Is it viable to be a self-thought 3D artist and get work without a degree?
First off, sorry, this is really a noob question here!
So I'm thinking as of late to change career paths and become a 3D modeller. I come from a background of 2D art, and while I had some successes as a concept artist in the past, I'm tired of the constant struggle to get job offers for it. I'm 30 already and I feel I'm too old to keep chasing this dream.
I use SketchUp and VRay quite often (I can say I'm very proficient) to help me with my 2D art, but I know it doesn't compare anything to industry standard softwares like Blender and Substance. I feel I would have a knack for it, but that might just be me being naive. In anycase, I'm willing to learn!
I want you guys' opinions. Is it still viable to be a 3D artist these days with moderate experience...? Or, like Concept Art, is the competition insanely high? What softwares should I get most familiar with? Do I need a degree to be successful? If no, are taking online courses, such as those on Udemy, a good idea?
Replies
The level of competition is insanely high, but it's not as insanely high as concept art. No one cares if you have a degree unless they're dealing with immigration: you'll succeed or fail based on your portfolio.
The degree will not teach you 3d and in some cases can be a distraction. If you put the hours in and ask for feedback here and in discord channels, you'll be much better than a student 4 years in a paid university. Maybe in the US they might ask for a degree a bit more, but portfolio is your proof. Not a signature. Concept art is a really nice bonus for 3d artists, it means you can come up with your own stuff.
From a technical, legal standpoint, no you don't need a degree to get a job in game art. In comparison to a profession like Nursing where no matter how much self-study you do or how many personal connections you have, you legally cannot be a nurse unless you graduate from a nursing program and pass the NCLEX- fortunately those type of hurdles does not exists for game art, heck I'd argue most type of creative jobs.
Then the question becomes are you the type of person who is able to produce a great portfolio on your own, online classes, self learning OR are you the type of person that needs more personal, in person, in a physical classroom type learning environment in order to produce a great portfolio? If you are the former then you probably don't need school, if you are the latter then you would probably benefit from school.
I know the common refrain is "school is a waste of time" but I think that largely depends on the type of learner you are.
In terms of competitiveness, like any creative job (3d art, UI designer, graphic designer, character artist etc...) it will be very, very competitive. Many more people want the "fun" jobs than their open "fun" jobs, I don't think there is any short cut around that.
I do think Udemy or other cheap online courses would be a good start. From there you may want to look into the more pricey courses like vertex school, cgacdemy, CGspectrum etc... if you feel that the Udemy courses are not enough to get your portfolio to a level that is getting you interviews. That being said maybe you are able create a spectacular portfolio based off Udemy alone so you never know.
Finally one must also consider the possibility that your portfolio/application may not make it past HR if you don't have a relevant degree and or experience. Now I hope, I strongly assume that every studio, big or small takes the time to go over every applicant's portfolio and whether or not you get an interview is strictly based on your portfolio. Asking around on reddit I do get mixed answers of "the studio I work at looks at every portfolio" to "the studio I work at, you are not going to get past HR if you don't have a relevant degree or past experience" so take that for what you will.