Is a degree essential for landing a job or freelance work?
polycounter lvl 6
Hi everyone,
I'm a self taught 3D artist that has been trying to get a job for while, and so far I've had no luck.
I started learning 3D about 3 years ago and at the begining of this year I started sending dozens of applications every month, from game companies, to 3d printing and advertising, but all i got were either no answers or "your work doesnt match our requirements".
It's a bit frustrating because some of my friends that are about the same level as me, got jobs fairly easy and they have a degree in either visual arts or design.
So is a degree a must for landing a job or is my work simply not good enough?
Thank you
I'm a self taught 3D artist that has been trying to get a job for while, and so far I've had no luck.
I started learning 3D about 3 years ago and at the begining of this year I started sending dozens of applications every month, from game companies, to 3d printing and advertising, but all i got were either no answers or "your work doesnt match our requirements".
It's a bit frustrating because some of my friends that are about the same level as me, got jobs fairly easy and they have a degree in either visual arts or design.
So is a degree a must for landing a job or is my work simply not good enough?
Thank you
Replies
Get good enough and your inbox will start to blow up with job offers and you wont have to deal with scarcity. More output
We can provide some feedback that way if you post it.
I thought my portfolio was better than my peers when I left uni, and it still took me 2 years and ahalf to find a fulltime position.
Now looking to my work i guess it is perhaps too bland\generic. I tried to have a bit of everything: a creature, a human, a vehicle, a weapon, etc, so has to reach the broadest area of oportunities.
Maybe it would be better if i just focused on a specific subject ?
What I mean by that in another way is that the quality bar across all the pieces seem even and "not done." Like it's 75% of the way there, not 95%.
That Mech Walker (which I believe is from Battlefield 2049) for example doesn't look done. It just feels like an edge wear generator was slapped on and was called finished. There's no decals, no sense of scale, no other wear and tear marks. It looks like it was done as a speed model.
This seems consistent across a lot of the pieces.
Your modeling looks fine on a lot of it, it's just the texture finishing that needs more work. You're more than clearly capable from what I can tell, just a matter of pushing a little bit more.
I can get into more specific if you'd like.
And yes, it would help at this stage to focus in on one thing, but it's clear you're a character artist from what I see.
I'll probably remake my portfolio, with a focus on creatures\characters and perhaps give it a sci fi theme to make consistent.
Thank you guys so much for the amazing feedback!
I got into 3D because I loved sculpting in zbrush, specially creatures, but after seeing the insane amount of competition and the low number of job vacancies on that area I decided to learn more hardsurface, since environments and props are always in big demand, but I dont enjoy it nearly as much.
I've been on this struggle of choosing between something that I love doing but its really hard to get in, and something that I dont quite enjoy but has more oportunity.
I'm curious, did you guys always knew what subject you wanted to focus?
I think what stops people from going all the way is the amount of time it takes to become truly skilled and relevant job opportunities that provide pay and a new environment which may change an artists priorities.
Like in my game art school, every single student wanted to be a character artist and work on their own games, but now the majority are working in stereo compositing and seem satisfied doing it.
It's funny that we never know what we might find down the road and most of us find ourselves shifting a bit from our inicial goal or in a position we would most likelly not consider being in.
I guess for now I'll take the risk of specializing in what i like and maybe get a side job to support me along the journey. Hopefully something will come along.
Anyway, thank you so much for the awesome piece of advice, you've really helped to put some things in perpective!