There is something about sculpting or digital sculpting that really soothes me. I always tell people that work is my Zen. It’s where I’m happy and honestly anyone that doesn’t understand or respect that annoys the shit out of me. The bottom line is I like what I do and I wish I had people to share that with on a more than skin deep level.
I loved teaching people too. Sharing my knowledge with someone and showing them the techniques they could take and make their own was definitely something that I enjoyed. Nothing like seeing someone a couple of years later blowing away the work you taught them with. Fascinating to me.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t feel like I’ve connected with someone like that in a very long time and I’m really longing for that again.
Lately I’ve been working as a 3D designer for a team. Well technically I’m the Lead 3D Artist, but really it seems like for me it’ll be more politics, training, and paperwork for the guys under me. It really does feel good to be sharing what I know with these guys and watch them light up when a simple tip helps them improve leaps and bounds. Being an artist is 90% about being open to change and learning. We change and learn new workflow, we change and learn new tools, we change and learn new styles but in the end it’s all for the same general purpose. To keep our art organic and flowing.
I don’t particularly like feeling trapped, and over the years I’ve grown out away from people. When working as a consultant, I keep myself distanced from people only teaching and sharing my knowledge but rarely ever do I engage my personal life to any extent. I’m not really sure why this is, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to mix my personal life with my professional life on any level. To be completely honest I don’t even like people I work with to know what I do for a living outside of what they can see, or have any idea who or what I’ve done in the past.
That’s right, the guys I’m working with now, have no idea what I’m capable of unless they see me do it.
I like it that way because it’s safe. Though I have to admit that keeping such a low profile and being completely obscure with my facts and knowledge can cause various trust issues, it also prevents them from relying on me too much. As a born teacher, not to mention a born loner, I refuse to let anyone rely on me. Using my knowledge as hearsay rather than stone cold fact gives students, and fellow workers, the freedom to use my criticism as they see fit.
Though at the end of the day, my word IS gold because I am the lead, I can only hope that instead of coming across as a dictator I can come across as a voice of reason. Here’s hoping huh?
So off the depressing emo loner talk and onto some cool shit. Later this week I’ll be posting up some tutorials and various stuff to help show my workflow and what not. I need to do it for my team anyways, and I figure I’ll do it with generic assets that aren’t covered under the current NDA I’m restrained with. I think the first few will have to do with some simple texture creation and my workflow with normal maps on assets. Most of you won’t give a flying fuck, but there are a few of you that will.
As for my broadcasting on JTV, I don’t know if I’ll ever have time for that until this project is over. But I’ll try.
I understand how having a creative out-lit can be relaxing and important. I know that for me writing and photography can always make me at peace no matter what. I respect what you do and how much you're passionate about it. I'm interested in hearing about it and would actually like to learn more. I don't read your posts just because YOU wrote them, I do it because it truly is very interesting. Your work is fascinating to me, and you're incredibly talented. Above all I'm your friend, and I support you. I know you're going to do great things and inspire hundreds of people. It's always refreshing and motivational to watch someone living up to his potential. Good luck with all you do; I know you're name is gonna go down in the record books