Trying to find some answers... Hopefully you guys can help :P

[TheBullion24K]

Well... To start off, my name is Titus. I've always loved being able to create and design things and that's why I'm currently enrolled into an art school. I'll just get to the chase... Basically, my family is struggling severely to meet ends meet, it's hard for us to pay our electrical bill (to put it in perspective) at times. Now, I'm not trying to get sympathy for this, but it ties into what is going through my mind when I'm trying to decide on what to do for the rest of my life. I was talking to someone today at my school, and told him that my ultimate dream was to be a concept artist for the entertainment industry (gaming, movies, animations, etc). He bluntly said that there is no such thing as a concept artist that just draws and creates ideas. The industry would rather take a 3d modeler with ideas than just a plain old 2d concept artist.

I was just wondering what you guys think? I kind of want to go to Columbia in Chicago to study Illustration... But, I'm scared of not being able to find a job because of only wanting to do concept art. Is it possible? I know it's extremely hard... But Ryan Church did it, Andrew Jones did, Feng Zhu, and plenty more.

I hope that someone with experience can fill me in, or can point me to the right place for help on these questions... I wish I could do whatever I want... But I don't even know if I can afford to have mixed emotions on my career... I don't have anything to fall back on.

I know... "If you're not doing what you love doing, you only have yourself to blame" - Andrew Jones... But I can't wrap my mind around a decision to really feel confident about it.

Thank you guys.

[Grief]

...you have poeple roaming around your high-school that are familiar with the 'industry'? i'd be very skeptical to anyone that makes such borad statements and passes the moff as valid enough for you to base your life on.

very rarely are people groomed into their career from an early age. more often than not people get to where they are in life by having more determination, passion, and work wethic from those around them.

success in art may seem like it is entirely about skill and some mysterious talent that some have and others do not. the fact of the matter is that you can learn to think creatively and your own hunger to learn will determine how 'talented' you become.

be outgoing and kick some ass, apply for scholarshiops and have confidence in your actions. take advantage of the knowledge of others, ask questions and pick the brain of people who are actually in the 'industry'. this site in particular is a vast source of people who are willing to aid you free of charge, i do not know of anyone that if you didnt give them a few honest questions that would ignore your PM.

why is there even a conflict in your mind? you have an idea of what you want to do with your life right? fucking go all out for it. no one will hold your hand through art school. no one will put in applications for you to jobs, its all about you. get scholarships, get loans, get a part time job, this is it motherfucker youre not getting a second chance at youth so you might as well lay down every card in your hand. if you keep up the lack of confidence and second guess yourself youre more prone to failure, youre not being 'realistic' about the situation youre only allowing yourself to be open to the option of not following through.

i mean hell the amount of student loans i have hanging over my head exceeds the total amount of money i have made in my entire life, but who gives a shit, its money. in the story of your life do you want to say you were held back because of something as insignificant as money? come on now youre selling yourself short if a matter so trivial is preventing you from living life the way you want it.

there is a demand for high quality artists, there always will be.
every civilization and culture to ever exist has had art.
it is not going away no matter how downplayed ignorant assholes may make the field seem.

[Mirana]

I will say that being a concept artist is a tough thing. It's very competitive. You need to work your ass off on a well-rounded portfolio and keep working at it. I know a lot of concept artists started out doing other art things before getting into concept art. It might be a good idea in general to see what other arts you could find skills for even while working on your dream (for example, the regular illustration field is more open and at the same time you'd be working on something very similar to what you ultimately want to do).

If you want to go to college after school, and your family is as tight on the funds as you say...you should get better help from the govt (but not enough to cover the cost of a private art college). You should also consider going to a state school for at least two yrs (if not all 4). Some states/state schools have very good scholarship opportunities for HS kids with good grades, and a uni/comm college is cheaper when you're getting the english/science/history/math out of the way. Check the Edu board for more info.

You can do it without school too, but that requires a LOT more self-determination from you. Luckily this is the best place to independently learn from. Good luck.

[TheBullion24K]

...you have poeple roaming around your high-school that are familiar with the 'industry'? i'd be very skeptical to anyone that makes such borad statements and passes the moff as valid enough for you to base your life on.

very rarely are people groomed into their career from an early age. more often than not people get to where they are in life by having more determination, passion, and work wethic from those around them.

success in art may seem like it is entirely about skill and some mysterious talent that some have and others do not. the fact of the matter is that you can learn to think creatively and your own hunger to learn will determine how 'talented' you become.

be outgoing and kick some ass, apply for scholarshiops and have confidence in your actions. take advantage of the knowledge of others, ask questions and pick the brain of people who are actually in the 'industry'. this site in particular is a vast source of people who are willing to aid you free of charge, i do not know of anyone that if you didnt give them a few honest questions that would ignore your PM.

why is there even a conflict in your mind? you have an idea of what you want to do with your life right? fucking go all out for it. no one will hold your hand through art school. no one will put in applications for you to jobs, its all about you. get scholarships, get loans, get a part time job, this is it motherfucker youre not getting a second chance at youth so you might as well lay down every card in your hand. if you keep up the lack of confidence and second guess yourself youre more prone to failure, youre not being 'realistic' about the situation youre only allowing yourself to be open to the option of not following through.

i mean hell the amount of student loans i have hanging over my head exceeds the total amount of money i have made in my entire life, but who gives a shit, its money. in the story of your life do you want to say you were held back because of something as insignificant as money? come on now youre selling yourself short if a matter so trivial is preventing you from living life the way you want it.

there is a demand for high quality artists, there always will be.
every civilization and culture to ever exist has had art.
it is not going away no matter how downplayed ignorant assholes may make the field seem.


I'm actually in College atm at the Ai of Schaumburg :P Did 1 year already of Media Arts and Animation. I'd say my hunger is / was high, there are the occasional blocks that I get. But other than that, I've improved none the less :P.

I just need to know the run down on what a Concept REALLY does. We always see the bad ass art people make, but how many months of the year do you do that stuff at a company? I don't want to get all hyped up to be a concept artist to only get out of college to be doing something that I wasn't expecting of doing.

Thanks for the reply.

[rpace]

Fear and self doubt are truly powerful and it doesn't take much to trigger those feelings, especially in the young.

Simply put, your schoolmate is a complete know-nothing fuckwit.

Being able to draw well from your imagination is a skill and a quite lucrative one if you're willing to go where the jobs are.

Thanks to the current education industry, most 3D modelers still know next to nothing about anatomy or colour and are pretty inept when holding a pencil. They're given cursory drawing lessons while being taught how to work the computer assembly line.

The real thing to wrap your head around is whether you want to spend your days doing something you want or something that just makes money. I do know a number of people who seem generally happy making the latter choice.

Another thing to consider; good art skills are transferrable to a number of related industries beyond the currently booming gaming industry. Right now you want to be a concept artist, ten years from now you may want to be a portrait artist.

Good luck,
~R

[Flake]

Thanks to the current education industry, most 3D modelers still know next to nothing about anatomy or colour and are pretty inept when holding a pencil. They're given cursory drawing lessons while being taught how to work the computer assembly line.


You wouldn't believe how many people I met were "happy" to be introduced to a vastly complex 3d app with a 3000 page manual but would freak right out when asked to draw an apple with some charcoal....

Edit: OK, you would believe it, just saying..

[Maidith]

Is it possible? I know it's extremely hard... But Ryan Church did it, Andrew Jones did, Feng Zhu, and plenty more.

There's your answer.

It's do-able. :)

Just work your ass off to make the very, very, very best work you can do, and aim to become as skilled as they are.

[J Wilson]

As other have said, your friend doesn't know what he is talking about, although it's probably easier to get work as a good 3d modeler than a concept artist, just because they need so many more modelers compared to concept artists.

If things are that tight financially, don't be afraid to look at other alternatives to art school. If you can get grants and scholarships, then great, but I don't think I'd recommend anyone to go into massive debt right now for art school.

If you are good and very determined you can go just as far teaching yourself and spending the money more wisely. If you aren't as good or determined art school won't help. I guess there may be a middle ground where art school helps to give you that slight push to reach your potential, but don't think that just because you can't make art school that you can't still meet your goals.

[TheBullion24K]

As other have said, your friend doesn't know what he is talking about, although it's probably easier to get work as a good 3d modeler than a concept artist, just because they need so many more modelers compared to concept artists.

If things are that tight financially, don't be afraid to look at other alternatives to art school. If you can get grants and scholarships, then great, but I don't think I'd recommend anyone to go into massive debt right now for art school.

If you are good and very determined you can go just as far teaching yourself and spending the money more wisely. If you aren't as good or determined art school won't help. I guess there may be a middle ground where art school helps to give you that slight push to reach your potential, but don't think that just because you can't make art school that you can't still meet your goals.

The only problem now is that I'm going through some bad depression with this financial stuff... It's really hard for me to find motivation as I used to. There's just really no room for me to go out and have fun (I can explain more if needed :P)

I'm thinking of taking a quarter off to clear up my mind, might as well since I just found out my license is suspended ~_~...

[SigonWulf]

You should use your depression and financial situation as a fuel for motivation.

[J Wilson]

Depression can be hard to work through, but yeah a bad financial situation should be a good motivator to work your ass off.

Art school can be very nice, as it offers you lots of goals and projects to keep you busy and on the right track, but it really isn't required in the least to learn. It's an aweful lot of money to spend to give you the constant kick in the ass to keep producing, but for all the money you spend they don't spoon feed you information. You'll still have to do all of the hard work yourself.

[Mirana]

There's just really no room for me to go out and have fun [...] since I just found out my license is suspended ~_~...

Art is supposed to be fun. Think of this as a great thing to keep you home and focused on what you're needing to get done. Perhaps the suspended license is a result of too MUCH fun being had? ;)

[Jazz]

Maybe time off would be good, but at the same time, you need to be sure you have things to do while you're off! Staying at home the whole time, let alone inside, might just hurt your drive a great deal. :(

Even with a financial situation, don't let that keep you from doing something that you enjoy. If you can do it to some degree, you'll feel like you're getting somewhere, even as slow as it may seem. :)

[Black Spot]

Prioritise and re access what's important. Just don't leave your art to one side for too long.

[rex-craft7]

i was stuck in a similar situation (actually, i still kinda am), but i opted to pursue something that i still enjoyed, yet is at the same time more "flexible" than the 2d art field in general, while still doing art.

if i were you, i would take a step back, and really, really, look at what your planning to do objectively. you dont want to finish school with a mountain of debt. an art degree isnt worth that much debt. i would try applying to cheaper art schools - there are good state schools with decent art programs, and there are some public art schools which wont cost as much. if you didnt receive very many grants/scholarships, then you could take some time off to improve your art portfolio, then reapply with the mindset of getting those scholarships and grants.

and if it was me, i would not concentrate solely on concept art. from what im hearing, it sounds like a ridiculously competitive field, and in this current time imo its best to leave options open, which means (as mirana said) supplementing your drawing skills so that your open to more opportunities in the art market. basically, be flexible, but at the same time go into the art field with the idea of what you ultimately want to do - conceptart.

[TheBullion24K]

i was stuck in a similar situation (actually, i still kinda am), but i opted to pursue something that i still enjoyed, yet is at the same time more "flexible" than the 2d art field in general, while still doing art.

if i were you, i would take a step back, and really, really, look at what your planning to do objectively. you dont want to finish school with a mountain of debt. an art degree isnt worth that much debt. i would try applying to cheaper art schools - there are good state schools with decent art programs, and there are some public art schools which wont cost as much. if you didnt receive very many grants/scholarships, then you could take some time off to improve your art portfolio, then reapply with the mindset of getting those scholarships and grants.

and if it was me, i would not concentrate solely on concept art. from what im hearing, it sounds like a ridiculously competitive field, and in this current time imo its best to leave options open, which means (as mirana said) supplementing your drawing skills so that your open to more opportunities in the art market. basically, be flexible, but at the same time go into the art field with the idea of what you ultimately want to do - conceptart.

Hey guys! Thanks for the comments, I haven't been around lately to get back to all of you but I have read them all.

We think a like rex, basically everything you mentioned is something I looked into. As for the scholarships and grants, I currently have 2 grants and am working for another scholarship. Which will hopefully pay for all my classes and leave me with around 2000~ usd all with 1 loan :P. Which isn't really bad at all, it has cut my tuition by 4/5 and I can have a couple extra money to buy a car.

Knowing this, I made the decision for as of now to remain at my current school due to all these benefits I'm getting from them. I also decided to change my major from Media Arts and Animation to Game Art Design which has some more drawing based classes and concept art classes. The only thing is, I need to get permission from one of my deans to change my major. Which is stupid on so many levels, but I think I can manage it.

Thanks again guys for the help :P