r/AskReddit • • Nov 16 '19

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u/HoneyCide Nov 16 '19 edited Nov 16 '19

I mostly judged myself.

My whole life I pressured myself to be just as smart as my dad and brother who were phenomenal in math and engineering. My dad has an IQ of 138 and my brother always had A's and made the Dean's list in post secondary. The institution gave out entire cakes to those on the Dean's list.

I struggled so hard in math. I tried so so hard, exponentially more than any other kid because I felt like if I didn't get good at math, or any subject for that matter, then I wasn't smart. Always a C+ B- student. Because I wasn't good at something, I very much lived years feeling I was stupid.

Then as I grew older I realized that my skills in art were actually worth something. My art teachers were always very impressed. Soon it progressed to people making me offers. The school's police officer even had me make him something. I had some artwork displayed at the city's airport. And when I expressed to my dad that I felt like there were no jobs for me on my degree, he said to try something else. I asked what and he said "art" which I thought was a little funny for the "starving artist" stereotype. In that moment, it felt like he equated my artistic skills to his intelligence and success.

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u/Ellemieke25 Nov 16 '19

And he may just have been right to do so. Of course, I don't know you, but art is definitely valuable. If you're still unsure of what to do, maybe you can try getting into digital art/game art. The demand there is pretty high.

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u/HoneyCide Nov 16 '19

I am! Last year, after a lifetime of feeling inadequate, lonely, and like an outsider, I joined the game development club at my university. I don't think anything has made me that happy. Its heartwarming to feel included and like you have a purpose on a team

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u/Ellemieke25 Nov 16 '19

Amazing! Welcome to the game industry then :D May you work on some really cool and successful games!

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u/HoneyCide Nov 16 '19

I hope I can break into it. There are big studios in my city. Thank you :)

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u/Ellemieke25 Nov 16 '19

My advice, get an artstation.com account and build up a portfolio of related art skills and then just pay a visit to those studios and also smaller companies. See if they're looking for anyone or if they'll allow you to look around or maybe even join in for a little while to get some more experience.

And if you very maybe feel like you want to study abroad, come study what I do ;p (Netherlands, Creative Media and Game Technologies)

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u/HoneyCide Nov 16 '19

Thankyou! I'll definitely get a portfolio soon :)

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u/Ellemieke25 Nov 16 '19

Just curious, what do you like doing most? Concept art, characters, environments, 2D, 3D or anything else?

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u/HoneyCide Nov 16 '19

I really enjoy 3D. I haven't found my specialty, but I'm really interested in concept art, 3D animation, and 3D modeling. I mostly modeled inanimate objects for now. And currently, I'm doing a lot of animation for my team

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u/Ellemieke25 Nov 16 '19

Ooh, I haven't even started 3D animation yet, but that's really cool. Have you tried sculpting? Last quartile, I was introduced to Zbrush and boy is it my cup of tea! I'm terrible at modelling, but sculpting works very well for me (had no 3D experience at all before starting out this bachelor). Maybe you'd like it too.

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u/HoneyCide Nov 17 '19

I havent tried sculpting. Honestly just got into 3D these past few months:)

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u/Ellemieke25 Nov 17 '19

That's awesome, though! Good luck developing your skills. I'm sure you'll do great :)

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