Needed advise on balancing work and study

[Skinnyboy]

I am 20 and about to graduate with a bachelors in Advertising, but I want to work as a concept environment artist and hopefully a matte painter as well.

The problem is that I don't know how I will balance work and studying fine art as well. Should I take a marketing internship and work in marketing while I study fine art. If I do, it will provide me good money later on to support my fine art education.

So is it possible that I can balance both, or should I get a less demanding job with lesser money to provide for my fine art study.

[Seedling]

Whatever it is that you want to do, get out a calendar and a pencil and write yourself up a schedule. Then try living by your schedule, and make adjustments to it as necessary. And be sure to schedule rest-time and play-time onto your schedule, so that you don’t burn out.

My weekday schedule has evolved to look like this: wake up, paint with oils for an hour, go to work, exercise with a friend while watching sci-fi (every other day), then some combination of errands/website/food/rest/play/spend-time-with-hubby, sleep.

[MindCandyMan]

It's always hard to know what to advise without knowing all the specifics. But I would say that if you take the marketing internship and also work another job to make your money (in marketing or not) you will not have much time or energy to do much else. You can definitely balance both your studies and your work but it's very hard if you have a time consuming job. My suggestion is actually a little bit different but perhaps you might like it. I would get a one or two bedroom apartment for really really cheap. Find one that's falling apart or even find out if you can stay at a family friend's house or something for cheap. Get a roomate to stay with you to split all the bills. Work a job that is enough to pay for your studies and proceed that way. The other option is to work your marketing job for 2-3 years and save every single penny you make. No going out to eat...nothing. My wife and I ate lentils for two weeks straight once to save money. So you can save up all that money and use it so that you can do nothing but study for the next couple years. That approach works as well. My advice though is to find somewhere where you can live in an utter and complete simple way...and then focus on your studies. If you are truly studying hard you won't have time to focus on what you're missing anyways.

When I was attending the atelier I worked at a bakery for seven hours in the morning and then worked at the studio for about 8 hours at night. I was tired all the time but I got where I wanted in two and a half years. I had my wife working as well to help pay for the bills so that was awesome...that's why you might want to look into getting a roomate. But if I wasn't married I would have lived in someone's closet to save money. I think it really depends on waht you are willing to give up...maybe even your car, etc... Not sure if that makes sense but we can keep discussing.

[Skinnyboy]

Hehe, Thanks alot seedling. Actually, that is what I already do, but I was just really afraid so I had to ask the question. Your scheduling is really interesting, hmm, I might use it?! And yes, play and rest time is very important;).

I have another question. So like I find that all the ateliers on ARC seem to focus on figure drawing and painting. What about landscapes and construction?

[JAG.]

its very possible.. just give up your social life and learn to run on 4 hrs of sleep. you'll be just fine ;) well at least thats how i had to do it.. maybe you shouldnt listen to me :\ - JAG

[Seedling]

I have another question. So like I find that all the ateliers on ARC seem to focus on figure drawing and painting. What about landscapes and construction?

What about them? It depends on what you do for a living. If you want a well-rounded education that will give you the skills to advance into any subset of the illustrative arts, then beware any education that says “study how to draw this but don’t bother learning to draw this”. Which is to say, beware any education at all, because they almost always lack something, and it will be up to you to identify that something and fill in the gaps yourself.

[slopii]

I'm in a similar situation but not as loose I'm afraid

Where I live the job market is very poor, I work long hours for and IT company and don't get paid very well. So I already have the minimum subsistence job going for me but I also have many time consuming hobbies (I train capoeira 3-4 nights a week) which I'd hate to give up as its regularly my source for inspiration.

Is it possible to have it all?

I'm a routine sorta person so I'm hoping that taking some evening courses in various skills like 3D modeling and planning regular time a week for working on my portfolio will be enough.

What I really want to see is the portfolios of successfully employed junior concept artists so I can make a model of how much and how good I have to work towards. Does anyone know of any good examples?

[Basil]

skinny, i know where you're coming from. i'm just finishing a degree in flash design/motion, but really want to do concept art or matte painting. i'm especially fond of concept environments.

the best thing you can do right now is start a sketchbook here and try to post something/anything every day. you'll be amazed how quickly you improve. i also try to incorporate illustration into my design work. any time something comes up at work that is close to illustration i jump at it.

slopii - i'd also like to see portfolios for junior concept artists

[Seedling]

Does anyone here even know if there is such a position as “junior concept artist”? I have never heard of such a position.

[0kelvin]

I've also never heard of a junior concept artist. I'm sure someone out there has a job with that title, but it's not at all common. If that's the job you're looking for, good luck. Most companies don't have the money to keep a single concept artist on staff, let alone a team that includes junior concept artists.

I guess it's possible there are junior concept art positions at studios that do art outsourcing, but I don't think the bar would be much lower for them. Concept art is a pretty elite position with a lot of influence over a project whichever way you cut it.


Eric

[slopii]

I have seen it advertised when browsing around checking out the jobs market in the UK (?)

But possibly its the same company posting on multiple job sites and is a one off. Either way I have found many guidelines and answers for my quires around the forum (mostly by you seedling *hart*) so never mind :)

[Basil]

i think by junior, we mean entry level. i certainly see plenty of job offers for junior designers in my field and they are usually jobs for people fresh out of school.

or do you mean that nobody starts out as a concept artist? is there a different job that is considered more entry level?

[Seedling]

"Concept art" is a subset of illustration. The pool of people seeking concept art jobs not only includes novices fresh out of school, but also well-established, powerfully good freelance illustrators. Given that a company has such a skilled pool to draw from, they aren't likely to take a fresh noob and call him "junior". In most cases either they are going to hire one of the freelancers, or they are going to look within their own ranks for a 3D modeler or art director to do the concept art.

[xxEnder]

"Concept art" is a subset of illustration. The pool of people seeking concept art jobs not only includes novices fresh out of school, but also well-established, powerfully good freelance illustrators. Given that a company has such a skilled pool to draw from, they aren't likely to take a fresh noob and call him "junior". In most cases either they are going to hire one of the freelancers, or they are going to look within their own ranks for a 3D modeler or art director to do the concept art.

Is it typical to have a dual position like that (art director/concept artist)? It makes sense to me, if a development team is estabilished and theyre pretty close friends/business partners, it'd make sense to let the art director handle concept art if he wants to, since there would be that mutual taste/trust.

[slopii]

xxender, the only concept artist I know in real life moved to an art director position a year or so ago. I guess the positions are linked.

Seedling: Concept art is just one job to describe one part of what I want to do for a living, which is basically imagine, create and spend those precious 8 hours a day doing something (anything) I enjoy.
I know it sounds selfish to aspire to all the best jobs available an I'm aware I will start right at the bottom (because that is where I am right now), but even if you never achieve perfection you should always aim high and work hard.

notspecialist: I'm not sure what I meant, when I asked those questions I had a lot less of a grasp on this industry (3 days in this forum is very educational! hehe)
But for now, its good to hear there are entry level positions in any creative industry and if you know of such a tradition in concept art it would be wicked if you could go into more detail... ?

Thanking all you lovelies for your time x

[Skinnyboy]

Wow thanks alot guys! And thanks alot MindCandyMan. That is what I was thinking of doing, but I really really needed confirmation from somone like you!

And thanks alot for that info Seedling on being aware of what ateliers I choose. I really think it's about filling the gaps like you said, (teaching yourself the things that aren't directly taught) I believe that's how it works.

You guys seriously made my day!!:)

[Seedling]

Is it typical to have a dual position like that (art director/concept artist)?

I suspect it is fairly typical in the games industry. Since most teams are not very large, the members of the team often have to fill multiple roles. Bigger teams (such as those making big budget MMORPGS) are more likely to have members with specific positions.