AI sandiego what whaaaaaaaat!!! alota people that graduated in the last few years gota realize that you went through school while the "next gen" bullshit revolution hit. So ofcource all your teachers are washed up hacks that cant contribute to the "now" and "new". So like everyone else during that time, I busted my balls to learn what I needed to know to snag a job. Those that just payed the money and rode the classes out walked away with a useless degree. I personally know a handfull that jacked off the whole time and came away with no job, and are now working dead end min wage jobs just to pay on the loan for a degree they cant use.
Bottom line, There is a TON of info on the net. Hell just being at this website is a HUGE start. Soak it up and start making stuff. Dont think of everything you make as a "portfolio" piece. Just make stuff so you learn the process, how to work faster, what looks good, and what doesnt ect ect. You can only be told so much before you gota get out there and dirty your hands.
I go to AI San Diego as well, PopeAdam is a class mate couple quarters ahead of near finishing. I have to agree with him. I never listen to the AI bash hate crap personally. Some people are right, some schools just suck but name me a perfect job where life is perfect. Suck it up and get it done. If you want it badly enough, you'll do the work it takes. I found that without AI I wouldn't have been introduced to the foundations of how to get acquainted into the industry. I use to be in the military for God sakes, I aint the brightest of the bunch but I certainly learned a lot from my instructors as well as learning outside of class.
Still in AILA, set to graduate in December 2009, I had the pleasure to work with opiumunknown and I've met a lot of motivated and talented people in my time there.
AI San Diego grad here. Like Stimpack said gotta be motivated. That goes for any job or career path though. If you aren't motivated and don't want to spend the late nights, extra hours, pass up on a few parties or nights out here and there to get your stuff done then just forget it. Don't waste your money. But it was a great foot in the door and a step in the right direction and having a degree on my office wall at home is a pretty awesome feeling.
I'll be graduating for AI Schaumburg, IL in 5 weeks. The school is probably average from what I've seen and from talking to other students from other schools. A large part of the problem in education is the learning curve for some of this stuff isn't easy and it requires a lot of outside time.
Well, a large majority of the students that go to these schools don't realize what they are getting themselves into. They feel like it's going to be an extension of highschool classes where you could swirl paint and have everyone tell you that it looks pretty.
The truth is that it's dog eat dog in order to get a job and doing the bare minimum won't do shit, because you may pass the class, but you have to show your half ass project and portfolio. Then these same students cry and complain about them not getting a job.
Rather than push the students, many of the instructors are complacent to just get them out of the class because a large majority just do not give two shits to really do something cool. The problem is when someone that really wants to learn the extra stuff doesn't get the education he/she really is paying for. Then class becomes a waste of time when the majority of the information is on the web for free.
I would say the school taught me the basics and got me to a point to where I could help myself. Anything beyond that is self motivated. I feel more like my senior classes are hampering my ability to improve my portfolio rather than help because of poor class design and spend a lot of time doing side projects to compensate.
I can pretty much second everything rjhalvorson said since I am also at AI Schaumburg. So far the only real positive I can say about the school is that I have made a few good contacts with industry pros who have come to the school and then being able to learn from maybe 4-5 good teachers. Also the fact that it has given me the time I need to work and find informaion on my own, rather than being bogged down by tons of term papers or crap like that. But much of the ciriculum is based around geting students a job so that the schools placement rate goes up, and by job I mean pretty much any job not always one that you were actually tying to go for. And the teachers....omg, there are a few diamonds in the rough but then there are so many that are just there to get paid. I mean in my intermediate modeling class my instructor actually had us go online and follow the steps in the joan of arc tut on 3d total, that was the first 2 or 3 weeks of class. And since only like 1/4 of the students who pass a class actually understood some of the material all the following clases start with 2-3 weeks worth of review. So most of the more advanced stuff is cut short in favor of helping slackers catch up. Really unless you take it upon yourself to really look for information outside of class or seek extra work time with the teachers who do know their stuff then I dont see much of a chance at getting very far in the industry.
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Bottom line, There is a TON of info on the net. Hell just being at this website is a HUGE start. Soak it up and start making stuff. Dont think of everything you make as a "portfolio" piece. Just make stuff so you learn the process, how to work faster, what looks good, and what doesnt ect ect. You can only be told so much before you gota get out there and dirty your hands.
Well, a large majority of the students that go to these schools don't realize what they are getting themselves into. They feel like it's going to be an extension of highschool classes where you could swirl paint and have everyone tell you that it looks pretty.
The truth is that it's dog eat dog in order to get a job and doing the bare minimum won't do shit, because you may pass the class, but you have to show your half ass project and portfolio. Then these same students cry and complain about them not getting a job.
Rather than push the students, many of the instructors are complacent to just get them out of the class because a large majority just do not give two shits to really do something cool. The problem is when someone that really wants to learn the extra stuff doesn't get the education he/she really is paying for. Then class becomes a waste of time when the majority of the information is on the web for free.
I would say the school taught me the basics and got me to a point to where I could help myself. Anything beyond that is self motivated. I feel more like my senior classes are hampering my ability to improve my portfolio rather than help because of poor class design and spend a lot of time doing side projects to compensate.
All my best work is side projects. Nuff Said.
You might as well buy a bunch of gnomon dvds. You'll learn more, and at a better price.
AT least for game art.