To the artists who have achieved this

caneroworks

To the artists who have achieved this. I've been learning Blender on my own for almost two years through paid and free tutorials. This past year, I've landed my first two paid 3D jobs: one related to architecture and the other to music—a 3D object with a real-world shot in a music video. I feel like I'm halfway there, trying to make a living with this, but I'm wondering what skills or related studies could give me the key to becoming a 3D artist. I've considered taking a marketing course that could help me create more effective 3D work that communicates well. I also love mixing 3D with real-world shots for both advertising and music videos. I know I have a lot to learn in the world of 3D, but I don't see the point in studying 3D without another skill to complement it and make everything work together. To those of you who have taken the time to read this, thank you so much, and if anyone is in my situation, please tell me what you're doing. I'm leaving my social media links where I usually upload my work. Thanks again. 

instragram https://www.instagram.com/caneroworks/

artsation https://www.artstation.com/caneroartist
youtube https://www.youtube.com/@alvarocañero

aniceto

Congrats on landing that work! It took me about 2 years to get my first job, but I had the benefit of having studied in a dedicated 3D Animation course. I'm not sure that I would have stuck with it if I was learning on my own, to be honest.

On that note - it can help to do a 3D animation course or something similar locally. The qualification won't matter much compared to your folio, but it's handy being able to talk to teachers who have industry experience, and you might even make some useful contacts out of it.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about doing a marketing course. If you want to get better at visual communication, you want to be looking at visual design courses that deal with composition, colours, lighting etc. It'll help you make more visually appealing work that gets your folio noticed.

If you want a better idea of what other skills you need, have a look for "3D Artist" in the LinkedIn job posts. The posts will list out mandatory and desired skills and software. Just use that to make a list and start working through it

Ashervisalis

Hey bud, I broke into the industry without having gone to school, and by just following tutorials. Its definitely doable. Its all about the portfolio and portfolio direction. Right now, your portfolio says "product rendering", which you could lean into. I'm not 100% sure but I'd assume someone who is good at producing renderings for ads could get decent money.

But, if you want to be making something more specialized, like environments for games, or characters for animations, etc etc, you got nothing in your portfolio which showcases that. Figure out specifically what you want to do, and then find several other artist's portfolios who do that thing, and then compare. If I want to hire someone to make props, I'm probably going to look at portfolios that have complex pieces in them.

I'll also note: for someone trying to break in, you have too many pieces. Reduce your portfolio to the very best.