Switching Careers from Architectural Design to CG Architecture

[Arizkuren]

I've recently been looking at the possibility of focusing my career on creating architectural CG renderings and animation. I've been working at an architectural firm for the past year, drafting and doing minor design work, but I find that the work isn't as fufilling as when I created CG renderings in college. Has anyone ever made the jump from architecture to illustration like this? Would it be a good idea to pursue further education in rendering or would my portfolio speak for itself? Has the market for freelancers been successful?

There's a lot to ask about, and I haven't been very successful in finding out information on the topic, so I was looking to see if anybody has any words of wisdom/ stern warnings to dole out before I jump into a different field. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

 

[Paul Twyman]

Hey,

Lots of people have done it and normally I would say go for it but with things how they are in the world at the moment it is almost certainly not the right time to jump ship (especially if you have solid job).

Might be best to wait awhile build up your portfolio and see how things look a bit further down the line.

[ihabkal]

I want to do quite the opposite

I have been doing renderings for 12 years now, but 100% of the architectural firms I contacted in Canada, told me they like my work but prefer their employee to have a wholistic approach. So if you can master both types of careers good for you.

I started learning Revit today actually (on my own) and I want to get trained again to do working drawings, in college I had 74/100 on the course, but that was a long time ago and I need to relearn detailing architecture. That way I will be twice as useful to my future Canadian employer

[Arizkuren]

Wow, thanks a lot for the quick responses.

 

It seems that the best course of action at this time is to bide my time with my job, and try to create a worthy portfolio. Hopefully the economy will pick up, and with a stronger portfolio, I'd have something to ride the upswing with. Thanks again for the advice!