ever feel like changing direction?
polycount lvl 666
I have been thinking a lot of late about changing to environmental art. not sure if its a good thing to do. I quite enjoy looking at environmental stuff. The thing is I do not enjoy overtly technical stuff, but like more fantasy/adventure style.
I think if I was to switch i would stick with building/props and trees not cars and guns.
I am just sick of doing zbrush heads and cloth folds for every bloody project I do:) might be just a phase , not really sure now.
I miss the days when characters were just low poly with a nice hand painted texture, seemed much more creative.
I am just a bit worried about learning all that modular stuff and worry I might just might not 'get it' somehow and also abandoning skillsets that I have spent the last 15 years building up.
I started building heads and characters in 1996, so it has been a long time, but I feel as though I never quite achieved the level i was after and it makes me a bit cranky too.
I think if I was to switch i would stick with building/props and trees not cars and guns.
I am just sick of doing zbrush heads and cloth folds for every bloody project I do:) might be just a phase , not really sure now.
I miss the days when characters were just low poly with a nice hand painted texture, seemed much more creative.
I am just a bit worried about learning all that modular stuff and worry I might just might not 'get it' somehow and also abandoning skillsets that I have spent the last 15 years building up.
I started building heads and characters in 1996, so it has been a long time, but I feel as though I never quite achieved the level i was after and it makes me a bit cranky too.
Replies
I recently switched to character art because there were no full time environment positions at my current studio. It's a bit terrifying because I'm still a bit hazy about where to put edge loops but I look at what the other character artists do and I try to learn from it. After doing this for almost a year now, I kind of want to switch disciplines again, I think in the next 5 years I'd like to switch to concept art.
My grand scheme is to start my own small studio by the time I'm 40, so I might as well hold every job in my chosen discipline of art.
All the new hardsurface workflows and detailing techniques are still something many env artists have to learn. Also our clients keep asking for more hi-poly objects and sculpts for props and other env stuff.
I feel that unless I become 'very' good at something I can't bear to do it.
organic stuff/cloth work can be very hard to get right as though it is never finished somehow.
I am almost 45 now and that makes me even more nervous about the future. I have spent the last month just messing around playing android games, done nothing much work wise. trying to work out where i want to go at the moment.
Kwramm - good advice, hopefully I can just jump in there, have a go at some env stuff and see how it goes.
Being a freelancer is a good position to be in, because you could gauge weather or not it will financially sustain itself by creating a environment art 'folio and seeing if you get any bites. You can give it a trial run, and financially perhaps take a hit of a couple months wage due to working on a new folio. It could also be a lot of fun re-learning the fundamentals (composition, colour theory et. al.) as applied to environment art.
You're a far more accomplished artist than me though, so I have no idea if any of this is useful!
I started out as a texture artist and i really enjoyed that, but the sculpting thing just irks me at times. I mean jeez all that time sulpting folds, It's just an exericise in how to depress yourself:/
I used to like doing head textures mainly but now the texture seems like an afterthought as the process of producing characters is now so mechanical/rigid
I think at this stage I would like to give building props a go, 3DKnight - seems a like a good way of dipping my toes in the water.
TeeJay - the problem is the money is not as good with mobile stuff, but the downside is that the high end stuff I do seems to get less and less, I sometimes just end up doing skinweighting or LOD's.
Some companies tend to use scanned humans for the high res stuff now, which seems to make my skillset more and more redundant.
So yeah i could go back to doing hand painted characters with some prop work as an extra skillset, but I will have to think really carefully about it.
I don't think I am the most naturally talented character artist but I have worked hard to get to a goodish standard.
Perhaps doing props might give me a break from my current woes and and I might just even enjoy it enough to go for it fully
I have made a living salary as a character arist this year, but need a way of sustaining myself consistently as some years it can be quite tough to keep going.
Walrus , some good points,I did find it useful
by moving into environment art, you'll be using SOME of your current skillset, but in a new way, and you'll be developing another set of skills entirely. by doing this you will eventually find growth in your current area of expertise (characters).
good luck to you man!
and then get to this:
All within the timeline and memory budget. Different companies have different requirements of level artists. Some really split up the tasks into modelers, word builders, texture artists.. and so on. I think Naughty Dog does this.
At Bioware, you usually haves to do it all, including the lighting and streaming.
almighty_gir - thanks man, I do feel that learning those other sills will complement my current skillset. I think I am going to pursue 3 avenues, my current stuff, some hand painted character stuff and also prop building. expect some new pimps from me sometime soon.
probably moving to Nottingham soon also, so might be a bit busy.