Need some advice about graphic design degree..
Hi everybody,
I will make it short! I will begin my third year in graphic design in my local Uni and im getting to the point of thinking that this degree will not lead me to where i want in the gaming industry... But the thing is i allready have a college diploma in game art and when ived registered for the degree in graphic design theres was no game art degree avalable so ived took what was avalable... but i dont really like doing packaging and stuff in fact i hate even if im good at it...
So is having a degree in gaphic design is a good thing to have in my curriculum or it would be better to have a game art degree instead?
I will make it short! I will begin my third year in graphic design in my local Uni and im getting to the point of thinking that this degree will not lead me to where i want in the gaming industry... But the thing is i allready have a college diploma in game art and when ived registered for the degree in graphic design theres was no game art degree avalable so ived took what was avalable... but i dont really like doing packaging and stuff in fact i hate even if im good at it...
So is having a degree in gaphic design is a good thing to have in my curriculum or it would be better to have a game art degree instead?
Replies
Eventually my hobbies lead to a full time job at a small game studio, and I've loved making games, TONS of creative freedom and no asshat bosses. The company is small enough that I know everyone on a first name basis including our CEO. IN the time I've been here I've learned so much. I'm still learning, still improving, still moving forward in my spare time.
When I think what next I'm not sure if I'll stick to this industry, there are a lot of horror stories and after having it so good for 5+ years and setting down some roots I'm not sure I'll want to shuffle my family around for low pay jobs with not a lot of stability that offer less creative freedom. If I can't find something comparable (if something ever happens to my job) then I'll probably go back to something more profitable that gives me the spare time I need to keep the fun alive.
If I do go that route then a degree will probably be helpful, and I might go back to school and finish things off, but that's only because I have a wife who makes enough to support us both while I go back.
So yea its a tough call. Since you're so close I'd say stick it out graduate. It won't mean much in this industry but then you never know where you'll end up in the 40+ years you'll be working.
Whatever you do make sure you have a rockin portfolio or it won't matter how many degrees you have.
and by the way, can u tell what are those horror story?
While many of the individual classes I took were relevant to the type of work I'm doing now, the degree itself hasn't provided me with any opportunities for employment. My last couple of years at school were spent studying computer art and 3D on my own. That work, not my degree, landed me my first job...which lead me more into 3D graphics...which eventually lead into realtime 3D graphic for games. I've never looked back. I would think that a cirriculum these days would be more relevant. Undoubtedly there would be many classes in using computers to create 2D art. Surely some Photoshop. Possibly some 3D packages. I really wish I'd take more higher math back then. Trig, calculus, etc. I had no idea how relevant it would one day become. I also wish I'd stuck with some of the exploration into computer sciences because the methodology of engineering is something I've had to build up for myself.
I think thinkgs are very different these days. Back then Graphic Design meant a job working at a paper, magazine, or a print house. That was really it. There are a ton more opportunities for graphic designers now. If it's a good school, you can probably learn a lot of valuable skills. I'm not sure how that particular market operates, but I can imagine that there are some jobs that might be out of reach if you don't have that degree.
Things are certainly very different in the game industry. A degree is not a requirement to do art for games. Studios only care about your portfolio and your personality. You need to be able to demonstrate that you can do what they need you to do and that you're not a smelly asshat that they wouldn't want to work with. Not too long ago, these programs offering a 'games' degree were utter junk. Just businesses looking to cash in on a growing industry. They'd take a lot of money from eager young kids, give them a minimal amount of instruction on operating a somewhat relevant piece of software, and then send them wide-eyed out into a world they weren't prepared for. The few that made it had the potential with or without that degree.
I don't know what the current state of things are in regard to these schools with programes in art or animation for games, but I do know that a degree is still worthless for landing a job. This is an evolving industry. Every generation of hardware or engines create new fields of specialization. If you're not spending some of your time outside of your day-to-day job keeping up with what's going on in the industry, you're going to become obsolete. Most of the time I think school will interfere with that type of learning and practice.
Game art is basically just a kind of illustration - which is usually taught at graphic design colleges.
I would persist with graphic design and maybe do a short games related course after you graduate. That's basically what I did.
Of course you can get a job in games, it all depends on your portfolio, not what you studied. If you want to be an environment artist with a heavy focus on texturing, this kind of degree will be useful to you. Stay in college. You might want to work outside of Europe one day, and having a guarantee of being able to get a working visa is important. Even if you feel you are wasting your time doing stuff that you think you can't put in a portfolio for a games job (even though you probably could) then do your own game art projects on the side. But definitely stay in school.