In my continued research of understanding more about the animation industry in relation to video games, I’ve been trying to narrow down what kind of work I’d like to focus on. Up until now I’ve more or less prioritised digital hand-drawn animation, because it’s something I’ve always been interested in, been keeping at for a number of years, and just what I know most out of all the disciplines. But the amount of games that utilise hand-drawn assets, while growing, is still limited compared to the amount that use 3D material. It’s not that I’m uninterested in 3D projects – I think the idea is just very daunting compared to drawn work.
Half the hurdles for 3D to me are learning the software, and learning it quick enough to deploy those skills on a current piece of work. The first steps are always hardest to push through, but they’re the most important! Experimenting is equally important, but sometimes when you don’t have a guide it’s easy to lose motivation, when just making stuff should be the motivation (I’m bad at taking my own advice).
As well as 3D, there’s Pixel animation, which is something I’m a little more comfortable with, but still not entirely familiar. What I do love about Pixel animation is the economics involved with it – pixel artists are often limited in some capacity to what they can use (whether that be space, colour palette, style, etc) and it’s something I have toyed with in the past. The problem is that it’s not widely used outside of indie circles, and it feels like your prospects in the industry are a little more limited focusing solely on pixel art.
I’ve watched a few videos on the subject, but this one by New Frame Plus is pretty informative. It’s helped me put certain qualities that a video game animator needs into perspective, and where I should push. If I want my prospects to be more secure, 3D definitely seems the way to go. I don’t think I’ll put it above everything else, but I think looking at Game Jams would be a good jumping off point. I’ve tried once before (rather unsuccessfully) but I think I need to put aside some free time and join a Jam before I try to dive headfirst into the industry.
Right now I think I’ll continue to focus primarily on 2D skills and translate what I know to 3D work as and when I can find the time. 3D definitely seems like a lot of fun, I just need to get myself past that initial hurdle of learning to make and rig models myself!