Well, it was good while it lasted...

[fragger]

First off: Thank you so much for all the nice words my friends, I was very moved by your concerns ^-^

Second: I'm sorry to hear what happened to you JRD, and as you can probably imagine, I fully empathize. Rotten sods My father always said that when it comes to big companies, loyalty is a one-way street. How right he is. Anyway, I hope that whatever you choose to do now will bring you the happiness and contentment you deserve :)

For myself, I don't know what I'll do yet. Get on unemployment benefits while I look for some sort of w@&k for starters, which isn't easy in this part of the world for a guy my age, but I'm confident something will come up sooner or later. I've been hitting the bricks looking but nothing has turned up yet. I certainly won't allow myself to become a "dole bludger" (one who lives off government welfare) but I've worked and paid my taxes for almost my entire adult life so the taxman can give me a bit of that dough back for the time being :-() My folks are marvellous people who have been major pillars of support to me in this slightly difficult time. I say "slightly" because there are many people who are much worse off than myself - when I count my blessings I really have no grounds for complaints. If my biggest worry is where I'm going to store my excess furniture then I've got it pretty darned good (it's in a hired storage facility, btw).

But I do know that I will have nothing to do with my former employers, and I'll be damned if I'll ever buy anything from them ever again. Three and a half years of hard w@&k and commitment apparently meant nothing to them, and I can only hope that their decisions come back to bite them in some way. The only reason they have achieved the growth they have in recent years is because they have no serious competition - at least not yet. I'd love to see some other big hitter come onto the field and shake them up, but knowing this lot, should that happen they'll lay the blame for any loss on their stores' staff. Probably accuse them of not being sufficiently "customer-focussed" or some such corporate crapspeak.

Anyway, I've put all that behind me now. The move went pretty smoothly, but I had a bit of a hassle getting my internet account transferred to the new location. It's all sorted now, and although I'm not on actual cable I did get an ADSL wireless setup happening. It appears to be just as quick as it was in my "old" digs so I'm happy with it :-X

Hope everyone's OK here, I have some catching up to do :-()

Thanks again all for the good wishes chaps, they are very much appreciated :)

[PZ]

So glad to see you back online, fragger, and best wishes on your hunt for a new career focus  :-X

[nexor]

So glad to see you back online, fragger, and best wishes on your hunt for a new career focus  :-X

Goes double from me mate

[Art Blade]

make that triple from me, then  :-()

[T.V.]

 :-()

[mandru]

Best wishes on finding something that will suit your needs fragger.  I keep coming back to your talent with graphics.

The trouble with that could be turning something that's an enjoyable hobby into a job can turn out to be as much blessing as a curse.

It might not hurt to give the online artist colony Deviant Art (not the Blade kind  ;) ) a look see.  Maybe scan their forums to see if it's a suitable fit or at least pick up some tips.

I know there are some artists there who make a fair amount of pocket change doing commission pieces and some have used it as a platform to launch to higher levels.  But then that process depends on networking and tickling the fancy of a fan base which I see as potentially problematic in its own ways.

[Art Blade]

 :-()

[fragger]

Thank you chaps :)

And thanks for the suggestion mandru. I have looked at Deviant Art on occasion, but have only really given it a bit of a skim. There is such a huge range of competition in that field though, largely because 3D modelling and render programs have made it so (relatively) easy for people to turn out images that I imagine it would be a real struggle to stand out enough to expect to make any sort of money from it. It can be done of course. Would I want to? Maybe. I could try, I guess. But like you said, doing something for fun can be a whole different thing than doing it for a living, even a partial one. Sometimes I go for periods of time where I just don't feel the urge to do any of that, and I can't make myself get creative if my heart's not in it.

I suppose the only way to find out would be to upload some stuff and see what kind of reaction it gets, if any.

But once again, the sheer numbers are daunting. There are just so many folks out there contributing purely because computer software has made it so easy - no paints or canvasses, no mixing, no turps, and most importantly, no truly outstanding talent required - at least in part. I can attest to the fact that computer programs take a great deal of the skill (and mess) away from creating art as opposed to creating it via traditional means. True artistic ability is still a requirement when it comes to composition and subject matter, but when it comes to lighting and shadow effects, which are what really make or break an image, computers make it almost criminally easy. You don't have to try to w@&k out where and how a shadow will fall, for just one example - the software does it for you. If the lighting doesn't look right, change it, and change it again, until it does. That's not terribly easy to do with actual paint... Same goes for perspective, shading, etc etc etc, not to mention how easy it is to make corrections or changes to an image. If these programs didn't exist there would be a vastly smaller number of artists on the scene, and more chance for the truly talented ones to stand out. I'm not saying I'm one of those, but I humbly believe that I'm at least OK, and I have had experience in the real thing. I'd still do the real thing if I had the time, the space, the tools, the ventilation, and the willingness to don a smelly, paint-encrusted smock.

Don't get me wrong - I believe that CG artwork is as valid a medium of artistic expression as any other. It's just so clean and easy, relatively speaking, that it allows a huge number of people to get involved. That's fine and I like to see it, but to make money from it? It really has to be something special to stand out from the sheer volume of images out there. I don't know if I have what it takes to make that kind of impact. I see some stuff online that blows me away and makes me think, "How in the world did they achieve that, and what sort of software/hardware did they use?" I don't get discouraged or jealous or anything, but it makes me realize how much further I still have to go to reach any reasonable level of competitiveness. A high-end render farm would help - which is what I suspect some of these folks have, as well as some high-end industry-standard software like Autodesk Maya (licensed only, @ AUS$2070 per year). Admittedly I'm referring to mostly professionally-produced images here, which I know is not what Deviant Art is all about, but if I tried to replicate some of the incredible modelwork and images I've seen elsewhere they would take months to render out on my ordinary old single-user rig. Not to mention the time involved building the models.

Deviant Art would be a pretty good place to trial out on though, as it's intended for amateurs such as myself to showcase on and not industrial render-farmers. I guess if I don't have a go I'll never know, will I? :-()

If someone wants to get me one of these for Christmas, I'll see what I can do with it:

Spoiler

[smg id=7975 width=588]

[nexor]

If someone wants to get me one of these for Christmas, I'll see what I can do with it:

Spoiler

[smg id=7975 width=588]

That all you want?  ....I'll take a look see, might have a spare one lying around somewhere   

[PZ]

 

[fragger]

 :-D

[Binnatics]

Thank you chaps :)

And thanks for the suggestion mandru. I have looked at Deviant Art on occasion, but have only really given it a bit of a skim. There is such a huge range of competition in that field though, largely because 3D modelling and render programs have made it so (relatively) easy for people to turn out images that I imagine it would be a real struggle to stand out enough to expect to make any sort of money from it. It can be done of course. Would I want to? Maybe. I could try, I guess. But like you said, doing something for fun can be a whole different thing than doing it for a living, even a partial one. Sometimes I go for periods of time where I just don't feel the urge to do any of that, and I can't make myself get creative if my heart's not in it.

I suppose the only way to find out would be to upload some stuff and see what kind of reaction it gets, if any.

But once again, the sheer numbers are daunting. There are just so many folks out there contributing purely because computer software has made it so easy - no paints or canvasses, no mixing, no turps, and most importantly, no truly outstanding talent required - at least in part. I can attest to the fact that computer programs take a great deal of the skill (and mess) away from creating art as opposed to creating it via traditional means. True artistic ability is still a requirement when it comes to composition and subject matter, but when it comes to lighting and shadow effects, which are what really make or break an image, computers make it almost criminally easy. You don't have to try to w@&k out where and how a shadow will fall, for just one example - the software does it for you. If the lighting doesn't look right, change it, and change it again, until it does. That's not terribly easy to do with actual paint... Same goes for perspective, shading, etc etc etc, not to mention how easy it is to make corrections or changes to an image. If these programs didn't exist there would be a vastly smaller number of artists on the scene, and more chance for the truly talented ones to stand out. I'm not saying I'm one of those, but I humbly believe that I'm at least OK, and I have had experience in the real thing. I'd still do the real thing if I had the time, the space, the tools, the ventilation, and the willingness to don a smelly, paint-encrusted smock.

Don't get me wrong - I believe that CG artwork is as valid a medium of artistic expression as any other. It's just so clean and easy, relatively speaking, that it allows a huge number of people to get involved. That's fine and I like to see it, but to make money from it? It really has to be something special to stand out from the sheer volume of images out there. I don't know if I have what it takes to make that kind of impact. I see some stuff online that blows me away and makes me think, "How in the world did they achieve that, and what sort of software/hardware did they use?" I don't get discouraged or jealous or anything, but it makes me realize how much further I still have to go to reach any reasonable level of competitiveness. A high-end render farm would help - which is what I suspect some of these folks have, as well as some high-end industry-standard software like Autodesk Maya (licensed only, @ AUS$2070 per year). Admittedly I'm referring to mostly professionally-produced images here, which I know is not what Deviant Art is all about, but if I tried to replicate some of the incredible modelwork and images I've seen elsewhere they would take months to render out on my ordinary old single-user rig. Not to mention the time involved building the models.

Deviant Art would be a pretty good place to trial out on though, as it's intended for amateurs such as myself to showcase on and not industrial render-farmers. I guess if I don't have a go I'll never know, will I? :-()

If someone wants to get me one of these for Christmas, I'll see what I can do with it:

Spoiler

[smg id=7975 width=588]

I usually don't quote entire messages, but in this case I just have to. Man, Fragger, you use so many lines to explain why you shouldn't give it a try; If there's talent in you, it will hatch. All you have to do is sit on it! Now you have the time to do so, so get that bloody wellfare check and try it out! Like you mentioned earlier; you did your dudy. If I were you, I'd divide my time in two; 2 days a week of Artistic expression, 2 days for finding new employment. 1 day to catch inspiration, and you still got the weekend for gaming :-()


@ JRD, man I feel with you. I hope you get things sorted, and that you will find the new path. I so much understand your feelings regarding big companies operating in global markets, it's sad indeed. When you move out to catch that better life, make sure you still got some wire(less) to the net. I wouldn't want to miss your contribution here ;)

[Art Blade]

indeed :)


Fragger, consider becoming an author. No high-end stuff needed for that and talent you've got aplenty.  :)

[JRD]

If someone wants to get me one of these for Christmas, I'll see what I can do with it:

Spoiler

[smg id=7975 width=588]

Ok, but no gaming, just w@&k... promise?!?!  :-D

When you move out to catch that better life, make sure you still got some wire(less) to the net. I wouldn't want to miss your contribution here ;)

Don't worry Binn, I'll be haunting OWG's corridors for a long time.  >:D

[Art Blade]

 :-X :-D