Currently doing the first year in a Game Art Course at Uni, but I'm kinda on the fence about it. The Industries terrible, I'm not really sure if I even enjoy art that much or if I just went with it to meet more queer kids tbh. It's also an industry were alot of people are self-taught, so at the end of the day if I think I've made a major mistake the doors not completely closed.
My other option is a course in Digital Forensics, which has the advantage of being a steady STEM subject that I'm interested in that has a lot more employment opportunities and definitely far less chance of crunch. I have done previous qualifications in coding and enjoyed them too. I kind of like the idea of being able to make art as a hobby again instead of it always feeling like work too.
Whats your opinion Chapos? Anyone with any expertise in either fields that could give me some pointers?
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Definitely don't become a cop, ew. Why would you want to stop computer crimes? Those are some of the coolest crimes.
Why computer forensics? you could do pentesting or programming if you could do that, don't be a cop lol
A lot of people get into games development related programs (myself included) without realizing what a horrific industry game development is and how much work actually goes into making a video game. Realizing now that you might want to do something else is better than down the road, when you have a degree and a job that you absolutely loathe.
Digital Forensics seems like it'll give you a general knowledge in IT, from networking to programming to sysadmin, which will at least give you some options on what lane you want to pursue. It'll also give you a wider field of employment, you could be developing drones that vaccinate animals or have a bougie corporate job where you read theory on the toilet for 3 hours a day.
One good thing about the course is they make it very clear how shitty the industry can be from Day one (I already knew, but it was still good to see).
David Lynch said you have to enjoy what you're doing because you can never be sure of the result.
How much are you spending in tuition?
I worked in videogames and vfx for roughly 10 years. A lot of really small stuff. Here was my last demo reel before I got out of the game: EDIT: LInk removed, wasn't really worried about getting doxxed but....
One of the major reasons I finally quit was actually listening to an Adam Savage interview where he just sort of randomly dropped the line of "And of course you know when you're a special effects guy you're always thinking about 'what's the next hustle'." It made me finally realize that the intense anxiety and unsustainable lifestyle of stretching out a check for 3 months worth of work into 6 months of living and constantly wondering "what can I do when I get laid off from this job" NEVER GOES AWAY. Its not just a thing you deal with as an entry level guy....its a thing you deal with as a reality of your career choice.
I got a job doing some 3d visualization and graphics programming for a controls company and while I wont say its my dream job its made my life and by extension my sons life objectively better in every way. I have steady income, benefits, set hours, and at leas as much job security as anyone can actually have in the hell world of today.
If you truly want to pursue a career in videogame art then I would STRONGLY advise the self taught route and/or at least not going insane on tuition. I know a lot of people just like me who became disillusioned but who have absurd amounts of student loan debt from ridiculously overpriced art schools.
I have seen good artists and bad artists in my career. In my experience: the good ones are not the ones who went to a super expensive fancy art school. The good ones are the ones who will do the art assignment for class and then go home and do even more art....or the ones who just do art all day and don't need any structure to motivate them. If you don't have that kind of passion....it might not be the route for you.
UK Based so the tuition fees arn't really a big factor, but yes, everything else you said is pretty much my thoughts exactly. I have seen the truly motivated artists and I know I'm not anywhere near that level, but it's hard to tell if the lack of motivation is due to depression or if I'm genuinely not that committed. Either way this is exactly what I was looking for, so thanks.
You could look at work in game design as an accelerated learning. I don't know shit about art, but what I've heard from YouTube people is that you want to rush your way into the industry so that you can get the hands on experience. They'd teach you what corners to cut and what to look for in a composition. If the crunches and pinches are too much for you, you could hop around companies. If you fundamentally don't like it, you could go back to school and have some work experience and a profoundly expanded sense of how to make good art.
My interests in what makes a good job changed dramatically after college (I'm a leftist now). But do you necessarily need a degree to get into game design? I would want to build a portfolio with both school work, volunteer work, and independent projects. I'd proceed to badger recruiters and companies until someone gives me a shot - preferably before you graduate. And, again, if you don't like concept art, in game assets, etc. then return to school, preserve your art as a hobby, and leave with a quantum leap of art knowledge.
