Graduation Field = Career? Advice needed!

[crimson_shape]

Hi,
As many of you did, I’ m reaching a point where I have to decide actions that will probably define my future quite significantly. (Yes, im talking about university)

I’ve been reading through countless sites – including CA – and didn’t find what I needed. I noticed that most people tend to choose one field to specialize (like illustration, or 3d modelling etc) and stick to it.
I find it very hard to decide. Partly because I wasn’t able to find out what possible job each field offers afterwards. Partly because I don’t want to specialize, so I don’t have to neglect the others. Art is the only option for me though, that has been clear very early.
Apparently, there are a lot of options, from fine arts to 3d, but you’re either bound to work in an office (which I refuse to do) or restricted to traditional galleries. I know from experience that in getting your traditional work sold is quite a lot of a*se-licking involved, also I’d like to work both digitally and traditionally. I certainly don’t want to do 3d long-term, but I also don’t want to just stick to 2d. I’ve tried traditional sculpture a few times and I find it very fulfilling, but it doesn’t fit in with the others again. From my research it seems 2d is categorized into design, illustration, fine arts, or abstract. My point is, I couldn’t just do one of them, they’re all appealing to me.
is there a school that offers programs for people like me or do I have do choose one field? And more importantly, what can I do with an education like that?? Is there even a job that fits this education?
Another relevant question is, how transparent are the fields? If you graduate in one, how likely is it you can do something else professionally? (still something art-related of course)

Any advice on what field fits me best is greatly appreciated, Im really clueless about this. EDIT: id prefer to be self-employed in the future, so maybe you can consider that when answering .. thanks!
and sorry about the long read! :}

[dguy]

Just out of curiosity, how old are you?

My thought is that you need to be mature and realistic about your career in the arts.

No school will train you in all of those fields at once. It takes 4 years to properly learn just ONE. And it's difficult to jump between disciplines without some serious retraining. For instance, to go from studying Fine Arts to 3D you will probably have to redo a couple of years because you are working with such different tools.

Career wise because each field has a specific set tools, to switch between them means you will have to be retrained. But there's some flexibility depending your media, ex. fine arts and illustrators can both paint so the transition between the two would be easier. But for them to go into design, they would need to learn to use the computer, and learn about font, and print, etc.

My advice to you is to focus on a single area that you excel at for a career, while pursuing your other passions on the side.

That's what I'm doing. I have a full time job as a designer, but I paint in my free time. Maybe someday my painting career will take off and that can be my full time job.

[Maxine Schacker]

Concept Art requires all the skills you mention. One needs traditional representational fine art skills, illustration skills, a deep grasp of freehand structural drawing, imagination, creativity, concept specific courses and related computer skills. My understanding is that Jason Manley, in pursuit of this complex skill base, attended several schools (without graduating from any of them!) .

Your instinctive desire to get a broad based education is sound. The first step, in my opinion, would be a really strong basic education in traditional fine art skills.

I'm the Director of Max the Mutt Animation School in Toronto. We offer a 4 year diploma in Concept Art for Animation and Video Games. If you check out our website, you'll find the curriculum listed. This will tell you what we feel students need to study.

PS As I wrote on another thread, the most successful concept artist in Toronto get all his jobs through his website on the internet, and his jobs are from all over the world! Your dream of working freelance may indeed be possible.

Good luck!

[crimson_shape]

thanks for the replies!

Just out of curiosity, how old are you?

well, im 18, still one year to go till i graduate from highschool (not because i had to repeat, but because im attending the german education system which has 13 years)

My advice to you is to focus on a single area that you excel at for a career, while pursuing your other passions on the side.

thats exactly my problem! there must be a way to get a piece of several if not all fields.
from what you say that sounds pretty impossible though ... :(

No school will train you in all of those fields at once. It takes 4 years to properly learn just ONE. And it's difficult to jump between disciplines without some serious retraining. For instance, to go from studying Fine Arts to 3D you will probably have to redo a couple of years because you are working with such different tools.

i can understand what you want to say, but i think what matters more is the foundation, no? for example, someone who can paint traditionally wont have big problems painting digitally.
for 3d its a little bit more difficult, because the software is so complicated, but i think if you dont get too technical it wont be impossible either. (modelling for instance) thank you very much for your opinion anyway!



Maxine schacker - that sounds quite appealing! (im a bit sceptical ... :)) ill check out your school for sure!
one question .... the only way of self-employment is freelancing? or is self-employment just called freelancing in general?


i forgot to mention that im not interested in the technical jobs art has to offer. for example, vfx (though i dont exactly know what that is ... sounds very technical :) ) , or painting textures and such. im aiming for something purely creative which doesnt involve learning a software package extensively.

*hoping for more replies*

[dguy]

Be careful of people on the internet who tries to sell you things. They usually don't have your best interest at heart.

[thesinfulsaint]

My advice is that you go to a cheap school that offers a curiculum in each of these interests. A lot of state schools have some sort of art department that should encompass these focuses. Dabble in all of them until you find what you really love most. Because, as others have said, there is no such thing as a career that encompasses them all. You will have to eventually make a decision.

In the mean time, just draw like crazy. Sit in a cafe and sketch. Go to figure classes. Have a sketchbook with you at all times and start drawing at any ample opportunity. It will help you in almost any of the fields you have expressed interest in.

Once you finally do choose a career path, remember that even though you are doing something during the day as a job, it doesn't mean that you have to give up your other interests. When you are no longer a student, you'll have time for hobbies. :)

[RyerOrdStar]

It sounds like you have a very idealized view of what you want to do, without having ever really investigated the fields. You also say you DON'T want to do some things yet admit that you don't even know what they are. How can you know you don't want to do something if you don't know what it entails?

Conversely, how can you possibly know exactly what you want to do without having tried it?
What if you try it and dislike it? You'll have wasted years of schooling and money for something you jumped into rashly.
There are people who do what you want to do, they're called arts and crafts hobbyists. That might seem harsh, and it is, but only to illustrate a point. There's a difference between being a creative person and being a professional creative. You can learn all the tools you want, sure, but to truly excel in something to the point where it is at a professional level will require a lot of dedication and time on your part. You may, of course, take ten years of your life to learn all the art forms. You will have the best education in 3D modelling, painting, architecture, sculpture, and god knows what else. But will you be a professional? Probably not.

I'd suggest researching the career paths there are out there. There is a lot of flexibility between fine art and illustration, for instance. But the people that are successful in migrating from one to the other are focused, dedicated people that found out everything there is to know about both and went at it with a plan. They didn't just decide to do fine art because they liked painting because it was 'cool'; those people are called hobbyists.

Personally I think if you're going to go for a career, you do it whole-heartedly and with all your energy. Else you'll become jack of all trades, master of none. And in art, that is especially true. The so-called masters of our time will spend the rest of their lives trying to master ONE medium.

I can't tell you what to do, and no one here can, but I suggest you think very deeply about what you said here and what your goals are in life. Everyone thinks they're good at everything and they want to do everything as a career. But do you really like to do everything? Or do you have a fairly idealised view of what some careers mean?

Remember, you can always do anything you want on the side.

And yes, Freelance means self-employment.

[kennygeeze]

Another relevant question is, how transparent are the fields? If you graduate in one, how likely is it you can do something else professionally? (still something art-related of course)


:}

I did 4 years of illustration school intending to work in books and _____. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do.. I did both traditional work and digital throughout the many different assignments.

I assumed I'd be going into book or editorial illustration, since I favored those assignments in art school.
I wound up getting a job at a film effects company doing matte painting and concept art. So in that way it's possible to move between different fields.

Illustration degree = Film industry for me.... but a lot of skills are transferable... at least from what I've seen anyways.