How to become a successful 3d Artist

I know that most of you don’t like to read and that you’re all visual learners. Well….deal with it and get through this long text since it might help you.

After teaching artists for a few years now I’ve realized that I need to actually have a talk with the rest of you who are not around when I stream and hear me ranting on these subjects over and over. I see more and more of you are focusing on the wrong things when building your portfolio. We had this discussion about quality and finished assets/characters some time ago and a lot of you went nuts from calling me a gatekeeper to threats and so on. The truth is…. a lot of you will not make it in the industry...and let me explain you why.

First of all, no matter how good you think you are…I can bet you that there are at least 5 people with better skills than you that want the same job. Also, your skills are way lower that you believe. It’s called Dunning-Kruger effect…. the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. Been there, done that. In 2008 when I got my first job in the game industry, after working 4 years in the vfx, I went to the contract negotiations like I was a rock star. I was so confident that I know everything about modeling that now, when I look back, I’m still feeling ashamed of how stupid I was. I think understanding your level is probably one of the most important things you need to learn. Based on it you will learn how to move forward and what to focus on. If you’re gonna get stuck with the idea that you’re some kind of 3d god when in reality you’re absolutely useless then you will have a really hard time evolving and getting the jobs you want.

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