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small job suggestion

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#1

First of all who the hell am I?
To begin with I am not someone who can directly hire you.
I am not someone who has a scintilla of the talent that most
of you have.
I am a hobbyist and do this for fun. I am not doing it for money.
I have made a little by doing it, mostly by accident.
What I am is someone who on occasion, talks to people in advertising,graphic agencies, etc. I also have an enthusiam for this program and the people who use it.
Time after countless time, I have sat in an office of someone, at their computers, extolling the images and artists I see here daily.On nearly all those occasions I have been greeted with basically the same kind of response, “not for us”. But why, I ask? You can see that this is an exceptional piece of work!!!
They respond yes, but we don’t need:

  1. Orcs
  2. Vampires
  3. Ninety year old men and wrinkles ( no matter how well the alpha was used)4. Monsters.
  4. Just heads
    I have a bit of disappointing news for some. They made Lord of the Rings. They were exceptional movies. I have seen and marvelled at them a few times each.
    Unfortuately they are not going to remake them again for awhile.
    So that the Gollum, you spent all that time on, all that effort to make the eyes look reflective.He ain’t going anywhere but your disc and a thumbnail here.
    Movies are perhaps the glamour jobs of the industry, we are seeing more and more demo reels daily. The schools all over the world are turning out hundreds of talented people every year.
    They are talented. They are hungry.And when I say all over the world I mean that.
    This is one of the few industries that artists in France, California, Hungary and Bayonne, New Jersey are in competition with each other.
    Because there are so many talented people and so little work, it seems logical to address your work to the possible needs of the employer.
    An advertising agency looking to make a commercial about soap is not going
    to hire an artist who’s main piece is a bleeding head.
    A graphics house making a documentary for the History Channel does
    not care about Brad Pitts’ head. Can you do tombs, houses, backgrounds?
    What I am suggesting is a small thing based on observations.

Make the ghouls, monsters, freaks, but throw in a pastoral setting. Maybe a cute little bunny rabbit who has not been decapitated yet.
A little diversification is good. They don’t make that many horror movies anymore.There are countless jobs at smaller houses looking for someone who
can make something other than a head. You may not rub shoulders with George Lucas, but you will eat and pay the rent.
At a recent Maya exhibit, one of the demonstrating artists ( sorry sir, forgot your name)was given a job with Dream Works based on a squirrel he made and inserted in the last few seconds of the reel.
His movie is scheduled to be released this summer ( look under the hedge)
The basic bottom line is that you are selling a product, your demo reel and cd images are a reflection of that product. You should aim the product at the
customer.
Orcs don’t sell toilet paper.( actual quote by a guy that hires)

Truly, best of luck!!!
A final note, usually when I am sitting at some guys computer feeling embarassed about “ghoul row”. I do a search for an artist here named
Marcel. He is a French artist who works at his craft. Although I do not know
him, I point to his work as examples of what can be done by you and the program. They generallly get excited and say “who else is there?”…
…

#2

Isn’t this the Toilet Paper selling Orc on his way to work?

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=024949

:DLemo

#3

Only to other orcs.!!
Humans count the sheets per roll.
They also look for “incredibly soft”
Kinda makes you wonder what kind of lifestyles
they have?

edit many thanks for including the link.
In the future it will be less embarassing.

“…he’s here, …I’ll find it,… give me a minute,… talented
guy,… uses zbrush in his work, let’s see…”

#4

thnx for the heads up…pardon the pun…

six years wasted doing heads for the sake of doing them…

I will personally try to do different. Dunno that it will be a roll of tp though…

Definitely going to take some brain power to come up with something with a new angle and a new twist…

Seriously Bicc, thnx…was time for a new direction anyways…

Ron
[email protected]

#5

Mr. Harris, sir,please do not misunderstand me or this wordy thread.
I, as you, are a hobbyist. What I do here and in other programs is
to learn, to get better, and to enjoy. If someone does not like what
I do, sorry, tough ****.
I am sure you have had works that you labored on in the main room
only to slip to the bottom without a soul looking or commenting.
If it ain’t fun, someone is one hell of a masochist.
To the few people that know about this, they prefer what I write
under the posts to what I make in the post.
The direction of this was to the people with the burning on the insides to
do this for a living. The guy that works at another job for about 8 hours a day,eats peanut butter sandwiches, saves the money to buy Maya, and then goes blind in the evening for about 4 hours trying to make a model.
They are looking for work. Frequently they are students who have spent enormous time and money learning a program(s) and are desperate to find work. They see themselves sitting in a room in sunny California chatting
with Arnold about Terminator 9. The reality is 6 to 8 guys sitting in a small
room for about eighty hours a week trying to color M&M’s ( truth)
In an effort to accomplish this, they see what the other kids are doing.
In this forun the other kids are making monsters.
I believe sometimes they forget that when they post an image here
they are advertising. They are advertisiing their work and sometimes a lot
more. Their creativity, their imagination, even their ability to work with others
is all here, hanging out in the wind.
So, if for instance, an agency or production team was looking for someone, what they see here is a form of resume.
If I am making a documentary for the Discovery Channell about Ancient Egypt, heads are important. But more important are the buildings, background, tools, dress, headgear, atmosphere,lighting, perspective.
Knowledge of these things are just as, if not more important than a head alone. Please don’t forget that in a work environment, on a crunch, Poser
ain’t a bad deal. Which leave the guy that spent 10 hours making a head
out in the cold.
Hobbyists, I believe kind of corrupt those looking for work.
Hobbyists post what they dam well please, job seekers think this is
what they are supposed to be doing.
It isn’t.

#6

Mr. Harris, sir,please do not misunderstand me or this wordy thread.
I, as you, are a hobbyist. What I do here and in other programs is
to learn, to get better, and to enjoy. If someone does not like what
I do, sorry, tough ****.
I am sure you have had works that you labored on in the main room
only to slip to the bottom without a soul looking or commenting.

Bicc, you are always very respectful in your words and I sincerely appreciate that…At home here, when I here Mr. Harris, I am normally in trouble:D

I have current works as you describe…but I am growing accustomed to that though…tough skin and a thick skull save me though.

If it ain’t fun, someone is one hell of a masochist.

Agreed…

To the few people that know about this, they prefer what I write
under the posts to what I make in the post.

I know the feeling…and am sometimes dubious of my own words as well as my creations…but I am usally compelled to add my 2 cents in for whatever reason…lol…

The direction of this was to the people with the burning on the insides to
do this for a living.

Though I have a commercial art background with a prior family business in my youth…I am now a hobbyist aspiring to be more…with lots of time on my hands…

.
In this forun the other kids are making monsters.
I believe sometimes they forget that when they post an image here
they are advertising.

I think that is true more now than ever before, due to the fact that a lot of the professionals in the field have revealed themselves and also with the growing popularity of Zbrush. It does seem to me that alot show up here on the forum like an aspiring actor going to Hollywood, and standing on a street corner hoping to be discovered. Kindof a crap-shoot, but I guess the odds are better on this forum.

They are advertisiing their work and sometimes a lot
more. Their creativity, their imagination, even their ability to work with others
is all here, hanging out in the wind.
So, if for instance, an agency or production team was looking for someone, what they see here is a form of resume.
If I am making a documentary for the Discovery Channell about Ancient Egypt, heads are important. But more important are the buildings, background, tools, dress, headgear, atmosphere,lighting, perspective.
Knowledge of these things are just as, if not more important than a head alone. Please don’t forget that in a work environment, on a crunch, Poser
ain’t a bad deal. Which leave the guy that spent 10 hours making a head
out in the cold.

agreed

Hobbyists, I believe kind of corrupt those looking for work.
Hobbyists post what they dam well please, job seekers think this is
what they are supposed to be doing.
It isn’t.

Most excellant points.

Again, Bicc, thank you for this thought provoking thread. Very interesting, at least to myself. It is also motivating me to take a personal inventory of what I have done, need to do etc, to further my self training in trying to go from the hobbyist to something more substantial.

Ron
[email protected]

#7

Yes and no.

Yes if you’re looking for work doing this sort of thing it’s good to produce things that the people with the $$ are interested in.

However, that’s not what feeds your soul. If you’re burning to make a living at something like this, and if doing this sort of thing is what you love, then you’ll burn out quickly if you don’t feed your soul as well.

#8

However, that’s not what feeds your soul. If you’re burning to make a living at something like this, and if doing this sort of thing is what you love, then you’ll burn out quickly if you don’t feed your soul as well

totally agree with one small suggestion.
Where does it say you cannot feed your soul and “your body”
at the same time.
If you are looking for a job, and this is one of the places you hand
out your resume, what harm in directing a work or two toward the
commercial aspects.

Twice, I have stopped myself from using the following cliche but
here goes. Today more than ever before, “big brother is watching”

Give him something to look at.

#9

An excellent post bicc39
Your post should be taken to heart by all those aspiring modelers who dream of
“sitting with Arnold and discussing their input to Terminator IV”
I agree with you completely as I have a lot of personal/professional experience (22 years)
I have found, (as have many others) that if you are serious about
any career, if you have the passion to forge on to your goals, you will find more
success with a gradual approach. Never give up your ambition to be the next
most sought after modeler, but don’t sit in your apartment waiting for someone
like Arnold to call you begging for your talent.
Take what skills you have an offer them in whole or in part. If you can only
get a short contract retouching the foot of a character in a commercial that fails
miserably…do it. If you can model a soap dish that will only be used to mask
the reflections of a real dish…do it.
The experience you will acquire working with an agency, film crew, or post production house
will be invaluable. Make contacts, get your name out there no
matter how small or in what context that may be.
“Oh yeah, remember that guy that did the soap dish for us? That was great, I
wonder if he can do a Cadillac?”
That is more often than not the way it works.
Before you know it you will have real world experience with all the people that
need your talent, and the work just keeps getting bigger and better.
I have seen some outstanding talent on this site. The ability to light a head
is just as required a talent as the ability to sculpt one. Don’t hold out for only
those jobs that want you to sculpt, take any that are related to what you want
to do. While your lighting the model that someone else sculpted, you are
in the right place to show them your models.
The first modeling job I got was modeling a screwdriver. A far cry from the
kind of work I had dreamed of doing. But the client realized I could put that
screwdriver in any situation and shoot it in ways traditional photography would
have cost thousands to reproduce. My screw driver shots found their way into
a national ad campain. It was certainly no claim to fame, but there was seldom
a client I spoke to afterwards that hadn’t seen my work.
I could tell of a hundred similar stories experienced by so many people
I’ve worked with over the years. I’m sure many here have done the same.
So start small, start any way you can, but most importantly… start.

Again, great post bicc39.
If only one young artists takes your advice, you’ll have done more
than most of us could hope to in helping them realize their dream.

#10

CC Many, many, thanks.
What I wrote was wordy crap.
What you offered was sound, professional advice, that should
be taken to heart.
You wrote what I was trying to.
I am glad I sent this in just to get your response somewhere.
Once again, I thank you, and hopefully, one day, others will.

Hate to say this, but you can always tell when the “older kids”
like us, drop by.

#11

Thank you to everyone who has posted on this thread, the advice is very much appreciated. I am about to graduate in about a month, and then I will be seeking professional work. owever, because of the nature of my project this year, it will take me about 2 - 3 months to put together a new portfolio in order to gain work in any environment. The advice you have all offered will hopefully help me decide exactly what to make for my showreel.

Cheers

LD