Career advice
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Hi,
I'm in need of a little bit of life advice here. This is going to be long as I want to cover everything of importance so you get a good understanding of who I am and where in life. If it's too long or boring for you to read I apologize but I would be happy for every advice I get.
I am a 24-year-old student of "media informatics" in Germany.
After my A-level-graduation from school I have started an apprenticeship as "IT management assistant" at a renown national warehouse store. I found it very lacking as all I was doing was basically "supporting others doing the real work".
I decided to continue my education by studying media informatics. The reason for me to do this is I wanted to get more in-depth knowledge and also find an area that I really love and am passionate about. I chose this because I hoped it would combine my talent for IT with my passion for design and media.
So I started uni and began searching for my passion. As I started out and during the first year or so, I was certain it would be programming, though I wasn't sure yet if it was software programming or web programming. I knew I had a natural talent to this, but somehow there was no real drive for me to educate myself beyond the uni stuff. The more complex it got in uni, the less interested I was in it. Again, lack of passion obviously, despite talent.
The, we got a course of "graphical data processing", which was basically 3D modeling. That is where it "clicked" in my head. I started to learn in my freetime not because I needed to, but because I thought "Hey I want to be able to do that" and "How does this work, how can I achieve that".
I always loved design. When programming, now that I look back at it, the most fun part wasn't writing the code but rather creating a visually pleasing and intuitive UI, web designs and user experience.
I am also interested in writing, which is another form of art. Coming up with stories, creating a visual picture in the reader's head, evoking emotions, I love that.
And in 3D art, especially game art, I see everything that I love coming together. It has the technical aspects that I have a natural talent in, it allows me to visualize worlds, places, objects and tell stories through them, and it creates something to be proud of rather than just "supporting others doing the real work".
To sum it up, I am at ground zero. I am 24 years old. Most people in this age are already established in their jobs, and I have just found out what I want to do. If I pursue this, pretty much everything I have learned in the last couple years education is (almost) useless.
But I still have to finish my study. I am at a lot of pressure at the moment because I have a couple classes that I need to redo this semester.
The problem also is that now that I have found my passion, I just can't bring up the motivation to do all this other stuff because I want to invest this time into 3D study. It feels like wasted time learning something else.
So I am thinking about extending my study period by another year, which would mean I would have done 4 years in uni. But my parents won't be happy with that because they finance this and after all this time they invested in terms of money and nerves they pretty much expect me to get a very well-paid and secure job in the IT field. Well, we all know that 3D Artist is everything but that.
I want to be an environment artist and good enough to apply to a game studio for a student internship with hopes of getting employed there afterwards. There are only very few gaming studios around here, the AAA ones being Crytek, Cloud Emperium Games and Deck 13 (newest title being "The Surge").
I can't move, because I have a girlfriend that just started studying here and has her family and friends here and she won't leave, and I won't leave her (in fact, we are moving together in march).
Would you advise me to take the extra year, so that I have time to learn 3D art independently? Or is it "too late" for me as I am already quite old and need to start earning money on my own someday?
Would you advise me to pursue my passion, even though I have such a long hard road in front of me, with big risks involved, or would you rather focus on my educational background to get into a programming-related business?
What are the real chances of me being able to get my work to AAA level quality within one year, if I give it say 30 hours a week? My current state being:
- Some theoretical background regarding the maths and physics behind 3D
- Watched a lot of modeling tutorials on Pluralsight and recreated the models
- Created some models on my own (biggest one being a car)
- Done some UV mapping
- Textured, lighted and rendered a scene as a project for uni
- Basic understanding of ZBrush, Game Engine, Substance Painter & Designer through watching tutorials and reading up theory, but not yet practical experience
Do you maybe have some advice on how to learn in the most efficient way? Is it just "doing" stuff and practicing or is building up a solid foundation of the theory behind it more important? I feel like the latter might be incredibly valuable because when you really understand something you can start using it creatively and find new solutions or analyze problems much better. But at the same time I need to get going and create stuff so I can improve. I never know what I should rather focus on when I have time to learn.
Also, do you have tips on sources for me to get a more solid theoretical foundation? Most of my learning is done through tutorials, but most often they just cover the "how" and not the "why", at least not to the degree that I want. Maybe book recommendations or anything else? Regarding modeling, texturing, baking, game asset pipeline, scultping and game engines.
I have a problem of being kind of a perfectionist when it comes to things that I am really interested in. I always think to myself: "I can't do this now, I do not have all the knowledge required for it to be good" or "If I try this now without knowing every detail about the process, I will end up doing things that are wrong and will be wasting my time" and end up saying to myself that watching this tutorial or reading that is going to be more efficient than actually practicing.
Final words: I know the safe road and I know how risky this path is for me. But I am feeling really passionate about something that I could do for a job for the first time in my life. It feels irrational to pursue it because what are my chances? But I don't want to let go of it.
I'm in need of a little bit of life advice here. This is going to be long as I want to cover everything of importance so you get a good understanding of who I am and where in life. If it's too long or boring for you to read I apologize but I would be happy for every advice I get.
I am a 24-year-old student of "media informatics" in Germany.
After my A-level-graduation from school I have started an apprenticeship as "IT management assistant" at a renown national warehouse store. I found it very lacking as all I was doing was basically "supporting others doing the real work".
I decided to continue my education by studying media informatics. The reason for me to do this is I wanted to get more in-depth knowledge and also find an area that I really love and am passionate about. I chose this because I hoped it would combine my talent for IT with my passion for design and media.
So I started uni and began searching for my passion. As I started out and during the first year or so, I was certain it would be programming, though I wasn't sure yet if it was software programming or web programming. I knew I had a natural talent to this, but somehow there was no real drive for me to educate myself beyond the uni stuff. The more complex it got in uni, the less interested I was in it. Again, lack of passion obviously, despite talent.
The, we got a course of "graphical data processing", which was basically 3D modeling. That is where it "clicked" in my head. I started to learn in my freetime not because I needed to, but because I thought "Hey I want to be able to do that" and "How does this work, how can I achieve that".
I always loved design. When programming, now that I look back at it, the most fun part wasn't writing the code but rather creating a visually pleasing and intuitive UI, web designs and user experience.
I am also interested in writing, which is another form of art. Coming up with stories, creating a visual picture in the reader's head, evoking emotions, I love that.
And in 3D art, especially game art, I see everything that I love coming together. It has the technical aspects that I have a natural talent in, it allows me to visualize worlds, places, objects and tell stories through them, and it creates something to be proud of rather than just "supporting others doing the real work".
To sum it up, I am at ground zero. I am 24 years old. Most people in this age are already established in their jobs, and I have just found out what I want to do. If I pursue this, pretty much everything I have learned in the last couple years education is (almost) useless.
But I still have to finish my study. I am at a lot of pressure at the moment because I have a couple classes that I need to redo this semester.
The problem also is that now that I have found my passion, I just can't bring up the motivation to do all this other stuff because I want to invest this time into 3D study. It feels like wasted time learning something else.
So I am thinking about extending my study period by another year, which would mean I would have done 4 years in uni. But my parents won't be happy with that because they finance this and after all this time they invested in terms of money and nerves they pretty much expect me to get a very well-paid and secure job in the IT field. Well, we all know that 3D Artist is everything but that.
I want to be an environment artist and good enough to apply to a game studio for a student internship with hopes of getting employed there afterwards. There are only very few gaming studios around here, the AAA ones being Crytek, Cloud Emperium Games and Deck 13 (newest title being "The Surge").
I can't move, because I have a girlfriend that just started studying here and has her family and friends here and she won't leave, and I won't leave her (in fact, we are moving together in march).
Would you advise me to take the extra year, so that I have time to learn 3D art independently? Or is it "too late" for me as I am already quite old and need to start earning money on my own someday?
Would you advise me to pursue my passion, even though I have such a long hard road in front of me, with big risks involved, or would you rather focus on my educational background to get into a programming-related business?
What are the real chances of me being able to get my work to AAA level quality within one year, if I give it say 30 hours a week? My current state being:
- Some theoretical background regarding the maths and physics behind 3D
- Watched a lot of modeling tutorials on Pluralsight and recreated the models
- Created some models on my own (biggest one being a car)
- Done some UV mapping
- Textured, lighted and rendered a scene as a project for uni
- Basic understanding of ZBrush, Game Engine, Substance Painter & Designer through watching tutorials and reading up theory, but not yet practical experience
Do you maybe have some advice on how to learn in the most efficient way? Is it just "doing" stuff and practicing or is building up a solid foundation of the theory behind it more important? I feel like the latter might be incredibly valuable because when you really understand something you can start using it creatively and find new solutions or analyze problems much better. But at the same time I need to get going and create stuff so I can improve. I never know what I should rather focus on when I have time to learn.
Also, do you have tips on sources for me to get a more solid theoretical foundation? Most of my learning is done through tutorials, but most often they just cover the "how" and not the "why", at least not to the degree that I want. Maybe book recommendations or anything else? Regarding modeling, texturing, baking, game asset pipeline, scultping and game engines.
I have a problem of being kind of a perfectionist when it comes to things that I am really interested in. I always think to myself: "I can't do this now, I do not have all the knowledge required for it to be good" or "If I try this now without knowing every detail about the process, I will end up doing things that are wrong and will be wasting my time" and end up saying to myself that watching this tutorial or reading that is going to be more efficient than actually practicing.
Final words: I know the safe road and I know how risky this path is for me. But I am feeling really passionate about something that I could do for a job for the first time in my life. It feels irrational to pursue it because what are my chances? But I don't want to let go of it.
Replies
I would say you are close to getting that degree and that piece of paper could be handy if you ever want to get a visa to work abroad at some point, i know you said you dont want to move but who knows in the future. I would say power through getting the school done and then work on 3d art from 7pm-2am or whatever. Put in the grind and audit what you are doing with your free time.
Also, have massive patience, it probably wont happen in a year, it could, but setting up this arbitrary mindset of needing it asap is going to end up frustrating you. I would set up more of a goals timeline like "i want to have x amount of completed projects and get feedback by x date etc"
below is a super dope video people in your situation need to see, i know he says 22 but thats just a random number. I would say this advice applies to anyone really, especialy those still under 30. I know plenty of people who have changed careers to something completley different at 35 etc.
24 is not too old, I'm more than twice your age (...turn 57 in Feb next year) and even made a career change 18mths ago though out of necessity due in part to a workplace injury. Although non CG related it's a job that keeps hardcover overhead and food on the table which in turn similarly allows pursuit of my singular passion making games.
Now as the previous poster suggested, try toughing it out by finishing your degree because as I understand the gist of your post you've a technical programming talent, that's a very useful skillset alongside artistic progression already attained via self taught avenues.
Todays over saturated market in terms of art grads seeking entry into highly competitive roles, a technical skill is highly sort after irrespective of studio tier and really there's a marked difference between programming an application/tool from the 'ground up' as opposed to scripting on top of a middleware solution.
Anyway just a point of view I thought worthwhile submitting plus good luck with whatever course of action you eventually decide upon.
EDIT:
Some book selections I'll tip from my personal library:
Polygonal Modeling: Basic and Advanced Techniques by Mario Russo
Game Development Essentials: An Introduction
Character Development and Storytelling for Games, Second Edition
Game Coding Complete, Fourth Edition
PC thread - Online study/tute resources
Although the major is not your focus in the long term, that piece of paper will be beneficial in opening more doors for you down the line.
It's a choice you gotta make.
I agree, if you're close to done, finish it. Then you're done for real and can continue with a clear mind.
According to your passion: It's a combination between the love for the art and hard work. Pure passion won't bring you there. I'm a student myself, so I can't give you exact steps on how to "Make it" (yet
If you truly want to do it, do it. Working another job and always wondering "what if..." will make you very unhappy.
Search the industry. Read job descriptions so you know exactly what you want to do in the industry itself and what you need to be able to do.
Watch tutorials, browse forums, make posts yourself (like this one, so props to you Sareth).
One last thing: There are no shortcuts. I had the same thing in mind. Looking for ways and tutorials that were the magic pill. But there is none. Hard work, passion and patience is what it takes. And it's a beautiful thing. There are lots of guides/tutorials that will help you get faster, but in the end, you have to do the art yourself. No one is doing it for you.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best in your path.