Has anyone ever encountered this sort of situation?
Hey guys, i'm sort of new, registered last year and as of now only started posting on here. I graduated with my BA in games design 4 years ago and still haven't got a job in the industry so i'm working in a indie company at the moment whilst also updating my art portfolio.
Now the problem i've been getting as of late(which is knocking my confidence back a little) are artists who only ever show sculpt work done in mudbox and claim they are true artist but never show anything but that, they never go the extra mile to put anything into a working game engine etc.
Now I can do modeling depending on the situation, and can create stuff that comes out of my head and onto paper as a concept. Yet I'm criticized by someone who can't do anything without a tutorial who basically says all my work to excuse my language shitty......
I sure enough have ignored that comment entirely but its just the attitude, have any guys encountered anyone like that at all and how did you rise above it? Seriously has me wanting to just throw in the towel and quit even getting anywhere in the industry now..
Now the problem i've been getting as of late(which is knocking my confidence back a little) are artists who only ever show sculpt work done in mudbox and claim they are true artist but never show anything but that, they never go the extra mile to put anything into a working game engine etc.
Now I can do modeling depending on the situation, and can create stuff that comes out of my head and onto paper as a concept. Yet I'm criticized by someone who can't do anything without a tutorial who basically says all my work to excuse my language shitty......
I sure enough have ignored that comment entirely but its just the attitude, have any guys encountered anyone like that at all and how did you rise above it? Seriously has me wanting to just throw in the towel and quit even getting anywhere in the industry now..
Replies
This makes no sense.
Ignore them and get on with your work/life. It's an important lesson to learn not just in your career, but in life ...
That's not true. If you're working for larger studios there might be specialized positions for only sculptors. However it is indeed much better to be able to do low-poly baking stuff as well.
To be honest this sounds very unlikely to me (although definitely possible). At Creative Assembly for example we have something like 200+ dev staff and to my knowledge not one of them does only sculpting work.
Of course there is a possibility of this, but I am pretty sure it is rare exception. I'd say a person must be godlike sculptor to be allowed to ignore all the technical stuff and focus purely on sculpting.
But still I don't think it is possible scenario, because to be efficient, one has to use at the very least a sculpting app and a 3d modelling package to model some pieces. Therefore he or she already jumps between apps and has some technical knowledge, and I don't see why this person won't go 1 step further and do baking and stuff.
And I don't get where you're going at with the "True Artists" thing. If someone only sculpts why not? That doesn't make them any less entitled as an artist. Less hire-able in games is the only con I can think of.
In my team at work we have some artists who do much more sculpting than anything else, they aren't always as interested/comfortable with more technical aspects of the creation process, but they make up for it with their strong anatomy and sculpting skills, which are highly valued.
You need diverse people to make a good all around team.
Honestly, I don't think an artist should 'rise above' these sorts of comments. You just need to learn how to interpret them, and be realistic and objective about your own work. If multiple people are saying something is shitty... well, it might just be shitty. I know that can hurt to hear, and it's easy to get upset and defensive, but remember, a criticism of your work is not a criticism of you as a person. Some people will be malicious and just say bad things to try to hurt you, but most - especially on forums like this - are trying to give you a reality check, and trying to help you. Some people may not word their criticisms as nicely as others. That's where you have to filter it, and try to find what they're really getting at, and use it to improve your work.
Art being your creations you can look at them too much like your children as you present them to the world, you can be fiercely defensive and look well beyond their flaws, but criticism is good, as is being objective to your work, so sometimes you will have a piece you made and you love it for one reason or another while others do not find it favourable, this I wouldn't present to the world as a representation of your skills but keep all the enjoyment in its creation to yourself, be selfish with your personal loves, theres no harm in that, its like enjoying a unusual food that everyone else hates, you love it? well thats just great man, but I wouldn't serve it at a restaurant.
1) Amazing sculptor, extensive 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
2) Amazing sculptor, some 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
3) Amazing sculptor, very basic 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
4) Good sculptor, extensive 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
5) Good sculptor, some 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
6) Good sculptor, very basic 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
7) Poor sculptor, extensive 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
8) Poor sculptor, some 3D app knowledge and engine experience.
As a lead, I personally don't mind teaching the 3D app and workplace specific knowledge, almost anyone can be taught that. But what I have a hard time taking a chance on is that the artistic skill will improve over time. If what you have going for you is "I know what buttons to hit in Maya to make something happen" then you're in trouble.
It sounds like you need to flesh out your skill set or shoot for some other kinds of jobs within the industry because it sounds like you're a 6 or a 7 and there are A LOT of 1-3's floating around with a lot of experience and even more 1-3's being pumped out of school every year.
But honestly I haven't seen your portfolio and I don't know where you're at, if that seems harsh and judgmental so be it, I'm going off based what little info is here in this thread.
I also agree that you should mostly ignore purely negative criticism that offers no educational value.
Listen closely to: "I like ABC, I think you should work on XYZ"
Listen Closely to: "Your work sucks, here's why..."
Keep in your peripheral vision: "This sucks"
Ignore: "You're a worthless human being, go die!"
All comments have value and can tell you something about your work, even the last one is probably telling you that you need to work on your interpersonal relationship skills, which is a huge part of the job that is often undervalued by people trying to break in. Honestly if you're the most amazing candidate on paper it can all be flushed down the tubes by being a f*ckwad. How much a place will tolerate depends on how valuable your skill set is.
A 5 or lower with a crappy attitude will almost never get hired.
A 4 or higher with a crappy attitude might be tolerated but they might take someone with a lower skill set if they detect f*ckwaddery. This person needs to be very careful because attitudes tend to get worse over time and they will probably be cut loose first chance they get.
@Mark Dygert yeah his critique was the ignore one and he did actually tell me to kill myself...so yeah wasn't paying any attention to that at all, said person has a problem with me though not entirely sure why since I never have spoken to him out of context.
I'm in the process of adding a few bits and pieces on here in my sketchbook, so if you want to take a look at those feel free too, more critique I get the better.
Mark Dygert's posts for the win :thumbup:
Don't wanna do the broken record here though, feels like it has been summed up pretty well.