Examples of artists who've started later in life and found success?
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Apologies in advance for probably being overly-whiny... I'm in a rut right now and really just need to vent and/or hopefully get some reassurance.
I know this is going to sound silly because I'm still in my mid-twenties, but I feel as if I've already lost what seems like my biggest chance at breaking through and making a career of 3D modeling or art simply because I started too late. Every single time I read an interview from someone in the industry, they've found their passion when they were were in their early teens (or earlier), went to art school, yadda-yadda-yadda - you know the story. And with all the news about ageism in the [gaming] industry, studios outsourcing work done by artists, I'm just afraid that my circumstances will make the search that much harder when the years of future work are finally ready to pay off.
I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to make excuses for not starting or progressing. I do want this, and I'll certainly keep at it so long as I've got even a glimmer of a chance. What I'm hoping for with this thread are some accounts, whether personal or otherwise, of people who've come before me that have found success in similar circumstances -- they didn't attend art school, maybe started after their late teens or early twenties (or later!), were self-taught...
Just people who I can look up to as models that it's possible.
I know this is going to sound silly because I'm still in my mid-twenties, but I feel as if I've already lost what seems like my biggest chance at breaking through and making a career of 3D modeling or art simply because I started too late. Every single time I read an interview from someone in the industry, they've found their passion when they were were in their early teens (or earlier), went to art school, yadda-yadda-yadda - you know the story. And with all the news about ageism in the [gaming] industry, studios outsourcing work done by artists, I'm just afraid that my circumstances will make the search that much harder when the years of future work are finally ready to pay off.
I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to make excuses for not starting or progressing. I do want this, and I'll certainly keep at it so long as I've got even a glimmer of a chance. What I'm hoping for with this thread are some accounts, whether personal or otherwise, of people who've come before me that have found success in similar circumstances -- they didn't attend art school, maybe started after their late teens or early twenties (or later!), were self-taught...
Just people who I can look up to as models that it's possible.
Replies
For example, consider the man who popularized McDonalds (Ray Kroc) was selling milkshake machines at the age of 52.
I expect that in about one more year of practice, I am going to be able to match some of my idols on artstation. And it looks like most of them have jobs, so I remain hopeful.
But I feel you and totally understand the sentiment. Sometimes I feel great, other times I feel like I should just jump off a bridge. It usually has some correlation to whether or not I'm making progress, or stuck on some tedious stuff or having to redo something.
Also, it would have been great to get started early and be an epic master by now, but I definitely don't regret any parts of my life so far. In a way, I'm kind of happy I had some years of "adventure" rather than getting straight into adulting out of school.
I'm honestly loaded with regret. That I didn't start sooner, that I haven't worked harder. That I made so many wrong turns early on. I can't help but think about it. And it keeps putting that idea that it's too late in my head, hence posts like this.
I honestly do wish you as much success as possible though!
Maybe you get to where you can churn out pretty good models at a reasonable pace -- they aren't pushing the limits of the medium but they are decent enough to be used -- and you can make a little extra income selling these online.
My work is far, far from where I want it. Not something that is going to draw any attention on artstation. And if I showcase it here, it can easily accumulate quiet a few critiques. And yet, I've managed to sell one model that I made. So somebody thought it was worthwhile. Is that enough to satisfy me? No, but its enough for me to settle on if it's all I ever achieve in this endeavor.
That's how I look at things anyway.
Where's your art, @Varoun? Share with us. We are hungry.
I've honestly never bothered to upload anything for viewing yet -- I'm still very much in that learning phase where basically everything is crap and I'd be quite ashamed to upload anything to ArtStation or Polycount. I know I should just get over myself and start posting here or on AS, but it still makes me nervous.
Here is the webinar that i watched some times ago:
If you want the full webinar with the other speakers you must go to the official Gnomon site.
Posting sitewide is good too, replies vary since there's a lot of people posting.
Very few of us here are here to relax. It would be safe to assume as much.
Del Walker (Sr Character Artist at Rocksteady).
http://drawingyourdreams.com
- When I first saw Del's work, it was "rough". Pretty much the textbook definition of amateur artist. Thing was.. he worked hard. Every month he participated in the GameArtisans monthly challenges. Participated in online contests, Dominance War.
I wish I still had his "Liberty City Citizens" entry), to show you the massive contrast with where he was a year later (Dominance War). Then where he was 2 years later, where he landed a job right out of school.
Thing was, in the span of 2 years, making about 24 models, we started to notice him getting better and better.
Even though I had about 12 years of experience on him, within a year, he was mentoring me at a lot of things giving me valuable insight an feedback.
The other guy is Algenpfleger. And he had the most ridiculous thread on conceptart.org.
He pretty much says page 1 he wants to learn how to draw. So he drew like a mediocre artist who copied anime. He drew SO DAMN much. Hundreds of studies a week. hands feet, jaws, lighting colour, tons and tons of mini sketches and doodles.
Unfortuantely most of the examples were taken down.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php/114449-Algenpfleger-learns-to-draw-(He-really-does!)-2014-New-Sketchbook!
But within a year, he was a master.
http://polycount.com/discussion/101922/artists-work-past-and-present/p1
I think I'm going to follow in his footsteps, get some sort of daily or weekly thread going if I can. Something to help me stay accountable.
I watched the entire webinar, very insightful stuff - and proof that it's possible, which is what I was hoping for. Thanks for this!
All you need is that push or motivation to get you going.
You can either choose to take your age as an excuse or you choose to put in the hard work. Age is just a number man. Don't worry about it. Worry about what is in your control and what steps you can take to achieve your goal/dream.
Motivation will help at first. But the key to success is discipline, persistence and hard work. You already know what you have to do. So go do it. I wish you all the best.
That's true. I'm not sure how long it'll be before I'm comfortable with showing my work - though I think I'm just going to have to force myself at some point.
Thanks for the encouragement and support! All of these replies have been such a great motivator for me.
I just get so frustrated with myself sometimes because I realize just how much time I've basically wasted by being so afraid to continue forward and pursue something like this. Discipline, persistence and hard work is the right path.
There's plenty resources online, I would probably suggest following a tutorial that makes something from scratch to finish. Have a library of references and inspirations. Most of the progress I made was studying on my own and being critical of my work, so don't worry too much about missing out on higher education in the area. Try not to focus too much on the outcome of your work for now, what's important is the progress you make in learning the software and developing an eye for quality.
Do a bit of 3D every day and make a habit out of it. Set a goal for the next month, 6 months and year. Post on polycount.
I highly encourage you, no matter how you feel about the piece confidence wise, just post it to 3D Art Showcase. Having little confidence in a piece is something WE want to help you with, and we can't help if we can't see what you're wanting to share.
*fixed link
starts getting relevant to thread about 10 minutes in. Speaker shows some pro artist noob work, then their current works, and discusses some general principles for guiding improvement.
That just leads to InXile's old game.
He's at Pixar now.