Is it easier to find a job as a 2D artist or a 3D artist? and what makes more money?

[tn100]

Is it easier to find a job as a 2D artist or a 3D artist? and what makes more money?

[aesir]

over the entire gambit of both's fields and positions and locations?

[aussiedeza]

If your interested in art for the money??,Then your looking at the wrong field mate.

[Aniboomer]

It's not the way to decide, but 3d artist are usually more wanted.

[redshoby]

You can do money from art, but you have to make a lot of compromises. That means you will always have to do what the client asks from you, rarely with some freedom in decisions.
You will make money only after you become really good in your field, and you make a name for yourself. That means forget in making a living from it in the first 10 years :d.
I personally found that is easier to live from traditional art and kept the concept and 3d like hobbies.

[tn100]

If your interested in art for the money??,Then your looking at the wrong field mate.

Oh, no worries. I'm a 2D lover either way and no matter where I go but I'm just curious about if it's easier to find jobs and make money in one more than the other.:lifedrawing:

[Qitsune]

That means forget in making a living from it in the first 10 years :d.
I personally found that is easier to live from traditional art and kept the concept and 3d like hobbies.

Well I know some people in their early 20's who make a living doing art. Unless you consider the doodles they did when they were 12, I don't think saying it will take 10 years doing art before seeing money from it is accurate.

From what I can see there are more jobs in the game industry in 3d related fields. It doesn't mean that you can't make good money doing 2D. Fine art is entirely different.

For that matter, when are you really free in a job? If you take your car to the garage for an oil change, you expect the mecanic to change the oil, not fix the door handles because he feels like it.

[DavePalumbo]

Well I know some people in their early 20's who make a living doing art.

yeah, I'd say 3-5 years out of school for myself and many other freelancers I know. Even less in the cases of people working in studios, provided you're motivated and got the chops. The more devoted you are to improving and (when the time comes) promoting, the shorter the time

[Puck]

Is it easier to find a job as a 2D artist or a 3D artist?

It is easier to find a job as a 3D artist, because 3D art has a lower talent requirement imho. You can specialise in texturing or modelling or lighting or rigging or animation or particlefx or any number of 3d related jobs and get work pretty easily. You can learn to push polygons in a few months, whereas 2d work requires a broad range of subtle skills that have probably taken years and years to develop.

and what makes more money?

No idea sorry. But I think it's best to not let the money be an important factor in your decision making - the general idea being that if you love something and work hard at it then you'll do well financially regardless of the field, whereas if you just pursue something for the money then you'll not be as motivated as the people who love it, and then you will fail. Try both and see what makes your nipples erect. Follow the nipples.

[tn100]

It is easier to find a job as a 3D artist, because 3D art has a lower talent requirement imho. You can specialise in texturing or modelling or lighting or rigging or animation or particlefx or any number of 3d related jobs and get work pretty easily. You can learn to push polygons in a few months, whereas 2d work requires a broad range of subtle skills that have probably taken years and years to develop.



No idea sorry. But I think it's best to not let the money be an important factor in your decision making - the general idea being that if you love something and work hard at it then you'll do well financially regardless of the field, whereas if you just pursue something for the money then you'll not be as motivated as the people who love it, and then you will fail. Try both and see what makes your nipples erect. Follow the nipples.

Well then, 2D definitely makes my nipples erect and I'll definitely follow them. I sometimes just worry about how it might be so hard to find a job as a concept artist. Like you said, it's easier to learn how to do something in 3D pretty fast so I thought maybe I won't have to worry as much if I can get a job doing something 3D related while I train my 2D skills at home and as the days go on, find a way to hop over to 2D again.

[aesir]

It is easier to find a job as a 3D artist, because 3D art has a lower talent requirement imho. You can specialise in texturing or modelling or lighting or rigging or animation or particlefx or any number of 3d related jobs and get work pretty easily. You can learn to push polygons in a few months, whereas 2d work requires a broad range of subtle skills that have probably taken years and years to develop.
.

Ummm no, have you tried? Have you made professional level models, textures, shaders, particles, animations, etc. Anything? No. Sure you can learn to use the software in a few months, just like an artists can learn to use a paintbrush. I know plenty of 3d artists who have gone through 4 years of schooling and can't make a piece of shit to save their lives.

But heck if we want to play that game, lets bring in graphic design, where all the crappy 2d artists go to play. (yes I know there are some awesome graphic designers, but christ, most of them suuuuuuck.)

[Justin.]

If you want to settle for the easier option, why even bother?

[HunterKiller_]

If you want to settle for the easier option, why even bother?

Harsh, but true.

[Puck]

Ummm no, have you tried? Have you made professional level models, textures, shaders, particles, animations, etc. Anything? No.

I was speaking from experience here, so my comments are probably biased and may not be indicative of the average person; I make my living as a 3d animator at the moment, and I've worked as a dedicated texturer, modeller, and finally animator (in that order) at different times. I've made zillions of textures and shaders(diff and spec and bump oh my!), bajillions of models (game res and film res and non-animatable res to boot!), rigs for bipeds and cars and faces and a fair bit of animation too... now I'm not saying any of it was good, just that I made it and got paid for it.

From not knowing what a polygon was to working full time in a 3d company took me 4 months of study total. I would prefer to make my living in 2d rather than 3d though and have been working towards that goal for a while now (concentrated study for the past year or so), and I believe I've still got a long way to go before I'm capable of working at a professional level in 2d - which is why I think 2d is harder, because I found it very easy to get a job in 3d and because I'm finding 2d so gratifyingly difficult. Granted that this could be because I suck at 2d... :O but I really think it's just because 2d is harder.

Imho, out of all the 3d disciplines, animation is the only one that comes close to the type of depth that 2d art offers. Everything else in 3d you can reach level 70 with all the best gear in a few years tops (until they bring out a new expansion pack).

[_Mario]

But heck if we want to play that game, lets bring in concept art, where all the crappy 2d artists go to play. (yes I know there are some awesome concept artists , but christ, most of them suuuuuuck.)

Hey cool, that works too. Generalisations are fun. ;)

[Qitsune]

My experience is a lot like Puck's, after 6 months of 3D education (and many hours of Counterstrike) many of my classmates found a job in 3d in big and small studios within a few months. 3 of us got jobs doing 2D, because we already practiced 2d for years and years (the 2 others having degrees in graphic design in fact.)