Formal Training Vs Self-Teaching in Computer Graphics Arts

Do Art schools fully prepare you for your first job as a 3D artist or self-teaching is a better alternative?

Computer Graphics Art is one of those rare fields, where results count more than any certification. A lot of great artists are self taught, a degree does not seem to be mandatory, therefore demo Reels and Portfolios seem to have a more important role to play than education. However self-teaching may be a long process if you want to establish a career in this field (books, online tutorials, forums etc.). Determination, work ethic, and passion are the keys to success.

A school is a great bonus, but it is not guaranteed you are going to be the best artist on the block when you are done. No matter how much schooling someone has, if he does not love what he does. Also, schools are definitely only as good as their instructors... but no matter how great a teacher is, it makes no difference if the student is not just as passionate.

Schools provide some benefits like networking that you can also have with internet Art communities, learning aspects you may not have the discipline to easily teach yourself (e.g. programming with 3D packages) and speeding up your learning.

If you intend to go to school you should know that there are lot of things to be learned and hence it is important to first select the specialized field you want to be trained in. Once you have decided what you actually want to do then you can follow on your path to perfection. You can opt for colleges that offer you a regular degree or for institutes that specialize in short term courses in only particular software that is essential in Computer Graphics Arts.

As for any area, it is impractical to expect schools to fully prepare you for the real world, they will guide you through the first steps and show you the ropes, but in the end, you learn on your own, or you learn from your classmates. The real training begins once an artist gets a job and works together with other people in a production environment.

An employer may give importance to your education, but experience is much more important to the employer than degrees. Choices are based on visible talent as opposed to academic titles. Alternatively you can offer freelance services.

3D Artist (hobby)
http://cgraphics.weebly.com/
http://cgraphics.weebly.com/blog.html

motorcycle accident attorneys auto sales lead criminal lawyers