What keeps you going?
vertex
So what keeps you motivated to pursue your goals towards going in the industry? For me it's just been rather hard recently to keep myself going when i hear how so many people just want to do 3D but for the time being they just work in some shit job, i don't want to have wasted all my time learning 3D and then not even be able to land a job in the industry having wasted all that time and money. It's a sad thing for me because
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I am really lucky. I enjoy making characters from scratch and taking them from a sketch to walking around in an engine. Once you have done that, there is no looking back, nothing beats that feeling! Going through sculpting, texturing, rigging, animation, sound syncing, export, import, scripting is a total blast. It has its frustrating moments for sure, but they are well worth it. I am a freelancer and do anything to stay alive but making game characters is something I cant 'not do'. I have no choice, I am hooked.
I come from a time before the internet so I am amazed that even if I would have to clean toilets (and I have done) to get by, for just 600 bucks (reasonable laptop) and an internet connection (more free high quality software than you can shake a stick at) its business as bloody usual.
I am self taught and got all my knowledge for free. Lately I have seen such amazing game character work from professionals and students alike its not only inspiring its electrifying. I will never reach the quality of a lot of the work I see but it sure is a pleasure to try. If I get some great game studio clients or even a job someday that would be great, but not having those things doesn't detract from the pleasure making game art gives me.
I saw one guy here who said he despised most of his days. Well that is just a damn shame. I think people focus on what they don't have instead of the possibilities they posses. There is a saying that the person who enjoys what they do never has to work a day in their life!
Life is very short, use it well.
Concentrate on what you have, endless possibilities, limitless potential, none of us have a ceiling. We use such an infinitesimal part of our capabilities partly due to the fact that we have been taught that success is the only thing that counts and to avoid the fashionable concept of failure at all costs. Success isn't a highly paid, high profile job that will allow you to flounce about forums and dazzle people with your brilliance.
Success is having the ability to have fun at what you love. If you are smart that is all the success you will ever need because without it you will have a tough time achieving the kind of success you talk about in your op.
I touched a computer for the first time when i was 11-13 and got to play my first game on a famicom,think it was super mario.I started gaining interest in the game industry when i was 16 and after two years of exploring how to script,how to game design,level design,etc... i finally found my passion : 3d modeling.
What really sucked for me,apart having no one to talk to,no place to apply to,nobody to understand what I'm doing,a computer that couldn't stop beating me with BSOD when i subdivided a cube,a horrible monitor,horrible school transition that almost destroyed my life,I was the happiest man on earth each time i sat down on my computer and started looking at Paul Pepera,David Lesperance or Tor Frick's work,dreaming about how a random guy from one of the poorest countries on earth could one day work in this industry.
And let's not forget the most important thing : i practice like hell,sometimes spending two day on my desk without sleeping.I managed to tackle two art tests so far and got both of them.Just when we started talking about the administrative stuff the first employer couldn't hire me because i was too far,and the second gave me a lame excuse after telling me I've got my art test.I finally had my first freelance work this year and got to talk with some of the most amazing people i know in this industry.
I sometimes ask myself if it's worth it,not because of the skills because i know that thing needs to be constantly polished,but because of my own situation and location.But right after thinking about stuff like this i go right back on my computer and either keep modeling,studying procedural techniques or working on workflow ideas.I can't imagine my life without my passion,because life is short as hell and you can lose it anytime,so better do what you like even if you struggle than to embrace a crappy job that will burn all your energy.
"we need people who do care enough to limit the damage done by the business side of things."
I agree mostly on you with this,the game industry might be going straight into a wall if game companies don't change the way they make games,but this is something to be expected in every industry nowadays,and it's kinda sad to see it coming in the game industry.
Like it has been mentioned above, there's plenty of people who have made it and are incredibly good at what they do, but they had to work for it, and they all started at the same place: knowing nothing
I suffer from rather extreme Anxiety issues and what can only be described as an allergic reaction to caffiene. Currently going to the doctor to try and get a diagnosis on General Anxiety Disorder and treat this. I am horribly crippled by this nearly every day, often to the point where if I try to get any work done I throw my hands up in the air and just go do something, ANYTHING else to make it go away. Often I waste all my time on pet projects or gifts for friends rather than work on new products to sell in virtual marketplaces or anything else I should do.
Plenty of people SAY I'm really talented and I could get a job, and I did get one with a company based out of Kuwait for awhile. But it's really hard to believe that when there's what feels like this incredible manifestation of fear and loathing. It often gets so bad that I get physical side effects from it all, with pain and tension spreading across my body. I can't bring myself to make a portfolio, I'm ready to toss my PC out the window every time I look at my previous work.
Truth be told, getting treatment is the only thing actually keeping me going. I'm hoping very much I can get something to help fix this issue. If that can't happen, well, I guess I really have no chance in this industry. I'll probably be stuck in retail the rest of my life if nothing can be done.
Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
Believe in yourself through tough times. Believe in your capacity to succeed. Believe that your relationships are worth the effort. Believe that people make mistakes on their way to greatness.Believe in your intuition, especially when you have to choose between two good paths. Believe that the answers are out there waiting. Believe that life will surprise you again and again. Believe that the journey is the destination. Believe that it's all worth your while.
Sure, I would love to work for a company(in a team environment), but when I couldn't land the jobs it didn't deter me. I knew what I wanted, and I wasn't going to stop. I told myself that if I couldn't make it for some reason, I will find another way to make it myself. I quit my old job with some savings, and from there it was do or die. I worked really hard through freelance to earn a livable income and am finally getting it. So many days where I would just cry out of frustration while working at the same time.
Now, I am so busy with work that I don't have time to update my portfolio site(once freelance slows I will have plenty of time to update haha).
Sorry this was so long and "all about me". It's easy to write DO IT, or BELIEVE IN YOURSELF and be done....but I hope a little more backstory might give you a better perspective.
All that I'm trying to say from all this is that you might or might not get 100% what you want, BUT only you can make things work. If you can't get to point A, why not try point B while still working/striving for that A dream?