View Full Version : Overseas outsourcing + future of industry?
rex-craft7
March 21st, 2011, 05:34 AM
Hey guys, so I have a pretty general question. Exactly how is overseas outsourcing affecting the illustration/art industry and how will it effect it in the future? I'm hoping to go into medical illustration with an emphasis in 3D animation; it's certainly not conceptart, but I believe the outsourcing trend has been hitting illustration/design/3D-animation fields in the US all the same. I just can't figure out exactly how much that effect is. I'll be honest, I'm worried about what job prospects will be like say 10-20 years into the future. By the time I apply to graduate programs I want to go into it knowing I'll be in it for the long run, and clearing up some of these uncertainties would definitely help me in terms of planning + motivation.
Any opinion/input is appreciated. Would especially love to hear from some veterans who might have seen industry trends firsthand.
Beeston
March 21st, 2011, 06:01 AM
+ 1 to this thread. I don't have the answer but I'm dropping in an email notification so that I can listen in on the discussion.
dpaint
March 21st, 2011, 08:41 AM
There is absolutely no way to know any of those things that far ahead of time. When I started as an illustrator in 1985 there was no real art industry for computers. Computer games looked like pong and pacman and asteroids. Five years later they looked like Loom and Monkey Island.
Become an artist in a general sense, follow your passion and focus on what you like but be flexible and look for opportunities and trends that may let you do something you thought impossible. All it takes is one invention or breakthrough or one disaster or the outbreak of war to throw all your plans into the crapper if your focus is too narrow. And no I'm not advocating getting a degree in law as a backup because the future of that plan is is just as unknowable.
Flashback
March 21st, 2011, 08:57 AM
There is absolutely no way to know any of those things that far ahead of time. When I started as an illustrator in 1985 there was no real art industry for computers. Computer games looked like pong and pacman and asteroids. Five years later they looked like Loom and Monkey
Usually in the early to middle 1980's, most of the graphical work was by one or two person, and it was usually the programmer(s).
Middle to late 1980's you could have a team of 2 to 10 people working on a game. By this time, you had tablets such as: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KoalaPad
arenhaus
March 21st, 2011, 11:55 AM
On one hand, you can now live in France and sell art to someone in Australia over the Internet.
On the other hand, you'll be competing with every guy in Pakistan and China who draws the same stuff for $2/hour...
That's it in a nutshell. :)
HackTardist
March 21st, 2011, 05:50 PM
On one hand, you can now live in France and sell art to someone in Australia over the Internet.
On the other hand, you'll be competing with every guy in Pakistan and China who draws the same stuff for $2/hour...
That's it in a nutshell. :)
The truth.
arenhaus
March 22nd, 2011, 06:11 AM
The truth.
Happened to me not four weeks ago.
Farvus
March 22nd, 2011, 07:41 AM
On the other hand, you'll be competing with every guy in Pakistan and China who draws the same stuff for $2/hour...
That's why I believe it's important to focus more on creative ideas and not repeating yourself too much. Artist with unique voice may have it harder when searching for job but can't be replaced.