Off Topic : Giving up.

[Refracted]

like you said, you're only 14.. i didn't even touch 3d till i was 16, and even then, it was part-time only at school.. granted i'm not doing a career in 3d (i'm a mechanical engineer), even after 6 years of doing 3d as a hobby, i'm still learning. It's not something thats easy (except for a few gifted people that seem to pick up on 3d very quickly), i wouldn't base your progress compared to others.. take your time and have fun, dont make it into a chore, becuase then it'll have sucked the joy out of it, and doing it as a job will not be fun.

[Joel Hooks]

dude, I've been modeling for 10 years and my stuff is no where near the caliber of what you are comparing yourself to. You are not being fair to yourself I don't think. Keep drawing and practicing, as this doesn't come naturally to most. That sort of attitude won't take you far in any sort of venture that takes effort.

[NATEMO]

I have had the same idea on giving up but then i make a small break threw to keep me going.....

What should I do if i cant do this?! anyone have anyideas?

but iam making some head way so we will see... :shrug:

[Dave Black]

You are 14. Relax. Most of the art displayed here is the product of many, many years of study and dedication(and I mean REAL dedication).

We as artists have all been were you are. I was about 3 years ago. Instead of being discouraged by genius, let yourself be inspired. I once thought i'd never get better. Then, I pushed harder. I will never forget when I looked back at who I considered my betters, and realised I had surpased them. And then the realization that there was always someone better. It's a constant evolution. Breath, relax, take a break, and get inspired. Switch to drawing for awhile, read some comics or play some games. Let yourself rest and find your motivation.

Some have a natural ability. But most just earn their skills one day at a time. I'm not trying to sound like a motivational poster. I'm telling you what I've learned from experience. If someone told me this years ago, I probably would have laughed and ignored it. But trust me. Just keep at it. It may take months, years, or even more. But heck, you're 14. I started when I was 19. I'm 24 now.

Remember. Relax. Breath. Study, study, study. Draw. Get inspired. Learn all you can all the time. Push. You can make it. But you have to want it. You have to live for it. It's all about sacrifice.

Best of luck. Really.

-3DZ

:D

[Tom Wood]

Exterminator,

This is going to sound like such odd advice, and even I don't know if it is any good. Most Blockbuster Video stores now carry the DVD of "The Power of Myth". It will be slow going for you, but try to stick with it. And, I'd suggest reading Robert Johnson's "HE". It is a psychologist's take on the Fisher King story. You're at the fork in the road.

TW

[Chris Thomas]

Its true, you are young and have many years ahead of you before you should really consider throwing in the towel. For now I'd only dabble in 3d, concentrate on traditional artwork both at home and in school if you can, that way you get better skills and good grades in art too boot :)

If your not great at it now, don't panic. Much of art is very long very ardous practice. Do basic drawing exercises like drawing straight lines without a ruler, drawing elipses, circles etc. Also doing still life is very good, its damn hard but if you perserveer you will improve. It may be that you are not naturally gifted but that does not mean you cannot become a good artist. The main thing in art though is not the "gift" but your inteligence, what is it that makes something real, what is surface texture, why are objects matte or specular, what is refraction, difraction etc.

Also when you leave school, take my advice and go into higher education, continue to expand your artistic skills there and also enjoy life. Also in time if you can, do an art (not technology) based degree, you can learn technology at home and via the net, its much better to learn about art history and design mat degree level, this knowledge will be with you for life.

Then finally go for a job in games or whatever you like at that point. My second job stright from college was in games, and by then I was 22, so, lets see, you have at least eight years ahead of you before you should really knuckle down to work.

To many people these days are teen CG nuts. They do nothing else. I know a guy who is now at WETA, only 19, he was demoing for SGI at 13, but you know I don't envy him. He dropped out of education and you can tell, He knows nothing of art, culture, music etc. All his references are from film, games or CG. It may be fine for him, but personally I think there's more to life than CG.

[DJB343]

Hi, really dont give up, im 16 now and i think .. well know that i stink at modeling but after you finish high school theres opertunitys to go 2 college ..... that is exactly what im doing, im starting College in september, the good thing bout college is that its nuthin like school and they got a whole lot more courses that you can attend to, which includes working with 3ds max, Dreamweaver, Photoshop etc ..... so all i hav 2 say is you and i, we are still kids at this stuff but we will deffinetly get better so dnt give up :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Joel Hooks]

"Also in time if you can, do an art (not technology) based degree, you can learn technology at home and via the net, its much better to learn about art history and design mat degree level, this knowledge will be with you for life."

I don't really agree with this. While I agree it is not very smart to get into a 3d GFX type program to learn a piece of software, it's a different story altogether to get an Engineering degree at a university. Mechanical, Civil, and Software engineering can all make heavy use of the 3d world.

"the good thing bout college is that its nuthin like school and they got a whole lot more courses that you can attend to, which includes working with 3ds max, Dreamweaver, Photoshop etc "

Don't waste your time or money. If you attend a university learn traditional art, engineering, psychology, or something that will give you a good base to build on for the rest of your life. I learned 3ds r4 (DOS) in school. I paid thousands of dollars to learn that piece of software and it is totally obsolete. The only courses I still draw on are the design/art classes. Your much better off learning classic disciplines over the current flavour of technology.

14 is a good time to start setting long term goals. Think about where you want to be in 5 years (college I hope). Then think about where you want to be in 10 years. Consider the steps that you will have to take now to get there. Set small goals that will help you along the way. Don't get caught up in the small details, but think about the big picture. Believe it or not, decisions you make at 14 will affect you for the rest of your life.

[heavyness]

i didn't touch 3D until i was 19. i wished i could of [in any way] workied in 3D when i was younger. think about once you goto college for this, you will have a good jump on all the other students. and since you know the basics, you'll be able to move on faster then everyone else. and when you graduated, you'll be ahead again.

so while your not turning out masterpieces right now, your insuring yourself in the long run.

if you love what your doing, keep doing it.

[admiraligor]

I too started at around your age, and thought of giving up many times... hell I did at one point, but then 2 months later came back, did around 50 tutorials in days, and wow was I suprised how much punishment the brain can take. I'd just take a break, and get a lil bit of insperation. worked for me ;)

[zarkos]

90 % members of this site are making still images and there's not much use of it. Maybe you should try to focus yourself to animation. Try first with simple objects, study particles... there's a lot of things that you can do better than most of the members here. For instance, I'm making cartoon characters and animate them and when I put them here to show them nobody seems to like it but i'm making a great money with these characters. So dont make your opinion watching others work. Find your style.

[yboris]

I'm no professional at 3D modeling, in fact I just started a month ago, but I have experience in the "art" field. I'm 18, and when I took a look at what I drew back when I was 14, I laugh. I remember how incredibly disproportionate EVERYTHING was, from nature, to still life. It annoyed me then, when I was young, but now that I look back at it, I realize - it's part of life :thumbsup:

so - if you are mad at this, why not go and learn some photoshop for fun ... or draw some still life and other things first, enjoy everything - don't TORTURE yourself. BUT !!! do not give up ... come back in maybe a few months ...

lol - another piece of experience, when I installed 3D studio 3 demo for the first time ... it brought me to such anger that I uninstalled it the second day ... since I was 16, imatient, and didn't know what any of the commands meant. And here I am 2 years later - back on 3DS 5 :)

[chach]

just keep on truckin dude.
you're 14, and, if you keep at it, you'll be kickin arse in no time.
it really is a constant evolution. you must be prepared for epiphanys of understanding that leave you on another plane that seems infinitely vast, but, in time, you will move on to the next level and it will happen again.
your patience and perseverence are your most necessary attributes in this field.
if its any consolation, i've been at it for over 5 years and still am aquiring new levels of understanding. for me, its the challenge that helps to make it worth the sacrifice.

[Joel Hooks]

Might I suggest modeling some objects that sit around your computer. Staplers, pens, monitors, phones, etc.... You'd be amazed how much easier it is to model something you can hold and manipulate. 3d becomes extremely frustrating when you try and jump ahead of yourself.

[Phoric]

Don't give it up man, it's gonna take years of hard work to get anywhere near many of the excellent work featured on this site. I wish I had started at 14, I am just starting and I am almost 24 years old.

[milqman]

I started at around 13
I worked and worked and everything looked AWFUL but i kept at it and kept at it.

I'd model things around me and read tutorials and I'd usually just stop for months at a time, not doing anything

But I'd pick it up again and keep going.

Back then I wasn't serious about 3D....

Now I am 15, and I have progressed incredibly. I never thought I would get to the point I am now, even though I still cannot hold a candle to the professionals.

I suggest you stick with it. Keep working hard. This starts out hard for most people.

One advice I can give you is ALWAYS draw out what you want to do before you do it. This will give you direction while you model. Even if you are an awful drawer (I am pathetic at drawing, still. Although I believe that doing 3d has helped my drawing ability quite a lot) I suggest you do this.

Don't give up, keep on going, persevere.

[edaddy]

only give up if you find that it's not really want you want to do

stop comparing yourself to others. Most of the work posted here is from professionals who have been working in 3d/2d for a long time... you will get better if you want to, but you have to crawl before you walk

[rremzie]

if you don't have fun in creating models or animation, then I guess you have to search for something else, but if you do, just create stuff, someday it will even be good, you are still young and experience come with time, that's with everything in life, you have to work for it, nothing is for free :P.

[Xaya]

well, i started 3d modeling at the age of 15 (3ds max 3.1)
now i am 17 years old and really satisfied with the development

learning 3d (modeling, texturing..) is hard and takes time,
a lot of time, i also was frustrated sometimes, also because of the waste of time and no improvement

but anyway i become better and better, and i think it is wonderful
to illustrate the visions of yourself in 3d
also it gives u a other perspective of a lot of things...

u are just 14 years old and u have a lot of time to develop your skills (i hope you don´t have siblings, or a own pc... i still haven´t got a own one and it is horrorble)

so when u want to do 3d u must have a lot of patience and endurance....

I do not regret doing 3d (although your youth will go apart little...)

Xaya

[gman]

Hey bud

Chill out man, you should be thankful your only 14, a lot of us didn't have the option to do this stuff when we were your age. Hang in there.

gman

[Mazer]

Well, I wich I could have started at your age... But at that time 3d was untouchable for the common mortal...
Just try to have fun, you dont have to wory about paying your bills yet so enjoy and take-it easy:)

As a sidenote, id like to say that since I started in 3d i've been amased by the way artists are wiling to help each other out, it's a wonderful thing to see so many giving to this comunity hours of work in form of tutorials, scrips, plugs etc... and are always helpful to problems like yours.
In an indurtry as competitive as this, its amasing we dont turn all agaisnt eatch others... cg artists are very particular kind of persons:thumbsup:

[Littleberu]

I'm 15 years old and I've started 3D 2 months ago. I've started with Wing3D, because it's free and seems to be less complicated than 3DS or Maya. I didn't make anything great so far, but I have a lot of ambition, and I'm sure I can, someday, be as good as many people on this boards. Yeah, I know, it's very pretentious, but this is what keep me up drawing and modeling.

I'm planning to study art in College, and then go into more 3D orientend programs in private school.

BTW : Like they said, people on this site are professionnal, and even the best of them envy others. Checking these boards is like porno : Good to see, hard to reach. Keep drawing, keep modeling. Who knows maybe we'll see your art somewhere someday. ;)

[victor throe]

what a moaning git

i recommend you give up now and save alot of time and effort

because thats what it will take to be good

time and effort

and that goes for pretty much every single thing in life

there are 2 types of people on this planet

those that can recognise the rewards for hard work

and those that cant

which is just as well....because someone has got to serve me my fries








and for the sake of being constructive

draw


sculpt


as often as you can

try to enjoy it....you will be stunned at how quickly your skills improve as your observational ability increases over time

[Ibanezhead]

I didn't start this until I was 25! When I was 14 I was listening to Megadeth and playing Metroid. I wasn't even thinking about the future, or my career. You're already way ahead of the game...

Maybe modeling isn't your thing. That's ok. Try animating, texturing, lighting , rendering, concepting, rigging characters, and/or scripting... Find something you enjoy.

There is an extreme amount of competition for modelers, but good animators are hard to come by... Maybe your frustration is a blessing in disguise...

Vic

[fabriciomicheli]

You're right man... maybe you have no the gift...

(no... boy... just kidding!!!!)

See my example:
I live in a far away land... (argentina), and when I discovered 3D a year and a half ago, nobody close to me had the minor idea about 3D. It was really a disaster when I began.
To make things worst, I didn't read and speak english a lot (not yet if you realize :rolleyes: ), and as the soft help and the most resources around the net were in english, it was a nightmare. But I could carry on and after a year, I could model my first good model. It's in a gallery right now, and now Im happy. I never believe it would happen, but it's true.

An advice: practice a lot, read more, and be honest with yourself. If your model sucks, try again... and again... and again...
You're gonna do it. Just let the time run...

Cheers! :beer:

[Ibanezhead]

stop comparing yourself to others.

I have to politely disagree. Never stop comparing your work with others, especially professionals. Those who stop examining their work against the backdrop of the pros will never have any goals to attain to... Growth starts with humility, and truthfullnes about one's own skills...

Vic

[onurbasaldi]

I been modelling and animating for about a year(started when I was 15). What really helped me was looking up to the great and having a goal to be even better then them. I researched and I realized that I needed to study what I was going to do first before I actually went through with it. For example, I am trying to learn anatomy and I know basically what goes where, and with this knowledge modelling a head or body is fairly easy. I try to stay concentrated at what I am doing(that means no music or anything like that), and walla a peice of art. I think the problem with most young artists is they don't research what they are going to do, and really do not have a clear idea of what they are doing. Even in animation, I remember my first animation was crap, but then I got the animator's kit (and the illusion of life) and studied(and still am), and in no time I was animating. But I think if you do not have fun doing this, and you really do not enjoy it, then you should quit. Find out what you want to do in life, and do that. Modelling and animation isn't for everyone. If you are not having fun then find something else.

Another thing, I don't think "gift" had anything to do with whether you can create a piece of work. If you learn anatomy to the last bone and if you learn perpective to the last detail, and if you learn about light, color, movement then I belive (even if you are not gifted at all) you can create what ever you want. Remember you just have to know what you are doing.

[Silmar]

Im 31 and started about 6 months ago, Im crap and I know it, but I love it.

Art and creation are only really achieved with love, even the sense of accomplishing small can give you the greated boost. Have you never felt that?

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.