Where there are more opportunities - 3d characters vs 3d hard surface ?

focus_method

Hello,
Where do you see much more job / career opportunities   ?  (of course, if somebody suck at both then nothing of it) 
is it in making 3d characters or in making 3d props ,cars, mecha, assets ?

I know that making a 3d character consists  also of making 3d props  but  that doesn't count in this case because its the part of the character. I mean if i am better in 3d hard surface should i aim more on creating cars, mechs, props,assets based on some concepts or it's not worth pursuing as a career ?

I think 3d characters worth more because they are harder to make.

what do you think ? 

Eric Chadwick

They're both making on average the same salary levels. Both have challenges for adherents to learn.

However, Character Artist may be a bit more difficult for two reasons:

1) We are primed on a subconscious level to closely judge the smallest details of human bodies and faces, so reproducing believable characters is specifically difficult.

2) Supply of aspiring character artists outstrips demand, probably because humans are subconsciously attracted to looking at other humans (and animals).

Same can also be said for Character Animators.

Ultimately though, choose what you are most interested in, and pursue it wholeheartedly.

neilberard

Hop on LinkedIn, Indeed etc... and type in the search bar each of the job titles you mentioned. Even setup alerts for job postings. The market is kinda weird right now, but that should give you some indication of what the demand is.   

sacboi

Also consider, specialisation would present increased competitiveness, especially if an intended career path toward securing a AAA level role is a foreseen goal:

goekbenjamin

neilberard said:

Hop on LinkedIn, Indeed etc... and type in the search bar each of the job titles you mentioned. Even setup alerts for job postings. The market is kinda weird right now, but that should give you some indication of what the demand is.   

Can you elaborate on what exactly is weird right now? I am just curious

neilberard

I haven't been job hunting recently, but because of Covid-19, I'm guessing a number of studios have temporarily scaled back on hiring artists. So that search may not reflect the number of jobs you would typically see. 

Ashervisalis

@neilberard In Vancouver, hiring has actually scaled up. My studio is planning on doubling in size by next year, and I've had a few other studios approach me. Live action VFX has definitely taken a hit, due to no filming, but animation seems to be doing pretty good.

neilberard

@Ashervisalis That's great to hear! I'm sure it depends on what industry you are looking at.

poopipe

There are more prop/environment art jobs than character art jobs in almost every studio and generally speaking the competition for any given job is much stiffer. 

Hiring wise,  we slowed down while we were moving everybody home and dealing with the fallout but now we're back to normal in terms of staff turnover, I imagine it's the same for most studios