a gigantic sigh. This industry is destroying my well being.
polycounter lvl 8
Why the fuck can I not find a job? This is starting to get to me. I am SO tired of doing art tests and getting no responses, so tired of not being called back after interviews and being ignored. I don't know what to do. It is destroying me.
fuck!
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sorry this is whiny. I don't know what to do. Someone please give me some advice.
fuck!
ajrsehvjkashfjkasjfkadhjakd
sorry this is whiny. I don't know what to do. Someone please give me some advice.
Replies
I don't know or understand why I'm having such a hard time getting call backs after interviews. They all go very well. ugh.
What i'd really like to see is a unique sort of prop that's environmental, or a small little scene at a very high quality that you showed you're capable of in your weapons.
Remove the text explaining the limitations of the lego universe stuff and just keep the first video. Anyone in a posotion to hire you will instantly know the limitations of such a game anyway.
Not sure if this is the best route to take to get a job but i know the frustrations you're going through, dude. Hope something works out for ya.
Definitely take the advice into consideration and keep trying. That's all you can do. Don't give up, just keep trying newer techniques, practice and improve.
I honestly do not know what I can do differently. I've made all the changes in this thread. This is just starting to be completely exhausting. Day in and day out waiting for studios to take their sweet ass time to give a guy a call back. I've been interviewing at a studio for like.. 4 months now? They take about 2 months between contacting me. Their HR does NOT answer her phone, EVER. Last I talked to her, which was about two weeks ago, she said they would let me know either way what was happening but has failed to let me know again.
How can companies be so distant for so long with potential employees and expect any sort of loyalty?
One main error i see in your work is the final execution. Nothing pops and grabs you in.
The only scene that looked good was the building set at the start. The Warhammer house was lacking any overall feeling. Its in Cryengine 2 but didnt resemble the level of quality of that can be reached within the engine. Mainly the Lighting was letting it down. Wheres your style and flair?
Accentuate your OWN style within the industry standards. That it the only way to stand out from any other artist with a similar folio.
If it makes you feel any better, im in the same boat regarding job hunting.
Although... Im mainly disappointed from certain industry peers here @ polycount (wont mention names) that wont even reply to my PM's and answer feedback questions.
In such a competative job market, it is key to really distance yourself from other aplicants. It isn't enough to simply have competent work, you need to have a jaw-droppingly good portfolio.
Even if you can only do one thing awesome, you've gotta find that niche'. What is it, weapons? Environments? Props? Vehicles? Characters? Pick one of these and crank out some truly A-level show piece assets for your site. When i'm looking at portfolios, I'm looking for someone who stands out in at least one aspect, I'm not really looking for a guy who can do a bunch of stuff but doesn't leave any sort of impression on me.
Really want to get a job? Set a goal like:
Every two weeks I am going to pump out an A+ asset
Post on polycount and take in critique
If you can actually keep that up for a few months, and show improvement with your work, not only will you catch a lot of eyes here, but you'll have some much better content to put into your portfolio. The industry moves so fast, if you're not constantly cranking out new stuff, you're falling behind.
In the last two years, you've posted a grand total of one thread in Pimping, with a grand total of one(the initial post) responses to the thread, no follow ups, no wips, no progress. This simply will not do. You can't sit around feeling sorry for yourself, you've gotta put the work in, and equally as important, show the community you're putting the work in and improving. You see all these "congrats XXX" threads? Most of these guys post their work often and spend a lot of time taking in feedback from the community, it is no surprise that they make connections and get jobs.
Your goal needs to be not just being another guy in the interview queue, but being that guy that a company is going to out of its way to get in touch with, you need to make yourself noticeable, and in a big way.
Is my Lego Universe work really that bad? That's completely crushing to me. I thought we made some pretty fantastic art considering our limitations / art style.
Are you only looking in Seattle?
The Lighting was really lacking that stylized edge to bring it all together.
Some of the rocks verts where being light to boring black tones. It didnt look happy or vibrant.
With what EQ was saying, yeh you gotta get your post count up - this will increase your odds of getting more people here to ride your dick. haha real talk.
I think you're trying to get into the wrong industry....
You may be only looking for work in Seattle/the surrounding area, but the companies in that area are looking worldwide.
Yeah...
I'm in a similar position as you: in Seattle, wife and 2 kids! Fun times!
Anyways, the job market in Seattle is incredibly saturated at the moment. With layoffs at SOE Seattle in late March, Airtight the following day, and Zipper a month or so ago, there's a lot of competition. I'd estimate there are a couple of dozen experienced artists looking for work, not including the 4-5 schools in the area churning out graduates.
It's a great time to look for temp employment in other industries while working on portfolio.
Keep your head up, summer is typically slow for hiring. It'll ramp up towards the end of summer/early fall.
Cheers!
Well there's your problem. I'd love to live back in Florida but there really aren't alot of opportunities there. I've finally ended up in Texas which has the features I enjoyed in Florida. This is after 4 years of being in the northeast dealing with the miserable winters.
It's tough out there right now, but hang in there, don't get discourage, and constantly create new portfolio artwork. Aim for one new piece a month and bust your ass to get better. It will happen, the only way it won't happen is if you give up.
Loved this when I was on the job hunt.
http://youtu.be/_Z5OookwOoY
You can't really pick and choose... if you want to get a job in this industry you pretty much have to do whatever it takes.
Sometimes, we do need to make sacrifices in life to get ahead.
Already tried that, didn't really help and I had to change my name, address, and hair
You just need to get your car re-painted and the plates changed at a local Pay N' Spray. :thumbup:
skylebones, thanks for that vid :O somehow it ruined and made my day.
Also when it comes to just looking in Seattle, you are limiting yourself. Trust me when I say this, I never expected to have to move out of So Cal but opportunity presented itself and I had to take it and run. I am now in the Bay Area, a place I would of never saw myself 3 months ago. It was a decision I dont nor will I ever regret. There are so many studios out there, apply to them all and watch what happens, after you have created another enviro and some awesome assets to go along with it. Also make sure to put them in a valid engine.
Good luck and this is all par for the course in our industry. Find the opportunity, because it will not always come to your door and start knocking. Sometimes we need to use rope and duct tape on it and beat the shit out of it.
~ Game Art is an RPG lifestyle dude. You gotta be willing to leave your hometown and wander out to get the story started. Even if its just for a while.
As experience and awesomeness increases, then you can possibly later come back to Seattle and find a job there (although you might surprise yourself love it so much away you won't want to return). Just step out of the bubble if you can. You've only got one life, you can live somewhere else and meet great people for at least a while if your serious about this industry.
Another tip/suggestion, that echoes what other already said: work harder on your folio. The piece that jumps out the most at me from your miniatures is the gun, and the pillar. You say the gun took two days to make? Its a weekend now, make another one! There are plenty of people working hard to get in the industry, the best way to beat them is to work harder, smarter. A good portfolio doesnt create itself. If you REALLY want a job, dedicate a couple of hours each day on working hard on folio-pieces. Having a good folio, that is easy to find, solves alot of troubles.
To be truly honest with you what you have there is looking the same quality to me as most of the students getting out of school.
But I think EQ nailed it.
Keep at the thing and restart fresh projects.
Also, this isn't aimed at you specifically, seaseme, but just a general tip; if people don't respond to your pm's you shouldn't get pissed off or
also your folio is pretty shit an your previous work is so badly presented i don't really know what you have done professionally.
check out my folio for a masterclass in professionalism.
So suck it up, grab your bags and pursue your dreams.
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryPortfolio#Design
Good luck Seaseme! I know it's hard to do, but it will help if you're able to push down the ego and act on the advice given here. It's all given in a good spirit, we all love to see members improve and land swank gigs. You can do it man!
Hey man, I'm not going to lie, moving away from family and friends *sucks*! But you can make it worth it. Keep up with working on your portfolio and never assume anything you've done is good enough. Do that and broaden your search, and you'll be alright.
the problem is not your software skills. i can see that you can handle the tools well, but the models and textures are just not good enough to make somebody look closer.
i also suggest to make two ot three new pieces, environmental stuff, that really have a great concept art as base. better use something from other artists, as nobody expects you to be a great concept artist. for example a crazy tree or a really amazing building. show that you can bring this into 3d and get rid of the generic props.
So true.
This is always a favorite of mine whenever I think of this:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/4/6/
I just landed a full time position after working for 4 years in the industry and being unemployed for 6 months. But to do it, I have to pack my bags and move to the other side of the country away from both my wife's and my own friends and family.
It beats being unemployed or working Retail.
You do what you have to do. When I get to a point in my career where my art is more attractive to more people, I hope to come back to my home area, but till then, you have to be open about just getting work and experience under your belt.
Drop this attitude man. The moment an artist starts to think too much of himself, that is the moment he stops getting better. Always think that you are one step behind top artists and that you will work hard to catch up with them. There will always be someone better than you.
Regarding your portfolio: I see you can use softwares, bake normal maps and get your assets ingame. But I think your pieces lack a strong artistic foundation. For example, this scene:
http://www.remotecontrolledchaos.com/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=27
I love the modeling in this scene but it's very bad lighting and color wise. This feels like a really unpolished gem for me. With the right amount of work it may turn into a kickass scene. Critics:
* The skybox is very bright, making everything else look dark. That's the same reason why portfolios with dark backgrounds are better than ones with white backgrounds.
* I can't tell if the scene is textured or not.
* The fog doesn't match the skybox. Neither does the ambient color, which is purple while the skybox is blue. I personally prefer purple ambient colors for night scenes, but you need to choose one or another.
* The light sources are placed in a very boring manner, with equal distances between them.
* I can't tell what the scale is supposed to be in this scene. At first I thought the gates were pretty tall but then I looked at that staircase next to it and noticed that the steps are huge. The staircase suggests that the player model might be slightly taller than those statues. Not epic at all.
* The trees all look the same and not very interesting silhouette wise. I know you tried something a little different here but the trees are not working. They don't add visual interest to the scene. They don't feel like they belong in there. Some of them are even growing on solid rocks! Again, compare the trees with the statues and the trees will look like small bushes.
* Is this rendered inside Maya's viewport? If so definitely get this into UDK or Unity and use lightmap tools to take it to the next level.
* If you take this into UDK/Unity/Cryengine add a subtle direct light (the source could be the moon). This will generate interesting shadows.
I think that's all for this scene.
A general critic for your portfolio: Add a little description for each work. Tell your intentions, specs, what engine is it being showcased etc... I really have no idea what exactly you did on the Warhammer house. Did you model all the trees? Is that a piece for a mod?
Last but not least: Never give up. If you aren't getting a job it's because:
a) You are looking at the wrong places
b) You are not good enough (yet)
Hope that helps and good luck!!
Miserable winters? Wimps.
@Sesame: how long you been out? I know a guy who has been trying since he graduated in May 09. And some people are longer...
Hey!
Thank you for the feedback on that scene. I'm not here to make excuses for it. So much of your critique is just stuff that we were not able to do. LEGO Does not allow the scaling of LEGO bricks, so we were severely limited by doing stuff much more epic than that.
Only the preview with the lighting is in maya, the rest is in engine. Which was a severely crippled 6 year old version of Gamebryo which had no ability to make any sort of shadows and the lighting technology was extremely rudimentary - all we could use was a single directional light which barely had any noticeable effect.
As far as lighting / color scheme go. Yeah. I was pretty proud of the lighting in this scene. It reflects the concept art well. I wish I could show the concept art we had to work with. Anyhow. No finger pointing. Thank you for your critique!
Ah OK. I had no idea that was the Lego environment, since it's not written anywhere in the gallery
This is personal but I hate watching videos. However, I decided to click on one and I must say I'm more impressed with the video than the screenshot presentation you have. So, try experimenting with your screenshots and static presentation. Try different angles, make the screenshot as good and as interesting as possible.
There was another person here who did the same Warhammer house and also in Crysis and it was fantastic and is a bar to aim for as far as next gen quality goes. Here is his site http://www.viktorzics.com/ great presentation of his scene as well