schools leading to game business..?

**Spector360** · July 31st, 2003, 07:41 PM

I'm attending college as a freshman in about a month majoring in graphic arts and design. Now, I'm wondering if this will give me the skills needed to get into the game industry as either a concept artist and/or 3d artist... I had the choice of going to Pittsburgh AI but opted for a 4 yr school for various reasons. As I eagerly await college to begin im just wondering if this is the right choice and it will open up the career path I want.

I would like to hear from experienced people who have landed jobs beforehand, but any comments/advice is appreciated.

thanks

**bfaubion** · August 3rd, 2003, 03:03 AM

no school will give you the skill. its pretty much up to you to pursue it. just doing the assignments they give out will get a you a degree and maybe a few portfolio pieces.. but thats about it. and a degree in art is... well, just a piece of paper with ink. Ive been in art school for 2 years so far. let me tell you about it. maybe its just the school i go to, but... i found that if you want to ever be any good you must constantly practice and pursue this on your own. i see students who do the work and get by, sure it makes an impression on the other students, they get a good grade, everyone is happy. the truth is, your competing with those who do this because its a passion, they love to do it. your competition is not really the other students next to you. its those who have a drive to create. and there are plenty of those who dont go to school who will succeed more than those who spend a fortune on an "education" and 4 years in a classes. At the school i go to, they made it sound as if you can get a job no problem when school is done, you get your 4 years done.. your trained. if you have the discipline, you could achieve more than plenty of people who spend 4 years in art school, but you wont have the contacts, or other artists and friends you would have met, which i found has been very important and i wouldnt be where i'm at had these people not been in my life. most of the people who have gone to my school have felt suckered either while in school or after finishing. cause it sounds great that you will be able to do what you are passionate about once your 4 years are done. most of them fail sadly, i have no idea what i'll be doing the next few years.. im taking some of those crappy general education classes while i think about continuing at the art school. man, i hope this isnt putting you down, but you probably wont hear from a school, cause they need student tuition for support. training for 4 years for just one thing on your mind will really narrow your options, its very important you have a good traditional skill base, because then you can branch off. school may sound great rightnow, and it might be the right choice for you, i dont know your situation. but how about this.. what if 4 years from now after you spent all this money and time in school you find you can't get a job in the game industry? maybe the economy is completely trashed, or there is some crises.. i dunno, something to think about. if this post hasnt made you too depressed, you could always post some of your artwork, gives people an idea of where your at and the advice they can offer.

**poly_cube** · August 3rd, 2003, 01:01 PM

yeah I pretty much agree with bfaubion

I was talking to Mark Goerner a major artist in the film industry -did xmen2-minority report ect. and he basically said (roughing it up a bit though)

"in school there are genearlly 2 group of people...the people that get by -they do the work and that's about it, then you have the hardcore people who do massive amount of drawings and put in crazy amount of work.......those are the people you will learn the most from".

and its true, you learn more from your friends and pressure. If someone in the class is really elite you want to compete with that guy/gal just because of the pressure.

and its true about the tuition BS -they will feed you anything just to sound good. but if you seriously want to be good-practice till it hurts. chuck jones said "we are all born with a million bad drawings...the only way to get them out , is to draw them out."

the good thing about the gaming industry is: you don't need a degree or any fancy paper. its a demo reel run industry.

but an art school isn't that bad in the sense you make friends and get connections- other than that.......pick up a pencil and draw from life.

**Spector360** · August 3rd, 2003, 02:00 PM

hmm thats very helpful and no im not depressed at all.
I will definitely post some work when i get a scanner..

To bfaubion: So your saying its good to be well rounded and such just not "im going into the game industry,period" right?

to Poly_cube: The demo reel is a very good thing

Thanks a lot guys that helped alot

**bfaubion** · August 3rd, 2003, 07:51 PM

yeah spector, i mean for me.. i usually do something for a while and find that i need a break and want to try something else. i would love to get into video game production and do it for a few years. but it would suck if after that time i completely loose interest in it and i am not trained for anything else. so just make sure your valuable any different areas than just video games and concept art. because i think its becoming much more competitive here.

**Spector360** · August 7th, 2003, 07:42 PM

I agree 100%

**PeggyChung** · August 11th, 2003, 08:58 PM

how about that school, art institute of california for game design?

**hoku** · August 21st, 2003, 12:57 AM

AI decision? check those out

http://pub26.ezboard.com/faimeesstu...picID=850.topic

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/antia...tute/messages/1

http://forums.awn.com/showthread.php...5&pagenumber=1

**helix7** · August 21st, 2003, 08:45 PM

I'd say the advice given so far is all true and accurate. It's a huge misconception around here (and in much of the art world) that you need to attend a certain art school, typically in california and by the names ringling, art center, you all know the list.. But the truth is that while those schools are all good, there are tons of great schools out there and it really all comes down to your own talent and desire to learn. I went to a fairly unknown school in terms of art recognition because I originally was majoring in Engineering before switching to Graphic Design/Computer Graphics after one year. I thought I would have to try transfering to one of the big NY art schools to stand a chance in the field, but I quickly learned that I could be just as successful and learn just as much (maybe more) right where I was. The art department at my school was fairly small but they had (and still have) some really great teachers from around the world who have some serious connections. We had half of the SGI machines (computers that many art schools don't even have) donated because of a connection one teacher had. I learned from some of the best in the business using equipment that would make most professionals jealous, and I didn't have to go to cali to do it.

Anyway, the point is that great artists come from all over, and what really matters is how good you are and how much you push yourself to get better. No school can give you that.