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Project Struggles

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YaboyZay polycounter lvl 3
You ever work on something and get stuck on a project for too long you move on to something else? Then when you working on the new project you get stuck on that too and repeat the process? I try to go back and fix the problem and don't make no progress. I been having this problem for a while now and I learned some stuff from my mistakes but I still feel like having incomplete work isn't good as well. I was wondering if yall go through the same problem sometimes?

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  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    I know a few people who work this way. They never finish anything. Years and years of work -- they are super knowledgeable and competent -- but they have little to nothing to show for it. 

    This is non-medical professional speculation, but it seems almost like this personality type is so obsessed over possible poor reception or rejection of their work, that they actively self-sabotage their efforts to actually finish a thing. There is always some excuse why they don't finish, but over time it becomes clear -- the person is too focused on what others will think of their work, to the point of absurdity. 


    Learning from these people, it seems clear to me that you've got to focus on one thing at a time and finish it.  Whether this comes natural or it's like pulling your own teeth, it's just what you've got to do. Being the best in the room doesn't count for nothing if you don't have work to prove it. 

    That said, I don't mean to suggest you do something akin to pulling your own teeth by sheer force of will. People often misconstrue this kind of advice to mean that. But what I mean is, whatever means necessary, you find a way. It means learning everything you possibly can about yourself, so that you can overcome yourself, and transform yourself into the body of work you dream of.


  • root
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    root polycounter lvl 18
    All the time.  Bailing on a project because you got discouraged when you hit a snag and the interest and drive to continue immediately evaporated is one of the symptoms of ADHD, so if it happens a lot, and you constantly forget important dates, have a hard time focusing in noisy environments, are a chronic, chronic procrastinator on things because you're afraid you'll do a bad job, etc, have a look at this self-report scale and talk to a therapist if you're rating high on a bunch of the boxes.  I used to think I was the laziest person alive, finding out that my inability to finish things was because I'm trying to do things with one hand tied behind my back and that I could learn how to navigate around it was life-changing.
  • JordanN
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    JordanN interpolator
    My current portfolio has taken me 6 years.

    It's a combination of learning new art principles, boredom from staring at a monitor for hours at a time, evolving hardware requirements, and having a lot of patience and concentration.

    This was my first car I made in 2013. It took a month and I still had no clue what I was doing before I moved onto something else.



    Fast forward to 2018, and I've gotten use vehicle modelling. I really want a job in the industry making 3D art, so I just had to put my struggles behind and just focus on getting everything right.





  • YaboyZay
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    YaboyZay polycounter lvl 3
    Thanks for the feedback. I'll take a look at the test and try to just work one thing at a time. I think i am starting to spread myself thin. I been trying to make a portfolio and learn a new program at the same. But I think its best if I just try to slow it down, look at more techniques, and try to focus more on fixing my problems when they arrive  @JordanN models look amazing by the way
  • SnowInChina
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    SnowInChina interpolator
    maybe try smaller projects and build confidence there
    make something you know you can finish, then do something slightly bigger
    even if its a bolt, or stone, start somewhere
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    I am 100% convinced this is the way you rapidly get better:
    https://polycount.com/discussion/98654/super-summer-character-art-boot-camp


    Just stick to making 500 polygon 256x256 Diffuse Only texture models. Make one a week.
  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    I am 100% convinced this is the way you rapidly get better:
    https://polycount.com/discussion/98654/super-summer-character-art-boot-camp


    Just stick to making 500 polygon 256x256 Diffuse Only texture models. Make one a week.
    There is many ways to learn, but I agree this is the best. 

    Ever since I stopped trying to make AAA characters and just started making shit tons of 70% characters, I am making visible progress daily. And I'm having an absolute blast, whereas before I was always disappointed and frustrated.

    Some people warn against this approach, but it works for me. And I remember, when I was in the army, I was a paratrooper and was a decent marksmen, but I had an opportunity to work on a range with some special forces guys and I was so impressed by their markmanship -- it was godlike. I asked them about their training and they said they didn't do anything different than anybody else, but they did a lot more. They were shooting 10,000 rounds in a day sometimes. We never shot that much in a year. 

    It seems clear to me, repetition and refinement is the best way to get better. Granted, no matter what kind of training you are doing, it falls on the trainee to pay attention and constantly assess themselves to get the results. Mindlessly going through the motions is useless no matter what you are doing.


  • YaboyZay
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    YaboyZay polycounter lvl 3
    Thanks for the feedback its very helpful too me. I feel a lot better know its a common problem everyone has to push through. 
  • BioLumi
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    BioLumi node
    I know a few people who work this way. They never finish anything. Years and years of work -- they are super knowledgeable and competent -- but they have little to nothing to show for it. 

    This is non-medical professional speculation, but it seems almost like this personality type is so obsessed over possible poor reception or rejection of their work, that they actively self-sabotage their efforts to actually finish a thing. There is always some excuse why they don't finish, but over time it becomes clear -- the person is too focused on what others will think of their work, to the point of absurdity. 


    Learning from these people, it seems clear to me that you've got to focus on one thing at a time and finish it.  Whether this comes natural or it's like pulling your own teeth, it's just what you've got to do. Being the best in the room doesn't count for nothing if you don't have work to prove it. 

    That said, I don't mean to suggest you do something akin to pulling your own teeth by sheer force of will. People often misconstrue this kind of advice to mean that. But what I mean is, whatever means necessary, you find a way. It means learning everything you possibly can about yourself, so that you can overcome yourself, and transform yourself into the body of work you dream of.


    I have this problem all the time, but I think that shere willpower is a formula for burning yourself out.

    Instead if you're getting stuck at the exact same point over and over again it would be much more effective to create a tiny scene/project that contains only the problem area and nothing else. This way you have to overcome the problem because it is the only item in the project.

    Also with this micro project you won't loose potentially weeks of work either since the only task is to confront the problem area. Once you've solved the issue on this small scale you can go back and finish the rest of your work confidently.

    If the issue is more workflow related:

    Buy a notebook and write down each step of your 3d process. Describe where you get stuck and speculate why, after that test your solution. I like to take a day to let the thoughts gel after this. repeate until you solve the issue. You can watch tutorials, but if you do you need to write everything down and practive the knowledge and techniques the next day otherwise it won't stick.
  • wirrexx
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    wirrexx quad damage
    I know a few people who work this way. They never finish anything. Years and years of work -- they are super knowledgeable and competent -- but they have little to nothing to show for it. 

    This is non-medical professional speculation, but it seems almost like this personality type is so obsessed over possible poor reception or rejection of their work, that they actively self-sabotage their efforts to actually finish a thing. There is always some excuse why they don't finish, but over time it becomes clear -- the person is too focused on what others will think of their work, to the point of absurdity. 


    Learning from these people, it seems clear to me that you've got to focus on one thing at a time and finish it.  Whether this comes natural or it's like pulling your own teeth, it's just what you've got to do. Being the best in the room doesn't count for nothing if you don't have work to prove it. 

    That said, I don't mean to suggest you do something akin to pulling your own teeth by sheer force of will. People often misconstrue this kind of advice to mean that. But what I mean is, whatever means necessary, you find a way. It means learning everything you possibly can about yourself, so that you can overcome yourself, and transform yourself into the body of work you dream of.


    Describing me, thank you. I need to take a look in the mirror and finish my shit.
  • Amsterdam Hilton Hotel
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    Amsterdam Hilton Hotel insane polycounter
    If I work on any single asset for about 3 weeks or longer I start to get kind of bored with it and fixated on new things. Everyone probably has a different threshold for this but I'm confident most artists experience it.

    Unfortunately, a lot of quality comes out of that last 10% of the process, editing and polishing. When you're just bored of a project, you tend to blow through this stage, and later in hindsight realize that you could have done better.

    If I find I'm getting bored with a big project I will pretty often shelve it and bang out some work that I know I can get done more quickly. Or just don't work on game stuff for a while, read more books or something. Then when I pick it up again it's with a replenished energy reserve and fresh eyes, and I can put way more effort into that polishing phase. The longest I've shelved a project before coming back to it this way is about a year. 

    I think it may be different when you're still very new to game art, because you're learning new things all the time, so your shelved projects might be more effort to fix up than it's worth. I think people who are newer should probably focus on smaller projects so they can gain experience evenly across every phase of production, as well as get over "shipping anxiety." When you're new you need to rapidly make a lot of mistakes rather than agonizing over one asset for 3 months that turns out not great and discourages you. The advice Jacque gave upthread is pretty much what I'm saying here.
  • Alemja
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    Alemja hero character
    I am 100% convinced this is the way you rapidly get better:
    https://polycount.com/discussion/98654/super-summer-character-art-boot-camp


    Just stick to making 500 polygon 256x256 Diffuse Only texture models. Make one a week.
    I was one of the people who got in to this and I absolutely believe smaller projects with clearly defined deadlines are the way to go when you're starting out. Being able to know when to call things done is a skill you have to learn because in a studio you will sometimes have to make the best thing possible in a short amount of time.
  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    When you're new you need to rapidly make a lot of mistakes rather than agonizing over one asset for 3 months that turns out not great and discourages you. 

    Well said. 

    It was a great fallacy that I thought some of my first works would be "awesome" if I just tried really hard. But there is too much you don't know so early on -- it's just not possible. 

    After just a few weeks of making faster models without agonizing over making them perfect, I now make better looking models in a single day that what took me 3 weeks just a few months ago. It's really encouraging.
  • YaboyZay
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    YaboyZay polycounter lvl 3
    I see what yall saying. I started to think of more small projects for me to do and I'm current working on some now. @BoiLumi will start writing down the problems I come across too. I been taking notes on new softwares I been trying to learn as well
  • Blond
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    Blond polycounter lvl 9
  • pangaea
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    pangaea polycounter lvl 5
    I will try Jacque advice for three months to see if I make any progress. Been looking at Super Mario Odyssey character and if I start with the simple ones for example bullet bills, then maybe I could do that in a week. Then, could move gradually on to more challenging characters.

    Character art is a abyss to be honest. You tend to get stuck on anatomy. I made some progress with anatomy, but it is still bad. 
  • YaboyZay
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    YaboyZay polycounter lvl 3
    @pangaea Yeah I can see what you saying. I been working on smaller models now lately and I been do fine so far. I hope you make a lot of progress on your anatomy soon.
  • eCupcakes
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    eCupcakes polycounter lvl 4
    my problem is kinda different... where i'm constantly doing updates to a project and sending them to the client, but the client hasn't been very this year so the project kind of stagnates for a few weeks and then gets going again...it's kind of frustrating but there's not a lot i can do about it since it's their vice and not mine. :\

    but i hate sitting on unfinished work because i know that the longer i sit on it, the more the original concepts and ideas will start to change, and the general trend of the audience will also change.

    not that im in a position to pressure the client to give me feedback faster though..
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