Viability getting in late

Rima

Due to various things, I'm coming up on 30. What I originally studied for was in game dev, but after I finished that course, I found myself aimless and drifted for years. As it stands, I'm closing on 30, and depending on some family circumstances, by progression might be halted severely for several years.

So what I want to know is, if I get to be 30 or above, how much is that going to impact my ability to get my food in the door? Is age a factor for junior positions; will it just be handed to someone 21?

And at that, what is the most viable type of work in 3D? Easiest to get work in. I love to work on characters, though my skills are currently insufficient, but it seems to be incredibly competitive. Are props, or environments or such better?

I'm in the UK, for reference on what kinds of places exist here, but may be stuck in one little town for some time.

zetheros

age has never really been a factor with 3d art IMO. It's a desk job. If your priority is making a living doing art though, I would recommend a gradual shift towards it; get your portfolio up to where it meets the skill bar and send out your portfolio, try to get noticed.

Yes, it's very hard and very competitive. I'm 30 and have spent my entire life making character art, and even now I still feel like a novice sometimes when I see what other people are up to.

I think it's important to do what you enjoy doing though, even if you decide it's too competitive to make a living off of character art, you can still do it as a hobby, or for part time gigs now and then. I've heard environment art is less competitive, but that doesn't mean it's less difficult.

PixelMasher

most people I have hired I dont even know their age until it comes up in conversation at some point after I have hired them. Its not needed info on your resume and it is always the portfolio that gets them the initial interview. I wouldnt waste time worrying about it and instead focus on getting your portfolio to a point where it shows you would be an undeniable asset to any team looking to hire you  

I have worked with 20 year olds and people in their 50's during my time in the industry and as long as they can knock it outta the park with their work its never been an issue.

poopipe

Being a bit older isn't a problem in itself - nobody cares and the age spread at any level of seniority is generally pretty wide. 

In practical terms 
a : you are going to get payed like a graduate
b : in an interview you're going to be asked what you were doing with yourself between graduation and now - that's a question designed to identify how driven you are, how you've dealt with adversity or how honest and open you might be.
'I drifted for years' isn't a great look for sure but as a hiring manager I could easily find value in learning what motivated you to stop drifting and show up on my doorstep. 

There are more prop/environment artist jobs than anything else and consequently that's where you find the lowest barrier to entry - its still competitive and there are more people than there are jobs but you get around that by being good. 

Rima

poopipe said:

Being a bit older isn't a problem in itself - nobody cares and the age spread at any level of seniority is generally pretty wide. 

In practical terms 
a : you are going to get payed like a graduate
b : in an interview you're going to be asked what you were doing with yourself between graduation and now - that's a question designed to identify how driven you are, how you've dealt with adversity or how honest and open you might be.
'I drifted for years' isn't a great look for sure but as a hiring manager I could easily find value in learning what motivated you to stop drifting and show up on my doorstep. 

There are more prop/environment artist jobs than anything else and consequently that's where you find the lowest barrier to entry - its still competitive and there are more people than there are jobs but you get around that by being good. 

That's something I find tricky. I mean, I basically have drifted for years. Though, I also spent my free time in them trying to improve my skills in 3D, so that's something I can say, at least?

I'm relieved that the consensus so far seems to be that a quality portfolio can overcome age. I was starting to panic a bit with my birthday coming up. Got to keep improving, then.

Alex_J

i think you only need to start making full realized models. the art skills are already good enough. And making convincing human anatomy is one of the toughest things. you already doing good at it. But there is a difference between rough sculpts and a finished game model.

will be fewer jobs and more gate keeping for character art so I wouldn't bother unless its what you really desire. If just need work props and environment jobs more plentiful and its less work to make a convincing prop compared to character.

if you ask for critique online you will get critique, regardless of how worthy your model is. It is up to you to know when your model is good enough. If you dont make that executive decision you'll stay in stasis forever. Chances seem high that you are major underestimating yourself, which will do a lot more harm than if you overestimated yourself.

People overestimating themselves rise to all sorts of outrageous positions. People underestimating themselves aren't doing themselves any favor and are not contributing what they could be effectively. So just finish complete models and put them out there, let others say if it is good or not while you simply enjoy your work. There will be a ton of gatekeeping and general human pettiness so don't get too wrapped up in any particular critiques. Just take what is useful, use it, and don't let anything shape your self-image. Art is for fun, if you are not having fun you are doing it wrong and might as well be breaking rocks at a mine.

Fabi_G

Hi! I think, while the portfolio is the conversation starter, there are other important skills/traits/aspects which keep someone in the game: good communication (polite but to the point), collaborative attitude (able to give and receive feedback, no ego-trips), a want to improve (learn from mistakes, dependencies, embrace new things), persistence (pull through when things are a not fun), reliability, ... . To check/train those, one could to do projects with other people, for example a mod.

If props or environments could be something you'd enjoy doing - just try it. Best set a clear scope and time frame. Personally, I learned a lot participating in challenges hosted here on the forum (bi-monthly environment, quarterly character art). 

Regarding character art (or probably any type of 3d assets) I agree with Alex_J: Complete things, from blockout to rendered in engine, to train all the steps involved. Working from existing designs allows focus on the execution. Studies are fine of course, but I think they can run parallel.

For motivation and to share experiences, I would connect with people who are working towards the same goal. Guess you're already doing so by interacting on this forum. Go to game dev meet ups in your area, if you can. Perhaps join a mod team. Maybe in the future, you and your connections can help each other out. Also, just don't stop and keep going, update your sketchbook so you have something to cringe over in the future. As Zetheros wrote, maybe it's necessary to do 3d on the side for some time, while doing something else for money.

Best of luck!

Rima

That's very true. A serious fault I have is that kind of perfectionist thinking. I've never finished anything because my skills weren't sufficient. I'll work on that.

Alex_J

they are sufficient though, no bullshit.

there are loads of excellent artist who cant even begin to make a convincing anatomy sculpt. plenty of fantastic artist with entire careers who never even bothered with going into human anatomy because it is too hard and they enjoyed other things and were great at them. 

your anatomy sculpts are already good, only thing is that they aren't finished into full characters. so its not a matter of skill, just putting in the time. but only thing that (seems like) kept you from putting in the time is you didnt believe you had the skill. but you do!

Rima

Alex_J said:

they are sufficient though, no bullshit.

there are loads of excellent artist who cant even begin to make a convincing anatomy sculpt. plenty of fantastic artist with entire careers who never even bothered with going into human anatomy because it is too hard and they enjoyed other things and were great at them. 

your anatomy sculpts are already good, only thing is that they aren't finished into full characters. so its not a matter of skill, just putting in the time. but only thing that (seems like) kept you from putting in the time is you didnt believe you had the skill. but you do!

Thank you. I will try.

nOLpte8

I don't think age would be much of an issue compared to something like the general tech world where ageism is apparently very rampant. Rather the bigger question is are you able to create a portfolio that will get you interviewed, that will get you hired? Do you need to go to school/online class to create that great portfolio or can you reach that hirable level completely on your own?

Remember for the game art jobs not only are you competing against those in school for game art, you are also competing against all the self taught hobbyist as well- your portfolio has to stand out amongst a wide swathe of applicants. 

scottycharly

I'm in North America so I confess I don't know much about the work culture in the UK, but I can share is that I started my 3D Art Career around 40. So, don't let your age discourage you. 

NikhilR

I have seen it being an issue in some studios when it came to assessing culture fit.
But it was always implied, in the sense that if I came across as a big kid its probably better than looking like an older professional.

Though honestly these are rare cases and really comes down to studio demographics. 
Usually the people that might reject you for your age are unlikely to have any real influence on the hiring process. 
In general I've found recruiters to display more professionalism than artists that were more casual and subjective in assessment of a candidates profile.