09-11-2015, 10:37 AM
I think this is more about finding your interest than working to strengths though they do tend to overlap.
You are in the earlyish phases of serious self-teaching. Early on in the game you mostly get told or learn to focus on developing all fundamentals in a regimented way, until you have raised all your fundamentals to a certain skill point. It is easy to feel like you are doing nothing but working on weaknesses and it can be hard.
When I was about a year and a half into self-teaching, I was told that I had to be a good generalist to get jobs. In fact, most of the pros I talked to told me this. They do have a point, you have to be able to handle much of the range of stuff that you might get asked by clients to do at some point.
So I heard what they were saying, but I also saw very clear evidence out there that people were focusing on what they enjoyed and were getting work. So I deliberately ignored their advice and decided to focus on what I enjoyed more, which was environments. It totally worked out for me!
Here's a funny thing: So people also told me, learn characters because everybody needs characters. That might be true, but what I have found is that there is one environment specialist for every 50 character designers. The market for environment specific designers is much better because there are so many fewer people that focus on it. So again, listening to often repeated job market cliches doesn't always pay off. Focus on what you love.
I tend to only get environment gigs at the moment, just as I like it. I might get bored of it at some point and then move to figurative stuff because I also really love the human form. I'm definitely less interested in vehicles/mechs etc, but I have definitely given them a go in order to figure that out.
Tastes can also change with time. I'm not so tied to this idea of what I do now, that I restrict myself from being open to doing something else in the future. Hell, I don't even have to be an illustrator for all eternity. I can see myself doing it for a while, but I have many many other interests that I also want to/am starting to explore, like writing, comics, making animation/games, teaching, making miniatures.
I mean we are all SO spoiled for the amazing things we could choose to do in this age, that I feel people understandably get too stressed about having to choose ONE thing as if it is the be all and end all of everything.
Actually all you have to do is choose ONE thing to focus on for right NOW, then change that up when it seems like it is time. You should totally work on your creatures, btw that shark painting was dope. Some issues but it clearly came through that you loved it!
You are in the earlyish phases of serious self-teaching. Early on in the game you mostly get told or learn to focus on developing all fundamentals in a regimented way, until you have raised all your fundamentals to a certain skill point. It is easy to feel like you are doing nothing but working on weaknesses and it can be hard.
When I was about a year and a half into self-teaching, I was told that I had to be a good generalist to get jobs. In fact, most of the pros I talked to told me this. They do have a point, you have to be able to handle much of the range of stuff that you might get asked by clients to do at some point.
So I heard what they were saying, but I also saw very clear evidence out there that people were focusing on what they enjoyed and were getting work. So I deliberately ignored their advice and decided to focus on what I enjoyed more, which was environments. It totally worked out for me!
Here's a funny thing: So people also told me, learn characters because everybody needs characters. That might be true, but what I have found is that there is one environment specialist for every 50 character designers. The market for environment specific designers is much better because there are so many fewer people that focus on it. So again, listening to often repeated job market cliches doesn't always pay off. Focus on what you love.
I tend to only get environment gigs at the moment, just as I like it. I might get bored of it at some point and then move to figurative stuff because I also really love the human form. I'm definitely less interested in vehicles/mechs etc, but I have definitely given them a go in order to figure that out.
Tastes can also change with time. I'm not so tied to this idea of what I do now, that I restrict myself from being open to doing something else in the future. Hell, I don't even have to be an illustrator for all eternity. I can see myself doing it for a while, but I have many many other interests that I also want to/am starting to explore, like writing, comics, making animation/games, teaching, making miniatures.
I mean we are all SO spoiled for the amazing things we could choose to do in this age, that I feel people understandably get too stressed about having to choose ONE thing as if it is the be all and end all of everything.
Actually all you have to do is choose ONE thing to focus on for right NOW, then change that up when it seems like it is time. You should totally work on your creatures, btw that shark painting was dope. Some issues but it clearly came through that you loved it!