cash i guess 

Brian "Panda" Choi

Not always, no.

slosh

It depends on what sort of projects you work on.  But to be honest, you should expect to do some form of crunch no matter where you go.  I would agree that serious crunch is usually at the larger AAA studios creating cutting edge games.  If you go to some studios that are already very established working on online games, you might have to crunch less.  I've heard good things about studios like Blizzard and Riot.  But obviously next gen AAA like Naughty Dog and Rockstar crunch like crazy.  There are some AAA like Insomniac that will do less but when it comes time to ship a title, it's almost unavoidable.  I have been fortunate to not have to do much crunch in my 10+ year career but I've also worked on much lower profile games.  One thing I will say is that while crunch sucks, if you are complaining about it before you even experience it, this industry might not be for you.

Pradz_00

i dont mind crunching for a week or so as long as its before the deadline i mean we are gonna be making art and once u get started u kinda do get lost in the flow so i guess i will have to experience it myself and decide wats next but thanks for that info its been really useful data to calm me down and look forward  

zetheros

Hi Pradz, making 3d models for games is a steep learning curve, and a difficult industry to break into. Right now you're probably bombarded with information on a constant basis, but with some patience you'll learn it all for sure. Personally, I haven't experienced crunching outside of my previous experience with UE4 game jams, and consider myself incredibly lucky to work with an indie dev team that doesn't have concrete deadlines or publishers to answer to, and that also gives me incredible creative reign over the assets I make for them.

All I can attest to is there's a lot of great mind-blowingly insane artists out there, and you've got to work really hard to secure a position. I've 'crunched' more hours into improving my portfolio when I was unemployed and your age, than I do now. Also, I'm only 3 years older than you, so don't think that the difficulty of working with a game company is insurmountable. Just do the best you can, try doing what others aren't or cannot; and your portfolio will eventually speak for itself. Good luck dude!