Making a Living as a 3D Character Artist

[@muhamed7555]

It's not about being rich it's about to have a good payment with doing what you love

[@artofjhill]

amen

[@Alexy.0i]

so true.

[@armandodulanto2764]

I love money and I love 3D :B

[@biazwilosojati]

To be true

[@Manlike_J]

Word

[@YumBubble911]

Thank you for the transparency! 1. 3:23 Studio Job 2. 9:11 Freelancing 3. 14:09 Digital Products 4. 21:15 Social Media 5. 25:10 Teaching

[@luminous1637]

GOAT

[@szkrukowski]

Thank You!

[@coverfaker8341]

There is more. but I can not tell

[@nvacreatives3302]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can’t handle too much talking so this really helped❤

[@Gooshytgoose]

He's got a wife, 2 kids, a house... yeah that's what being rich is all about. Good luck friend.

[@Jacob_S13]

Wealthy at best, nowhere near "rich"

[@PlinaZ]

@@Jacob_S13 You have to take into account that that's in Los Angeles as well. LA is an expensive place to be. This dude is doing very well.

[@ab3d594]

Thanks for this bro. I bet it's weird talking about all ur finances but I appreciate the vulnerability for the sake of the community. Love what ur doing

[@artofjhill]

thank you! appreciate this comment

[@ThatModernDude]

Can I say it’s so refreshing to have someone measure success the way you do. I feel like my whole life people equate millions to success, where I always thought being happy, doing what I love is success. Amazing to see such a huge creator and talented artist being transparent and showing this side! Much love

[@smithyjake]

After 21 years in game industry, I now trying to get out of corporate job, studio job. These jobs comes with office politic, promotion comes from someone or a group of someones who likes you, performance review bs, bosses bs... even I try to distance myself just to do a good job, they will say u're not likable, u did nothing to contributes because I dont hang out with em.. I now focus on landing on teaching job, and build my own brand of art to go James Jean's way. Good luck to all, nowaday character art job is hard to come by, dont hope for it, start doing your own thing, get better, get your art out there, build multiple income streams, dont rely on just studio job, if u have studio job but what if u're being layoff, u'll be f. So go out there and art!

[@francisogun4930]

Great advice, thanks for sharing your experiences. It's helpful to hear as I've been a character artist in the industry for the last 5 years so still early on in my career. I'm trying to make my own stuff already, as well as trying to set up multiple income streams

[@TheBangBangg]

Thank you for your insight!

[@chloelewis5603]

Yeah lot of truth here. I'll also add that the corporate world has been steadily changing - everyone wants a voice on social media and lots of organisations now are building their own creative teams to reduce costs of outsourcing the work to studios. There's opportunities within that to climb a career ladder in an unconventional way. But, it's definitely what you make it as you as you can can quickly become the 'expert' in the room (in a 'big fish in small pond' kind of way) so it can be up to you to push your skill levels, training and creativity. However, If you're driven enough you could end up leading your own team but you'll have to fight for outside the box ideas that help keep your portfolio interesting if you ever leave.

[@jitzha]

solid advice

[@oliveuk]

some people suffer more than other from office politics. A studio job is still the most reliable source of regular income and if one is good enough, they might be able to freelance but freelance means you need to be a good business owner which is definitely not for everyone.

[@AprilMartinShinkaStudios]

The mentor coalition is wonderful. I did a month long session with Joshua Singh back in 2022. Coming from a self taught background and being the only character artist in my little studio, it was great to have more experienced eyes on a personal project. I hope be able to do the same in the future.

[@loull_aroll]

As someone fairly new who transferred from being an architectural designer to a 3D artist, you have answered a lot of my questions! Thank you so much for being so transparent!

[@artofjhill]

[@Azeemich]

Dude, I am long time subscriber of yours. I can say that you are very honest with what you do. I am a freelance 3D artist and learned a lot from your content. Next I would love to see a video where you talk about cost/pricing for a character/gig/project. For example: How much you charged for that Gal Godot gig and how you calculate the pricing.

[@artofjhill]

hey thank you! Good idea for a video. adding it to the list

[@shakey3306]

​@@artofjhillI'd also like to know

[@psychodeli1]

damn that's a great idea and J same thing, you've been a huge inspiration for me.

[@SpaceFrogFromOuterSpace]

I very much appreciate your honesty in terms of how much you've made from your classes. Definitely shows how much competition is out there.

[@Life.Art.Knowledge2001]

Having a wife who loves you and living in L.A while making a living from what you love is the definition of succes. I'm dreaming about it and I will achieve it.

[@yansculpts]

Still killing it with your video's quality and effort put into them ! P.S. thanks for the shoutout that was unexpected J !

[@artofjhill]

Thank man! Of course

[@jackobatgaming]

Really good break down on most of the biggest revenue streams for digital artists. I freelanced for years as a digital illustrator for games (and still do, just less often than I once did,) and the biggest hurdle for me as a freelancer really is how much of my time needs to be spent on the non art stuff. Also, it can be SO frustrating needing to chase down payment from clients. No matter what your contract says about when you'll get paid, you really don't know and thus can't bank on it arriving when you THINK it should. This gets really tough when you need to pay YOUR bills on time lol. Also, no matter how big that pay check from a freelance client may be, until you've built up some operating breathing room in your finances, you'll never quite know how long that money needs to last you, because the next job may take a while to land, or the payment may get delayed, etc. And tax time is it's own headache compared to working for an employer. A lot of people don't realize when they start out that freelancers pay a LOT more in taxes.

[@Mini-c137]

very insightful, what you said about "people should know how much money they should be getting" is bang on. ive had employers tell me not to be telling other staff that i just got a pay rise nor what im being paid.

[@Maytchart]

LMAO SAME

[@NaughtMax]

I feel like this may be the best video of this type I've seen. definitely the video I needed right now and made me feel a little more comfortable with taking the next step to move outside my niche art subclass (selling assets and brushes) and rebuilding my portfolio for the career I really want.

[@artofjhill]

wow glad you think so. Take those next steps! wish you the best

[@binoched9302]

This is going to help demystify the business end of things for a lot of artists. Good man!

[@MemphisFitz-t2x]

Man this video comes RIGHT on time, i just decided to finally learn 3D art and my school starts next week, thanks so much this confirms all my thoughts i had about the job and it pushes my motivation even further

[@Levi_Zacharias]

This was great! I am early in my career as a character rigger, and want to say dont underestimate just how much you will learn at a studio job. I am lucky that the one I landed basically doubles as a mentorship.

[@artofjhill]

yea that's so true!

[@JoshFryer]

Dude! Thanks for being vulnerable and putting those numbers up! 😮 NOBODY does this! Thanks for the transparency. I wish we had someone like you when I was getting into the business. Would've saved a LOT of hassle. Cheers!

[@Stranger-games]

I love the realistic way you present that stuff! I hope other youtubers learn from you.

[@MatthieuHuguet-d3t]

I don't feel like an artist because I mostly do Design & Programming, but you're an inspiration to me for building something and still being here. Thanks !

[@DylanKowalskiArtwork]

Inspiring ! Thks for the transparency, not an easy move, you can be proud of your art journey

[@flipliip]

Thy way that you said all these things gave me the inspiration to stay in the CGI/VFX industry when I wanted to change my profession. Thank you :D

[@BradfordSmith3D]

I appreciate the transparency. It's pretty inspiring to see the cumulative affect of these avenues. I would caution folks though, if you don't have an LLC, you are potentially opening your personal assets and income up to liability. And if you do have an LLC and are selling products on your personal / day job artstation portfolio you could also be opening your self up to liability. A few hundred dollars to consult with an attorney would be money well spent before diving into these ventures.

[@rizwanzaman1793]

1M as a 3D artist is highly unlikely for most people; so thanks for clarifying that in the beginning of the video; all the best to you and everyone watching!

[@ORTyOW]

it's $100,000 per year so it's not that unreal. That's basically $50 per hour

[@theproperenglishman]

Yeah, I’ve made over 200K per year the last few years, and I am not overly talented. I am a hard ass worker, though.

[@schonkigplavuis8850]

@@ORTyOW These are crazy numbers. In the netherlands 3D artist get at the higher end 40k a year. Whether you're good or not it all comes down to luck.

[@JoshuaKubit]

Love the passion, and professionalism you put into everything Keep it up Jay!

[@LOBOTOMYtv]

This is awesome man thank you so much for the transparency. I wish more people with your level of experience in various roles in the industry felt comfortable sharing this much. The level of success you've achieved is definitely the goal although I don't think I'll find it with character art at least not in a studio job. I'd already been looking into digital product sales and you've reinforced for me that this is the way to go for now, especially with Fab coming up. I don't have any delusions about it replacing a "real job" but theres definitely some money to be made while simultaneously producing a portfolio.

[@EdddEsss]

Thanks for sharing this video and being so open about your income! It's really important to talk openly about money and break the stigma around these conversations. Your transparency is appreciated!

[@artofjhill]

Happy to help and couldn’t agree more

[@MetalHeart0607]

Thank you, I appreciate your transparency

[@mtgsculptor]

Hell yeah dude! I've been following your work for years and it's lovely to hear that you're also now settled with a wife and 2 kids doing what you love. Almost exactly the same situation I'm in (had my second daughter only 6 months ago) except for the fact that I only just started making some money on the side with 3D work for other more famous artists that's being 3D printed. One day I'll be able to go full-time and hopefully get my own work out there more.

[@artofjhill]

Hell yea man! Congratulations! And keep it up

[@PhilFlock]

i moved to los angeles too for filmmaking from poland. it is definitively hard to make enough to live comfortably but it would be impossible to do so with making art for living where i am from. thank you for sharing your personal experience. cool to hear it and compare it to the own experiences! great video

[@YTartschool]

Awesome video bro thx for the shoutout 💖 i miss you I need to steal your lighting setup it's so much better than mine damn

[@artofjhill]

Love you bro. You can have it

[@txlec99]

thank you so much for this, your honesty and your thinking philosophy is very inspiring so thank you for sharing.

[@kechazileonel8141]

Thank you Mr Jason. For all your advice and for being so transparent too

[@artofjhill]

You got it

[@nestorlichev8531]

I've been a Character Artist for over 10 years and this is definitely one of the most important videos I've seen for our industry. I thank you, sincerely for addressing this important subject.

[@artofjhill]

Wow Tysm glad you liked it and I truly hope it helps in some way

[@asb3Dart]

couldn't find better content relating to this field other than JHill, Awesome video, really helped me think about my future.

[@Dan_Tasty]

Amazing tips. Definitely agree with the unreal marketplace, don't take my inexperienced word for it, but as a UE5 user there are sooo many gaps in the marketplace (especially regionalized content, 90% of environment and character assets are styled around fantasy/scifi, American, Chinese, and UK) and what I think is so valuable about the UE Marketplace is that you can see the version compatibility and know that when you add it to your level it will work (or at the very least the asset's creator is not MIA because they've updated the new version and you can contact them). I've been burnt a few times buying off turbosquid only to find that the C4D file they offered was a rushed import from Maya, Blender, or 3DSMax with useless broken materials and/or rigs, and the creator is dead to the world. Shout out to Raf Grassetti, I've done a few of his courses and they are expert. Great teacher

[@kingsainttv5645]

Great video, very informative and honest. I’ve always loved your professionalism, can’t wait to take your character course.

[@philipsloth6600]

Great video! i was wondering, would you ever consider doing a video on unwrapping and UDIM setup for a full character. i've searched around and i cant find a single consistent video on a full workflow to get the "right" unwrap of the human head and full body in blender and do do best possible UDIM/UV layout. :)

[@isto_inc]

He's back baby!! Let's goooooo

[@HelenStifler]

Thank you so much for showing the real numbers of your income! It's very helpful, especially for artists who are just entering the 3D field 🙏 This is one of the most useful videos I've seen on KZbin so far.

[@aqwbnt]

Appreciate all the insights here! Keep grinding man.

[@artofjhill]

[@sarahholland2767]

Hi J, I'm currently finishing up a grad program from Academy of Art University this semester in animation/vfx with an emphasis in 3D modeling. I love what I do and am excited for the future, but I've been really anxious lately about being a newbie in this tough market. This video was really great for me to watch/hear right now, especially the bits about freelancing and passive income. Thank you so much for this info!!

[@artofjhill]

Thank you, I hope it helps. Wish you the best of luck! Make cool stuff

[@christiaanpaulsen3974]

Great video J! Thanks for sharing this.

[@artofjhill]

you got it! thanks for being a member

[@uistudios]

"Teaching" is different than "Arting" ... loved this J, thank you for making this!!! Will add this to my mini channel :D

[@zedabyu]

It's nice to find a video like this when content brain is eating me up inside and I'm starting to explore alternative ways to monetize. My case is a little different since I really enjoy the physical aspect of these art and our creative process diverges once the sculpting process is done, but I guess most of them are still relevant. It's interesting to see that the digital products are mostly tools/courses to help with work rather than finished projects because piracy is so rampant in this industry, and that is also the main reason why I don't sell my models. Selling prints is also risky thanks to recasting. Right now I am really sick of social media and chasing the algorithm, so it seems like freelancing is the only way until I can find a job with a toy company or something.

[@yingbiao1]

Thank you so much for sharing this, very inspiring 🤘🤘🤘

[@cmgillett]

Awesome of you to share this kind of info. Would’ve loved having something like this when I was coming up.

[@mauroandorno8481]

i been professional 3d artist frelance for 20 y , i like this espression " digital nomad ". its super cool for some years but become pretty heavy after 2 decades

[@liscarscott]

3D Printables!!! There's a huge market for miniatures, custom Pops, statues, NSFW stuff. If you love to sculpt and don't wanna have to worry about clean topology or rigging or all that, it can be a ton of fun! The hardest part is how to cut and key characters.

[@artofjhill]

🙌

[@itzanburgo]

This is pure GOLD! Thank you!

[@snrenders6909]

Thank you so much for this video. I really enjoyed how you've explained everything with all that transparency and I love how you define the word success

[@PolygonAcademy]

great video dude, a realistic perspective on different career opportunities. lots of food for thought!

[@beebeedeluxe]

JHill I don’t know how you find the time to produce such slick videos and classes, take on freelance & personal work, maintain a full time gig as a lead while being married with 2 kids and somehow looking so well rested and full of energy. I’m super impressed! Sincerely, an old co-worker 😎

[@artofjhill]

BB!!! Omg dude been forever hope you’re well! Would love to catch up ❤️

[@beebeedeluxe]

@@artofjhill For sure man! Would be great to catch up! My YT pic doesn’t accurately reflect my gray hair levels 😄

[@PoukTheGame]

Wow. Appreciate the transparency. I am a 3 years Hard surface artist in studio and I am always thinking how to use my skills to make more. This video showed me thought that I still have space to make much much more then I am making now. Hopefully one day I could give my knowledge to other people as well.

[@E33Tpro]

1:35 Doing what you love while supporting a family and living a good life is the true definition of success, stacking money to waste on trendy crap ain't!

[@MFMArt]

Thanks for this J, I find it progressively more difficult to navigate the professional space as a character artist so this is definitely something I and a lot of others need to hear.

[@sporeolegy]

Great video dude very motivational, thanks, it’s not just art but every industry channel I see is very doom and gloom lately, you may not always be able to make a lot of money in this economy, but you can make money even in this industry

[@estikenal3078]

That was definitely one of your best videos ever. So much passion❤🔥💯

[@jitzha]

i've been following you for quite a bit and i can say that i i love your videos very informative and well explained, i've been saving for your game character class since i'm student at a fine arts university!

[@artofjhill]

Thank you!

[@BlackJuju13Gaming]

Thank you for sharing all that useful information about the material aspect of this ocupation. This subject is almost never brought up, although it is very important.

[@Ariart3d]

These are very valuable tips, I think it's the dream of all of us artists to want to make a living from our arts and share it!! This video opened my eyes to some more opportunities, let's do it!!! Let's go towards the goal of 1 million as a 3D artist!

[@artofjhill]

Let’s do it

[@ultraozy4085]

also help us with pricing different kinds of characters based on their quality and how to price short animations because artists get cheated by big companies sometimes

[@bharathisaladi6571]

Hey jhill, thank you so much for the great information and tutorials, it helped me alot to improve and keep learning more and more Also can you kindly make a detailed or brief tutorial on how to model and texture a snake which will be of great help Thank you again for all the great information .

[@gamingconnected4859]

Great video. I think it would be awesome for you to create a class on monetizing one's art work. I think a lot of people don't know where to start with so many options.

[@s4v4getheron99]

Just graduated from my 3D class i'm working to become a character artist and I know I need to learn more and the hardest part is just getting my first job but I believe I can do it i'm working hard for it because its my dream job!

[@frellinghazmot4443]

"Landing a studio job" "Shows job listing: LEAD 3D Character Artist." The problem with this is that every studio or company wants to hire LEADS or SENIORS but don't want to take the chance on hiring and training someone new. How can I be a lead or senior artist if no one wants to hire a normal character artist. I've applied to 200 or so places and only a handful of them were for "Character Artist". I ended up spending two weeks on an unpaid character art test for a AAA studio. I ended up getting an automated cold response from them saying that I didn't get the job. The next hurdle is that 3D character modeling is such a saturated field that you are essentially competing with 300 or 400 other people for the same job posting. Add this to all the lay offs you're competing with industry veterans and it just feels so exhausting and hopeless.

[@shoshaka]

@@Texelion I can attest to that. It's brutal out there!

[@jokerledger5400]

yup, it is extremely brutal and more so now recently with all the lay offs happening. The industry is flooded with an influx of experience devs. Character artists become a lot more difficult to get in, so everyone transition over to other field like props or environment artists.

[@razor191919]

When applying for a job, if you aren't white, male, or straight, add it to the cover letter. I'm not joking when I say this. I applied to over 200 studios with the same portfolio, resume, etc, and never got a single interview, from mega studios to tiny ones in CA. I gave up for 6-8 months. I was reading about all these criteria HR was adding on to limit their selection so I added I was part native American and gay to my cover letter, applied to around 100 studios, and got 4 interviews, and a job as a junior 3d generalist. When I asked what they liked about the resume, after I got the job, they said they were looking for more queer people.

[@MelvilleG]

@@Texelion Those "diversity quotas" sound ridiculous. A company has to hire bad specialists that will mingle with the good ones and cripple their work. It's like having to eat a bag of cookies with some randomly occurring chunks of shit.

[@fractalelement857]

dude trust me, its not nice job, its a pain in the ass. So dont regret if u dont land a job.

[@chloelewis5603]

What a great video. Nice one J

[@robertdouble559]

Anyone who thinks you're bragging by talking about money clearly doesn't have the maturity or confidence to make it in this game. Thanks for being transparent J.

[@artofjhill]

Appreciate it

[@jbvendamme]

Thanks for this quite informative video, and for your work in general . I would just precise for people willing to work in the animation industry that those salary figures seem quite exceptional . In my 25 years experience in the industry as a concept designer/modeler/animator, my income working from studios all over the world including North America was closer to 30 000 per year. I went freelancing 4 years ago for the relocation issues you mentioned , with massive gaps between tiny jobs ( I wont mention AI replacing the concept design part at an alarming rate..) , my current income is closer to 20 000/y . More like surviving than making a living. I wouldn t discourage students and enthusiastic people to follow their passion and work in the animation industry, but I would warn them that it is a brutal and highly competitive area and to get ready for concessions or brace for impact..

[@butterscotchbitz4520]

Unique content!! Thank you for sharing J. Would like to hear about your time management when it comes to so many source of incomes. I know it differs for each individual, but would love to hear how a veteran in the industry, splits all these tasks in 24hr.

[@artofjhill]

Thanks! That could be an idea for another video

[@robertdouble559]

Re: working remotely for an overseas company. If you set up the equivalent of an LLC (called a PTY/LTD company here in Australia) and use it to invoice the overseas company you should be able to work for them. You may forfeit the 401k and insurance though. That money may be able to be recouped by using the corporate tax rate in your home country rather than an individual personal tax rate. You'll need to be careful about what stays in the business bank account and what ends up in your personal account though. Milage and rules/laws will vary depending on the 2 countries involved and the flexibly of the employer. But as always, companies will be more flexible for people with the top level skills. Seek professional advice of course, don't take my word as gospel. You'll need a good accountant, not just doing your tax yourself or at H&R block.

[@DigitalArtcast]

This was a great video buddy well done for getting it out!

[@artofjhill]

thanks! glad you liked it

[@tondann]

Awesome video, thanks for talking about it that detailed!

[@mashrumishu2004]

I don't know how I forgot to subscribe to your channel J, love your content.

[@artofjhill]

[@AlfonsoCoppola824]

Great content! Thank you J!

[@artofjhill]

[@grayfox8904]

Thanks a lot for doing this! ❤

[@reggiesarts]

I felt that. Artist feels. Wanting to do what you love vs “getting a real job” 😅 😂

[@asterfell_luc]

What beginner-level online course would you recommend before taking your course? I want to enter this field now that I've finally built a PC capable of running these tools. Thank you so much!

[@JoHnWxNoW98]

This is something I need

[@70-sam-7]

🙋‍♀

[@Mackintosh141]

Thanks for putting all these infos together. Amazing video ✌

[@nashonightmare]

Thanks for the valuable information J.

[@artofjhill]

[@crystolz5538]

Thank you for putting this out...very helpful for others to learn from

[@artofjhill]

[@whonjick404]

thankyou J

[@arreshubham]

I’m having stable 3d job, I’m earning enough survive in tier 1 city but I’m not happy as I used to be when I started learning it, I feel like I should start learning new 3d stuff and earn better

[@artofjhill]

Do it!

[@BrianLife]

You're a True One!

[@devindawkins2096]

Thank you for this. I really needed this.

[@artofjhill]

[@tomwestbay]

incredible video. Thanks for being transparent

[@artofjhill]

[@lucianodaluz5414]

Great video J! Thanks

[@jimmysmack123]

Hey! I'm a lead sculptor over at NECA toys and I've "toyed" (lulz) with the idea of doing some sort of classes or workshops or toy related assets for Artstation market place.. etc.. My biggest hurdle is time. I see guys like you who, like me, have the full-time gig and responsibilities, a family etc but can somehow still find the time to regularly put out top notch additional stuff. Got any tips for scheduling life?

[@artofjhill]

That would be cool man. I’d like to sculpt toys haha. I try to give myself at least 2 hours a day to do my own thing. Sometimes it naturally goes longer if I’m into something. The course took me around 3 years to complete and I hired help at the end

[@jimmysmack123]

@@artofjhill Ha, thanks. Before young kids finding two hours daily to do my own thing was pretty do-able. Now it's pretty inconsistent at best. I'm honestly convinced folks like yourself are just using some sort of dark arts to conjure extra hours in the day for yourself. :) Love your stuff, keep it up!

[@ComplexAce]

​@jimmysmack123 1 minute is a lot more than 0 minutes a day Even if you put 15 minutes progress a day, that's more than none Find some time according to your schedule maybe?

[@SlateBlueC4t]

3:43 So people know, this is the range of soimeone in US and as a lead role. When you'll start, probably it's gonna be at a salary you can barely go by. After surviving several years you can ask for significantly more money.

[@artofjhill]

💯

[@hakamor1]

Thanks so much for blessing us with this priceless knowledge. You're amazing!

[@artofjhill]

[@tibobonjour]

Ok so actually the first step are the most difficult, I am a freelance character artist for the last 2 years and I swear having a post is the most dificult thing I ever trying to do, but great video with great advices thank for making it 🙏🏻

[@jacineyatrakos3149]

Its not about being rich but about being able to live comfortably

[@yannistath]

guys is good and sets the expectations correctly

[@shakilgreen4274]

Thank you so much for sharing this much information that not many Successful Artist like to share.

[@artofjhill]

[@robertmarquez6084]

words of wisdom this really inspires me gracias!! i needed that please make more tutorials

[@artofjhill]

you got it! planning to

[@Halo7071]

Thank you so much for the info. is there more info as to where we could find more jobs in terms of freelance. As someone that finished their 3D program recently this has been difficult to figure out

[@Lv7-L30N]

Thank you for share

[@artofjhill]

Happy to help

[@whatup2003]

Hey J. When would you start your next course? I didn't make the registration for this one because company approval came just a tad late. Also would it be possible to prolong the registration period for next time? Thanks!

[@artofjhill]

Hey! Right now the plan is to do one more that starts in January