Do I stand a chance at getting a job? If not what can I do to get better?

[ChrisLSimpson]

I am a college student and I am in my last year before i get a computer animation degree. I want to get a job doing some kind of animation when i graduate.

 

However when i look at the work here, everything ive ever done looks like complete crap and i don't think i even stand a chance at all. If just one person on this site applied other than me applied for a job, they would get it over me because my stuff looks bad compared to what you can do.

 

Here is my portfolio site:

chrislsimpson.com

 

First off here is some stuff about my work just so you know where I am. I am stuck in a bad posistion and i need to find a way out of where I am.

 

I need a job somewhere. I still have one more semester of college to pay for, so all my money has to go to that. After that, i need to get a new computer so I can work on things. I am still stuck on a old 32 bit windows XP computer that can barely even run 3dsmax. It can barley render on Mental Ray, and wont even run VRay.

 

I want to get a job doing arch viz stuff, but from what ive seen here, I stand no chance and ill just be laughed at if i even try applying. I can't get any better unless i have a newer computer, but i cant get the money for a newer computer unless i get a job. What advice do you have for me so that I can get a job once I graduate from my university?

 

I at least want to try and get a job doing something relating to animation once i graduate. Even if its not in archviz, id be fine with an internship somewhere, so I at least can have a job. Then once i have a job, I can get a better computer and start on nicer looking archviz stuff.

 

For the meantime. are there even any exisiting tutoirals on MENTAL RAY archviz stuff? Everywhere i look its always Vray this or Vray that. Don't get me wrong, I like Vray, and I have used it before at an internship. I just don't have a computer that can run it.

[hockley91]

I really do sympathize with you. It took me about 10 years to finally get to a job where my skills could be used in the area of visualization. I 100% understand about the "equipment" you need to do some nice renderings. That is something you can even talk about if/when you interview somewhere. My rendering style and skills took a massive leap forward when I had much better computing power.

 

The route I took was working for Architecture firms that were interested in 3D, but didn't know how to implement it in a pipeline for production. if you can sell yourself as someone that can take the lead and show them all the exciting things that can be done with the technology, you may get some interest...even if your portfolio isn't how you want it too look. My renderings were not very nice after I graduated....wayyyyy back in 1996. They were awful as well. But, when I was working on Construction Documents, I'd stay late after work with a friend of mine and we'd just go 3D crazy on the projects. Then we'd show the guys what we were doing all night....they loved the stuff that we were doing with 3D. Eventually it would get to the client because we'd have to show sketches and renderings and there'd be this 3D digital model that we could manipulate and render out shots.

 

I don't know. Maybe there is some office where you live that is looking for someone like you. you never know. You might want to start calling around and visiting offices and asking questions...or contact old classmates and current classmates....friends...relatives. Networking is essential to survive in any business and the more people you know, the higher chances that something can happen.

 

Just my two cents....I'm sure people have other experiences.

[SkylineArch]

Yup, right now your computer is holding you back. Try to do small renderings, things your computer can handle and work on one thing at a time. Work with lighting, light some matte spheres using various lighting scenarios (ibl, hdr, ies) then work on your materials, turn those spheres into different materials, try out caustics. Basically just play around and get nice looking simple renders, then you can show them in your portfolio that you understand the concepts but lack the computer power to create a full CG scene.

 

As far as mentalray/archviz, google Jeff Patton or Master Zap and check out their blogs/sites.

[Scott Schroeder]

I am a college student and I am in my last year before i get a computer animation degree. I want to get a job doing some kind of animation when i graduate.

 

However when i look at the work here, everything ive ever done looks like complete crap and i don't think i even stand a chance at all. If just one person on this site applied other than me applied for a job, they would get it over me because my stuff looks bad compared to what you can do.

 

Here is my portfolio site:

chrislsimpson.com

 

First off here is some stuff about my work just so you know where I am. I am stuck in a bad posistion and i need to find a way out of where I am.

 

I need a job somewhere. I still have one more semester of college to pay for, so all my money has to go to that. After that, i need to get a new computer so I can work on things. I am still stuck on a old 32 bit windows XP computer that can barely even run 3dsmax. It can barley render on Mental Ray, and wont even run VRay.

 

I want to get a job doing arch viz stuff, but from what ive seen here, I stand no chance and ill just be laughed at if i even try applying. I can't get any better unless i have a newer computer, but i cant get the money for a newer computer unless i get a job. What advice do you have for me so that I can get a job once I graduate from my university?

 

I at least want to try and get a job doing something relating to animation once i graduate. Even if its not in archviz, id be fine with an internship somewhere, so I at least can have a job. Then once i have a job, I can get a better computer and start on nicer looking archviz stuff.

 

 

For the meantime. are there even any exisiting tutoirals on MENTAL RAY archviz stuff? Everywhere i look its always Vray this or Vray that. Don't get me wrong, I like Vray, and I have used it before at an internship. I just don't have a computer that can run it.

 

Starting a job search with a defeatist attitude certainly will hurt you more than your perceived skill set. I certainly won't want to work with you if you don't believe in yourself. If you don't believe in you, I certainly won't. It's not the computer that makes the great art. It's you and you alone.

 

If you have to work at McD's so you can pay off your new computer, so be it. How hard are you willing to work at becoming a better artist? You don't need a mega rig either, so don't think that you need to spend $4k on a computer just to create great renders.

 

Take this video with a grain of salt:

 

 

5-things that tell me you are not a professional:

1. Attitude (negativity)

2. Critic/Being a douche (talking bad about everyone)

3. Timiditty (Being timid and accepting everything

4. Communication (closing/handling the situations)

5. Money (scared to ask)

 

General Portfolio Comments:

If you are going for arch viz, take off anything on your portfolio that isn't related. You just have stuff on there as filler, take it off or move it to a back page. Put your best work on the front page. I don't want to go clicking around. If I have 50 portfolio sites to go through in a day, I don't want to be clicking. I want to see your work right at the front. Don't just put stuff up to have many images/animations. If you only have 2-3 good images, just use those. Show me your best work and leave the rest off. I shouldn't have to scroll down just to see your architecture work. Your skyscraper image is quite good. Why is it at the back end? You use it as a button background, then you dump it at the bottom section of your portfolio.

 

Your skills are not terrible. You have a core knowledge that any company looking for an entry level guy would like you to have. Besides, most places will train you to their method anyways. Look at it this way. Rather than having no expert skills, you are going to them with no engrained bad habits either. I'd rather train a guy than get someone in with experience who won't work well with the team or the set pipeline standards.

 

Are you going to get a job at high end viz studio right away? No, probably not unless you know someone or they are looking for entry level. But the fact is many other places, professional places, are around the similar quality that you are showing. Don't think that this industry is all super high end, it's not. Many architecture firms are just looking to put out images quickly and the overall quality doesn't really matter. You have a shot at landing work. However it's your attitude that is holding you back, not your work. Believe me, the "I'm no good" attitude comes across in interviews.

 

Rock your portfolio like you belong!

[ChrisLSimpson]

After seeing theese posts i feel much better about myself. I applied to some jobs over the summer and got quite a few rejections, and I guess I have been letting that get to me more than it should. I am thinking more positively about myself now and I know that I will be able to get a job if i look around enough.

 

It is transitioning from internships to entry level work that is scaring me, because no one had ever explained to me how they were different. I saw all the nice work on this site, and I thought that it was the kind of work i would be expected to turn out when I started out in the working world, but now that I know its not like that, I know i have a chance somewhere.

 

I just need to keep working on my stuff, but more importantly I need to find some contacts. From what I learned from getting the internships that I did, it is more about knowing people than knowing what you are doing. I didn't know everything that I was supposed to to be able to intern where I have, but I did know people that already worked there. They were more than willing to teach me what I didn't know so that I could do everything they wanted. Now that i know that entry level jobs work in about the same way i know i can find one somewhere.

 

I just have to keep working on my stuff and sooner or later I will have enough money to be able to get the newer computer that I wanted. I don't know when that will be, but it shouldn't matter as much as getting my name out there and getting known.

[SkylineArch]

Like Scott said above, you don't need a $4k computer to render on at home, for less than a thousand dollars you can get a good machine, like a Dell XPS with an i7, a decent video card (upgrade to at least 16GB of RAM yourself, it's much cheaper) and render just about anything you need. I do all of my work on an XPS laptop, it's a little slower than my desktop, but it works just fine. If you're working on things on your own render times don't really matter.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Remember that most of the mainstream graphics we see today in movies, architectural CG etc, were materialized running much older hardware.

The "32bit XP" machine doesn't say anything...VRay became mainstream gradually, like what? 10 years ago...

 

We are talking early P4 days and >2GHz single core CPUs, 3DS max 6 etc.

Much slower than what we have today? Sure, but not impossibly gimped. The vast majority of potential for good ArchViz was there for a decade or more. Would take days instead of hours, but was there.

It can be hard or impossible to run 3DS Max 2009 or newer in such machines, but it is not needed.

 

It is challenging to acquire student licences of old pieces of software, but...I am trying to point out that hardware is not everything.