Interview, for a project I have at school

# 1 29-03-2006 , 12:33 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2005

Location: Fairfield, CT

Posts: 2,436

Hey peeps, so I am assigned a project on a potential career choice, and one of the things I have 2 do is an interview, and , apart from u peeps, I dont know any other guys/girls that use 3d and Maya as a profession!

So, anyone that works in this field please feel free to answer these questions:

1) Why did u want to do this job? What was the motivation?

2) Was it difficult getting a job at first?

3) How much education (college, specialty 3d postgrad stuff) did you have, and how did it affect your getting the job?

4) What kind of environment do u work in?

5) Do you consider your job "rewarding"?

6) Do you ever have to work long hours to make up for lost time?

7) How do you consider the pay that you get? Bad, Good, Average??

Thanks so much in advance for taking the time to answer this, you don't know how much this helps me!

Cheers guys! user added image

Matt

Live the life you love, love the life you live

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# 2 29-03-2006 , 01:11 AM

The Maya Mountain
Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Seattle, WA

Posts: 8,245

1) Why did u want to do this job? What was the motivation?

When I was a kid, I was all into games, comics, and movies, and I knew I wanted to do something in one of those fields as my career. I never got good enough at drawing to work in comics, so I started going full swing into CG. I considered movie work, but from what I read and saw about the industry, you are given a shot to do for a film and then you work on that shot for weeks on end. I personally like a bit more variety, so I decided eventually to get into games.

It is creative, has a lot of variety, you face interesting challenges on a daily basis... lots of job satisfaction, good pay, work with interesting people. It's a good job!

2) Was it difficult getting a job at first?

Yeah, it was. It took me a while to really get good enough for a job, even after going to school. I probably applied to a couple hundred jobs around the country for a year or two before I finally got one.

3) How much education (college, specialty 3d postgrad stuff) did you have, and how did it affect your getting the job?

I have an AA degree. It didn't (and doesn't) have any affect on me getting a job whatsoever. It was all a matter of how good the portfolio was. Now that I've been in the industry for a while and recently switched jobs to a new studio, experience has become valueable for placement as well, but without any experience, portfolio quality is the only real requirement for getting a job.

Not to say schooling wasn't valueable to me. If I didn't go to art school, I wouldn't have learned the applications I use for my career.

4) What kind of environment do u work in?

It's a very open environment, with few offices and lots of desks just shoved up together in a large room. We're also interspersed amongst artists and programmers as opposed to be segregated to our own little departments.

5) Do you consider your job "rewarding"?

As I mentioned, it's very creative and I get to do a wide variety of work, and am never too bored. The people I have worked with, for the majority, have all be great as well, so I'd definitely say its' a rewarding job.

6) Do you ever have to work long hours to make up for lost time?

I do have to occasionally work long hours, but it's not to make up for lost time. It's usually just because of whatever circumstances leading up to a deadline, I've got to work longer to get the job done on time and with good quality.

7) How do you consider the pay that you get? Bad, Good, Average??

For a single guy with no family, I'd consider it very good.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 3 29-03-2006 , 11:19 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2005

Location: Fairfield, CT

Posts: 2,436

Thanks so much Mike! user added image

:attn:

Live the life you love, love the life you live

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# 4 14-04-2006 , 09:03 AM

Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: UK

Posts: 6,287

well seeing as though Mike has answered already I thought I'd give you a different account anyway.

1) Why did u want to do this job? What was the motivation?

My Dad worked in the film industry and in particular the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies and being of that era it was like nothing before it and as a kid it was like 'wow, I wanna do that someday'. So I had the bug of VFX built little plasticine models and animated them with a Super 8 camera and Ive always had a passion for art so its an extension of that I suppose.

2) Was it difficult getting a job at first?

Well, its one of those being in the right place at the right time stories with myself. I worked at a photographic place for a few years and would draw caricatures of the staff there. Luckily the MD saw my stuff, told me about Photoshop (v3) and Apple Macs at the time and basically asked me to do the work from there. But after 3 years I found 3d...

3) How much education (college, specialty 3d postgrad stuff) did you have, and how did it affect your getting the job?

Well once I found 3d I realised there was a lot involved so I practiced as much as possible at work during lunch hours and finally I enrolled at a local college in 1998 to do a certified course in Max. But from school I didnt really have anything specific grade wise but my artwork, other grades were just standard. Saying this its important to get as much under your belt as possible these days, I probably one of the very lucky few who hasnt a great academic list

4) What kind of environment do u work in?

Aahh its kind of nuts/relaxed but hardworking and very friendly, it has its days as do all jobs where theres always somebody grinding on your case, but generally its fun.

5) Do you consider your job "rewarding"?

It is, because Im responsible for alot of things, ie; storyboards characters etc, very creative stuff, but again there are days where you see really fantastic work by others and you want to go and do what they're doing. I suppose thats inspiration...

6) Do you ever have to work long hours to make up for lost time?

My first 3d job I did an average of 14 hours a day (no joke) and I did that for 4 years!! Thats not including travel. The upside was I got to learn Maya, the downside was I missed a lot of family time.
But now its all payed off quite well and Im working a good 8 hr day and I get family time too. I still do the odd extra hour here and there but Im liucky I enjoy my work to be able to take it home and do it there when need be.

7) How do you consider the pay that you get? Bad, Good, Average??

Good. You reap what you sew in my opinion, what you put in - you get out...In this industry there arent any shortcuts to a good wage.

Cheers
Jay

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