Wait Micheal, so you’re telling me to go to college for art first instead of just software in order to learn how to develop my ideas and llearn how to think before actually going into software in college in order to model for things like games which is my dream?
flailing wildly offtopic:
Games industry is much “easier” than it used to be to get into…
There are much more production needs, lots more assets to create, much more outsourcing…(ok, a lot of that is moving to where office space and cost of living is cheap… vietnam, india, canada(with the tax breaks)…
BUT if you want to make a career then you need more than skill in software…
Skill in software can be learned on your own… (learning blender has taught you to use forums, find tutorials, work things out for yourself… you can do that with any software you might need …)
…and with a few tutorial DVDs you’ll be rocking! and that;s much cheaper than college for software training.
Fine art, architecture, sculpture, illustration etc teach more “principles” and more thoroughly than software courses…
here’s the counter argument:
I know many recruiters don’t care about your artistic skill as long as you meet the entry requirements and have sufficient software knowledge to do “monkey work” with the minimum of client side training…
you’ll probably get very few opportunities to shine or have input… and when the climate changes (like now) you’ll be in the “massive layoffs”…(big name company x has shed 20% of its workforce…has been the headline pretty much every month in games trade mags for well over a year)
you might be better forgetting art and doing a management course as most good artists in senior positions tend to just be filling in spreadsheets and tracking the outsourcers (and coming up with rescue strategies to get it half decent and cursing that it’s being done half way around the world…
you’ll have to excuse my cynicism,
But I’m nearly 40 and grumpy after nearly 15 years in the games industry…
but I’ve worked at every level of art production the games industry has to offer and am much happier running my own company as a freelancer…
You do realize that you just changed my plans for life. I went from knowing exactly what I was going to do to “what? where do I start now?” being in the games industry is my dream. I need to be there. and Now I don’t know how to do it. 
Kain Aldar I think he’s saying that studying art would be helpful to you. And yes it will if your going for modeling.
It’s true you can learn software by your self. And to get a job is more useful a good portfolio than any other thing.
I’d go with art too if I had the option.
So then really, what would be a great school to look in to. Or really a specific type of art to look in to. I really want to know all of the specifics so I can get this all settled as soon as possible. I’m going to be a junior in high school this year which leaves me little time.
Drawing, painting, sculpture, photography will all help.
Same here, I was planning on going to a game art college. But I couldn’t find any that were advanced enough. They all seem to be for people that are just starting. And since by the time I graduate I will have been doing game art for almost 2 and a half years I decided it wouldn’t be worth it. Going to college for art instead gives you experience you can use for game art that you can’t learn on your own(easily) and also leaves you with an alternate career opportunity.
just filling you guys in on the situation
It looks like the company are going ahead with the animations
they just need to find out if they have a 3d model of the mascost already
(that will save me some time)
and I did give them a few different quotes for different options
(the guy has also been given approval for more than the quote incase they need extra work/changes or whatever)
thanks for the advice guys
I think you should charge somewhere between 1000-1200 $ for this job. As it needs extensive time.
I’ve been doing freelance graphic art/web design, (not 3d yet), but i will say this, better to charge too much and lose a client, than charge too little. Plus, the people that pay less, think you can do everything at the push of a button, so they ask for a lot, but don’t expect to pay more.
I also am starting to give estimates based on an hourly rate and how many hours it will take,. If they make changes, but it falls within the orginal estimate, then why not just do the work, but at least you can charge more if they have a lot of changes they want to make.
ha ha ha, but then again, better to be payed something than have no income!
It is better to charge little in the beginning. because getting first 2-3 projects are important. this would help you to develop a good portfolio.
the first few projects i ever did were complete give-aways as far as money was considered. i used them to test the waters to see what the work is actually like and if i can pull off good results. it also meant that they were a LOT more interested in working with me (no price tag!) so i got some repeat clients like that. just had to make it clear that only the first time is a freebie, after that its business as usual 
for an exterior shot (usually a night and a day one, with some revisions), i can usually swing between 500-800 bones, sometimes more. if they need it immediately, price goes up. i base it on a rough per-hour wage and then give them an estimate with a bit of leeway for changes and revisions.
oops. didn’t see there was a second page. Post deleted.
I have a friend who works in the 3d animation business here in the US. The average pay for 3d artists is around $80,000 US per year. Usually starting salary is in the $60,000 range. There may be a lot of positions that start for less but any serious company wanting to bring in real talent will pay appropriate wages. If you take less then your working for a company with low capitol and their chances of survival are also low.
My take on the “getting into the business” thing is simply this… If you want people to notice you, you have to do it. That means going out and creating art that people have or want to see. If you want to do 3d animation do some killer shorts. There are tons of script writers out there just waiting for the chance to write something for you… sound people yes, actors… again yes. If you want to get into the game business, then make a game. I know from personal experience that finding people (coders for example) that are willing to work with you, and are serious about it, is very difficult. This is where persistence pays off.
I’m finally working with a couple of guys that are pretty hard workers, and that’s what it takes…
So in short, don’t wait for the opportunity to slap you in the face… go get it.
If you are trying to enter into the professional field then you need a professional portfolio…And for that for have to do 3-4 good projects for a smalll amount of money, after that you would be able to charge respectable amount for your works.
it’s all done and dusted now
finished it last week high five’s himself
They were happy with both the animations - (although I would have liked more time to polish the animation a bit but there was a dead line)
and they were happy to pay the $3200 AUD (80hours x $40 per hour)
but I think it actually took me about 85 hours so I wasn’t too far from my estimate
I’m pretty sure I will get regular 3D work from these guys (I already do a lot of 2D diagrams for them)
one of the managers from the different site saw the animations and now he wants the mascot to do something else for his presentation later this year
Nice Waylow, that is really good news.
shit… i am undercharging like a motherfucker…
are you allowed to show us the animation? would be interesting to see!
congrats, by the way, as well! hopefully thatll help you get your start in the biz!
the price would depend on where you live
this is Australian dollars - $40 per hour would equate to $83K per year in a full time job
the average income in Australia is around - $60K
(I don’t know the exact figure but it was $58K in 2007)
I will have to remove the guys name from the animation and then re-composite
He didn’t pay me to post his name all of the cyber world
(give me a couple of days)