Hey guys,
Lately I have been struggling with a life choice - what should I study at university.
I am in senior year and I have been interested into computer graphics and computers in general for the last 5 years. I would definitely love to study something connected with it. However I failed to find a course that I would be interested into in England.
I am trying to avoid directly studying art, as I don’t consider my self as an artist. I would love to study what I am passionate about, however I am afraid that studying it would ruin my passion.
Any advice?
(You can also check my portfolio here)
Thanks!
If English universities are anything like American ones, you don’t have to decide on a major immediately. Most of the early courses that you take are fairly generic. Therefore, you can first become accustomed to “being at University” before committing to a particular degree specialty.
Whatever degree you take will not condemn you to a particular future life-course, but will merely help you to prepare for your first one.
Computer graphics, like most things, is “an artistic craft.” Michelangelo not only had to have a vision of what he wished to paint and sculpt, but also the technical training to doso. Furthermore, he had to master the skill of understanding, and then delivering, what other people (who were paying his bills …) wanted.
One of the key things that you should strive to learn at University is … “how to learn.” Because that is what you’re going to find yourself doing, throughout your entire career! Computer graphics, and computers in-general, are changing “constantly and radically,” and they will no doubt continue to do so throughout your lifetime. Anything that you study will quickly become superseded by new and wonderful things that haven’t been invented yet.
Study 3D modelling and animation. It’s one of the areas that are on-demand these days. The advent of 3D printers would provide more job opportunities in the future.
Get yourself acquainted with CAD software because it will be what you will be using. Practice with Blender at the meantime to learn the basics such basic mesh manipulation. The basic mesh manipulations are platform agnostic, meaning it applies to all CAD softwares.
I started with 3DS Max 9 back in the day. I now use Blender and other similar software as a freelance CG artist.
study what you like, even though it might lose you your passion at certain points, you will always find your passion back!
Nothing worse, like me, than studying something you don’t really want to do, finding yourself struggling to move back into your desired field of interest, almost impossible!
I have worked as a consultant for entrepreneurs for quite some time, and this definitely is something to consider.
Quite a few of my clients had the idea of turning their hobby into a profession - and I warned each and every one of them of the possible consequences: Having to do something in order to get food onto the table is a totally different pair of shoes than doing it because you love to do it. And when you finally come to realize that, you might lose the job and the hobby (because all of the fun has been taken out of it and it only reminds you of your “occupational failure”).
Before deciding on a career in arts, make sure to carefully research the job opportunities - and be realistic about it. Sure it would be “cool” to be able to work in 3D graphics - but how many jobs of that kind really are there? A degree that leads to long-term unemployment is definitely “not cool”. Are there perhaps other professions that may profit from knowledge in 3D (engineering…) and that might interest you?
Whatever you study the usual way, train communication and marketing on your own. Train project and time management.
It has nothing to do with luck whether a hobby becomes income.
The questions for that are, among others:
What value has the hobby for others? Because it’s always about them, never about you. They have the money.
How do I reach them?
How effectively do I educate them on the value my hobby has so they see the value and a good decision is made?
Do I really appreciate all the aspects that need to be taken into consideration? Business philosophy (Jom Rohn), marketing (Jay Abraham), communication (Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Robert Gialdini), book keeping, laws etc.
Can I make it a habit to gradually improve all the relevant aspects?
more…even more…and then some…
If you try to start a business because YOU find YOUR hobby cool, erm, well…
You could of course simply invent the equivalent to the next milliondollarhomepage and skip the learning…good luck for that.
it turned out that the study is much more than what I did as hobby.
I had and still have good job opportunities
I learned a lot in my study and it turned you that
… my hobby benefits from it
… my job benefits from
… I already forgot a lot because I never needed it
… it let me see what I really do not want to do
… my hobby is much more reduced than it was before (because I get fed by my job)
… some interests are still the same, others changed.
Not only the world change, I change too.
[Sometimes I think I would like to be a baker … because I like bread … but I’m not sure if I would be a good baker at all … so I bake bread on my gas barbecue … it is not good but it is enough to feed my ego lol]
So, I can’t give you advice on study. I suggest to look what options you have, how good it meets your current interests and skills and what opportunities you see in future. Keep in mind you are young (I guess). Your interests might change during the next couple of years.
I’m probably not qualified to answer your question but hey that won’t stop me from answering will it?
Just so happens that I, am also in senior year…
don’t study art if you have other aspirations,
don’t do it.
You see, art tutorials and art training are in absolute abundance, thanks to the internet,
but stuff like Mechanical engineering, math , science, law,etc are not
You need a certificate to be an engineer or doctor,
but you don’t need a certificate to be an artist of any kind
Now if you don’t want to be a doctor,engineer,etc
and just want to be an artist,
Don’t waste your time,
life’s too short to get a job, you don’t want to get.
Go to art school(A GOOD ONE, I’ve heard too many stories about fake schools arround here and my time at CG Society)
if you want to be an artist