Career vs Art

I have a weekly 1-on-1 with an Art Director in the Game Studios at Microsoft. Aside from being a really nice guy, he's also really talented, and has used that talent to get himself quite far in the art industry. I won't bore you with the list of games he's been involved with, but chances are that if you've been near a PC or Xbox in the last 5 years, you've probably at least heard of the titles he's worked on. He's currently working nights at a well known school, creating a videogame art program for them.

Each Friday we sit down for an hour, and I show him what I've been working on. He then offers advice and focuses my attention in the right direction, be it in regards to the art itself, or my career goals.

Overall it's a very rewarding experience, and one that I appreciate very much.

Today we were talking about some of the interviews he's been doing lately. I make no bones about the fact that I know my art skills aren't to a level where I could land a job in the art department of Microsoft Games Studios, so my mentor doesn't hold back in talking about the people that he does interview. The candidate he talked with today had a portfolio showing the skills he has in touching up photos, such as making a pregnant model appear as though she isn't, or touching up facial blemishes. My mentor was saying that the work looked good, but he didn't really see him fitting into games with his skills. The candidate then produced a small spiral bound book, wrapped in a rubberband. Inside were mixed media pieces he created using paint, pencils, cardboard, bits of paper, and anything else he could find.

Taking one look at this spiral book, my mentor was blown away and said, "You shouldn't be working for Microsoft. You are an amazing traditional artist. Why don't you do this for a living?"

The candidate thought for a moment and replied, "I love it too much."

That's quite a statement when you really think about it... to love and care for something that you've created so much that you wouldn't want to do it for a living.

I've devoted myself to becoming a 3D artist, but frankly the comment scared the crap out of me. Each night when I get home, I have a nibble of food, pet my dogs, and then hop in front of my PC or drawing pad and begin creating artwork. While I have an amazing job, there are days when I'm literally counting the minutes to get out of there so that I can get home to my art and get lost in creating it.

So what happens if five years from now, I find myself in the 3D industry, and I'm in some sort of crunch mode, struggling to kick out one final animation, and I realize that I'm not happy? What then?

I've always thought that, if you want to succeed in your career, you should find the one thing you truly enjoy doing and do it for a living. As I've said in the past, I enjoy creating artwork and entertaining people. 3D animation would provide me with ability to do both of things, and that is why I've chosen to pursue a career in it. But what if the grind of being forced to create things paints me into a corner to the point where I can't stand creating art any longer?

I drew a moderately successful comic strip for a while, and at first I loved it. However towards the end of the comic strip's life, I dreaded it. Even though I was creating artwork and entertaining an audience, I totally burnt myself out at it to the point where I just stopped.

Could the same thing happen to me with 3D artwork?

It's tough to say for sure, and I'll never know unless I try. Sure there is a risk that I'll wind up hating the very thing that I'm now so overly motivated to become, but as far as I'm concerned, this candidate made a decision just as risky as that one. What if he got into a career as a mixed media artist and loved every second of it? What if he woke up each day and couldn't wait to get to work, because he knew that he was supporting his family while at the same time creating rewarding pieces of work that he knew others would enjoy?

So to anyone out there in a similar situation to me, take a moment to stop and think about the ramifications of what could happen if you wind up getting exactly what you're wishing for, and then make the decision for yourself.

As for me? I can't see myself doing anything but art for a living.

I love it too much.