[chalker]

Many people are talking about careermoves in Art, but I already made my choice , but don't think I made the right one.

This message also references to Tinushes post. (http://www.sijun.com/dhabih/ubb/Forum2/HTML/005820.html).

In the past I never thought about my career as a choice, I liked computers and I liked drawing. but drawing was not the best thing, so I decided to go to a technical school. At this school I drew the most drawings of my lifetime because of the bored lectures, with people always asking where I learned that, and that I was on the wrong school.

So when school was over, I could make 2 choices, study further in the IT-branche, or go another way, to Artschool.
The choice I made was related to my former education , my friends ( all my friends at the technical school went further to Higher education in IT.), and I was likely to find more Jobs and better paying in IT (not my greatest priority).

4 years Higher education in IT were stressfull and I drew nothing at all in this period. Now I am finished, and I could work at the 5 jobs I applied to.
Now I am working as a webprogrammer in an object orientated language , but it is stressfull, and I always said to myself, you gotta do something with your drawingskills.

I have the idea that since technical school I didn't progress anymore in my drawing skills. Now I am too busy with work and other things ( house seeking, girlfriend , sport ), stress from work, and even therapy for my RSI ( which panics me ).
And everyday I am reminded by visting sijun, or looking at the stuff our graphic designer makes that I made the wrong choice.

I am 26 now and I can't possibly go to art school for 4 years. There are no seminars in our neighborhood, and when I want to draw for myself, I want it so bad, nothing comes out ( artists block ? ).

I am frustrated everyday looking at this forum. And when I come here, I knew it, I should have made art/drawing a living and programming a hobby.

Can someone motivate me, by giving tips what to do, or does anyone know 'short time drawing courses' in holland. How do I progress in art, at this point.

advance thanx for replies ..

[This message has been edited by chalker (edited October 25, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by chalker (edited October 25, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by chalker (edited October 25, 2000).]

[Zombie]

Something my father told me always sticks with me. First a little back story....

I have always made art of some sort. I am nowhere the calibre of some of the artist here, but I can get my point across, on paper. When I graduated highschool my parents wanted me to go to college, as my brother knew what he wanted to do and dove right into his education. I on the other hand was a little conflicted in what I wanted to do. I knew what classes I enjoyed in highschool, and thought I would try something along those lines as a career. Needless to say I wasn't happy working as a precision machinist for the aerospace industry. That job lasted three months, and I registered for college.

I floundered around college for two and a half years, taking classes that sounded fun. I was in and out of schools trying to find one that I liked.

Finally I came across 3D art and animation. 3D and the computer allowed me to express my artistic side, and has provided me an excellent career making games and short films (another passion of mine).

I didn't make a decision to go to school for 3D art/animation until I was 26. I have been working in the industry for the last 5 years and couldn't be happier.

So what was it that my father told me? He told me the story of a government worker in his office that graduated college at the age of 42. It's NEVER to late. Take night classes one night a week if you have to, you can do it if you want it.

Don't give up, work at it, and it will come to you. Believe me, nothing feels better than getting up and going to work knowing that you love your job. I doesn't get better than that!
--------------
mike hovland
3d artist
midway games

[plant42]

Of course you can go to art school for four years, and you should. You already know that's what you want to do, and you seem to have resigned into your programming job. Go back to school! Get a Masters in design (only two years).
The time goes by anyway, you might as well start down a better path today.
Not a week goes by at my work when the tech department comes by my desk and says 'Hey, you've got the fun job, always creating something new...'
So they make 30k more than me? I'm doing what I love doing!

Again: Go get your Masters in New Media/Graphic Design/something in Art!

[shahar2k]

zombie....
wow, I feel like I'm living that same deal right now, I'm 19, and I love (and have studied) anything from high level math to computer science, to History, social sciences, and of coarse art... thing is, right now I'm definitely taking any college class I think is fun, but I've recently discovered 3D (milkshape was my breakthrough point) and I am seriousl starting to love it....

luckily my college is offering a 3DsMAX class starting next semester, so I'll try and take that, but really right now I'm taking ANYTHING I can get my hands on it, and just enjoying learning...

well anyways thanks for giving me the hope that maybe I'll find a more definite direction. btw, what made you really find your focus?

[Sempere]

Ey ! You all are right...

I�ve been working as a Shoes-dessigner during some time, and I sure you that everyday I was a more sad person. It could be considered as a creative work, but if you don�t like what you�re doing I sure you that you can hate your work (even if you recive a lot of bills).

To this you should add that the work was from 8-14h and 15h-9h (some day even 11h). Of course than you arrived at home you were so tired and so desmotivated that search some time for drawing was a bit difficult.


All my live have been videogames and il�lustration, It�s my passion...

I have Know it all my life, and the worst of all is that I did nothing to reach it...

When I was child I was a very creative guy...
Me and my friends made paper-robots which could transform into vehicles (we loved the transformers ) comics whit stick-men (in a kind of animation) and a kind of "videogames" that we named paper-machines !!!

This was when I was a child. When I arrived to high-school I was in other things...

I did nothing (or almost nothing) during many years (only draw in class and so...).

Today I seen with an all-new perspective.

I�m sure, as Sa�ge said, that I don't want to live a life where I get a job just for money, and live the days of my life out slowly, earning money for my funeral.

What a BIG-TRUE, my friends.

---

Now, I�m going to a course of Lightwave[6]

I decided it, and, althought I would want a more 2D oriented formation, in Spain that kind of education is oriented to expensive private academis that teach 3Dpackages (And we know that 3D gives you more possibilitys today to find a job).

...Try it, pal...
...If you don�t try you will be crying about your past choices util death...
...Try it...
...If you fails, you will be able to find any other job soon or later...
...If you reach enter to the industry you at least could be really proud of yourself...

GOOD LUCK to everybody who try the har path !!! WE need it !!!

[AKIRA_x]

26 isnt OLD!!!..if your girfriends stands by you, and is willing to support you..GO TO SCHOOL!! I work in a e-learning company, and we cant teach you to draw, but we do support the idea of "life long learning"..your never to old. When I went to graphic design school, we had a married couple in theire late 50s attending....or..she was..he had obviously been forced..everything he did was either a boat..or a sea..think he wanted to get a boat and sail away from her..anyway...point is..26 is NO age to call it quits with school. The economics part of it on the other hand..only you know.

For my short lifestory..how I ended up here:
At the young age of 10, i suddenly started to draw..never had before..but I did..and learned by drawing after my Superman and Gi-joe comics...at the age of 12 I wanted to be a comics artis...soon forgott about that..you dont get paid enough I found out at 13..so I wanted to be a Ad drawer.....which over time evolved into Graphic Design..during this time I also found my love for computers..so I compined the two, and today I work as a Multimedia Designer, having the best of two worlds.

Maybe you can do that to...if your a good programer and understand that, I recomend you get into Director and Flash..and make som kick ass web sites with some of the coolest art/interaction to bee seen on this side of the galaxy. There is no reaso to give up what you have learned and work with now..combine it with you passion..and then you have found your special thing...and stick to it. *s*

Hope this helps.

AKIRA

------------------
Whos ya dady!!

[chalker]

Thanx for all the replies.

I think it's also the stress from work that makes me think I have no control over my life, and makes me think I got no time to draw. So when I want to draw, the urge is so big that nothing comes out, no inspiration what so ever. I really need to relax more, and make time for my drawings.

Zombie : It is indeed never to late to learn, but the thing that bothers me, that I learned so hard for what I am doing now, and finally I got a Job and my motivation is really zero. And you'll have to be motivated to be in IT, it's all going so fast.

plant42 : I would really like to so I am going to an 'open day' at the art academy in arnhem, netherlands.

shahar : cool, would love to have a 3dsmax class.

Sa'ge : thanks, I am not in for the money, there is money enough in IT. but also very stressfull.

Sempere :

quote:

---

...Try it, pal...
...If you don�t try you will be crying about your past choices util death...
...Try it...
...If you fails, you will be able to find any other job soon or later...
...If you reach enter to the industry you at least could be really proud of yourself...

---

You're definitly right.

Akira : Oke it isn't old , but still everyone is making careers at this age, and I am stressing my butt of to get my job done ( maybe that's why I don't like it, because when you're hobby becomes your job their is much more pressure. )

Oke thnx for all replies.

grz-Chalker-



[This message has been edited by chalker (edited October 26, 2000).]

[Zombie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by shahar2k:
...btw, what made you really find your focus?

---

What made me find my focus?

I was managing a video store, and my shift was overnight (11:00pm - 7:00am) and on my way home I stopped in Barnes & Noble. Now, working at a video store and getting free rentals meant all the video games I could play, and I was always picking up game magazines. On the rack, this fateful day, I found a copy of Computer Graphics World. It had a cover story on The Lion King, so I sat down and read it in the store. I was fascinated by the whole process of the wildebeast stampede, and the animation in general. I knew how animation was done on a basic level, but not the entire process, as it was done on a professional level. This was my downfall!

What was going to be a quick stop in the bookstore for a magazine or two, turned into a buying frenzy of ANY book I could find on 3D and animaiton. At the time it wasn't very much,(of all those books I bought then I think I have three of them still).

That led to me finding any program I could find that would let me do 3D on my home 386 machine. Not much was available, I remember one program that only allowed you to lathe a profile. So I made lots of different designs of the Holy Grail!

OK...long story short time. I moved on to POV-Ray and hand coded objects, this was the best thing I had ever seen! I finally found a school that taught 3D Studio r4, and I worked two jobs and saved my money and got government loans to finance my education. (I'm still paying off the loans )

So I guess my focus was found for me. It was luck that I saw the magazine, but it was luck that changed my life. I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything......except maybe a job at Pixar or ILM
--------------
mike hovland
3d artist
midway games

[chumps]

i think we all set strange standards for ourselves. 26 is not old. I was browsing through my artcenter catalog and it listed 24 as being the average undergrad age, average! That means there are plenty of older people about, and I can attest to the personally! .

i say 26 is not old but when i realize the time i've wasted the past two years i feel so old when i realize i turned 19 last month. i think it's because time wasted makes you feel older than you are... and in your case you haven't wasted anything at all! i'm sure you have made your share of money, so maybe tuition and art supplies won't be as much of a burden, and you also have life experience which will give dimension to your work.

i think you know what you really want to do, and either you do it or you don't. hey we all hope you do

regards

------------------
Stroke my ego.

[Matt Elder]

26 years old .... well you've only got another 30-40 years to keep working in IT before you retire and them have all the time in the world to do things. 30-40 years is along time to do something and keep kicking yourself thinking, if only. Sure it will be tough to do some night courses while working and will involve sacrifice.

I started drawing about 5 years ago when I just started uni. I always made time, particularly in the last couple of years, to be drawing or fiddling around with a computer to gett good at stuff. Seeing that I do full time uni, the sacrific, basically not having a life. For the last couple of months I went trying to get jobs in my field of interest and after 75 rejections got one.

People in my course think that I'm nuts as I've just spent 5 years doing engineering but wasn't really satisfied with it. Neither are most of my the people in my course but it is an easy solution and pays reasonable.

Since I've gotten into my area of interest, I'm loving it and there are so many possibilities that I'm now at a point where I need to work out the priorities of what things I want to do first.

Short of all this, whatever you decide, you will be doing it probably for another 30 years so what is a few years to change into something that you will enjoy a whole lot more. There will be sacrifies but in the long run, you'll be better off.

good luck

------------------
See ya on da flip side
Matt
http://www.mattelder.com

[voyager7]

Greetings,

I feel I have to add an item of minor importance to help us understand and to help chalker understand, perhaps.

Chalker my dear friend, when I read your post with the "am I too old at 26?" I said to myself, this guy must be in a rather conservative place in Europe and the place must be very similar to where I am located, central europe. Then I looked up and saw you're in the netherlands. Americans have different mentality about colleges, no wonder, colleges are quite different in usa than in europe, maybe not UK but some other parts certainly.

It's the environment that sets standards and you accept them, more or less, subconsciously of course, after all, 75% of personality consists of environmental influence. I had the feeling that I will be too old if I finish college and I'm over 24 or 25. That's what people talk about and that's what "everybody" thinks is "normal" or "acceptable" and you willing or not accept it somehow, even though, you do think about it. We have no night classes or colleges here are not nearly liberal enough as say, UK or usa where people choose their classes, etc. so all that contributes to accepting that "too old at 25 if no college" mentality fast. If we apply that to your case chalker, it means that people are too old at 26 to start another education, they should be over with education and start working already...

Let me summarize, what I want to say is, I have a pretty good idea of how you feel, since I followed a similar path.

My advice... you're not too old :-), think about any possibilities of combining your current knowledge with desired knowledge and choose a most suitable path for you, even if it is completely abandoning IT and your current lifestyle, think about how lifestyle is going to change and how you are going to like it.

Keep one thing in mind, when drawing is your hobby, you're binded to it only with your love, when it becomes work, love is the minority of all the things that bind you to it. I don't want to scare you though, just think about this if you choose the most extreme way and get dissapointed in the beginning.

Do chose, and you'll do it right this time.

Regards


[This message has been edited by voyager7 (edited October 27, 2000).]

[N8X]

Chalker, I have to thank you for your post. Im 25 and felt that i was to old to go back to school. This post has changed my mind. Maybe ill see you in class!

thx n8

[chalker]

Thanks Chumps

quote:

---

i think it's because time wasted makes you feel older than you are...

---

This must be It, I am not old and of course It's never too late to learn. But indeed I feel old, because I waisted years stressin' for highschool only to be in a Job where stress and rsi are most common.

That's the main reason I want to go back in Art, and since I feel I didn't progress in Art the last 5 years, I feel old when every day I see posts of people here who are under the age of 18 and make paintings that are very good.

Ok�, but what I need to do , is stop complaining and take action, so Maybe I go for a night course in Art here in holland.

N8X : glad you are motivated, and I really would like to know where you gonna study.

[dreddawg]

My 2 cents. I worked as a freelancer in the professional comic industry (Marvel) in the early to mid nineties. Just when I was about to have my first two graphic novels published the comic industry went bust. Thus my childhood fantasy as a comic artist came to a abrupt end. Since 96 I've been working in digital art and life hasn't been the same. I love it. The ironic thing is that I'm able to call upon my old skillset to enhance my new skillset. From what you have stated, you've already got the technical part down. Now it's just pure pleasure. Now is the time for you to take those art courses or workshops. You don't have to do four years in college for art. Practice and enjoy. Instead of reading that tech manual just draw. Perhaps take some of that dough you will make and buy the adobe suite (Afterfx, Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrater) and a powerful system (G4's are great and have dv on the motherboard)? An old saying for us old folks, "You can look at the glass as either half empty or Half full" I'm 34 so relax.

Regards