[Lord_Zimboomboom]

Hi everyone, I've just finished reading many posts at highend3d.com about work in the industry.
Summing up - industry people in games/web/movies 3d stuff say that the industry is in a downturn, there is a saturation of talent, people are working more hours, less money - doom gloom etc.

What do industry people hear think about it - is it true, is it false?

[Rohan]

Hi, i was talking to Lord Zim about this over ICQ just then. Being a hopefull illustrator working in the games industry, its started to make me worry about what chance do i actually have?

So i was hoping some of the pro's in this forum could help us out by telling us about their personal experiences and what ur impressions are about the future of this industry.

Basically i've heard that there is an overflow in 3D artists and illustrators fresh out of school or from being laid off who will work cheaply, uncutting the others in the industry, increasing competition, making salaries go down because there is so many trying to apply for jobs, etc etc

I thought that in this industry u had to be so god damned good that to score a job as a games concept artist or something like that meant u were really 'hot stuff'? Is the industry just being swaped by mediocre talent willing to work cheaper or is it that there are too many talented ppl out there compared to how many positions are open? I dont really know what im talking about, im just guessing, can someone help with providing real answers?

Thnx for ur time.

[StrangeFate]

what, more than 80 hours a week ?

It's not in a downturn, it's changing atm, the games industry at least.
We're moving from lowres to quite-hires models, there's generally more architecture in the levels, more anatomy in the models, this all requires better anims, more realistic skins, textures ....everything.

While the talent and everything around the industry is the same, the requirements are higher now.
Talent is being split now, some have no problems with it and others that did well at 900 poly models can't get a proper anatomy with 5000 polys.
The game art that was highend last year, wouldn't get you a a job at all on better companies nowadays, that makes it seem that talent is harder to find nowadays, but it isn't, the requirements are the ones that are raising.

People that have never seen a polygon before like John Mueller, Steven Gorafalo (rustedfaith) are doing ingame 2d at Epic games and that's the trend the industry is going. It's slowly *growing up* and wants now more than a few colorfull colored pixels.

That stuff takes a lot more time to do and i can imagine that if a company is unprepared for it or hasn't/can't get the money to work longer on the project, they might have to work a lot more to keep realistic deadlines.

I dunno about the rest, movie/web but i can imagine that the same is happening. Higher bandwith screams for better GUI, not just text websites and all the new technlogies want to be learned. Old ace web designers might get stuck now if they have problems with learning programming or doing more graphical stuff.

Movie 3d stuff sits on the same boat as the games industry imo, they just have higher reqs from the start on.


I find the change very interesting and i personally can take advantage of it. I'm no longer limited to dumb timescales that didn't let me do my work in a quality i wanted.
With 1024x1024 game skins and map textures, the higher quality reqs (which allow you more time for them) and work freedom i got, i have the chance to do absolutely all the lovely stuff that pops up in my mind.

I think the games industry is starting to get interesting NOW, this past stuff was all really childs play artwise. (well, not all, god bless handdrawn graphic adventure artists).

[ October 31, 2001: Message edited by: StrangeFate ]

[Jason Manley]

strangefate said it all very very very well. I have to completely agree.

I think that in the past it was not necessary to really have strong art skills. There are and abundance of artists in the industry. However, there is NOT a total abundance of quality artists...those who have high skill levels in one or more areas.

I could see the industry being more specialized in the future. Animation has to improve...concept art...textures...modelling...etc... all have to improve...one way to get these things is to hire people who have concentrated very hard in one area. My area was traditional art..painting..and idea development. My lead artist here is primarily an animator...our level builder is best at modelling... we all have other skills to bring to the table but we all have attempted to shine in our favorite area.

a person who can do many things to a high degree is especially valuable. Id also say that that kind of person with a good base of skills will be the kind of person who is kept around...if ya know what I mean.

yes..hours are long...they have always been. it is like a roller coaster that way. crunch time varies depending on what department you are in.

I do think that it is possible to succeed in this industry if you are a quality artist and pursue the highest of ideals. growth as artists in this industry is absolutely expected with each new game.

production art can only reach so high...and without quality people it cannot go higher. That is where you can find comfort...if you are a quality artist you will be needed.

if you are proficient with the programs and have not really worked on your skills because you just do enough to "get by"...well then I think you would have something to worry about.

push to be the best. that is my advice.

jason

[Blithe]

There is alot to wonder about mowadays for me now, I am just getting to the point where I chose my career path. I am a grade 11 student in Ontario Canada, amd next year I will have to chose what will I want to be and what schools to go to. I really want to go into arts in Shariden Collage or Ontaro Collage Of Arts and Design.

But when I think of it what chances to I have of "makeing it" will I be about to compete with other talented minds in those school or even beyond school, what chances of opertunity to I have to become a grafic artis, painter, 3d modeler, coder, etc ?

You coudl say I still have time to think about all of this but how can I set my goal realisticly if I can't even grasp of whats out there ?

[Svanur]

I might not have the biggest chances after art school but I will just say this.

What the hell

At least I will die trying and not regretting that I didn't at least try.

[Jason Manley]

as long as you work hard and are dedicated to really being the best artist that you can be then you should be fine. peristance will enable you to reach your goals if you work hard.

do not be discouraged...look at it as a reason to push harder..to reach farther..to become stronger.

best of luck

jason

[Rohan]

Thanx very much for the feedback Strange and Jason

[Anthony]

My thumb is more on the movie side of things(despite some of my best teachers being game guys ;] ), and from what I can gather, many people in film have been so worried the last two years that the 3d effects industry is going where the 2d animation world went, with lots of low paid fillers. Obviously I disagree with this-you could have 10 guys modelling a character and it'd suck next to one by my friend Taron. You could have 50 people working on a matte, and it'd be horrible on its own, but especially compared to Spoogey. I think it's always safe to push the boundries of your skill and field, always push for that extra something.

[Jabberwocky]

Okay now I know I'm going to get another major when I'm finished with this one....