how much work a day do you guys...
polycounter lvl 12
...put into self improvement of your portfolios, skills etc. I max out at 2-3 hours on weekdays and 4-6 on weekends, exept for the last week (all diablo 3) and depending on how much 2d/comic stuff I work on. Exept I feel that I am not improving fast enough. Obviously the obvious answer is obvious but how much work have you put into practicing. Specifically people that have broken into the industry (time spent to get there) and people who want to.
thanks!
thanks!
Replies
And Sundays I have work so Saturday's my day off :P
At home...maybe 3 to 4 hours in total from mon-fri, working on things that interest me, or tinkering on interesting problems I brought from work. Sometimes I spend an entire saturday or sunday just working on stuff - but then it's usually my own.
I hope I'm done with Diablo 3 soon though. Once I'm through with normal I'll uninstall it. Too much temptation and in a few years I'll be angry with myself for wasting my time with it (yup, that sounds harsh, but that's the truth) - playing Diablo 3 for weeks isn't really something you can put on your folio.
Admittedly I only have freelance experience so I dunno if that counts as breaking into the industry...
That said, though, I'm constantly trying to do new things and experiment with various techniques when I'm at work. I'd say at least half my time at work is time spent experimenting and trying to refine my workflow so I work faster and more efficiently. For example, over the past four or five months I've been working to develop faster methods for creating textures by using baked lighting and edge selection in Photoshop to create masks, color tints and edge highlighting.
Honestly, I don't think I can get through a single day at work without learning something or improving my workflow somehow.
Don't fret about it too much, resting is work too. Thinking through things, watching/reading tutorials while eating, on the can or sometime like that can save you time as well :P
One big thing is to analyze artwork, why they look good. Better understanding of the basics, diffuse, spec, normal maps etc. Once you gain a better understanding of what makes good art your own art and specifically your eye will be better. Thus you'll produce better stuff.
I research/experiment and learn a lot during the day at work but it's mostly all environment art related which isn't really what I want to focus on for my portfolio.
I'd love to be able to make small studies more often but I somehow always want to push things a bit further than a sketch but never all the way to completion so my work ends to an awkward phase. I also routinely find it challenging to get over the hump of finding a subject to draw/paint/sculpt then gathering reference. By the time I feel prepared to start I've wasted a lot of time.
One positive thing is that even though I am now in the industry and working on art all day, I have no trouble continuing after work without being sick of it (on the occasions when I do spend time on it).
To now answer the question I'll likely fit in 8-10 hours a week on personal stuff to keep sharp. A full time job and family the rest of the time keeps me on my toes.
Trying to manage a personal life and an art career is like flying the death star trench as drunk as you can get. It's all good till the turbo lasers stop firing, and you're having a hard time thumbing the stupid console thing.
'THANG DON WORK'
Try to get a few couple hours in a week, or at least an hour or two a day :poly142:
If I am off I pretty much spend the entire day practicing sketching and all.
Joking aside, 8-10 hrs at work average (probably about half actually doing art), just over 1.5 hrs total commute, time for food/exercise/hang out with my wife, and then about 3 hours of personal work before bed. I've tried to get into a routine of draw/paint/sculpt at least 1 hour each per night. I feel like each of those activities sharpens my senses in different ways.
Weekends, as much time as I can. I usually save any gaming until the weekend, but even then limit myself to no more than 3 hours per week. I've noticed in doing so I've had more time to catch up on some classic sci-fi novels.
Long answer short, you can always spend more time making art, but you have to balance out your life or you'll burn out/miss out on life. Just make sure the hours you do have to do art, you arn't just dicking around
having said that I have been working a fair bit recently in between helping to look after my 2 year old daughter and shopping trips/playground etc
Before I ever got in to the industry ie just after graduating, I would work at least 8 hours a day.
Similar case. 5.5 hours of sleep, friends/girlfriend time 2x a week, meals and short breaks. the rest of the time is werk werk werk
I would rather put in a solid creative 8 at work then go home and go out with friends or go on a date or something. for me latley personal work has been just that, working on myself. either going to the gym, going out and learning to be way better at getting a girls number, or exploring the city and cool events, raising my self confidence and eating healthier.
Infact I would say my professional work has become better because of all those things, because i dont spend every ounce of energy a day thinking about 3d or sitting there clicking a mouse, so when I turn my attention to it at work, its like BOOM! ok awesome lets do this! and I feel refreshed.
edit: also, because I have become a lot more social and outgoing, I have found my interview skills have vastly improved. I dont get nervous any more and go into the interview and spend 90% of the time shootin the shit about games and the industry and showing them I know how to interact, am passionate and am not awkward. rather than talking about the finer points of modeling or little technical things.
Now:
I should add this argument though: It isn't about how many hours you throw at your portfolio, its the quality of those hours. I find myself more productive if I work a little bit less but I get more sleep and go for a walk or something every day. Thats something I'm still trying to balance personally.
Because, i always have the same mentality, 'i Sucked yesterday, today i do better.'
It's like going into a gym, you don't go in there one day and say, "shit, i should really practice lifting weights, whenever i have time."
Same mentality with modelling; everyday i try to define another different art muscle.
Don't worry dude. After graduating I took a month-half break from 3D. During that time I still thought about what my next project was going to be. It hit me rather quickly that I also needed a job so don't get too comfortable.
As for me, I've been working for the past year so I haven't devoted much time to personal portfolio work. I do find myself drawing more often though. If I do have something, I put in about 10+ hours a week. Again, you really do need that free time after work. I sometimes hate myself for turning on my computer after staring at a monitor for 8+ hours.
Plus I find once I hit a wall it's just best to stop no point in spending an hour looking at a screen doing nothing. Go play a game or go for a walk and come back to it later.
totally agree with your standpoint, I love my work cause Im not burnt out and Im putting everything I can into it. Also when you invest time into your life(social,health etc) you will probably become more genuinely confident in who you are not just in interviews but in relationships and life in general because you are becoming a person you can be proud of in every way.
I agree with PixelMasher. I would rather do those things than model all day long. Sadly, i need to work on my portfolio, look for a job and do my freelance stuff to pay bills so im bit out of free time..