Unit 11
University and the future
What am I doing after college?
I have a conditional offer for Escape Studios of at least a pass achieved in my second year which I will get without a worry. I'm going to Escape Studios as their style of teaching focuses on getting you ready for the industry; working in teams and in tight schedules to produce. It would be really beneficial for me if I got a sandwich year since I get industry experience and I have a higher chance in getting a job in that company.
After graduating University I hope to work for any large scale company that work on high budget games therefore I can be comfortable in my field of expertise while also being able to rely on others to assist me. My dream company to work for is CD Projekt Red or another highly respected company like Blizzard or Dice.
My choice at first was University of Hertfordshire, but after going through the interview process I realised that Hertfordshire takes advantage of 3d students rather than working on making the students better. Escape studios has a lot more direct connections with industry employers which is a massive advantage for me to get into the industry. Since Escape studios is a private university they're a lot more flexible with their courses and adapt it to correspond with what is currently needed from new 3D artists.
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Going through the interview process it was incredibly relaxed with most universities as the work that I have produced is years ahead of other artists, but on escape studios the better your work is the more you are expected to know about the industry in general, so for me the interview was incredibly nerve wracking and there were a lot of questions in which I had no answer in. This is also why I was more convinced in Escape studios as I felt like I was expected to hold up a high standard for the industry.
1 The game design course is a perfect stepping stone for me to achieve my dream of working on 3D
2 models to be used on film, games or other media.With the digital industry booming and in need
3 of great talent is a great career choice for me. Studying 3D gives me access to a much wider
4 range of jobs than just making games, 3D architecture product visualization are also great
5 areas of which I'm looking to get into. The course focuses on offering students the best
6 chances of getting into the industry which I value tremendously to get into one of the most
7 competitive and quickly evolving industries.
8 I've seen the work of students from the university and been amazed by the quality work as it's
9 on par with professionals who have been working in the industry for years at a student age,
10 this is more than I could've hoped for. I need the best universities available to be able to
11 enhance my skills and maximize my chances of entering the very competitive industry.
12 My current course was where I was first introduced to the 3D world and from that point I have
13 made rapid and clear improvements in all aspects of the 3D industry which you can find on my
14 website. I'm highly skilled in hard surface modelling and experimenting on using substance
15 painter to make photo realistic objects. On my time off I try to improve and expand my skills
16 in the 3D world by creating fan art and completing challenges to improve on my weaknesses. I
17 studied computer science gcse which gave me basic coding abilities and to understand and
18 manipulate more complex codes. I've built my own and many other friend's computers which
19 altogether gives me an incredible understanding of how computers work which is crucial for the
20 digital career I'm pursuing.
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22 I was part of a group of artists that wanted to remake a 2D game into 3D where some of the
23 members were already in the industry. When I joined I was expecting a role with not much
24 control of the game's art style or its direction like a prop artist, but instead I was
25 assigned to design and create the internals of a spaceship. I was working closely with the
26 leaders of the 3D group to make sure my work meets standards, but as time went on I became
27 more confident of my abilities and climbed the ladder to be in charge of the 3D direction of
28 the game. That project gave me valuable experience in how indie companies work and of the
29 processes needed to create the game. From that experience it really changed my views of the
30 industry and made me lean more towards AAA or high team members companies, as there you are
31 expected to make the best quality of work on a regular basis rather than a large quantity of
32 work with lacking quality. The course I'm applying for is catered to employ artists into the
33 AAA industry which is perfect to my experiences.
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35 I do my best to visit exhibitions of digital art, game, or 3D software to keep up with the
36 ever evolving industry. I recently attended BlueGFX which is an exhibition hosted by Autodesk
37 to assist artists in the new software such as Maya , 3DSmax and after effects while still
38 focusing on creating work for virtual reality. I'm highly influenced by the art that top
39 studios manage to create whether its realistic such as DICE or incredibly artistic such as
40 Blizzard's Overwatch. I try to replicate their works to my best understanding in the form of
41 fan art, and keep up with their use of new software.
42 I took part in a workshop with Chocolate Films who are responsible for producing most of
43 London's documentaries and got to work hand in hand with them. This improved my understanding
44 of cinematography, shot composition, and other valuable editing skills. I also achieved a
45 bronze award as work experience in the media industry from them. In the future I'm hoping to
46 get into a highly respected game development company with a large team such as Blizzard, Dice
47 or CD Project Red, though working for anyone as a 3D artist will still be a success.
Using The creative skill set website I've found that I mostly fit in as a CG modeller and a level artist though I also looked at positions like the technical artist where if I learn some more coding I could find myself there. The position of CG artist extends far beyond game design and therefore offer a much wider range of jobs, whereas as a game artist you are restricted to games which in itself is a very competitive and risky region. The level editor is viable option but it doesn't require comprehensive skills of 3d modelling and therefore I find that my my skill set will be severely limited in the position. On the animation side I have the base knowledge to advance further in to be a rigger but it's tightly nit with animation which I'm not a fan of.
The show was a great ending to the course year asit allowed us to say our goodbyes to other students and teachers. It was also beneficial as we got many feedback from people that know little about cg and how excited they were to find out about our field of study.