Looking at Collage

[BuroKun]

I also posted this over at CGChat.

I am at that time in my life were I look at where I am to go for collage.:flag: I wish to be a video Game Artiest. mainly Characters/props/weapons....maybe some envo work, anyway...so where do you guys think the best place to go is?....I would like it not to be to much $$$ but don't worry about that. give me your thoughts on schools! thanks. :thumb:

I already know how to use CS2 (well know) and 3dsMax9 (Known pretty good)

[Vailias]

as 98+ percent of people will tell you, just go for art, and do the 3d on your own. Good drawing and painting (and sculpting) skills are what you'll need to base your game work on anyway.

Your 3d modeling apps are just tools.

That said I know that the academy of art in San Francisco CA is a darn good school, but also a bit pricey.
On the other coast theres SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Savannah Georgia. They have a good rep and tend to produce good work.

Other than that just take a look around the net for art colleges, and go for an illustration major or something rather than anything computer animation related.

If you are dead set on paying for your 3d art training Full Sail and The Guildhall seem to be a pair of decent programs given what/who I've seen come out of them lately.

[killingpeople]

i went to the art institute of phoenix for my bachelor of arts majoring in game art and design. here are some things i typed when i graduated.

"attending the school was a great experience i would not trade for anything. it has created a fiscal tension that is forcefully pushing me forward. [after four years,] i'm exhausted and excited to begin the real game."

cgfuller64:
"How is aipx, Killing? I live in scottsdale and was thinkin about going there after I finish at ASU next year (I'm an education junkie). I was going to do the graduate program at ASU, but I've been there a long time.....238 credit hours long! [...]"

"cgfuller64 hi man,
if you're looking for an education, i'd try a different school. the art institute's goal, through my experience, has been more of a focus of getting their students jobs when they graduate. i had expectations more of a school that taught traditional art skills and game art techniques. most of what i had learned was from personal time sacrificed out side of the hurdles they had in their program. i felt the program was more inclined to teach skills that made them look best as an employee, rather than skills that made them better artists. because the program is so young it was under constant reconstruction and was a roller coaster ride from the beginning. if you are more interested in learning 2d and 3d art packages via assignment, i'd suggest looking at the institution. if you seek insight as a game artist, i'd suggest joining a serious mod project [rather difficult to discover as someone who's inexperienced] or striving for an internship at a game company. if you seek to refine your craftsmanship as an artist, i'd search out schools that strive for artistic excellence in their students, attend workshops, and read books that offer helpful personal studies."

to add, school is REALLY damn expensive. i thought it was fun. i meet great people. i learned great things. i think animal collective says it best when they sing, "yyooooooooooouu ddooooon't hhaaaaaaavvvee tooooo gooo tooo cooooooolllleeeeeeggge!"

[Ged]

haha Im at uni studying interactive media now and work doing 3D design too. University is good because it gives me the time I need to teach myself what I want, its bad because the university teaches me almost nothing and lectures are few and often rather pointless. I would study something more like the arts(figure drawing, sculpture, paint, light and colour etc) based courses if I could start over.