Need Direction on Career and Critque

[Anonymous No.577735]

Is it okay if I post a link to my reel here? I just want to be judged, kicked in the teeth, whatever.

I've been unemployed for 4 months. I previously worked at a startup which recently downsized for about a year and a half. I've gotten like five interviews, but I don't end up hired. I need to know if I should just stop applying and git gud for awhile.

I feel like I'm at a cross roads, I'm very much a generalist and I don't know if I should start specializing. I mostly like character rigging and animation, I've learned enough python coding for Maya that I wrote my own human character rigging script, but I don't know if that's really reel material. Mostly I just want any paying job in CG/Motion Graphics.

I think I need to move to New York, but it seems like "motion graphics" are really whats in demand there. What is also tied up in NY is that my gf just got a job there, so it seems like get up to Ny or basically lose her. Do I need to learn more particle type stuff? Do I need to learn C4D? Do I need to make a bunch of typography type of shit?

I feel that my work is just mediocre and I don't know what direction to go in. I would be interested in working on games, the Studio that makes XCOM is literally 30 minutes from me. At this point I'm either giving up on the industry or getting some other job for now while I git gud.

I feel like I need to just over haul myself or something.

I would like to be a sort of generalist, but I have no idea how to even build a portfolio for that. As an "junior 3D artist" I was basically doing everything at my studio, even directing other freelancers and figuring out pipelines for work our studio had never done before.

When I try and put it on a resume it sound like I'm bullshitting, but that's really what they had me do.

Each failed interview is chipping away at my self esteem and it's getting harder to stay motivated. I thought it would be easier after my first job, but I feel like I'm starting from the bottom again.

[Anonymous No.577754]

>Is it okay if I post a link to my reel here?
My guess is you can't get a job because you're too beta to post your reel on 4chan without asking for prior permission.
Jesus Christ.

[Anonymous No.577773]

i don't know much about motion graphics, but i do alot of 3D (and read/watch stuff about 3d every day)

maybe you can post your reel and i can shed some light or share some advice.

>I would like to be a sort of generalist
don't do it, bad idea. generalists do more work for less pay

[Anonymous No.577785]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Rjf2sLcSrc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Anonymous No.577786]

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rjf2sLcSrc[/embed]

[Anonymous No.577787]

I'm sorry, apparently I have no idea how embedding working on this site.

[Anonymous No.577790]

>>577787
you don't have to embed on 4chan, just post the regular link

[Anonymous No.577791]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rjf2sLcSrc

[Anonymous No.577795]

>>577791
im not big on motion graphics, matter of fact iv only seen 2 people here post anything on motion graphics including you.

your work is nice, its fun to watch. but i think its time to expand on your skills. what companies are looking for are usually
1.fire and smoke effects
2.fluid simulations
3.camera tracking and compositing

all of this can be done within C4D (if im not mistaken) im not entirely sure if that's something that is also done on max, but it would be better if you use an autodesk software because that's where the industry is heading.

what you can do? bouncing bottles, logo's that dissipate or go on fire, camera tracking (insert 3D into real life footage). and basically anything that requires simulation and can be useful in commercials. i think motion graphics is more suitable for music videos and its just doesn't have alot of demand.
so basically C4D (or max) + after effects and your'e good to go. i don't really have alot of ideas for what you can actually do but maybe that will require you to be more technical and less artistic - that's what the jews at new york want

[Anonymous No.577798]

>>577795
I'm not a big fan of Motion Graphics. I like character based animation and rigging a lot more. However one of my friends concentrated on MoGraph work and she's making nearly 100 k a year in NY and is basically telling me "It's all MoGraph up here"

I know a decent amount of Maya MASH, getting particles to form objects, jump to form other objects and stuff. I know a good amount of Arnold.

Are particle effects easier on C4D? My main issues when trying to pick up nParticles in Maya is the long as fuck processing times. You make one tweak, or something isn't right and you spend another 2 minutes waiting on a simulation. Seems like you need a shit ton of particles for water to have a decent level of fidelity. I'm defiantly willing to learn though.

[Anonymous No.577801]

>>577798
i really don't want to give you a misleading answer, i don't even know what MoGraph is.

maybe you should visit /r/vfx https://www.reddit.com/r/vfx/

[Anonymous No.577805]

>>577801
I think it's just loosely defined term for "advertisement animation stuff that tends to center around typography and FX"

I'll check this out.

[Anonymous No.577837]

>>577798
For easy broadcast stuff its like 2-4 times faster to do it in C4d than in Maya.
MASH is powerful but Mograph shits all over it in terms of how fast you see stuff happening and how comfortable/easy it is to set it up. You should have no problems learning it.
Mograph artist also use X-particles and that is equally easy and fun to use. So C4d +X-particles and maybe Octane or Redshift and you are good to go.
Nobody uses Arnold in that business.

[Anonymous No.577841]

>>577798
Forgot, if you want to simulate fluids and have millions of particles, that's always slow, no matter the software.
Also shouldn't you use Bitfrost for Water?
There is no fluid simulation in C4d integrated. You'll need Realflow or Houdini for that.

[Anonymous No.577893]

>>577837
Then I begin hunkering down with C4D tomorrow. I started once and ADHD'd out. The tutorials are pretty bland.

Is Arnold a meme? My boss is always telling me that it's the future. Whats the prime renderer for C4D?

>>577841
My PC is pretty new I just built a new one with a SS drive and 16 gb ram + a pretty decent processor.

I hope it's fast enough.

[Anonymous No.577897]

Don't know shit about motion graphics, but everything in the reel feels unfinished. The animations you had in there are good, but the scene itself feels lacking.

[Anonymous No.577950]

>>577893
C4d own renderer is pretty lame, but you'll get any renderer for C4d. Arnold is not used in this business because it is too slow and too expensive. Unless you need to do photo-realistic stuff you wont need it. Most customers want to have shiny looking stuff which is better done by a GPU renderer like Octane or Redshift because its 10x faster and looks good enough.

Arnold is a great renderer, the only thing bad about it is Autodesk.