should You Go To College for 3D Animation?

In this video I will be giving my opinion on the hot topic of going to college!

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[markmui]

44yo, freelanced my entire life. What Ducky says here is 100% true, for these 2 two groups of ppl. I did a hybrid. Spent 2 yrs in Uni studying Psy. and Eco. Left my degree program half way in and went to design college. I applied "how to learn" from Uni to "what I learned" in college. I was memorizing 1 textbook every 2 months: photoshop, 3d animation, print, programming, web, etc, you name it, doing YT tutorials everyday all day long, all while doing college. By the time I graduated college, I had so much experience and work under my belt, my college hired me for projects. I knew business already so I started marketing myself and have been freelancing ever since. It was F’ing tough in the early years, but worth it if you can handle it. Ducky is spot on, if you want to be a freelancer: “Discipline”, never spot learning. The moment you stop learning is when the world will pass you by.

[thefruitofaliens]

I didn't go to college for 3D, but most of the other animators I work with did, and I will say that most of them have a noticeably more solid foundation than I do. Additionally, most of them were able to break into animation professionally sooner than I was.

That being said, I do work with them now and I'm self taught.

[whitlermountain]

I'll answer my version before watching:

No, it's mostly for building connections. You're better off following online courses, honing your skills by doing so, taking part in projects that you can do by yourself (or with friends or other artists), and making a portfolio of things you've done.

[honcrf]

This is great perspective. My experience working at bigger companies like Sony Imageworks and Sony PlayStation (in a position to hire artist), I’ve noticed a great reel will always outshine a degree 10/10 times. This obviously doesn’t apply to more technical roles like TD’s, programmers and engineers.

The mindset of someone who wants to work for themselves also has the mindset/discipline to teach themselves, so college makes less sense.

I also agree with the importance of social skills. People want to work with people they enjoy, and if two people are equally qualified but one person is awkward and the other is friendly and nice, well you now who’s getting the job.

[tiredguy]

I think the question one should ask is “do I believe I can get my portfolio to a hireable level on my own or do I need school in order to get to that level ?” Some folks may be able to create that killer portfolio largely through self learning and some may need the more hands on classroom approach- I don’t think either way is wrong.

Just remember for the 3rd artist jobs (heck for really any creative job) not only are you competing against all the people going to school for 3d art, game art etc… you are also competing against all the hobbyist as well- so your portfolio has to be better than all those other people.

[ezxvenom]

Its 17th April 2023, I'm from India (soon going to Canada, Calgary) and I'm 18 now, I started using Blender in December 2022 just for fun but after 1 month of using it, I started to feel like that i wanna make something out of it, i saw my renders that actually impressed me as well as my school teachers. My heart says that i will make my life better if I become a 3d artist and for that purpose i wanna know if I should go to a college and get a job or just start deep learning through online free or paid courses. My parents are not so supportive, they want me to do a job and i will never blame them for that i just wanna know if i will be able to make enough money to live a dream life and make my parents to feel proud and satisfied. Thanks. :)

[Bans]

Thanks for the advice. Thats a lot meaningful for me. But, without college in 3D, I've finishing a lot big project in my country and I've 3 years experience as a 3D with real job.

[ryanrivas]

Or, do all of it! Go to college and work for a company (doesn't have to be so large scale like Marvel or Disney) and also dedicate time to learning these programs and developing your work and have your own clients. There are plenty of companies that are headed in the direction of improving their ads and social media content with motion graphics and 3D work. You can work for a company and open up your own business and have your own clients. Obviously, you will have to weigh number of clientele when working for a company but it is possible to do both!

[eastenwest]

I really liked your options A) work for self B) work for company. my answer. I want to work for myself. What about getting involved in the community? There's not too many art events nearby. Does it really just come down to digital networking?

[Chhexxy]

What i think is in 3D line your Certificates don't matter that much what matter is your Skills if you have amazing skills anybody is gonna hire you and paid you as much as you deserve.

[DaellusKnights]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter. It's something that's been on my mind for a long time now. I'm well aware that I need to work on my discipline side of the equation (I have a tendency to "dabble" intermittently). I'm doing my best to lesrn on my own, but I'm presently limited by my hardware, which is something I'm working on. I've finally reached a point where I'm somewhat financially stable with a job I don't hate 😁 But I do want to go back to school (even though I'm 46 😱) Online schools like Fullsail and others have degree courses that fit my future goals, so that's an option including other schools that have come on the scene lately. But more I find I'm learning much through channels like yours, default cube, polyfjord, etc. In the end, I'll probably still go with Fullsail or something, because I wouldn't mind working for a game developer or animation studio, but I also wouldn't mind having a side hustle that let's me just enjoy what I do. I'm rambling, but that's my thoughts. Thank you again for your input. I love the knowledge you share! 😻👍

[mkt._]

I will say, one thing to consider about the benefits of college/uni regards them giving you industry related info that you wouldn't have known to ask about - it really depends where you go and the quality of the teaching. And Im not saying you should only go to top rated Uni's - because even then if you have a crap set of tutors or bad module structure you will suffer from it - just that you need to be able to identify when you're NOT being given this info. If it seems too streamlined it IS. Push for info and be prepared to fill in the gaps with resources on Youtube etc. Somehow despite supposedly being the best uni for graphic design in the country we were not taught anything about the basics or fundementals at all, a lot of the work relied on sticking to what you already could do and doing it again rather than preparing you for the future, while also being wildly disorganised to the point of us not having time left to spend on additional learning. It can be important to get that bit of paper at the end, but be aware that you could end up with gaps in knowledge left at the end that need filling in.

[SCUMMY]

This goes for most things:
Unless the job toy want requires a degree, just go online and learn it from someone who has that degree.

They'll answer most if not all the question tou may or may not have. You'll save money doing it this way. You also don't have to take extra classes to meet a college curriculum.

Finally, you won't *technically* be as qualified, BUT you'll have the skills you need to follow your dreams.

[mauricioventura]

My wife and I left the USA for this very reason and she got her masters here and is now working for a company that allows so much flexibility and work life balance.

I’m heading back to school myself for Digital Media cuz I need a more structure learning approach. I get to focus on courses based on my interests for a fraction of the cost. Best part, I’m another year, I’m be a resident and tuition will be cut in half making getting another masters even cheaper. ❤

[koketsok]

Here is my input, I see it less a s a "choice", but more damage control so let me list what going to colleg has done for me
#1 I originally signd up to do game dev, I wanted to go indie dev...F**** that after a year of trying, failing,pushing myself, extra classes I realized 2 things #1 even if I got better I did not like how long it took(remember this) and #2 I was honestly more outcome driven rather than process driven which meant even if I got good I probably would not have liked making games.I had to stick to the program for a solid year and I bombed.but their was a silver lining the fact that I commited meant I had an answer if I wanted to pursue that, its easy to do a tutorial and think"I could go pro at this"but when results are needed you panic.So after giving it my best at that time I knew game dev was not for me(take a workshop if you are unsure)
#2 after realizing game dev was not for me I went on with motion design/3d generalist program...I sucked at 3d, like really bad I had to repeat a year bad, but I got better.The thing is I struggled with motivation, so looming deadline always encouraged me to improve my work and as I was result driven with quicker turnaround time I kept making more and more stuff and at some point my standard had risen well above what I thought I could.
#3 finding my career in Motion design, beacuase I was doing 3D I was signed up for Motion design I was doing it for 2 years and still had no real idea what it was, when I was going to quit it I was told your college bill will be the same regardless so I decided to just finish it...By god did I fall in love after that one more chance, turns out after combining the skills from game dev+3D and my new found motivation to learn I learn I actually want to make motion graphics as it had the best of both worlds, quick turnaround time, complex systems to implement and I could explore multiple solutions and do many projects.


so whats the tldr:
I think going to college if you want to explore is a good thing(I recommend taking a workshop to see if its for you).it allows you to find aspirations/careers you may not have known about
-the deadlines work well for people who are not driven to develp a workflow
*the most valuable thing college can offer is pacing, its easy to get discouraged learning a new skill when you are surrounded by people more talented, but in college even if said people are more skilled you can ask them, you have a reasonable goal to reach as many of your peers are also starting from zero, plus you are encouraged to bring your failures so they can be critiqued.
-go if you want this a career(but know you most likely will change in college/after leaving)
-fore me college helped me see what jobs I didnt want to do through constant work(I have not picked up unity in years), and leaned to jobs I didn't even know existed(motion design)


Dont go if:
-you already have portfolio ready skills(lots of people start college at a level zero if you have more skills and believe they are pretty sharp you will benefit from feedback, but not by much, at that point sign up for a 3-6 month certificate program, refine your reel and lead with that refined portfolio
-you want an easy career( even landing a simple internship your portfolio needs to be above board)
-you cant afford it ( since late 2019 I have seen more options online for people to learn if you arent concerned about a degree shop around, some people even have dedicated patreon groups for self learners
*if you are in a mentally bad place, trust me taking a term off instead of lunging into a career is good for your long term financial and mental health
*if you dont like feedback, this is the one thing they really offer, feedback getting feedback from your lecturers/teachers and peers is the one thing they are their for, so ask as much as you can as the more you improve the better the feedback becomes.

anyways I feel like I have said enough, not sure anyone will read this much text but thats my side, good luck

[rondemkiw]

In the late Eighteenth Century they had these Art Academies, founded by Joshua Reynolds, and sponsored by King Georg III. They had fee paying students, but if a kid had a good portfolio, and got an endorsement from a famous artist, they could attend for free, and only had to pay for their own artistic materials. That is how William Blake got in. It seems society has gone backwards.

[TheDafyddDuck]

Almost 10 years self taught 😎 thinking about it if i wanna expand to work in other countries

[husnainanwaar]

college fees could be spent on a powerful computer and you learn from Google

[radioactiveag]

100% no. It is not a must. It does help for networking, socializing and big corporations(although this is not necessary if you are truly talented and innovative). The future of our industry is freelancers and self employed creators. I know a number people who work for 2 of the largest companies and a few do not have college degrees so do not buy in to the idea they look at people who skipped college as a liability.

[jei-el]

Perhaps I’m playing devils advocate but all those things you mention that need to be known, questions didn’t know to be asked. YouTube, Skillshare and Domestika pretty much can do that now. It might be just a matter of knowing what videos to view.