Career Advice: Architecture and 3D Animation

[whale]

Hey Guys long time no post.......

 

ABOUT ME

 

I completed my first degree in Architectural Design (B.s.c) in 2007 and i am currently undergoing my Masters (M-Arch) which by Gods grace i would complete in July 2009.

THE PROBLEM

 

Although i love Architecture a lot, but the entire CG industry, 3D animation, VFX drives me more crazy. i have had serious passion for 3D animation ever since i was little.

Come July next year, i and my colleagues would be graduating and a lot of them are planning to further their studies in programs such as Project Management, Stuctures, Constr Mgnt e.t.c. While I am planning to apply to Academy of Arts SF for MFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects (after spending 6 years in Architecture).

MY QUESTIONS

 

1. Would you advice your child to tale this route?

2. Would someone with an Architectural background have an egde or advantage in the CG industry?

3. Am I likely to get a job if i tender a reel or presentation showing my Architectural 3D renderings & animation instead of the regular stuffs to big studios like Pixar and ILM?

 

my other post http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/31375-canteen-interior.html?=#post216919

Thank you.

Edited July 18, 2008 by whale

[gerard]

hi whale

well I'd like to share my experience so far........

i have a dip. in architecture then started doing 3d visualization for the past 5 years in an architects studio. always learning and i love it.

 

recently started learning 3D character animation from DVDs and tutorials, and managed to get a demo reel done, of course a lot more desired in it. Its quite a focused job. I plan to keep doing the visualization(i earn a living from it) and also do small shorts of character animation.

 

i guess one can always follow ones passion but getting paid for it also, thats really satisfying.

 

the links of my reels are on you tube. User name: pixelexiq

(sorry, i am not allowed to post links directly)

[whale]

thanks for ur points gerard

[Nic H]

1. Would you advise your child to take this route?

It really really depends on the person to be honest, if their heart is in it then yes, it would be awful to 20 years later wake up and realise you arent doing what you really want to. I spent 5 years at uni and 2 years practicing architecture but the gap between academia (which i loved) to professional practice was so great, and took out all the bits I liked. So I switched to arch viz / 3d artist which I quiet like. Architecture is a great stepping stone if you want to become a 3d artist.

 

2. Would someone with an Architectural background have an egde or advantage in the CG industry?

Only in archvis and environment design I reckon. Having well developed spatial skills are your best asset along with your imagination.

 

3. Am I likely to get a job if i tender a reel or presentation showing my Architectural 3D renderings & animation instead of the regular stuffs to big studios like Pixar and ILM?

Looking at your work id say no to be honest. Its going to take you a few years to get your work up to industry standard i reckon. If I were you id ditch architecture and pursue 3D as that seems like what you are mopst excited about, I wouldnt jsut concentrate on arch vis either as its perhaps the most stale area of 3d i reckon.

 

Good luck

[Sawyer]

1. Would you advise your child to take this route?

 

The route you have taken? Well maybe if they want to be an architect but not if they want to do CG. Sounds like you went full throttle into architecture and yet don't like it as much and now you want to know if you can do what you like. Maybe but you will need the training for it.

 

2. Would someone with an Architectural background have an egde or advantage in the CG industry?

 

Yes I would think to a certain degree it will help. You have a degree and that will give you a little edge but I don't think I have even seen a job posting at ILM or any production house that would make me think that they are looking for an architect. Being able to design is different. You need to be able to design but remember your competition will be people with degrees in computer science, animation and CG. Its not the wild west that it was 15 years ago when people were getting jobs with little experience. The CG profession is pretty well established.

 

3. Am I likely to get a job if i tender a reel or presentation showing my Architectural 3D renderings & animation instead of the regular stuffs to big studios like Pixar and ILM?

 

Very unlikely. Here is a snippet from a random ILM job posting:

 

# Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent degree.

# Aesthetic eye and/or artistic background highly desired.

# Proven knowledge of and experience with UNIX/Linux operating systems.

# Strong scripting language (i.e. Python, Perl) and programming language (i.e. C/C++, Java) is a must.

# Knowledge of, and experience with, 3D modeling/animation software (i.e. Maya) highly desired.

# Database knowledge preferred (i.e. Oracle).

# Familiarity with film and video postproduction and/or computer graphics techniques highly desired.

 

And then look at how many applications ILM gets at SIGGRAPH there are a lot of people applying and I imagine many of them have the skill set that matches the film industry needs.