1st year, 10 to 5 with 1 hour break 5days a week + optional 2hr life drawing classes after on 3 days of the week.
2nd year much less and only 3 days a week, load of 1 on1 and team stuff and more lifedrawing.
of course thats just classes, your expected to work outside of class.
if your managing a true 9 - 5 day your doing good, you can use this or something like it to help figure out how well your doing daily. http://www.manictime.com/
when i was in school taking me first few game art related classes, each class was 4 hours (with a half hour break). the homework given for each class i usually spent between 3-4 hours a day until it was done in order to finish. toward the later classes, as the week to week homework turned into 9week long projects, i pretty much did the same, but spent 6+ hours each day working.
You get out of it what you put in. If you're not willing to put in every waking moment, especially towards the end of the semester when everything is due, then you're not going to get much out of it.
I put in as much time as a possibly can. I think it is a great habit to get into to make sure you do your best on every art assignment you get, regardless if you think it is boring and trivial. However it is also important to be working on different stuff and useful studies outside of class as much as you can.
But seriously, work your ass off instead of asking arbitrary questions.
There's nothing wrong or mockable with trying to gather information.
My school expects about 2 hours per day per art class of which there are max about 3 a semester. With class time you add maybe 6 hours a week per class. Most people do not put this time in.
No, there's nothing wrong with trying to gather information. But asking how many hours other students put in to determine how many you should put in yourself is not the right way to determine how much work to do. If the average answer was 2 hours, then what, OP would only work 2 hours a day?
My point is that everyone has a different situation and learning speed. The thought shouldn't be "Oh I'll just work as many hours as this person or maybe a little more and that will put me ahead." It should be "I'll work as hard and as long as I need to in order to make my work as good as possible." There's a ton of artists on Polycount that will make a lot more progress in an hour than I would in the same amount of time.
If I would have gauged how much work to do based off how many hours my classmates put in a day back in school, I probably would have worked about 4 hours...a week.
If I would have gauged how much work to do based off how many hours my classmates put in a day back in school, I probably would have worked about 4 hours...a week.
Yes, same, and it took you until this sentence to answer the simple question in the OP.
when i was in school not too long ago i would spend all my time i wasnt doing gen ed stuff on 3d stuff typically, but then alot of things changed. And then i found doing a few hours like maybe 10-12 a week then now im out of school i spend like 12+ a day working on portfolio stuff.
No, there's nothing wrong with trying to gather information. But asking how many hours other students put in to determine how many you should put in yourself is not the right way to determine how much work to do. If the average answer was 2 hours, then what, OP would only work 2 hours a day?
My point is that everyone has a different situation and learning speed. The thought shouldn't be "Oh I'll just work as many hours as this person or maybe a little more and that will put me ahead." It should be "I'll work as hard and as long as I need to in order to make my work as good as possible." There's a ton of artists on Polycount that will make a lot more progress in an hour than I would in the same amount of time.
If I would have gauged how much work to do based off how many hours my classmates put in a day back in school, I probably would have worked about 4 hours...a week.
Yeah, I see your point here, (and you have made plenty of sound points) - but also realize the issue here. OP Obviously feels like something is off in his learning group, or that he is not working as hard as he should. Which may be for a variety of factors [including by determining that his current class-mates may not be working as hard as they should, therefore bringing confusion to the OP and leading him to the question of time-investment].
By asking Polycount a perfectly accessible question [to a community built around answering these type of questions] he is getting a larger test group to determine what other people who went to similar game-art related schools did to succeed.
There is no issue with this. By shooting down his question you're taking away from Polycount, which isn't fair. This forum isn't about snobbery, or arrogance or who worked harder; it's about learning and improvement outside of the shallow box in which our industry is often presented in schooling methods; which OP's question is just an extension of - so, that all being said, OP - Rock on. Ask questions and learn. Polycount isn't a place where you should feel threatened in to not posting. That's not how communities work, and that certainly isn't the polycount I signed up for all those years ago.
While his post might not have wet your (Sean) appetite for content, it was on quite on topic, and in the future I would recommend a more welcoming approach to the up-and-comers in our industry, and not act jaded about it. Nobody is forcing you to be here, nobody forced you to respond.
It is not my intention to flame or cause problems here, I would really enjoy seeing a better attitude around here to the students and learners. We were all among them at one point (and still are). It's only fair that they are treated with patience so that we may continue to grow and thrive as an awesome community.
While I agree with you Seaseme, we also want to provide answers that are designed to actually help and to do this effectively we need to be asked good questions that make the asker's needs clear.
In this case they asked how much work they have to do (must do) and not how much they should do. Which sends the impression that the asker is looking for the minimum suggested, to which the people here replied appropriately by stating that there's never 'enough.'
I'll just tell the asker to listen to the people here and not be disheartened by their frontal attitudes, and to really think about how you can state your questions clearly in a fashion that will allow those that you ask to get you the exact information you want faster and friendlier.
(7 * 7) + 4 = 53 - Sleep, Shower (the + 4 is extra sleep on weekends)
(2 * 7) = 14 - Eat
(1.5 * 7) = 10.5 - Commute
(2.5 * 6) = 15 - Class
(2 * 7) = 14 - Hanging out with friends, Shopping, Laundry
(15) = 15 - Work
(121.5 - 7.5) - Probably half time at work spent on classwork/self study.
(168 - 114) = 54 hours a week left over for study.
So I guess close to 8 hours per day not counting class time... maybe 7 would be a conservative estimate, though I don't remember doing much else in school. Summers I spent much more time with friends.
When I think back to those times, on the one hand I think I should've spent more time studying. On the other hand time spent with friends was probably the some of the most fun times of my life.
I started school with little to no experience in art or CG. I spent around 4 years studying traditional art and CG in school.
My career hasn't been stellar... so I guess if you want a long term (more than 4 years) career in games as an artist and you have a similar background to me then my advice is work harder at it than I did.
Good luck!
EDIT:
To add a bit more info. Of the roughly 60 or so peers (+/- 1 year) I had in college about 9 of us landed jobs in the game industry that lasted at least one year or more. Of those 9 over the last 9-10 years, only 3 have maintained steady stable employment. 2 as artists one as a tech artist.
I think in this field you really need to be one of the very best, not simply above average.
Thanks you all for your Replies! At most I can only muster 2-4 hours per day on weekdays and around 6-9 on week ends, (in between 2d projects which Ive decided to abandon until my skills and time permit) being active duty military. However, Ive been an artist for a long time and have extensive experience in photoshop, so 3d in my opinion is just another medium.
However, I have no way to gauge my progress im making either so what I thought id do is make a thread and gauge how much time people said theve put in in comparison to their portfolios. I do have a better grip on the issue now (3 out of 60 in a class, whoo!)
Honestly, Ill probobly make many more of these typs of threads later on in my enlistment, either way, I dont plan on being anything less than stellar, put in the humblest way possible. On a side note, I would have never gotten as far as I have without polycounts help, this site in invaluable to my learing experience!
Gauge your progress based on whether or not you're making art that's equivalent or better than the pros you see here. It's pretty straight forward. This thread is one big excuse and distraction. Get back to work all you slags.
The answer is they/you put in enough hours to learn what they need to learn. There is no magic number here.
Head down and chair in, get the work done and you'll be fine. 1 hour, 10 hours, irrelevant for learning and growing.
That said, knowing your capabilities as an artist when it comes to being in a professional environment will be crucial: Accurate time estimates on your part is an important part of the job.
i think if your attitude is such that you need to ask that question, this industry isn't for you.
And any other surely? The only jobs I can think of that don't demand high skill, unwavering effort in achieving company goals, and extra time and above the normal working hours are ones where the bosses are forced not to demand it. Even if it is a stupid question I don't believe that we should answer it stupidly. Pointing out its flaws should send a good enough message to the OP that he should re-approach his mentality. I don't think we should ever get to the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" answer. Sounds a lot like "you can't join our secret game developers club."
Replies
2nd year much less and only 3 days a week, load of 1 on1 and team stuff and more lifedrawing.
of course thats just classes, your expected to work outside of class.
if your managing a true 9 - 5 day your doing good, you can use this or something like it to help figure out how well your doing daily.
http://www.manictime.com/
Until the thing you are working on looks awesome.
But your work never looks awesome to you, only other people. So... oh I see what you're getting at.
But seriously, work your ass off instead of asking arbitrary questions.
Good times.
Sooooo 70-76 hours per week during school and between 20-30 hours a week during summer.
Also I wasnt in a game art program (just art), but in a any case you should bust your ass till it hurts and then keep going.
My school expects about 2 hours per day per art class of which there are max about 3 a semester. With class time you add maybe 6 hours a week per class. Most people do not put this time in.
My point is that everyone has a different situation and learning speed. The thought shouldn't be "Oh I'll just work as many hours as this person or maybe a little more and that will put me ahead." It should be "I'll work as hard and as long as I need to in order to make my work as good as possible." There's a ton of artists on Polycount that will make a lot more progress in an hour than I would in the same amount of time.
If I would have gauged how much work to do based off how many hours my classmates put in a day back in school, I probably would have worked about 4 hours...a week.
Yeah, I see your point here, (and you have made plenty of sound points) - but also realize the issue here. OP Obviously feels like something is off in his learning group, or that he is not working as hard as he should. Which may be for a variety of factors [including by determining that his current class-mates may not be working as hard as they should, therefore bringing confusion to the OP and leading him to the question of time-investment].
By asking Polycount a perfectly accessible question [to a community built around answering these type of questions] he is getting a larger test group to determine what other people who went to similar game-art related schools did to succeed.
There is no issue with this. By shooting down his question you're taking away from Polycount, which isn't fair. This forum isn't about snobbery, or arrogance or who worked harder; it's about learning and improvement outside of the shallow box in which our industry is often presented in schooling methods; which OP's question is just an extension of - so, that all being said, OP - Rock on. Ask questions and learn. Polycount isn't a place where you should feel threatened in to not posting. That's not how communities work, and that certainly isn't the polycount I signed up for all those years ago.
While his post might not have wet your (Sean) appetite for content, it was on quite on topic, and in the future I would recommend a more welcoming approach to the up-and-comers in our industry, and not act jaded about it. Nobody is forcing you to be here, nobody forced you to respond.
It is not my intention to flame or cause problems here, I would really enjoy seeing a better attitude around here to the students and learners. We were all among them at one point (and still are). It's only fair that they are treated with patience so that we may continue to grow and thrive as an awesome community.
Thanks.
In this case they asked how much work they have to do (must do) and not how much they should do. Which sends the impression that the asker is looking for the minimum suggested, to which the people here replied appropriately by stating that there's never 'enough.'
I'll just tell the asker to listen to the people here and not be disheartened by their frontal attitudes, and to really think about how you can state your questions clearly in a fashion that will allow those that you ask to get you the exact information you want faster and friendlier.
(7 * 24) = 168 - Total hours in a week...
(7 * 7) + 4 = 53 - Sleep, Shower (the + 4 is extra sleep on weekends)
(2 * 7) = 14 - Eat
(1.5 * 7) = 10.5 - Commute
(2.5 * 6) = 15 - Class
(2 * 7) = 14 - Hanging out with friends, Shopping, Laundry
(15) = 15 - Work
(121.5 - 7.5) - Probably half time at work spent on classwork/self study.
(168 - 114) = 54 hours a week left over for study.
So I guess close to 8 hours per day not counting class time... maybe 7 would be a conservative estimate, though I don't remember doing much else in school. Summers I spent much more time with friends.
When I think back to those times, on the one hand I think I should've spent more time studying. On the other hand time spent with friends was probably the some of the most fun times of my life.
I started school with little to no experience in art or CG. I spent around 4 years studying traditional art and CG in school.
My career hasn't been stellar... so I guess if you want a long term (more than 4 years) career in games as an artist and you have a similar background to me then my advice is work harder at it than I did.
Good luck!
EDIT:
To add a bit more info. Of the roughly 60 or so peers (+/- 1 year) I had in college about 9 of us landed jobs in the game industry that lasted at least one year or more. Of those 9 over the last 9-10 years, only 3 have maintained steady stable employment. 2 as artists one as a tech artist.
I think in this field you really need to be one of the very best, not simply above average.
However, I have no way to gauge my progress im making either so what I thought id do is make a thread and gauge how much time people said theve put in in comparison to their portfolios. I do have a better grip on the issue now (3 out of 60 in a class, whoo!)
Honestly, Ill probobly make many more of these typs of threads later on in my enlistment, either way, I dont plan on being anything less than stellar, put in the humblest way possible. On a side note, I would have never gotten as far as I have without polycounts help, this site in invaluable to my learing experience!
Thanks all!
Head down and chair in, get the work done and you'll be fine. 1 hour, 10 hours, irrelevant for learning and growing.
That said, knowing your capabilities as an artist when it comes to being in a professional environment will be crucial: Accurate time estimates on your part is an important part of the job.
i think if your attitude is such that you need to ask that question, this industry isn't for you.
And any other surely? The only jobs I can think of that don't demand high skill, unwavering effort in achieving company goals, and extra time and above the normal working hours are ones where the bosses are forced not to demand it. Even if it is a stupid question I don't believe that we should answer it stupidly. Pointing out its flaws should send a good enough message to the OP that he should re-approach his mentality. I don't think we should ever get to the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" answer. Sounds a lot like "you can't join our secret game developers club."