3D character art - "where" to study
polycounter lvl 3
Hello,
I am sorta of a beginner / intermediate character artist and I really wanted to study on something that would improve my skills.
I studied for 3 years on a videogame course, and honestly it was...really not good. There weren't a lot of options in my country (Portugal), and it was a very "experimental" course at the time (it was like the 2nd year of its existence, the structure was terrible with some really awful teachers, it's much better now, but still), and I feel that I learned almost nothing that I wanted, most of what I learned was really online from YouTube videos. I kind of did not do a lot of research before going (I was very naive at the time, so I just rushed at whatever seemed the most interesting), so now I am VERY reluctant on choosing where to learn more.
From the research I did, I found that the best choice considering my budget would be the "Universal Arts School" in Spain, Valencia, they have a dual masters on sculpting extreme and videogame arts, but I really don't want to to through the situacion I already went through, so I am unsure if that would be the best choice. Studying physically at an university would be my preference, but since I can't study at the best schools (since they are REALLY expensive), I looked around at some online courses.
CG Spectrum seems to be very highgly regarded as having some of the best courses online, with cgmasteracademy seeming to also being a good alternative, having its' modules more seperate. I can afford these websites for like a course or two, even though they can be quite expensive (but really not as much as going to a physical university).
I'm not really sure about places like udemy, 3d motive, Lynda and plusarlight? I have some understanding of the tools I have (zbrush, blender, substance painter and maya), so I'm not sure if those websites could offer the knowledge I seek to improve my skills.
3D character creation is really what I want to focus on, more specifically for Videogames. I have a basic understanding of how to sculpt, I bought a couple of anatomy classes from gumroad, and even joined the Shane Olson's Character Workshop. (It could always be the case that I also am missing more practice, then the need for higher education, which is another fear that I have, but I suppose that is probably not really relevant here).
I apologize if these kinds of threads are done to death. I have read the pinned threads, and the majority of them refer to posts from around 2010-2015, things are quite different ever since then so I just kind of want some more recent info about this.
I also apologize for any grammar errors in this post.
I also apologize for any grammar errors in this post.
Replies
The key is learning by yourself and picking the time for these courses right. Once you know the basics, you hone your skill to the point that you know how to use all the standard techniques, worklflows and you know the full pipeline of character creation and you just need to fine tune your eye for quality. That's the time you pick up a course and focus on learning from critique (not just based on your work , but also studying other students works thinking about feedback for them and really learning from the feedback they receive). It's not about making your perfect portfolio character or learning basics that you could get somewhere for free, but really about understanding quality. This is what most students do wrong and then waste 800+ bucks on it.
Put your portfolio up on polycount, get feedback to where you are in the process and its either going to be that you can still learning from regular feedback and free sources or maybe time to push it with a 8-10 weeks course. I honestly think universities/schools in this field are not efficient and more of a way for people to not have to take ownership of their own education. You end up doing most of the learning in your off time anyways.
From my experience, on the learning curve side, realistic character work has a lot more to delve into. Also there is a lot less work available in the market, not to mention a lot more criticism on whether a model meets a certain quality atleast at the onset.
On the job in a studio, you'd be limited to retopologizing body scans 90% of the time earlier in your career, and while transitioning to more detail oriented work is expected, it really depends on what is needed.
Except from freelance, I have never found any in studio contract making the full use of my abilities, not that this is an oversight on their part, its just a very rigid way of functioning involving distributing work to larger team + outsourcing and reusing existing assets from libraries.
And this is looking strictly on the art side of things, there are a lot of other factors that have nothing to do with your art that influence the hiring process.
Work experience is another thing, there are chances that they won't even look at your work if this aspect isn't met.
I've found more opportunities in stylized/cartoony work. Its also more flexible from the clients standpoint and it pays just as much if not better, since they are quicker to finish and this helps a project pick up a lot of speed providing more work in the long run.
A good strategy would be focus on making cartoony models while picking up the process to make realistic models down the line.
Edit:
One more thing, try to overcome your tentative/hesitant nature 'yeah can be easier said than done' ...but until you do, more than anything else will be a stumbling block, after all for anyone seeking entry, a tough enough business to break into.
1. Hesitation is understandable, but you have to overcome it. Getting used to feedback and critics has to become second nature - because it happens all the time at the actual job
2. The fastest path to a big studio job has shown to be (you will find this advice all over this site and other places): Pick a game that you would like to work on (it should also be a studio that you can actually work - so no visa requirements that could block you because as a junior you won't get these jobs). Now do a project based on a concept from this game (best case either some high quality concept fan art from a professional or concept from the production of the game that didn't make it) and turn it into a game ready model. Take your time, it has to be as good as you can do it. Really focus on getting as close as you can to the game. Since its from a existing game you have something to compare it to and understand how they solved issues you might encounter.
When you are done with this project - including a well done presentation with proper screenshots - move on to the next, still based on that style, just focusing on different areas. So if the first one was a female character with mainly clothing, do either a male character with cloth or again a female one with more hard surface practise. Just pick something for each project that you can focus on learning so that with each portfolio piece you do you expand your comfort zone and show that you can do these things.
3. Self-discipline is a must in this field. You are going up against professionals with several years of experience that have full time jobs (or more) and do stuff in their spare time - so easily 50+ hours a week of doing just things related to the job. To catch up means having to do so much more than what schools and universities demand - and that's why I don't like the idea of doing it for 4 years. Those who make it to the AAA are the people who worked their asses of and they would have done it without schools also. I understand the idea of using a school if it really helps you learn as I'm myself that way. I need that kind of structure in the beginning to understand the basics, but I would suggest you are really sure that you need 4 years of broad education in that field, wasting time on theoretical things like writing papers that nobody ever will give a damn and spending a lot of money on it. That's why I said that if you need it for a visa it makes sense, but I would rather do a university in another field that interests me that might give me a chance of a back up job than for games art (I think I actually barely know people working in studios that have a degree in game art, but might be I didn't pay enough attention).
Ah my apologies, I should have checked the forums better before posting here.
I did notice in the 3d showcase area there is also a quarterly character challenge which catches my attention, I will participate on those at some point.
Regarding sharing my art there, it is possibly the best idea, but I have to say I would feel incredibly anxious sharing my more low quality work on a place where people share such high quality work, but I suppose one has to start somewhere.
That is true as well. I rely too much on my mood to have work done, and that heavily hinders me. It is quite complicated for one to organize himself after spending so many years in school. Even while working I have a severe lack of self discipline, a lot of my works I either abandon halfway or get too invested and end up working on unnecessary details.
Your 2nd advice is also quite good.
There is just so much to do in order to improve that one can get quite easily overwhelmed, but I suppose at the moment the most important thing is studying and practicing more anatomy.
As a side note, would learning how to draw help out with anatomy, and learn to paint help out with texturing? Especially with texturing, I am very inexperienced.
I also apologize if my replies might seem a bit nonsensical, I am just nervous about making this my real career, and not have someone guiding along the way as in school can make me quite lost.
I thankyou all for your replies however, I will take the information given here into consideration, and my decision right now heavely falls more over being a self taught artist, if self discipline and organization is going to be important for the rest of my career, might as well star working on that now then leave it to "after", and go back to university.
Also when doing projects its key to make honest short term deadlines (just simple small weekly stuff for parts of the project). Don't over commit yourself. Don't let failing your deadlines become a grave for your motivation. Keep them as tight as possible, but loose enough that you can still enjoy it and be focused on the learning part. Use them more as goals that feel like an achievement when you finish them. Like in RPG games you have quick level ups in the beginning to hook you up on the mechanic of advancement, do the same with your learning
That is good advice, thankyou! I can end up overcommitting myself too much at times. I was supposed to have finished my current project like 2 months ago (yiekes).
That is also good advice, thankyou very much!!