Game Design or Game Artist
Hello Everyone!
Not that age matters but I am a 37-year-old man that has followed the advice of family all my life. You should be a doctor, nurse, lawyer and so on and so on. Through my years I've done everything from customer service to driving semi-trucks across the USA. However, the careers I've had has been nice, my main problem is wanting to do something that doesn't seem like a job. You know the saying if you do what you love you'll never go to work again? Or something like that. So I thought long and hard on what it is I truly love to do. Not yet the greatest at it but will be once I find that thing I love. Starting out talking with friends and family and also most importantly my spouse. Everyone says the same things; you use to love drawing, you always loved building things, we could never get you to stop playing the damn games!
So after long thoughts, this is what it came down to, even at the age of 37 I love playing video games. Judge if you want but I enjoy games like Second Life, Army of Two, UFC, Splinter Cell, Need for Speed, Call of Duty, inFamous and the list goes on and on. As a kid my father placed a blocky computer in front of me and said: "This is your future, learn it!". Of course, the first thing I turned to was games like Doom and Flight Simulator. Anyway, yes games I love but it's more in-depth than just loving to play the games.
Oddly, a lot of people that play the game Second Life on PC kind of keep that part of their lives as a secret because from what I gather, it's a highly adult-rated game. Giving you a sense of escape from Real Life and conversing yourself into a world known as, you got it, a Second Life! Because of how I am, the adult sexual nature of the same never really grabbed me as it did to my friend that the main focus is creating an avatar and working in gameplay strip clubs (please don't ask lol). What got me is the fact that people created an already generated character and they are able to update it any way they see fit. Doing so they are able to purchase clothes, accessories, guns and all kinds of things to indulge in any roleplay that fits them. For me what grabbed my attention was all the creativity. Who made this shirt? Who designed this house? How did someone animate the avatars to smile or cry? How can I make an outfit? How can I make my own version of a body? So through self-teaching myself which was a long long journey. I learned how to do some of these things and still learning. I love creating! I mean I really love creating! All I want to do is create characters, their environments. I love the concept of how you make things called "mesh" and then use lighting and shadows via programs I've taught myself on like; Blender, Photoshop, Marvelous Designer just to name a few. Then I found programs like Unity and Unreal which took it to a new level of being able to create my own game.
So long story short, sorry for typing so much. I learned I simply love creating and I love to make items in games and I'm sure once I learned more about creating games that would grab me too. However, I knew at the age of 37 to give my love for the art of creating a boost. Sadly, we all only are all getting older. I want to spend the rest of my life doing what makes me happy.
Looking into the gaming world and creating things in Second Life, I found this is my calling 100%. However, applying for FASFA and applying for school is already in play for me. Where I'm struggling now is where to start? What I mean is so far I know I love creating characters, environments, clothing as well as the idea of making what I create have movement and making it usable in all aspects of gaming and even animated movies (maybe). So the school I'm applying for as programs that all sound great like a game artist, game design and game development. I want to know and make sure that what I'm going into is my passion since I'm still learning what is what in the gaming industry period! So with that being said can any way give any advice on the differences between a game artist and game designer? Which one seems to fit me more with my passion for being creative? Which one will allow me to do what I love and enjoy making a huge career change to use my newly found skills that I've come to love doing more than anything? Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated! Thank you, everyone, for reading!
Sincerely,
Leon
Not that age matters but I am a 37-year-old man that has followed the advice of family all my life. You should be a doctor, nurse, lawyer and so on and so on. Through my years I've done everything from customer service to driving semi-trucks across the USA. However, the careers I've had has been nice, my main problem is wanting to do something that doesn't seem like a job. You know the saying if you do what you love you'll never go to work again? Or something like that. So I thought long and hard on what it is I truly love to do. Not yet the greatest at it but will be once I find that thing I love. Starting out talking with friends and family and also most importantly my spouse. Everyone says the same things; you use to love drawing, you always loved building things, we could never get you to stop playing the damn games!
So after long thoughts, this is what it came down to, even at the age of 37 I love playing video games. Judge if you want but I enjoy games like Second Life, Army of Two, UFC, Splinter Cell, Need for Speed, Call of Duty, inFamous and the list goes on and on. As a kid my father placed a blocky computer in front of me and said: "This is your future, learn it!". Of course, the first thing I turned to was games like Doom and Flight Simulator. Anyway, yes games I love but it's more in-depth than just loving to play the games.
Oddly, a lot of people that play the game Second Life on PC kind of keep that part of their lives as a secret because from what I gather, it's a highly adult-rated game. Giving you a sense of escape from Real Life and conversing yourself into a world known as, you got it, a Second Life! Because of how I am, the adult sexual nature of the same never really grabbed me as it did to my friend that the main focus is creating an avatar and working in gameplay strip clubs (please don't ask lol). What got me is the fact that people created an already generated character and they are able to update it any way they see fit. Doing so they are able to purchase clothes, accessories, guns and all kinds of things to indulge in any roleplay that fits them. For me what grabbed my attention was all the creativity. Who made this shirt? Who designed this house? How did someone animate the avatars to smile or cry? How can I make an outfit? How can I make my own version of a body? So through self-teaching myself which was a long long journey. I learned how to do some of these things and still learning. I love creating! I mean I really love creating! All I want to do is create characters, their environments. I love the concept of how you make things called "mesh" and then use lighting and shadows via programs I've taught myself on like; Blender, Photoshop, Marvelous Designer just to name a few. Then I found programs like Unity and Unreal which took it to a new level of being able to create my own game.
So long story short, sorry for typing so much. I learned I simply love creating and I love to make items in games and I'm sure once I learned more about creating games that would grab me too. However, I knew at the age of 37 to give my love for the art of creating a boost. Sadly, we all only are all getting older. I want to spend the rest of my life doing what makes me happy.
Looking into the gaming world and creating things in Second Life, I found this is my calling 100%. However, applying for FASFA and applying for school is already in play for me. Where I'm struggling now is where to start? What I mean is so far I know I love creating characters, environments, clothing as well as the idea of making what I create have movement and making it usable in all aspects of gaming and even animated movies (maybe). So the school I'm applying for as programs that all sound great like a game artist, game design and game development. I want to know and make sure that what I'm going into is my passion since I'm still learning what is what in the gaming industry period! So with that being said can any way give any advice on the differences between a game artist and game designer? Which one seems to fit me more with my passion for being creative? Which one will allow me to do what I love and enjoy making a huge career change to use my newly found skills that I've come to love doing more than anything? Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated! Thank you, everyone, for reading!
Sincerely,
Leon
Replies
As a 3D artist, in production and especially in AAA, all you'll be doing is what you're told.
Sure there is some creativity in it, but not to the magnitude when you have full control on your work.
The environment at a studio is another matter, one thing I've heard consistently is that most people stay on because of the people.
As a 3D artist in freelance, it really depends on your ability to sell your work, for instance I found a way to repurpose my work and make revenue from multiple sources like 3D printing, poster prints, architecture visualization and VR.
Some clients simply wanted something unique in that regard, so were easy to negotiate with which made for a good transaction.
In the end I found that you only need so much to keep going on your own projects which if you're smart about them should provide greater returns in the long term.
So its good to have some business sense in that regard.
It also depends on where you are in your self learning. For instance a person starting out that hasn't quite had the full grasp on a 3D art pipeline may gain a lot from the experience of working at a studio.
The work experience gained can also lead to new opportunities in other studios, though give your age and life experience moving around may or may not be practical depending on what's offered.
If you want to learn more, everything is on the internet for free. Considering a CGMA course can also help streamline this and maybe the contacts you make might help with securing a studio job?
I wouldn't be able to guarantee that once you're in a studio, the skys the limit and everyone is very encouraging. I would recommend watching the For Honor documentary to understand just how challenging the corporate environment can be for a designer.
(also watch the indie game the movie for a perspective on that side of things)
If you read up glassdoor, it should give you a better picture of what life is actually like on the inside.
The game industry is notoriously mismanaged and this can lead to a pretty challenging life which may not be the best for the position you're currently in.
https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81083880
You could watch it with a trial subscription.
Read about the documentary here, (spoilers)
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/neajbz/new-documentary-playing-hard-for-honor-shows-that-making-games-can-be-hell