Quitting a job to work on a portfolio

Arp

Greetings, polycounters!
I usually don't ask for help, but this time people with more experience may give me a valuable advice.
A little backstory: I'm working in manufacturing making product renders. This work is not particularly interesting, though not stressful, and the money I make is not really impressive. I want to get into the game industry but lack a relevant portfolio. It's impossible to work on it while I'm in the office and I have like 10 hours of free time a week.
And now comes the time for me to decide: will I stay at this workplace for another 6-12 months, or leave, focus on a portfolio and try my luck finding a job in the industry. I have some money saved and can survive for 3-4 months and I believe that I can make a decent portfolio in a couple of months working on it full time (I'm good at maintaining focus) . I'm not aiming for AAA obviously.

The question for you guys: is it adequate to quit a job considering my "skillset" or I'm being too optimistic and better be safe than sorry, sit tight and make a portfolio in so much free time after work?

Some of my work (google drive 'cause it's a shame): https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4TqoATpQI2pWHFTWFlwZWVxMlE
And a one year old artstation: https://www.artstation.com/isawitonce

Thank you for your time.

Biomag

Overall 2-4 months can be enough to finish 1 proper portfolio piece that reaches AAA quality - talking about a full character or a proper environment scene. But if you don't nail it and it doesn't reach AAA standard you might be having a hard time to find a job with a single piece. Several mediocre pieces on the other hand are always a tough sell. You need a real eye catcher to get the attention, so I wouldn't go for single simple props, rather get a nice scene together that tells a story and then display the single assets used.

So my advice to you, use the 10h a week for a while longer to get some smaller assets together and make sure you can deliver them on the very best level. Once you have enough to populate a scene you might take the risk to quit to put up a real portfolio piece together that lets you shine. From a quick glance at your portfolio I think you have the modelling basics, but texturing and game-res needs to match that and be displayed in your application as well. Once you have a that scene I would cut the rest out and just apply with it.

Keep in mind the application process can last several weeks or even months with a single company. You will need money for that too. That's why I don't think quitting your job is the best thing to do. It's quite a risk.

Fernando Tejada

I would plan very carefully before quiting your job. I used to be an product engineer working in CAD and quited to study videogame design and art, and had a really hard time after finishing my studies, mostly because I realised what it actually needs to be considered for the job. It took me 4 months of internship and 6 of job search before finding a position as a 3D generalist in a small R&D team, and I still feel my skillset is way below the entry barrier for any triple A studio.

If you're focused and disclipined I would take Vitaly Bulgarov advise and take a short sabatical break before considering quiting your job, you can check his words here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj5oskYAAqM

Taylor Brown

have a read over these too:

https://www.polygon-academy.com/10-insider-tips-for-artists-applying-to-game-studios/

https://www.artstation.com/figmentpigment/blog/P9O3/huge-heap-of-hopefully-helpful-hints

Arp

@Nandx Thanks for the link, Vitaly is always inspiring. I focused on a game production workflow since I started learning 3D, product visualization came as a temporary job (I'm working for a year now). It's not very welcoming environment when it comes to sabbaticals: even if there is no real work to do you need to pretend that you're working, so saying "Hey, guys, I guess I'll take a few weeks off" may cause premature firing
I guess quitting may be dangerous in my situation, so I'll just try to organize my free time better.

@Taylor Brown I've read first one about 5 times, but the other one is new to me, thank you!

Alex_J

Never take a risk you don't got to. 

Don't cut off income if you don't have enough saved for 3x longer than you think you'll need. I'd recommend trying to find ways to get some kind of passive income that can be enough to keep you afloat even if you don't have full time work (real estate!). There's a million ways to do this, but it's not easy. Could take you some years to work out something for yourself. But having home-base squared away is essential -- I think -- to giving yourself proper time to study. 

JMO, of course. Certainly people have jumped ship and managed to swim to beautiful paradise islands before. But if you jump ship, there's a good chance you'll just drown.

Taylor Brown

You could always try freelancing to begin with. I imagine it'd open up chances to explore and learn beyond what you're doing currently.

Arp

@BIGTIMEMASTER I've actually "jumped off the ship" once already, it all lead to 9 months of studying (and a little bit of eating) and this job I'm currently in, so I'm basicly still in the water clinging to a side of the boat. So good point, thank you.

@Taylor Brown I had a bitter experience with freelance. Also there is a huuuge competition, at least in 3d. Earlier I thought about joining a hobby project just to gain some experience but it seems most of them are waste of time.

Thanks for your thoughts, guys! I needed a sober voice telling me to put myself together, sometimes you just feel stuck as you may know.

pangaea

Good luck if you do quit your job. It would be nice if you give an update to see if it works. I thought similar thoughts to you, but I have more money saved. Decided against it.

The problem with Vitaly is that he seems to have built up a crazy work habit even before going on sabbaticals. I also feel he has something mentally that stops him burning out. 

Arp

@pangaea Maybe I'll figure something out to work 3-4 days a week. I'll post if something changes in the environment or my thinking.

I've noticed that generally people fall into two categories when it comes to learning: Thinkers and Makers. Thinkers absorb information, they learn new tools and techniques, watch tutorials, but usually practice very little. Makers on the other side just do things and thus get a lot of practical experience. To suceed in any craft you need to be a mixture of both, but preferably a Maker, and I'm not talking CG only - I was into photography some years ago and met a lot of people who was very good artists but never bothered to study technical details, some of them just used auto settings and took great photos.
I guess along with professionalism and discipline Vitaly is just enjoying the process so much that the burnout is almost impossible.

Zack Maxwell

If possible, it'd be way better to just reduce your hours at your job to the bare-minimum you need to get by.
I've also worked to keep my living expenses as low as possible, and can get by with less than 20 hours a week at my day job, living in a moderately sized city in the US.
No car, no cellphone plan, no cable TV, no random entertainment expenses, no restaurant visits or delivery, etc.

goekbenjamin

Zack Maxwell said:

If possible, it'd be way better to just reduce your hours at your job to the bare-minimum you need to get by.
I've also worked to keep my living expenses as low as possible, and can get by with less than 20 hours a week at my day job, living in a moderately sized city in the US.
No car, no cellphone plan, no cable TV, no random entertainment expenses, no restaurant visits or delivery, etc.

this would be totaly me if i lived alone, nice mental attitude!
I have a full-time-job, a wife, a one year old child, so that is not possible
But i completely share your attitude.
With all of that my "sparetime" where i can work on my portfolio beginns on ~23:00, after that getting up at 07:00 ready for job...
i guess it all comes down on "how much sacrifices and cuts you make"...

Arp

@Zack Maxwell My live is almost like you described, but working 40 hours. Good thing I don't have a mortgage.
Also in my country it's not a common practice to reduce your working hours even you have no work to do. Not complaining, just for your potential interst. You see, a true office employee must suffer in some way, if he doesn't then he may even enjoy his time at work, which makes no sense in the mind of an employer.
Maybe it's possible in my workplace, question about it was met with suspicious look and a joke 

Taylor Brown

It can be tough to juggle. I also work full time and have a toddler. With the support of my wife, I am able to find 30-40 hours a week to dedicate to training. 5-6 hours of sleep is the norm. I usually spend atleast one day of the weekend working on a project for 12-15 hours. Some times it can be very challenging for both of us to get through it but I guess thats what happens when you wait till life is complicated to try and get your life together

RyanB

A specific goal for a specific reason is much better than "I want job."

For example:

I'm learning Houdini because it will allow me to create technically complex assets that I can sell for $$$. 

Arp

@Taylor Brown That's an eligible dedication. You seem to have a very understanding spouse, that's a treasure.
Be careful, though. My 30-year old friend worked a lot, neglected sleep and one day had a minor stroke, which is unpleasant, to say the least.

@RyanB You're right. Long term goals are established, but in situation where you have little experience getting any relevant job becomes a goal.
I chose CG art because it fascinates me. I have a degree in psychology and can make more money with it working leisurely and stress free, so making a lot of money is good benefit but not a prority, at least at this point in life.