I plan to leave tech to pursue art(liamhz.com) |
I plan to leave tech to pursue art(liamhz.com) |
No, let me back up a bit. Go for it! Live your best life.
Signed, -About One Career Every Five Years
Best of luck
Instead of being dirt poor and trying something creative.
I know people always say "we should start splinter group X". But a gallery for hackers to show off serious art is always welcome. Like Postmasters in NYC!
Main changes I'd make to this article
- Agreed with others that I might be naive, but I'm 20 y/o and now's the right time to shoot for my dreams rather than settle
- I'm applying to animation school soon (Sheridan). I started coding when I was 12, I expect this career change to take a few years, and am in it for the long haul
- My worst case is I don't enjoy working in art, and go back to tech. I don't believe you can make a successful career change without going all-in
Happy to answer any questions :)
Made a little music video with some of my art if you'd like to take a peek
I learned to program in art classes at USC and UCLA. While you may go analog, it’s likely your tech & art skills will blend somewhere down the line.
Check out UCLA MFA Design Media Arts program [1]. Casey Reas [2] teaches there. He co-created Processing at MIT [3]. Arduino programs are called “sketches” because the Arduino IDE derives from Processing [4]. Art & tech always push each other forward :-)
[1]: https://design.ucla.edu/programs/mfa
[2]: https://arts.ucla.edu/single/casey-reas/#!
[3]: https://medium.com/processing-foundation/a-modern-prometheus...
[4]: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/connecting-arduino-to-p...
You can’t be blind to AI… it’s coming and you’d be foolish to ignore it. But, AI is like any other tool artists use. Great artists use new tools and methods to push their ideas & work forward. No one expects you to mix paint or make your own clay. Banksy isn’t making paint cans. No one cares about those skills because that’s not the cool part anymore. Stay focused on the cool part :-)
My only advice would be to research the available jobs, and if you can, visit a studio or two so that you are going into this with realistic expectations of the industry you are about to enter into. Keep sketching and good luck with your portfolio!
To be honest, I cannot say that make living by what is your hobby is good decision. It could easily became just work that needs to be done. Which is fine if you'll do it with passion. But especially in art it is huge difference between creativity for contract and creativity for expressing yourself. Those in second category are extremely lucky if able to make living.
Also you would probably not spend your free time by doing art.
Also, the point of art openings is not the art on the walls, but to rub shoulders with other people.
Apologies if any of this was overly pedantic--I wish you the very best in your new endeavors!
The only caveat: at 20 years old is not difficult at all to have a relation with potential to transform into a (happy) marriage. However women are, in general, smart enough not to marry someone that cannot provide a decent living for the potential children, and that tolerance for low income partners is decreasing with age. This is just an information to consider, not to discourage you.
> When I imagine the ideal version of myself a decade from now, I'm not a grizzled infra engineer or a founder who has raised millions of dollars.
You are 20. You have a long life ahead of you. Enjoy the exploration and I hope you continue to realize your self.
Meh. I've transitioned between several pretty different careers without ever going all-in on anything. But you do you.
The scene is exploding on the blockchain right now. Lots of demand for this work.
I smile because I left commercial art back in the 80's to become a software developer!
More power to Laim and I hope it works out well for him, but I have my doubts. Working as a full-time (especially on-staff) artist answerable to an Art Director sucks!! Artists are not respected, paid terribly and just generally considered disposable. At least that's how it was in my day.
Again, Liam, go for it, but keep your eyes open going into it! Some things are better left as hobbies (which I do not consider a dirty word)!
- Reminds me of a GitHub commentor saying they left tech to build furniture out of wood ("I no longer build software" [0]).
- AI art might eat your lunch, especially in the concept art world. The main guy on Twitter who put out the thread about Stable Diffusion was a concept artist [1], and I think concept artists, graphic designers and generally non-fine-art artists will be hit the hardest.
- The part about a more diverse player roster was interesting given that ATVI use a tool for it, although not for Overwatch apparently [2]. Some people were outraged online (on both sides of the political spectrum) but personally I don't see a problem with it. People may not necessarily remember the various axes on which others operate (race, class, gender, sexuality, etc), so there's nothing wrong with a tool that can help people analyze that and create characters for that. It reminds me of the outrage doctors first had over needing checklists for tasks, but they actually do work when studied. They're just tools, nothing more, nothing less.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24541964
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32461138
[2] https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-creators-explain-they-didn...
Worst industry ever by all the accounts I've heard. Part of the compensation package is that you are working in the gaming industry. Long hours, lousy pay, ill treatment. Go for the art mate but pursue a different industry.
You are only 20. You should not worry about your age at all.
Art school is ¼ about the skills and tricks you learn there, ¼ about being forced to put something in front of others who won't be wooed by fancy eye candy, ¼ about creating and finding a network of people and ¼ being exposed to other styles of art. Some of those things are influenced by the size and location of the art school, some of those are influenced by how much time you can spend with your collegues and at exhibitions or similar. Make sure to go to a school, where people are better than you. Going there just to learn the handywork is a waste of time. You should go there to learn the skills AND to create a network that can help you get jobs after. Feel free to take on work during your studies.
Also: The things that matter when doing great art are mostly about the brain. And the ability to see the right way takes time to develope. Make sure to do something daily. Maybe a daily comic strip, a daily drawing or whatever. Put it online so you are forced to never skip a day.
Once you get the technical aptitude it’s great to explore other cultures and methods and then your brain gets to express itself even more. Quite a lovely journey but also delayed gratification is built in and challenges a lot of people. Myself included…
I’m 30 years (and one exit) into my career in tech. Still thinking about being a rock star… or at least learning to play guitar well enough to share it with people.
I still struggle with the question of whether to follow passion or money. I recently had an exit as the CEO of an HR Tech company. I’d love to make a Sci-Fi game. My old co-founder and I have it partially spec’d out. We love it and there’s much joy in building something like that.
But games are like movies… the audience is fickle and you can easily make a good game that is a total financial (hobby) failure. Where as another HR Tech startup feels… not like a total layup exactly, but like making a dish that you’ve made several times before, a crowd favorite. You know how to do it. You feel good about pulling it off. It’s not super fun content but at least it’s creating something and you feel like you can make something good that people will like, which means financial success.
Good luck to you. YOLO.
I'm personally someone attempting to find a balance between my full time job, music & game dev/3d graphics. I don't see the latter two paying off any time soon but I see myself doing them for the rest of my life. The one thing I can say that after attempting to give it a go for 2+ years, a certain type of synergy between the different goals start to emerge. Skills & ideas I gain in one area help me do better in the other two in unexpected ways.
The experience & skills you've gathered from running a company would not go to waste and can be your source of strength. And just starting by dipping your toes is the best way to find whether you'd really enjoy being involved in these areas.
That was a while ago (a long while ago. Over 35 years). I figured out that even a top-shelf artist (and I don't think that was my destiny) wouldn't make as much as mediocre programmer.
Nowadays, I have sort of "run off to join the circus." I write software for free.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/2201575/Drawings-2010-2011
https://www.behance.net/gallery/2992181/Vector-Works-2010-20...
Some resources that will help you a long the way:
youtube: proko steve huston steven zapata ahmed aldoori sinix
nma.art watts atelier schoolism
Try to find a local life drawing class and go every single week.
Animation specific check out Toniko Pantoja, ModerndayJames.
I'm currently trying to change my relationship to art from something I pursue to make money, to something I enjoy doing to fuel my soul. I haven't drawn in a couple months, but I've come to terms that it's something I'll always be pursuing, in what capacity I'm not sure, but art, is the coolest thing that's ever come into my life.
This may not be a useful anecdote for those who want to thread the needle between passion and profession, but I'll never forget the day that I decided, really decided, to switch from a piano performance degree to a CS degree. My playing immediately improved - I was relaxed, and things just flowed. The minute I stopped pinning my hopes and worries for the future on my art, the minute I stopped trying to force perfection, it blossomed on its own.
I don't know what lesson, if any, to draw from that experience, but there it is. I tend to think that shedding the egotistical attachment to professional success was the key. (it just transferred over to programming, but hey, turns out there are lots of people who will pay for that).
https://www.pas.va/en/taglist.disciplines.astronomy.html
Compared to the universe, their monastery is tiny. And as time goes by, it gets tinier and tinier.
>churning out code to solve problems I don't care about?
Career artists often churn out art they don't care about. Pick a job that solves problems you do care about! The trade is a separate choice.
As someone who works in games, I can assure you there are tech people that think about kindness, creativity, history, culture, art, emotions and aesthetics.
Ending with a quote from a Pixar movie is especially ironic considering they work on the cutting edge of art and technology.
I wish this young man the best of luck.
Once your skill is more polished and your experience is wider, then try to look for jobs where their goals aligns with your interests.
All the articles you see about the state of the industry are no hyperboles, my life as developer is a walk in the park compared to what I had to go through as an artist. But as your intuition already told you, not going all-in is a mistake. Ignore people saying to do this as a hobby.
It is not remotely the same thing, especially if you are ambitious and not taking this path because you had no better option.
Something about this mindset never ads up for me. Sure, this sounds cool in your 20s or early 30s. (although does it? you don't want to eat out with your friends? go to the bar? live in something better than crappy apartments. things are expensive these days)
But what about when you are 60? When you are on this path you certainly aren't saving for a house. I mean art is better than manual labor or something in the sense that you are physically capable of going until much later in your life. But do you want to be grinding out cartoons to buy food when you are that age?
My gut is that:
1) a small number of people make these romantic visions work
2) A large number end up in difficult situations they regret. Some just a bit of regret but some in really bad situations.
3) They have money coming from the family or something like that in a way they aren't being transparent about that means there is really no choice to make at all and they are going to be fine no matter what
And nothing against people in group 3 either as long as they are honest about their situation.
I don't doubt that ai art will have a significant impact but come on....the job involves way more. And ai is not as close to this job as the ads suggest. You only have to take a minute to learn about the average workday of a professional artist.
Surely the industry will find more ways to make the life of artists more miserable with this.
When I make art I do so only to please myself and without any preconceived notions or intentions as to what it should be or what messages it's to convey.
It completely does not matter to me what, if anything, anyone else gets out of it.
But nevertheless I'm agree what that. Whenever I take a look at my photos, I found most of them are boring, even though I tried to be intentional (not taking random snapshots). Beyond visual beauty or adhesion to composition guidelines, I rarely find them tickling my brain.
Guess reading aesthetics can made you too self-critical :p
The general sense that I get from that talk about what it’s like to work in concept art is not sunshine and rainbows.
> Art [as a creation] does not imitate nature, it imitates a creation [or nature, in a Spinozian meaning, which is but an eternal activity of creation], sometimes to propose an alternative world, sometimes simply to amplify, to confirm, to make social the brief hope offered by nature. (John Berger, "The White Bird")
As long as you find that there is a vibrant market, go for it. But otherwise I would keep it a hobby and try to get wealthy enough to retire and only then, do it full time.
The best would be to be able to associate your hobby and your jobs so that your jobs feels like a hobby but also pays the bills.
The obvious intersection between visual arts and programming is video game making for instance.
that's my own plan.
by the way, concept art is one of the hardest, if not the hardest field in art. these people crank out designs upon designs. and if Feng Zhu didn't make an entire YouTube channel showing what they do, i would have never known they existed.
edit: well, other pages on his website suggest that OP already did what he said. good luck, pal!
One of my close friends went through a similar change from software to art. It took 4 years until she found her way and her audience. She's still not making much but she is much happier than when programming.
It's still going to be a hustle for you, but it's a different kind of hustle. And that's ok. Enjoy the journey!
Retired (am I?) now, I can do all the art I want.
I love coding and I have my own dream projects. My plan is to earn enough to be independent and follow my dreams.
Not retired yet, but collected some nest egg. Since then, I stress less, only work on what I find interesting and speak up when I want to. Funny part: I only got raises faster this way.
One day, a butcher from a local store joined the barbecue: - Hey, you are pretty good! Would you like to leave your current job and work for our store? We have special discounts for workers, and the job is good.
The man thinked twice before answering...You are that man. Some choose Yes without hesitation. Others say No.
- No thanks, its just a hobby for me.
A marketing person can't sit in front of Stable Diffusion and work it towards the campaign they want. They still need an art department that can iterate and make it match the campaign. The artist may very well be sitting in front of some iteration of stable diffusion/imagen/dalle but they still need to discern between AI generated outputs that work and that don't, and to iterate on it until it's right.
In the future, the marketing guy, can just create a draft/visual guide through AI, and send it to some outsourced artist to refine. The outsourced artist can be from any country, because again, language for precise communication is less important.
Competition is going to be brutal, especially for more traditional corporate art (The standard corporate memphis style can already be perfectly executed by SD+dreambooth, because its so easy to draw)
Much better to be in the comics/animation/movie business, where demand will boom in response to drastically improved quality.
Show me an artist who will regret their lunch being eaten, and I’ll show you an artist who worked and/or slept through breakfast and dinner.
Why doesn't OP MAKE games instead of being a mere artist? If you can program, and have a passion for art, you can just make indie games, think of the undertale legend.
I don't use the service often, but sometimes I'll spend an evening experimenting with prompts to generate images that I might use in existing or future projects, and it feels really cool having those images "in the bank" in case I decide to use them later. Even if I eventually wanted to hire a human artist to create the final product (for instance, to avoid potential copyright issues), the generated artwork is an amazing help for shaping an ideal scene.
Pursuing game concept-art though appears to me to be a drag simply because of the sameness of it. I know the author of the article thinks it's become a wide open field for creativity but my eye stills see the same fantasy-super-hero-manga genre that probably keeps computer games from being seen as deserving of being called "art" to society at large.
But also in general it's not that hard to work in games and avoid crunch. Just respect yourself and don't let the trappings trap you. There's always other studios that will treat you better.
You might be working on tools to help set scenes, versioning assets, managing asset pipelines, tracking, CI/CD, rigging, managing levels of detail so that scenes are performant for animators, tools to help with animation etc.
I think you’ll mostly find this role in larger, more established animation and vfx companies. I think that applying for one of these positions would be the easiest way in. Apparently it is a difficult position to fill. My way was slower, I taught myself to code and started writing tools on my own time to help solve issues I encountered as a generalist at a smaller company with tight deadlines. I don’t recommend this way, besides as a stepping stone to something more formal.
Really fun.
There’s a picture of Arteeste Chris, back then, in this story: https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/the-road-most-travel...
I know there’s many better artists, out there, but I’m good enough for government work.
Just my 2¢, but having hard, understood metrics can be easier in many ways vs much more nebulous things that can be hard to quantify. That kind of turns into more of a popularity contest.
They also use AI tools for creative direction and text generation.
If their storyboarder could be replaced completely by AI they needed a better one.
Even if AI don't completely displace concept artists in the immediate future, it will certainly displace at least some portion of a human concept artist's workflow. I think the "detail work" for concept art is a good candidate to be offloaded to AI. Why pay an artist to paint every blade of grass when you can just take their rough draft and apply a series of "incredibly detailed grass texture" (etc) prompts to it?
Imo, the writing on the wall is pretty clear. While I'm sure that human concept artists will continue to find work, I'm pretty sure they'll be fighting an uphill battle, and probably won't feel very valued after awhile.
the skills required to do entertainment design are broad enough that they give you access to a pretty wide range of jobs across multiple industries. if you get bored of being a render monkey, it's really not hard at all to switch to something like storyboarding or color scripting.
What you say can happen, but it must not happen. I have seen 70 year old artists doing more modern and interesting works than graduates. And this is not rare, which you would definitly agree to if you are an avid visitor of art exhibitions.
Also modern or high art is something different to animation which our poster here wants to go for. I don't see why age would matter there — and even if it would OP is 20. We have many people who start to study art at that age. The average age might be 19 to 20.
It is true, that not everybody is made to transition into art, especially if they did not do any art their whole life, but that has nothing to do with the Zeitgeist and everything to do with the time it takes to develope the eyes needed to see what needs to be seen.
I have to disagree with every clause in this statement. First, you don't have to be "old" to become "retired"; people can take extended sabbaticals away from the money race at any time in their adult lives to pursue their current passions - if only for a short while. If/when the money/support runs out, "un-retire" and prepare for the next "retirement". Second, being part of the "cultural zeitgeist" has nothing whatsoever to do with artistic ability - unless you're more interested in artistic fame/fortune than producing art that realises your vision. Third, you do not need to be young to "consume art" - btw that is a truly awful phrase that grates against every fibre of my alleged soul. I for one didn't suddenly stop appreciating the creativity of my fellow humans on my 30th birthday.
I'm sorry this comment has turned out to be so negative, but art is, for me, not a job description; it is a passion, an addiction from which I never want to be cured.
> I’ll just assume you’re offended because you’re old.
I very strongly suspect I'm younger than you. And I've no personal interest in artistic pursuits, to be explicit.
The only reason I took offence was that you were, in short, acting offensively. Even shorter - you were an asshole.
In the longer - you were telling people who wanted to pursue art that they were presumptuous for daring to do so because they weren't the right age in your opinion. That far exceeds presumption and veers directly into arrogance, as I mentioned earlier.
> Prove yourself or deal with mediocrity
We are nearly all, in the scheme of things, mediocre. That's just how normal distributions work.
But, you don't have to shit in someone else's Weetbix just because you're feeling your age and Scrooge's "Bah humbug" makes more sense than ever.
Just stick to yelling at those damn kids to get off your damn lawn.
Why do you think "people who really consume art" are young? This seems completely false to me.
This seems an unusual statement. I consume a lot more art in my 40s than I did in my 20s for example.
As a counter-example, Stan Lee only began drawing superheros when he was 43. Hard to argue his work isn't consumed by young people.
And of course Paul Cézanne only got his first exhibition when hr was 56.
That's fine. I would never do art for someone else anyway. It's not that it's a selfish thing, I don't do art to amuse myself, but rather I do art to express a thing I need to express (for some reason). That is not dictated by the whims of others.
Point is art itself
That i enjoy it.
Some people enjoy doing art.
Michelangelo and Carravagio were contract artists and so were most of the others who are considered great artists. Of course, their audience wasn't the plebs.
And what is considered true art today is nothing but a rigged money game of the big art houses and galleries.
“It’s what I’ve done!”
