[k]

I was wondering if anybody knows the situation. there seems to be thousands of animation programs poping up everywhere. I think too many. aloooot of competition. Overwhelming!

Does that mean artists will have really low wages in the near future?

Im pretty sure the wages will go down drastically. even if it does ill stay in art cuz theres nothing I like more than art.

But there r crowds and crowds and crowds and crowds and crowds of artist.

turning back into starving artists?

During the Renessance period, there were a great number of artist, so many that it drove artists to the streets and people would paint for food. I hope this doesnt happen.

Am I tooo paranoid or is this really true?

very scary!

[ceenda]

Hi there k.

You've raised a very interesting point. However, I would go back to a statement I made in another thread that an artists or animators work is, in a way, his or her own signature.

With regards to animations, especially 3D ones alot of people are developing their own styles (synj, for instance) which makes them easy to identify.

As to wages, it will really be up to the individual artist to promote his or her work in order to make a living. With so many artists around, indivual artists may have to become their own PR agents in a sense and try to display a unique 'identity' in the art scene in order to be recognised.

At the end of the day, _EVERY_ profession is facing a similar crisis!

[mantis]

this belongs in the musings thread.

[SewerRat]

No it doesn't, it's related to art, so it belongs in the art forum.

[Francis]

I wouldn't worry. Hammers are really easy to get, but there aren't millions of really excellent carpenters.

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Francis Tsai
TeamGT Studios

[proximo]

You know for me somthims i think am i good enough ? should i try somthing else , i mean i dont think i suck, but im not nearly as good as some of the people on this forum .. i find but i find drawing so rewarding, i mean lets face it some people who cant or does not seem like they can draw have jobs drawing stupid shit and people like that .. i guess that is why art is subjective ,, no one person can tell you ,, that you suck,, because what there idea of art is not the same as everyones,,
were i goto school you have to send in a portpholio and shit like that ,, and well some of the people really suck if you ask me but thats just me ,, i might really suck to them so its not big deal ,, and i have talked too much that i have lost my point ohh well eheh ..

[Fred Flick Stone]

I used to have this problem with photoshop. Every time they improved the program I thought it was making it easier for anyone to use the program and call themselves art god. I didnt realize that I was getting better with the program and seeing that this could "potentially" be a scary tool if everyone owned it.
I misinterpereted the idea behind it all. There are many programs out, and many more to come. Every person on this planet could own a copy of these programs, have the option to use them, but would still pay the money to have a really well done peice of work, or something educational from someone else. They will pay the money for it. They do respect the level of mastery, although they wont say it, cant say it or don't know how to say it...
The idea is a sound idea, but that is all. This has happened with word processing programs. Everyone overnight became an instant graphic designer. For years there was nothing but crap coming down the pipeline. G. Designers freaked, I am gonna lose my job. But when people started realizing that this stuff looks like shit, they reached back for the designer to bail them out. Same with the airbrush, to brush painters. And so on, etc. Same with when acrylics came out, Oil painters felt a little inferior. Time took care of that one too.

Off the box, I like this topic good one for philosophical debate. Just keep improving your animation, and finding your style, hopefully something unique, and you wont have to worry about being obsolete...

Have a great day...

[Rinaldo]

When computers were first introduced into the print desigh world a few proffesions were literaly wiped from the board. Things like finished art were no longer needed because the computer could do it better.
The same thing will happen to the 3D world I would imagine. At the moment there are a lot of positions needed in very technical areas. The thing is that with every new version of an app things become easier. The need to have a team of people who are really good at lighting might subside because of faster machines and the widespread use of radiosity for example. The one thing that will not subside in demand is a sense of creativity and design.
If you're a computer monkey who just knows what buttons to push, although you might be in need now, eventuialy the program will push all of those buttons for the creative person. there will still be a need for a few people who are exeptionaly good at doing that nitty gritty tech stuff, and if they keep up with the programs and don't just sit there. then sure, they will still have a job.

To answer the question, at the end of the day. the huge number of "artists" will make it hard to get a job and it won't pay as much. but the idea is not to be in that mass of starving artists, but to be in a position where your skills are indispensible whatever new technology comes into town. That mass of artists are really just hot air, ready to be blown away a the next time the wind picks up. 3D doesn't make anything easier, it just makes work that survives total shitdom by the skin of it's teeth acessable to everyone.

I'm being a total bastard here but I belive it to be the truth.

[Pigeon]

From another angle, I'm having a tough time getting work because I don't know all the right software. My art skills are good, but that's not what people see on their first glance at your resume.

I recently took a software test at a temp agency, on photoshop. I got a top score, but afterwards I realized that the way they tested me, they would have no idea whether I could use photoshop in an artistic way. Yeah, I know what every button and command does, but that doesn't mean I know how to make a line look like a figure.

So in analysis, it goes back to striking a balance between making good work and marketing yourself well.

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-Pigeon
http://www.darklight.org/dunakin

[Freddio]

interesting

[black_fish]

It's not that there are too many artists, it's that there are too many people doing art.

[ozenzo]

Carpentry isn't bettered by how much sharper the saw is, but by the carpenter who wields it

although I think I fit in that hammer category

[Dean Welsh]

To work myself in with the carpentry analogy. I'm gonna have to say I'm an Axe. (read: hack)

By the way, k, did you mean animation Programs like (Software) or animation programs like (Schooling). Because that's something I've noticed. More animation school type programs popping up recently.

[AliasMoze]

The trick to making yourself obsolete-proof is to have a strong set of basic skills.

If an artist is that dependent on the tools, then he should probably look into further training.

The good artist will always be able to adapt.

[Vortx]

Yes, there are a lot of artists out there, but how many of them are really good? The percentage of professional level artists is still very small. We get new demo reels every week from so called "3d artists," but almost 99.9 percent of them are very bad.

Having a lot of 3D programs out there has nothing to do w/ making good artists. A 3D program is not gonna teach you lighting, composition, value, colors, balance, movement, etc. A lot of people think 3D can solve all their problems. No! When we hire artists here, we ALWAYS look at their 2D skills. Those who show a strong background in 2D are usually good at 3D. The computer is just another tool. There are of course exceptions, but those are rare (and these artists tend to be only modelers).

Anyways, back to my point. I get very fustrated sometimes reguarding this issue. From time to time, we'll have an artist interview. They show very bad work, and then turn around and ask for a six digit salary. WTF???? These are the people who are bring down the industry (espcially in the games industry). This industry has given a lot of artists the impression that being okay at drawing(even sucking)=100k+ salary. They drop the salary range for all of us.

All in all, good artists are still rare. Don't be too scared. If you work hard, present excellent work, the jobs and money will follow.

-feng

Since i'm going on and on (it's friday...can't help it), i wanna share something else. When the gaming world first bloomed, around the early 90s, the level of art wasn't that impressive (largly due to low technology). So anyone who understood 3d studio could find a job w/ a high pay. But look at games today, the technology is insane. Artists can *almost* do anything they want. So now companies need a lot of true artists to make their games look good. Those who are bad are gonna get weeded out....it's a good thing for all of us here =)

[Vortx]

Yes, there are a lot of artists out there, but how many of them are really good? The percentage of professional level artists is still very small. We get new demo reels every week from so called "3d artists," but almost 99.9 percent of them are very bad.

Having a lot of 3D programs out there has nothing to do w/ making good artists. A 3D program is not gonna teach you lighting, composition, value, colors, balance, movement, etc. A lot of people think 3D can solve all their problems. No! When we hire artists here, we ALWAYS look at their 2D skills. Those who show a strong background in 2D are usually good at 3D. The computer is just another tool. There are of course exceptions, but those are rare (and these artists tend to be only modelers).

Anyways, back to my point. I get very fustrated sometimes reguarding this issue. From time to time, we'll have an artist interview. They show very bad work, and then turn around and ask for a six digit salary. WTF???? These are the people who are bring down the industry (espcially in the games industry). This industry has given a lot of artists the impression that being okay at drawing(even sucking)=100k+ salary. They drop the salary range for all of us.

All in all, good artists are still rare. Don't be too scared. If you work hard, present excellent work, the jobs and money will follow.

-feng

Since i'm going on and on (it's friday...can't help it), i wanna share something else. When the gaming world first bloomed, around the early 90s, the level of art wasn't that impressive (largly due to low technology). So anyone who understood 3d studio could find a job w/ a high pay. But look at games today, the technology is insane. Artists can *almost* do anything they want. So now companies need a lot of true artists to make their games look good. Those who are bad are gonna get weeded out....it's a good thing for all of us here =)

[Mergatroid]

The problem is that the schools aren't doing their jobs, ie. weeding out those who don't have what it takes to make it out in the industry. When I was in school we had this 4th term review that was supposed to take care of that but it turned out to be a total joke. People who were bad weren't told to think about another career but just the opposite. Department chairs would just tell them to work alittle harder but that was about it.

Now that I'm on the teaching end, I'd like to tell some of the students coming through to rethink their future but the administration frowns on that. They tell me its my job to teach them and not to be a guidence counselor. So I wouldn't woory too much about the quantity but the quality and ultimately just about the work that your doing.


Late,


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Mergatroid