I'm gonna stop writing about this depressing job search. Everytime I read my last post and about how sad I am that I haven't found aynthing yet, I think about where I am in the future and how I still haven't found anything. Well, enough of that. The search effort will continue, but I can't let it consume me.
So I just got back this afternoon from visiting Christine in Victoria. I still don't like that feeling of not knowing the area I happen to be in. And it's not like I was there long enough to familiarize myself with the place.
Christine shares her apartments with two roommates Sasha and Justina. I was a little apprehensive at first, consciously making sure I was on my best behaviour, trying hard to make a good first impression on myself. But I thought it'd be fine cause its just two people ... until I got introduced to Justina's boyfriend and mother. Overall, I'd have to say I didn't have as much fun as I did the first time I went to visit, but it was still pleasant nonetheless.
First thing we did when i got there was have lunch at McDonalds where I got a big extra with cheese meal. Rented a movie that night - Awake with Anakin from Star Wars and Jessica Alba. Looked up some places we might want to visit during my stay. Also went for dinner at the Fifeteen Fifties cafe. Nice quaint bar, like shark club with a bit more of an Irish pub feel to it and not nearly as expensive. Servings were huge so I ended up saving some for breakfast the next morning.
Day 2, went to the bug zoo and saw some freaking huge spiders and leaf insects and the biggest millipede I've ever seen. We used to kill millipedes back in Singapore with magnifying glasses, or cut them in half but those things were tiny compares to these giant African ones. Then we headed to the museum to see an Imax presenation of mummies. Only 45 minutes long, but very educational and informative. Managed to learn qute abit about how ancient egyptian mummies could hold the key to curing malaria ... while i wasn't busy picking popcorn off my shirt and eating it, haha. Hit the Noodle Box on the way back. This was interesting - imagine the Bread Garden but oriental style with varieties of asian noodles. They all came in takeout boxes that looked really small, but i was surprised with how much food they managed to stuff in there. Christine and I weren't able to finish our portions (but I managed to finish everything off when we got home later that night). Before going home, we stopped off at Chapters for me to pick up a book, then to the liquor store for some beverages of the alcoholic variety which we enjoyed later that night. Also got an opportunity sit down with Justina, Cheryl and Colin, get to know them a little better. Nice people.
The next day we didn't do much, except go see a movie. 21 - the counting cards movie. Very interesting, but nothing I'd go nuts over. The only effect it really had on me was the amount of money the main character was able to make in such short time which had me reeling in jealousy. Didn't sleep that night. Wanted to get the first bus out of there and be on the nine o'clock ferry home.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Good things at work today
Three odd weeks into the search for the job that will kickstart my career and yet nothing. It's hard to keep your head up high without hearing back from all the companies you've applied to. It's hard not to get worried. That's why work at Chapters today was somewhat an uplifting experience.
Lisa called me into the office. "Josh to the manager's office please." Whenever people hear that, especially coming from the GM, we get worried, and this time I'm thinking what did I do wrong this time? I was with a customer at cash at the time so they had to wait till I finished up with her before going into the office, which I was dreading.
Anyway I get in and the first thing Lisa does is hand me an ithankyou card, thanking me for my trouble being the only CER on the floor for 3.5 hours AND helping Lorrie out on cash. Apparently today 2 people called in sick, leaving her alone on cash, and me alone on the floor. Fortunately I had Nicole and Monika to help me out on the floor even though they were technically shelvers.
After Lisa hands me the ithankyou, i notice her and patrick - even shannon - gathered around the computer and they're all looking at my website. Asking me questions about how i did the work, telling me how impressive it was. And I think after so long of doubting myself, struggling with all these new skills, struggling with people putting me down at school (or at least as they like to put it "critiquing") it feels good to be complimented. Feels good to know that I'm actually making progress, and on the whole, I don't really suck.
Even Paige, normally abraisive, blunt as a rock, truth-telling Paige told me she knew I was aware that I'm a good artist. And that she doesn't hand out compliments normally. And I know that. And I appreciate that.
Before, back in high school and just after, Christine and Andrew always used to tell me I was too proud. And they were right in some ways. I was the best artist I knew - the only artist, really. There was somewhat of a drive to get better, but nothing more intense than that. In my twisted little head, I was the best. And I was smug about it. Not overtly so, but I still was to an extent. I've managed to supress it. Sometimes, a little too well I think. But that's another rant altogether. I'm just happy that today happened.
It feels good to have people believe that I can do it.
Lisa called me into the office. "Josh to the manager's office please." Whenever people hear that, especially coming from the GM, we get worried, and this time I'm thinking what did I do wrong this time? I was with a customer at cash at the time so they had to wait till I finished up with her before going into the office, which I was dreading.
Anyway I get in and the first thing Lisa does is hand me an ithankyou card, thanking me for my trouble being the only CER on the floor for 3.5 hours AND helping Lorrie out on cash. Apparently today 2 people called in sick, leaving her alone on cash, and me alone on the floor. Fortunately I had Nicole and Monika to help me out on the floor even though they were technically shelvers.
After Lisa hands me the ithankyou, i notice her and patrick - even shannon - gathered around the computer and they're all looking at my website. Asking me questions about how i did the work, telling me how impressive it was. And I think after so long of doubting myself, struggling with all these new skills, struggling with people putting me down at school (or at least as they like to put it "critiquing") it feels good to be complimented. Feels good to know that I'm actually making progress, and on the whole, I don't really suck.
Even Paige, normally abraisive, blunt as a rock, truth-telling Paige told me she knew I was aware that I'm a good artist. And that she doesn't hand out compliments normally. And I know that. And I appreciate that.
Before, back in high school and just after, Christine and Andrew always used to tell me I was too proud. And they were right in some ways. I was the best artist I knew - the only artist, really. There was somewhat of a drive to get better, but nothing more intense than that. In my twisted little head, I was the best. And I was smug about it. Not overtly so, but I still was to an extent. I've managed to supress it. Sometimes, a little too well I think. But that's another rant altogether. I'm just happy that today happened.
It feels good to have people believe that I can do it.
Friday, April 11, 2008
April 10, 2008
This post is gonna be a short one, cause I stayed home all day today but some pretty noteworthy stuff happened.
Woke up at somethinng like 11 in the morning, found out Dad's sick with food poisoning. Probably the rice noodles he cooked for dinner last night but I had two helpings and was feeling fine. So he pretty much stayed home all day, watched golf, and slept. Went to the neighbours house for a massage too.
That's not the noteworthy stuff though. Going by Charina's email she just sent me yesterday, I planned to follow up on the companies I applied to. Big Sandwich told me if they hadn't contacted me by now, the situation was "mature". Aka "You're rejected." But the guy was friendly enough and told me to update my online portfolio and when I did, to keep them in the loop. Then I called Acronym Games, and some guy I was directed to sounded really shady. "Uh ... yeah, I'll go have a look at the resumes and uh ... see if they're a fit." So I just thanked him politely and hung up. Real shady. Action Pants forwarded me to a voicemail so I left my information and didn't hear back from them all day. I'll see if they call me next week.
And speaking of calling me next week, I followed up on the Bear Studios interview, spoke to Alex again (Rachel and Yuko both say he's a good friend of theirs), asked if they've made a decision. He says they've been really busy, which I expected, but to expect to hear from them next week. So I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for that one, but no sweat really if I don't get the job. I'm glad they even offered me an interview. Still, job is better than no job I guess.
Also talked to Trent in the morning. Poor guy can't find a job after being graduated for six months. I'm starting to get a little worried about him and if I get into be someone important enough to say who gets hired, I will definitely help out any friends I have in need of a job. Unfortunately right now, I'm in the same sinking boat.
So I went back to the Blue Castle website to see if they've updated their job openings and SURPRISE, they're hiring character artists for their "unannounced Action Title" aka Dead Rising II !!! Well rumors say its Dead Rising II but we'll see what happens. Anyway, this is the job I really want, the one I'm willing to pass up all other opportunities for and it came alot sooner than I thought.
I'm going all out on this one. This is the only job application I've actually prepared, and am giving it my all. In addition to submitting my resume, I put PDFs together, 1 for my 3D work and one for my drawings. I'm exhausting all my talents on this one - 3D characters, drawings, presented in a nice graphic design manner, and I'll probably even do one for my digital paintings, just to show the variety of work I'm capable of doing. I've also contacted Su and Jeremy to see if they're able to pull any strings for me and tomorrow, I'm seeing Charina to get all my assets prepared. I also plan on calling Rachel - or emailing her, haven't really decided yet - and letting her know I'm getting ready for this application and I don't want to screw up. I'm also thinking about emailing Rob and letting him know too.
This is a job to me. This is THE job, and knowing the kind of competition I'm bound to come up against, I need to use all my best 3D works, best drawings, best paintings, incorporate my best graphic design in presenting the pieces, utilize every single fucking contact I have that has a remote chance of putting in a good word for me. Hard work and the right attitude is good, but it won't be enough, not for this, not what this opportunity means to me. Rob, Rachel, Jeremy, Su. I'm sure they could do something to help. And at this point, I'm willing to accept any help they can throw my way. And I should contact Gord too. But I'm not as buddy buddy with him as Cody and Alan are, but I have a feeling he'd be willing to help me out. The only way I can sleep at night if I don't end up getting the job is if I know I did everything possible, and contacted everyone I could.
Also worked on some of the textures Mark sent my way. Created a tiling white sand texture today but he sent it back saying it needed some tweaking, and asked me to start working on a dark brown garden soil texture, which I have yet to start. Also, the company's paying today - I think - so I just sent him an email tallying my hours. Dunno if they'll be needing an invoice though. Hopefully I'll get the money in time to see Christine next weekend.
Yeah, that's about all that's happened to me today. Hoping for the best, as always.
Woke up at somethinng like 11 in the morning, found out Dad's sick with food poisoning. Probably the rice noodles he cooked for dinner last night but I had two helpings and was feeling fine. So he pretty much stayed home all day, watched golf, and slept. Went to the neighbours house for a massage too.
That's not the noteworthy stuff though. Going by Charina's email she just sent me yesterday, I planned to follow up on the companies I applied to. Big Sandwich told me if they hadn't contacted me by now, the situation was "mature". Aka "You're rejected." But the guy was friendly enough and told me to update my online portfolio and when I did, to keep them in the loop. Then I called Acronym Games, and some guy I was directed to sounded really shady. "Uh ... yeah, I'll go have a look at the resumes and uh ... see if they're a fit." So I just thanked him politely and hung up. Real shady. Action Pants forwarded me to a voicemail so I left my information and didn't hear back from them all day. I'll see if they call me next week.
And speaking of calling me next week, I followed up on the Bear Studios interview, spoke to Alex again (Rachel and Yuko both say he's a good friend of theirs), asked if they've made a decision. He says they've been really busy, which I expected, but to expect to hear from them next week. So I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for that one, but no sweat really if I don't get the job. I'm glad they even offered me an interview. Still, job is better than no job I guess.
Also talked to Trent in the morning. Poor guy can't find a job after being graduated for six months. I'm starting to get a little worried about him and if I get into be someone important enough to say who gets hired, I will definitely help out any friends I have in need of a job. Unfortunately right now, I'm in the same sinking boat.
So I went back to the Blue Castle website to see if they've updated their job openings and SURPRISE, they're hiring character artists for their "unannounced Action Title" aka Dead Rising II !!! Well rumors say its Dead Rising II but we'll see what happens. Anyway, this is the job I really want, the one I'm willing to pass up all other opportunities for and it came alot sooner than I thought.
I'm going all out on this one. This is the only job application I've actually prepared, and am giving it my all. In addition to submitting my resume, I put PDFs together, 1 for my 3D work and one for my drawings. I'm exhausting all my talents on this one - 3D characters, drawings, presented in a nice graphic design manner, and I'll probably even do one for my digital paintings, just to show the variety of work I'm capable of doing. I've also contacted Su and Jeremy to see if they're able to pull any strings for me and tomorrow, I'm seeing Charina to get all my assets prepared. I also plan on calling Rachel - or emailing her, haven't really decided yet - and letting her know I'm getting ready for this application and I don't want to screw up. I'm also thinking about emailing Rob and letting him know too.
This is a job to me. This is THE job, and knowing the kind of competition I'm bound to come up against, I need to use all my best 3D works, best drawings, best paintings, incorporate my best graphic design in presenting the pieces, utilize every single fucking contact I have that has a remote chance of putting in a good word for me. Hard work and the right attitude is good, but it won't be enough, not for this, not what this opportunity means to me. Rob, Rachel, Jeremy, Su. I'm sure they could do something to help. And at this point, I'm willing to accept any help they can throw my way. And I should contact Gord too. But I'm not as buddy buddy with him as Cody and Alan are, but I have a feeling he'd be willing to help me out. The only way I can sleep at night if I don't end up getting the job is if I know I did everything possible, and contacted everyone I could.
Also worked on some of the textures Mark sent my way. Created a tiling white sand texture today but he sent it back saying it needed some tweaking, and asked me to start working on a dark brown garden soil texture, which I have yet to start. Also, the company's paying today - I think - so I just sent him an email tallying my hours. Dunno if they'll be needing an invoice though. Hopefully I'll get the money in time to see Christine next weekend.
Yeah, that's about all that's happened to me today. Hoping for the best, as always.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Interview Day: April 4th, 2008
Yesterday didn't start out so great. I had planned to wake up at 9 in the morning but ended up waking at 7 instead. I guess I was nervous about the interview. So I decided to do something productive. I burned a DVD for the Alex Greenberg, the guy at Bear Studios who was going to interview me. And I created a reference list (that i conveniently forgot in to make in the first place), and PDF files of drawings and digital paintings and stuck it with the reel as "bonus material". Made the joke to Alex later in the interview but he didn't seem impressed at my attempt at humor - or maybe it was lost on him. Or maybe it was me trying too hard. Moving on ...
Managed to get dressed in a dress shirt, Harry Potter tie and those khaki pants i wore at Chapters for so long without washing, they were starting to get kinda gross. But i took them home to wash so by the time i had them on that morning, they were good as new, except maybe a little torn at the bottom.
Searched in the basement for a presentable bag or something and ended up finding one of those bags you keep your laptop in, which fit my folder nicely (the folder Andrew and Christine bought for me last Christmas).
Phoned up translink to get directions to the address. But the lady said I should get off at hastings and main for the most direct route. No way in hell I'm walking down hastings and main all nicely dressed for an interview. I'd be robbed out of everything i had on me! So I ended up taking a taxi instead because i wanted to allow time to get lost - which I almost did.
The driver dropped me off at the corner i was supposed to be at, but i thought he was heading down the wrong direction so i just told him to drop me off at that spot and i'd walk the rest of the way which he obliged. Turns out I started walking the wrong way - in the rain. Not knowing where the hell i was, I pretended to be a foreigner and asked which way north. I was supposed to turn right onto 6th Ave heading south on Main, haha.Found a cafe where I could grab some coffee, reconfirmed with the waitress which way north was, and decided to try seeing if i could find the office - and a spot for a quick cigarette.
Found Bear Studios but kept on walking, now confident I knew where it was, in search of a suitable place to smoke. The new BC smoking laws put into effect last monday says you're not allowed to smoke at least 6 meters from a doorway. Fine enough, but finding a place 6 meters from a doorway that's sheltered somewhat from the rain ... very difficult. Found a semi-covered spot (and by semi-covered, i mean I stood under a small roof overhang that was so high up, it didn't really matter it was directly over my head because the wind was blowing the rain at me). Spotted a sign that said CAFE so, desperate for a place to dry off, decided to give it a try. Yeah, walking by and looking through the windows, it looked like a small white trash dump, and I decided it'd be better to avoid altogether - especially dressed the way I was, which i hated. So I kept walking, disappointed, getting wetter and wetter because of hte rain, then i hit main street again and spotted science world. And wherever there was science world, there was the main street skytrain station. And wherever there was the main street skytrain station, there was STARBUCKS!! That was the starbucks we used to go to during my graphic design program. Doing the whole walk, down the same road really brought back memories.
Walked into starbucks and realized the only place to sit was a 4 person counter, of which like 2 chairs were already taken up and a third person, an old lady, was about to take a seat there. Deciding it'd be better to stand then get other people wet by sitting near them, I'd just go find somewhere else to smoke - i'm not a chainer, it'd had already been a good 45 ish minutes since my last one, and i was feeling bored, and a little cranky from the whether, the nice clothes (damn they were uncomfortable though) i was wearing. As I was putting cream and sugar in my coffee (tall mild in a grande, no peppermint syrup this time), i was standing beside a bunch of annoying construction workers - easily older then me, probably 30's-40's, the youngest was probably my age or a little younger - making fun of some lady with cottage cheese fat. I tried looking too, haha, but wasn't able to spot her. But seriously, a bunch of grown people old as them acting like fuckin teenagers. No wonder they ended up as laborers. I had to get out of there quick and found shleter from the rain at Main Street station. Walkin gup the stairs, i relized just how soaked my socks had become from the water leaking through my shoes. I had to suffer wet feet the rest of the day.
Leaning over the railing, i spotted a woman about afloor below smoking. SWEET, there was a smoking spot. And if it wasn't then hell, if she could do it there, so could I. I mentioned this to her as I came down to smoke too. And she said she didn't really care about the new smoking laws - we weren't anywhere new a doorway and there was a group of construction workers - probably the same lame ones at Starbucks, smoking right by a doorway. I had two smokes in a row right there. Waiting for abit, left at about 10 to 2 cause my interview was at 2:30 and i wanted to reach at about quarter past so i could get some time to dry off from the rain.
Went to Shell and bought some gum before going to the studio. Didn't want to walk in smelling like smokes. Took me alot less time to get to the studio than I thought - but it was still hell getting there, uphill most of the way. Or maybe not, but i like exaggerating cause it makes this boring post sound so much more exciting.
Arrived at Bear studios, rang the buzzer and it took a good few seconds for the receptionist to unlock the door. She was a nice lady, very casual atmosphere, she even called me "hun" as I was leaving after the interview. She let me use the washroom to dry off cause i didn't want to go into the interview soaking wet from the rain. SPent a good five minutes in the washroom drying myself off, sat down and read some billboard magazines for awhile while waiting for Alex Greenberg to meet me. Finally the receptionist - i forgot her name, came and got me, led me upstairs where I got to meet Alex.
Slavic guy, you can tell by the accent and the nose, or maybe I've just been hanging out with Andrew and Christine too much, lol. So we sat there and talked about modeling for awhile, showed me some samples of the company's work and what they do, talked about how they do things (no poly limit, multiple render passes, aka ANIMATION HOUSE). He asked if I was comfortable with doing everything he showed me and I said yes. To be honest I'm a little apprehensive about modeling shit THAT high poly but I'm willing to give it a go. On the bright side, I won't be having to bring any models into Z Brush.
So after the interview, headed straight to AI where I tried to convert the NDA for Wikiatlas Corp into PDF format. I mean if Mark Sherman wanted a PDF version back, couldn't he just email me a PDF in the first place? Geez. But instead of taking care of that right away, I got Yuko to give me a guest pass for the day, and talked to her for abit, then talked to Charina for abit, then headed off to the ETC to get the documents converted. And then i find out the I can't use photoshop or acrobat with the guest pass.
So i had to phone ryan starchuck, as him to gimme his password, which he did and I was finally able to do what i came to do in the south campus. Lame. Coming back to AI on the first week of school after I've graduated. Anyway, i was simultaneously talking to Shiach and Scharf online - telling Shiach to come to AI after work so I could pass off Loi's disc to him, and telling Mark to text Gurn and tell him to come pick me up since he works closeby and we were all going out to dinner tonight.
Alas, gurn wasn't by his computer and I had to bus down to Milestones, in my interview clothes to top it off. Gurn said to get there by 7 - 7:30 and I got there at 7. Knowing those fools, I knew they wouldn't show up striaght at 7 but i went in to take a look anyway. Not there, took a walk at the mall the Shark Club is located at, used the washroom, came back at lke 7:20, grabbed a smoke and took another walk around - still not there. Went back outside, and finally they show up but milestones was crowded and it'd be a half hour wait. Decided to go across the street to the shark club instead, while gurn drove and mark and alan went with him, james and I walked across the street, lol. We got there and found out shark club is closed for renovations so we decided to hit up Kingsway and see what was there.
Graeme called along the way, and we still hadn't decided where we were going yet until someone suggested we go to Sammy J's. Being out of town James asked what Sammy J's was. Me and gurn were like "peppers" at the same time, hahaha. "he's like thanks, way to clear it up." I guess you just had to have been there. Also talked about the science (or lack thereof) of Feng Shui and acupuncture.
So we get to Sammy J's, wait for a ridiculously long time for them to set a table for 6, and while we're waiting, graeme shows up. They finally seat us and we sit and drink, order some appetizers, discuss the meaning of tapas (i always thought it was a greek dish). ordered potato skins, bacon rolls, and chicken wings - 10% off each dish if you order three. Not a bad deal. We were still hungry after the appetizers so we ordered some entrees. While waiting for them to come, I went with Mark and Gurn to go pick up some smokes - they had smoked my last ones and ended up walking a million blocks and I'm a little drunk by this time.
Got back to Sammy J's and my food is waiting for me on the table, a little bit cold. What was my dish ... creole sauce and seafood linguine or something. Whatever, it was good, that's all I remember. Decided to talk rockband for abit, and gurn and james managed to arrange some kind of rockband event between the two of them. graeme left a little bit early, had to work on his art test, and the rest of us stayed behind for a little bit longer. After that, gurn drove us home. I was the first to be dropped off. One more smoke, back into the house, tipsy as hell, and passed right out.
What a day.
Managed to get dressed in a dress shirt, Harry Potter tie and those khaki pants i wore at Chapters for so long without washing, they were starting to get kinda gross. But i took them home to wash so by the time i had them on that morning, they were good as new, except maybe a little torn at the bottom.
Searched in the basement for a presentable bag or something and ended up finding one of those bags you keep your laptop in, which fit my folder nicely (the folder Andrew and Christine bought for me last Christmas).
Phoned up translink to get directions to the address. But the lady said I should get off at hastings and main for the most direct route. No way in hell I'm walking down hastings and main all nicely dressed for an interview. I'd be robbed out of everything i had on me! So I ended up taking a taxi instead because i wanted to allow time to get lost - which I almost did.
The driver dropped me off at the corner i was supposed to be at, but i thought he was heading down the wrong direction so i just told him to drop me off at that spot and i'd walk the rest of the way which he obliged. Turns out I started walking the wrong way - in the rain. Not knowing where the hell i was, I pretended to be a foreigner and asked which way north. I was supposed to turn right onto 6th Ave heading south on Main, haha.Found a cafe where I could grab some coffee, reconfirmed with the waitress which way north was, and decided to try seeing if i could find the office - and a spot for a quick cigarette.
Found Bear Studios but kept on walking, now confident I knew where it was, in search of a suitable place to smoke. The new BC smoking laws put into effect last monday says you're not allowed to smoke at least 6 meters from a doorway. Fine enough, but finding a place 6 meters from a doorway that's sheltered somewhat from the rain ... very difficult. Found a semi-covered spot (and by semi-covered, i mean I stood under a small roof overhang that was so high up, it didn't really matter it was directly over my head because the wind was blowing the rain at me). Spotted a sign that said CAFE so, desperate for a place to dry off, decided to give it a try. Yeah, walking by and looking through the windows, it looked like a small white trash dump, and I decided it'd be better to avoid altogether - especially dressed the way I was, which i hated. So I kept walking, disappointed, getting wetter and wetter because of hte rain, then i hit main street again and spotted science world. And wherever there was science world, there was the main street skytrain station. And wherever there was the main street skytrain station, there was STARBUCKS!! That was the starbucks we used to go to during my graphic design program. Doing the whole walk, down the same road really brought back memories.
Walked into starbucks and realized the only place to sit was a 4 person counter, of which like 2 chairs were already taken up and a third person, an old lady, was about to take a seat there. Deciding it'd be better to stand then get other people wet by sitting near them, I'd just go find somewhere else to smoke - i'm not a chainer, it'd had already been a good 45 ish minutes since my last one, and i was feeling bored, and a little cranky from the whether, the nice clothes (damn they were uncomfortable though) i was wearing. As I was putting cream and sugar in my coffee (tall mild in a grande, no peppermint syrup this time), i was standing beside a bunch of annoying construction workers - easily older then me, probably 30's-40's, the youngest was probably my age or a little younger - making fun of some lady with cottage cheese fat. I tried looking too, haha, but wasn't able to spot her. But seriously, a bunch of grown people old as them acting like fuckin teenagers. No wonder they ended up as laborers. I had to get out of there quick and found shleter from the rain at Main Street station. Walkin gup the stairs, i relized just how soaked my socks had become from the water leaking through my shoes. I had to suffer wet feet the rest of the day.
Leaning over the railing, i spotted a woman about afloor below smoking. SWEET, there was a smoking spot. And if it wasn't then hell, if she could do it there, so could I. I mentioned this to her as I came down to smoke too. And she said she didn't really care about the new smoking laws - we weren't anywhere new a doorway and there was a group of construction workers - probably the same lame ones at Starbucks, smoking right by a doorway. I had two smokes in a row right there. Waiting for abit, left at about 10 to 2 cause my interview was at 2:30 and i wanted to reach at about quarter past so i could get some time to dry off from the rain.
Went to Shell and bought some gum before going to the studio. Didn't want to walk in smelling like smokes. Took me alot less time to get to the studio than I thought - but it was still hell getting there, uphill most of the way. Or maybe not, but i like exaggerating cause it makes this boring post sound so much more exciting.
Arrived at Bear studios, rang the buzzer and it took a good few seconds for the receptionist to unlock the door. She was a nice lady, very casual atmosphere, she even called me "hun" as I was leaving after the interview. She let me use the washroom to dry off cause i didn't want to go into the interview soaking wet from the rain. SPent a good five minutes in the washroom drying myself off, sat down and read some billboard magazines for awhile while waiting for Alex Greenberg to meet me. Finally the receptionist - i forgot her name, came and got me, led me upstairs where I got to meet Alex.
Slavic guy, you can tell by the accent and the nose, or maybe I've just been hanging out with Andrew and Christine too much, lol. So we sat there and talked about modeling for awhile, showed me some samples of the company's work and what they do, talked about how they do things (no poly limit, multiple render passes, aka ANIMATION HOUSE). He asked if I was comfortable with doing everything he showed me and I said yes. To be honest I'm a little apprehensive about modeling shit THAT high poly but I'm willing to give it a go. On the bright side, I won't be having to bring any models into Z Brush.
So after the interview, headed straight to AI where I tried to convert the NDA for Wikiatlas Corp into PDF format. I mean if Mark Sherman wanted a PDF version back, couldn't he just email me a PDF in the first place? Geez. But instead of taking care of that right away, I got Yuko to give me a guest pass for the day, and talked to her for abit, then talked to Charina for abit, then headed off to the ETC to get the documents converted. And then i find out the I can't use photoshop or acrobat with the guest pass.
So i had to phone ryan starchuck, as him to gimme his password, which he did and I was finally able to do what i came to do in the south campus. Lame. Coming back to AI on the first week of school after I've graduated. Anyway, i was simultaneously talking to Shiach and Scharf online - telling Shiach to come to AI after work so I could pass off Loi's disc to him, and telling Mark to text Gurn and tell him to come pick me up since he works closeby and we were all going out to dinner tonight.
Alas, gurn wasn't by his computer and I had to bus down to Milestones, in my interview clothes to top it off. Gurn said to get there by 7 - 7:30 and I got there at 7. Knowing those fools, I knew they wouldn't show up striaght at 7 but i went in to take a look anyway. Not there, took a walk at the mall the Shark Club is located at, used the washroom, came back at lke 7:20, grabbed a smoke and took another walk around - still not there. Went back outside, and finally they show up but milestones was crowded and it'd be a half hour wait. Decided to go across the street to the shark club instead, while gurn drove and mark and alan went with him, james and I walked across the street, lol. We got there and found out shark club is closed for renovations so we decided to hit up Kingsway and see what was there.
Graeme called along the way, and we still hadn't decided where we were going yet until someone suggested we go to Sammy J's. Being out of town James asked what Sammy J's was. Me and gurn were like "peppers" at the same time, hahaha. "he's like thanks, way to clear it up." I guess you just had to have been there. Also talked about the science (or lack thereof) of Feng Shui and acupuncture.
So we get to Sammy J's, wait for a ridiculously long time for them to set a table for 6, and while we're waiting, graeme shows up. They finally seat us and we sit and drink, order some appetizers, discuss the meaning of tapas (i always thought it was a greek dish). ordered potato skins, bacon rolls, and chicken wings - 10% off each dish if you order three. Not a bad deal. We were still hungry after the appetizers so we ordered some entrees. While waiting for them to come, I went with Mark and Gurn to go pick up some smokes - they had smoked my last ones and ended up walking a million blocks and I'm a little drunk by this time.
Got back to Sammy J's and my food is waiting for me on the table, a little bit cold. What was my dish ... creole sauce and seafood linguine or something. Whatever, it was good, that's all I remember. Decided to talk rockband for abit, and gurn and james managed to arrange some kind of rockband event between the two of them. graeme left a little bit early, had to work on his art test, and the rest of us stayed behind for a little bit longer. After that, gurn drove us home. I was the first to be dropped off. One more smoke, back into the house, tipsy as hell, and passed right out.
What a day.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Job Search not looking good
I'm just over one week into the job search (nine days to be exact, but it feels like forever) and here's how things are looking sofar - not too great, I'll say.
Tomorrow I've got an interview at Bear Studios at 2:30. I like the fact that I have an interview but after taking a look at the company's work, it looks like they do cheap models for commercials, more aimed at getting the functionality of a product across that making realistic and or stylized video games. If this is the best I can do for now, I'd be happy to take the job should they offer it to me. But I would still be actively job hunting for any artist positions in the video game field. C.S. (a friend) says I shouldn't take the job just cause it doesn't sound very promising. But at this point, I guess I'll take something over nothing until something better comes my way. Besides, it'll give me something to do instead of waiting by the computer day after agonizing day for some other company to come by and nab me.
The freelance work is doing fine. Sofar I've managed to complete two variants of a tiling garden mulch texture and three variants of a metal texture. Eagerly waiting more work from the client to give me so I have something to take my mind off all this worrying.
Oh right, worrying ... forgot to mention why. I pretty much have until tomorrow to hear from Radical for a SWEET job that I want. Its heaven, seriously, combining my passion for games and graphic design. But talking about how cool it is will send me into further depths of depression, lol. I honestly think they'd have contacted me by now if they were really interested. Probably because I don't have enough experience. I mean it was a contract position so they probably want someone well versed with more experience than me.
I'm also thinking Rockstar's not gonna want me, just to keep my hopes down. I have another week to wait for their reply. Teachers tell me they're scooping people up because alot of employees have left them. I'm wondering why ... but still, I'd like a job in the gaming industry and I honestly think Rockstar would be good for experience, if they work me to death. At least then I can say I made it out alive from Rockstar. That'll be something on my resume for sure.
Aside from the job search, there's literally nothing going on in my life. No wonder things are so depressing right now. What a perfect time to start blogging, so I can rant and rant about everything that's happening to me. What's gonna happen when I do find a job? Will I have the time to keep this thing updated?
Who knows ... I'm out of things to say for now. Gotta call Rachel.
Tomorrow I've got an interview at Bear Studios at 2:30. I like the fact that I have an interview but after taking a look at the company's work, it looks like they do cheap models for commercials, more aimed at getting the functionality of a product across that making realistic and or stylized video games. If this is the best I can do for now, I'd be happy to take the job should they offer it to me. But I would still be actively job hunting for any artist positions in the video game field. C.S. (a friend) says I shouldn't take the job just cause it doesn't sound very promising. But at this point, I guess I'll take something over nothing until something better comes my way. Besides, it'll give me something to do instead of waiting by the computer day after agonizing day for some other company to come by and nab me.
The freelance work is doing fine. Sofar I've managed to complete two variants of a tiling garden mulch texture and three variants of a metal texture. Eagerly waiting more work from the client to give me so I have something to take my mind off all this worrying.
Oh right, worrying ... forgot to mention why. I pretty much have until tomorrow to hear from Radical for a SWEET job that I want. Its heaven, seriously, combining my passion for games and graphic design. But talking about how cool it is will send me into further depths of depression, lol. I honestly think they'd have contacted me by now if they were really interested. Probably because I don't have enough experience. I mean it was a contract position so they probably want someone well versed with more experience than me.
I'm also thinking Rockstar's not gonna want me, just to keep my hopes down. I have another week to wait for their reply. Teachers tell me they're scooping people up because alot of employees have left them. I'm wondering why ... but still, I'd like a job in the gaming industry and I honestly think Rockstar would be good for experience, if they work me to death. At least then I can say I made it out alive from Rockstar. That'll be something on my resume for sure.
Aside from the job search, there's literally nothing going on in my life. No wonder things are so depressing right now. What a perfect time to start blogging, so I can rant and rant about everything that's happening to me. What's gonna happen when I do find a job? Will I have the time to keep this thing updated?
Who knows ... I'm out of things to say for now. Gotta call Rachel.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
WTF am I? Traditional Artist? Graphic Designer? Writer? 3D artist?
Wow does this ever sound self centered. I've actually thought about this to myself quite a few times but I'd like to get it down in writing for once. They say it helps. So where do I begin ...I wouldn't really call myself a misfit. I'm enough of a people person to make new friends. In fact I hold no information back. You ask me and 9 times out of 10 you'll get an answer. But finding someone who shares my passions, understands me and where I'm coming from with a sentence I utter - those kind of people are hard to find. And I haven't found one yet.
WRITING
Straight after high school way back in 2001, it was off to Douglas College to me (well, following a three month stint working at super store and utsuwa no yakata that I got fired from but I'd prefer to forget that time period altogether).
This was a point in my life where I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. My first semester at Douglas College, I took Creative Writing and Marketing. Creative writing was a lot of fun but Marketing was nothing but theory and boring research on products, goods and services ... just pure shit that bored me to death and nothign I could contribute effectively to. Second semester, I took another creative writing course - fiction this time, along with philosophy and economics. Philosophy, now THAT was interesting but still ... no future in it. Anyway point is after a stint of creative writing, marketing, philosophy, economics, sociology, english 130 (boring as hell class but made some good friends along the way) political science, anthropology (our teacher looked like an austrolipithicus), mandarin, acting, and computer science, I'd pretty much covered everything Douglas College had to offer aside from math and the sciences.
But the one thing that remained consistent was creative writing and I actually considered a career in it until our teacher told us it was really hard to get published. And I'm not even that good at writing - I just enjoy it. Something about creating characters that people remember really drew me into it.So the one thing that interested me enough to want to make something out of at Douglas College, turns out there's not much of a future in it. That's when I started thinking - well what can I do that this school offers? Had a meeting with the career services people where I considered a Math major - sure that's pretty useless to but at least it carries some respect. But i wasn't all serious about it. I also considered a major in political science to start a career as a translator whether for the tourist industry or a political career based on my interest in learning languages. But I didn't feel a hundred percent into it either.
Then my mom saw an add in the paper - a joint program offered by BCIT and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Seriously, art? Something I've been doing as a hobby for my 21 years of existence? And it balanced practicality with creativity so I decided to give it a shot ...
GRAPHIC DESIGN
The only reason I chose to study this in the first place was because I always had a passion for art and I needed to balance that out with something practical. When I first started studying this at BCIT, i knew right away it was more fun that the crap I've been doing at Douglas College for the 2 years prior. I thought I'd found what I wanted to do and cruised on through the classes. Then Portfolio 2 happened and they failed me. It was one of those pass/fail classes, no grades involved. Then I started questioning why I wanted to be a graphic designer and the answer to that i realized, was because I could - not because I wanted to. But I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. So then, nose to the grindstone, i retook portfolio 2, made sure I did everything right, communicated back and forth with the judges who were going to be passing me. I made it, and I made it past the rest of the classes and graduated 1 semester late with flying colours. It was pretty good, and it felt good.
But after working in the graphic design industry for abit, doing meaningless internships whie working at Chapters, I realized I couldn't go on working days on end and not being paid. I started wondering where my life was heading and if I could continue on this path much longer.
But I did learn some very important design theory that I still hold onto to this day. typography, colour palettes, layout and branding. Everything is interwoven consistently and specifically to establish the brand of a company, product, a service, a character, and environment ... EVERYTHING has a brand idently. Graphic Design is the tool by which that brand is understood by everyone else.
Also the kind of people I had to put up with. Not that they were evil people and need to be shot dead in a drive-by, but alot of the graphic designers I've met have a kind of subtle sass to them. Like they're better than you because they know never to put type on a curve. They were nice people overall, but it was just that underlying pretenciousness that I didn't like. That wasn't the sole purpose of why I decided to stop pursuing graphic design as a career. Another opportunity decided to open up. And at the time, a 22 year old just kickstarting his career, i figured I had time to still go to school and do what i really wanted to do since i was 15 years old.
VIDEO GAMES
Now we're talking! I'd visited AI before (around the same time I was researching more about Emily Carr and BCIT) but at the time I was more concerned with being practical which was why I chucked the idea of going to AI at first. But after touring their campuses for the second time, I knew there was somethign about the creative energy in this place that appealed to me. The students, the cafe, the drawing tables, the cement-warehouse-loft feel of the place. I was only walking there and I felt like I wanted to sit down and draw.Maurice, the guy who was showing me around the place did a great job suckering me in to applying - which I found out later, he really did make a sucker out of me, lol.
So the Game Art and Design program ended up costing somewhere around 30,000 dollars. I wanted to save as much as I could so I decided to go for the early committment offer where if I committed to the program 6 months in advance, I could save 1000 bucks, which I did.
Finally, June 2006 was orientation day for all the new students which I attended. My first impression - all these kids, lol. I was the youngest in my graphic design program so being around all these people younger than me gave a real high school vibe - where i found my real maturity level months later, hahaha. Wiggers calling each other homie, annoying anime freaks everywhere i looked, yet I was excited to get started on the program.
Along the way, I found that as far as gaming interests were concerned, I didn't belong in any specific category. I wasn't a gamer anime freak, I wasn't a WOW addict, or an FPS player. I just played the games I played. So connecting with people on the video games level was pretty hard. Now I'm a resident evil fan and a capcom fanboy in general, and an ex-Final Fantasy fan. And I have one Dance Dance Revolution game that I thoroughly enjoy. Thing is my interests I realized was more in the series of games, not in the genre. And one of my first friends I made at the school, was already judging my interest in video games.
Along the way, I learned to break out of the fanboy mentality and play games for what they are, not for who's featured in them. Really opened my eyes to in-game mechanics, controller systems and the player's skill, not just the story and characters. And I've found more games that I enjoy as result. Don't get me wrong, I still hate first person shooters though.
SO WTF AM I???
Out of all the graduates from my quarter, me and about 2 or 3 other people still take drawing seriously. I was the only one who paid attention to typography and layout. I was the only one who took interest in the backstory James shat out for our GPW game. I'm not good enough to be a fiction writer - and I don't have that much passion for writing even though I need to write a story every so often just to get that creativity out of me. I don't know enough about traditional art to discuss styles but I love to draw enough. I'm not big on graphic design and the industry's movement but I know and appreciate good design when i see it - which in turn inspires me to make my own. I love playing video games but don't play enough to be seriously hardcore with them.
So wtf am I? I dunno. If employers ask me to tell them about myself, I wouldn't know how. I haven't found an answer to that question yet. So for now, I just say I do what I do cause I love it. Call me whatever.
WRITING
Straight after high school way back in 2001, it was off to Douglas College to me (well, following a three month stint working at super store and utsuwa no yakata that I got fired from but I'd prefer to forget that time period altogether).
This was a point in my life where I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. My first semester at Douglas College, I took Creative Writing and Marketing. Creative writing was a lot of fun but Marketing was nothing but theory and boring research on products, goods and services ... just pure shit that bored me to death and nothign I could contribute effectively to. Second semester, I took another creative writing course - fiction this time, along with philosophy and economics. Philosophy, now THAT was interesting but still ... no future in it. Anyway point is after a stint of creative writing, marketing, philosophy, economics, sociology, english 130 (boring as hell class but made some good friends along the way) political science, anthropology (our teacher looked like an austrolipithicus), mandarin, acting, and computer science, I'd pretty much covered everything Douglas College had to offer aside from math and the sciences.
But the one thing that remained consistent was creative writing and I actually considered a career in it until our teacher told us it was really hard to get published. And I'm not even that good at writing - I just enjoy it. Something about creating characters that people remember really drew me into it.So the one thing that interested me enough to want to make something out of at Douglas College, turns out there's not much of a future in it. That's when I started thinking - well what can I do that this school offers? Had a meeting with the career services people where I considered a Math major - sure that's pretty useless to but at least it carries some respect. But i wasn't all serious about it. I also considered a major in political science to start a career as a translator whether for the tourist industry or a political career based on my interest in learning languages. But I didn't feel a hundred percent into it either.
Then my mom saw an add in the paper - a joint program offered by BCIT and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Seriously, art? Something I've been doing as a hobby for my 21 years of existence? And it balanced practicality with creativity so I decided to give it a shot ...
GRAPHIC DESIGN
The only reason I chose to study this in the first place was because I always had a passion for art and I needed to balance that out with something practical. When I first started studying this at BCIT, i knew right away it was more fun that the crap I've been doing at Douglas College for the 2 years prior. I thought I'd found what I wanted to do and cruised on through the classes. Then Portfolio 2 happened and they failed me. It was one of those pass/fail classes, no grades involved. Then I started questioning why I wanted to be a graphic designer and the answer to that i realized, was because I could - not because I wanted to. But I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. So then, nose to the grindstone, i retook portfolio 2, made sure I did everything right, communicated back and forth with the judges who were going to be passing me. I made it, and I made it past the rest of the classes and graduated 1 semester late with flying colours. It was pretty good, and it felt good.
But after working in the graphic design industry for abit, doing meaningless internships whie working at Chapters, I realized I couldn't go on working days on end and not being paid. I started wondering where my life was heading and if I could continue on this path much longer.
But I did learn some very important design theory that I still hold onto to this day. typography, colour palettes, layout and branding. Everything is interwoven consistently and specifically to establish the brand of a company, product, a service, a character, and environment ... EVERYTHING has a brand idently. Graphic Design is the tool by which that brand is understood by everyone else.
Also the kind of people I had to put up with. Not that they were evil people and need to be shot dead in a drive-by, but alot of the graphic designers I've met have a kind of subtle sass to them. Like they're better than you because they know never to put type on a curve. They were nice people overall, but it was just that underlying pretenciousness that I didn't like. That wasn't the sole purpose of why I decided to stop pursuing graphic design as a career. Another opportunity decided to open up. And at the time, a 22 year old just kickstarting his career, i figured I had time to still go to school and do what i really wanted to do since i was 15 years old.
VIDEO GAMES
Now we're talking! I'd visited AI before (around the same time I was researching more about Emily Carr and BCIT) but at the time I was more concerned with being practical which was why I chucked the idea of going to AI at first. But after touring their campuses for the second time, I knew there was somethign about the creative energy in this place that appealed to me. The students, the cafe, the drawing tables, the cement-warehouse-loft feel of the place. I was only walking there and I felt like I wanted to sit down and draw.Maurice, the guy who was showing me around the place did a great job suckering me in to applying - which I found out later, he really did make a sucker out of me, lol.
So the Game Art and Design program ended up costing somewhere around 30,000 dollars. I wanted to save as much as I could so I decided to go for the early committment offer where if I committed to the program 6 months in advance, I could save 1000 bucks, which I did.
Finally, June 2006 was orientation day for all the new students which I attended. My first impression - all these kids, lol. I was the youngest in my graphic design program so being around all these people younger than me gave a real high school vibe - where i found my real maturity level months later, hahaha. Wiggers calling each other homie, annoying anime freaks everywhere i looked, yet I was excited to get started on the program.
Along the way, I found that as far as gaming interests were concerned, I didn't belong in any specific category. I wasn't a gamer anime freak, I wasn't a WOW addict, or an FPS player. I just played the games I played. So connecting with people on the video games level was pretty hard. Now I'm a resident evil fan and a capcom fanboy in general, and an ex-Final Fantasy fan. And I have one Dance Dance Revolution game that I thoroughly enjoy. Thing is my interests I realized was more in the series of games, not in the genre. And one of my first friends I made at the school, was already judging my interest in video games.
Along the way, I learned to break out of the fanboy mentality and play games for what they are, not for who's featured in them. Really opened my eyes to in-game mechanics, controller systems and the player's skill, not just the story and characters. And I've found more games that I enjoy as result. Don't get me wrong, I still hate first person shooters though.
SO WTF AM I???
Out of all the graduates from my quarter, me and about 2 or 3 other people still take drawing seriously. I was the only one who paid attention to typography and layout. I was the only one who took interest in the backstory James shat out for our GPW game. I'm not good enough to be a fiction writer - and I don't have that much passion for writing even though I need to write a story every so often just to get that creativity out of me. I don't know enough about traditional art to discuss styles but I love to draw enough. I'm not big on graphic design and the industry's movement but I know and appreciate good design when i see it - which in turn inspires me to make my own. I love playing video games but don't play enough to be seriously hardcore with them.
So wtf am I? I dunno. If employers ask me to tell them about myself, I wouldn't know how. I haven't found an answer to that question yet. So for now, I just say I do what I do cause I love it. Call me whatever.
First Blog EVAR
Blogging has been the cool thing to do for .. i dunno how long now - a good five six years I guess and I always wondered what so great about other people's personal thoughts that other people cared so much about. Therefore the sheer existance of "popular" bloggers baffles my mind. But anyway, i decided to hop on the blogging bandwagon and just .. talk about shit i guess. See how fun this gets.
Life sucks right now. Just graduated from art school 3 weeks ago today and been job hunting for about a week now. And I don't mean part-time Chapters and Indigo books crap, I mean REAL job. As an artist - if that can be considered a real job by the wrinklier folk. The career services people at the school say "yeah, March is a great time to graduate, companies are hiring all around." But going onto various local company websites, there doesn't seem to be any 3D game artist positions available which is what my peers and I have graduated specializing in.
All those people who told me "environment art is where its at, where all the jobs are, so you suck for graduating as a character artist." Yeah well you know what, I've found and applied to 3 character artist positions and one company even went sofar as to say they wanted their 3D artist to be well-versed in both organic and prop modeling. Environment positions, I've found about 2.
Outside of the 3D art thing, I've also applied to companies as a 2D artist for concept art, textures, digital painting, and UI artist. To date, I've only received acknowledgement from Rockstar and Radical. If I don't hear from Radical in 4 days, I am to consider myself rejected. And from Rockstar, end of next week. Sofar I've applied to a total of 10 separate companies and 15 different positions. And only 3 companies have gotten back to me. 1 of which rejected me (not enough experience designing user interfaces) and the other two I mentioned up top.
Oh yeah, one good thing I should mention the the senior project manager over at Blue Castle. I think my work's managed to make an impression on him cause the only reason I applied for the UI position with them was cause they called me at his suggestion and asked that based on my background, I apply for the position. I applied, but HR didn't think i was fit enough for the job. Anyway i contacted mr. senior project manager with the results of my application and he was still supportive of me so ... its always good to have someone in the industry with some real influence on your side. Lets just hope something comes out of it.
With exception to the days I work at Chapters, I've been literally sitting in front of my computer, refreshing my email list every half hour or so, hoping something's come in. Either that or googling up local companies, checking job boards, refreshing my email again, write more cover letters and resumes and applying some more only to not hear back from companies. Oh, and checking the traffic from my portfolio website - which is pretty good, surprisingly. But still, nothings coming out of it. It's a pathetic life and I'm not sure I've ever felt much lower. But things are gonna get better. It's not just something I'm trying to convince myself of. I feel it .. cheesy i know, but its the best way I can describe it I guess.
I'm currently in the process of working something out with an internet US based company - not sure what they're called - but they need some texture artists to do tiling textures for them. So I accepted, its just a freelance thing, some extra pocket money, why not. Catch is they want me to do rotated tiling textures. Sounds simple enough, but holy shit is it ever hard to make them tile. Finally the guy sent me a template which worked wonders. Made one in minutes where i spent 4 hours yesterday trying to figure it out. Hopefully they like me enough to take me on for the one month contract.
AND i just checked my email and they've accepted me! That's good, which means I'll have money for the next little while. But still, i need a career job. Freelance crap, that's why i left graphic design in the first place. I can't imagine another job stint of nothing but freelance jobs. EEUUGHHGH.
That's about it for now. Nothing much else to update on. Wow, I'm surprised at how much I wrote. Man, if I started this blogging thing when I first started at the Art Institute, i can just imagine the pages and pages of blogs, haahaha. I'm starting to wish I did. I can look back at that school and say I been through alot. Highs and lows. Met new friends, great gamer nights, drinking parties, pasta nights at Boston Pizza. ... I'm reminiscing ... I better stop this now before the post gets any longer.
WOOT, first blog completed! Now I'm gonna go buy smokes ...
Life sucks right now. Just graduated from art school 3 weeks ago today and been job hunting for about a week now. And I don't mean part-time Chapters and Indigo books crap, I mean REAL job. As an artist - if that can be considered a real job by the wrinklier folk. The career services people at the school say "yeah, March is a great time to graduate, companies are hiring all around." But going onto various local company websites, there doesn't seem to be any 3D game artist positions available which is what my peers and I have graduated specializing in.
All those people who told me "environment art is where its at, where all the jobs are, so you suck for graduating as a character artist." Yeah well you know what, I've found and applied to 3 character artist positions and one company even went sofar as to say they wanted their 3D artist to be well-versed in both organic and prop modeling. Environment positions, I've found about 2.
Outside of the 3D art thing, I've also applied to companies as a 2D artist for concept art, textures, digital painting, and UI artist. To date, I've only received acknowledgement from Rockstar and Radical. If I don't hear from Radical in 4 days, I am to consider myself rejected. And from Rockstar, end of next week. Sofar I've applied to a total of 10 separate companies and 15 different positions. And only 3 companies have gotten back to me. 1 of which rejected me (not enough experience designing user interfaces) and the other two I mentioned up top.
Oh yeah, one good thing I should mention the the senior project manager over at Blue Castle. I think my work's managed to make an impression on him cause the only reason I applied for the UI position with them was cause they called me at his suggestion and asked that based on my background, I apply for the position. I applied, but HR didn't think i was fit enough for the job. Anyway i contacted mr. senior project manager with the results of my application and he was still supportive of me so ... its always good to have someone in the industry with some real influence on your side. Lets just hope something comes out of it.
With exception to the days I work at Chapters, I've been literally sitting in front of my computer, refreshing my email list every half hour or so, hoping something's come in. Either that or googling up local companies, checking job boards, refreshing my email again, write more cover letters and resumes and applying some more only to not hear back from companies. Oh, and checking the traffic from my portfolio website - which is pretty good, surprisingly. But still, nothings coming out of it. It's a pathetic life and I'm not sure I've ever felt much lower. But things are gonna get better. It's not just something I'm trying to convince myself of. I feel it .. cheesy i know, but its the best way I can describe it I guess.
I'm currently in the process of working something out with an internet US based company - not sure what they're called - but they need some texture artists to do tiling textures for them. So I accepted, its just a freelance thing, some extra pocket money, why not. Catch is they want me to do rotated tiling textures. Sounds simple enough, but holy shit is it ever hard to make them tile. Finally the guy sent me a template which worked wonders. Made one in minutes where i spent 4 hours yesterday trying to figure it out. Hopefully they like me enough to take me on for the one month contract.
AND i just checked my email and they've accepted me! That's good, which means I'll have money for the next little while. But still, i need a career job. Freelance crap, that's why i left graphic design in the first place. I can't imagine another job stint of nothing but freelance jobs. EEUUGHHGH.
That's about it for now. Nothing much else to update on. Wow, I'm surprised at how much I wrote. Man, if I started this blogging thing when I first started at the Art Institute, i can just imagine the pages and pages of blogs, haahaha. I'm starting to wish I did. I can look back at that school and say I been through alot. Highs and lows. Met new friends, great gamer nights, drinking parties, pasta nights at Boston Pizza. ... I'm reminiscing ... I better stop this now before the post gets any longer.
WOOT, first blog completed! Now I'm gonna go buy smokes ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)