STOP Feeling like a failure! 3 HUGE lessons from a game industry artist

How I got my first game studio job: • HOW I GOT MY FIRST GAM...
This might be one of the most important pieces of content I ever put out.
Failure is a part of any artist's journey, even the pro's you look up to on ArtStation or Instagram started out struggling at first. 3 big tips that help me move forward and embrace failure whenever it happens. 11 years in the game industry and it is still a part of the daily grind. Take these tips and SMASH your next project. If you haven't been following the art station challenge tutorial series....check it out: • Creating Game Art Envi...
The Best video card for Gamedev: amzn.to/45Ev6Cu
The Best Budget Video Card for Gamedev: amzn.to/45Lxck0
Backup your work! SSD I use: amzn.to/45s0y7m
The Mouse I use every day: amzn.to/3qRN4Td
The Laptop I use for remote Gamedev work: amzn.to/3Ed07li
The Camera I use to film my videos: amzn.to/3Pf0bHL
About me: I am an environment/level artist who has been working in the game industry for 10+ years at studios such as Ubisoft, EA, Relic, Capcom and United Front. I have worked on games like FarCry 4, Watch Dogs 2, Splinter Cell, Sleeping Dogs and Spacemarine.

[@elijahclevenger10]

I come back to this video every once in a while when I feel like I'm failing at my goals in environment art or an environment isn't coming together how I wanted it to. Thank you for this video. I feel so far away from getting a job in the industry, I have had a very rough past few years, but I am now able to practice more and have been working very hard on improving my skills & knowledge and building a portfolio. I definitely feel that mentality you mentioned in students and younger less experienced people of rushing to prove myself as someone who still has so much to get better at before I can actually get a job at a studio. I won't give up though, even if it takes many more years to finally reach that level of quality to work in games.

[@elijahclevenger10]

I also have those perfectionist tendencies somewhat to a downside at times because I am so scared of posting anything to my Artstation that I don't feel is of my best possible quality, but I am trying to realize now that I can't work on something forever and I gotta put it out at some point. I agree 100% with that famous quote "Art is never truly finished, it's only abandoned."

[@PolygonAcademy]

@@elijahclevenger10 totally get that! glad this video helps you out. When it comes to posting on artstation, you have to realize you are 100% in control, if you post it and change your mind, just delete it. I delete some of my older art posts over time as well to keep my portfolio more "current". dont think of it as set in stone :)

[@elijahclevenger10]

@@PolygonAcademy That's what I am definitely starting to realize! I can just hide the earlier stuff one day when I inevitably apply for my first job or something. But I definitely gotta start somewhere

[@KUBE.archvis]

To answer your question: today. Im new to marvelous designer and I was trying to tuck a blanket under a mattress and fold it back. No no matter what I tried it just wouldn't behave, causing a tangled polygon mess. I got so frustrated that I had to stop myself and step away from the computer to regroup. I opened a window for fresh air, did some yoga, listened to the draftsmen podcast and afterwards was able to resume my workday refreshed. I didn't finish the blanket, but I got it to a point where the geometry was laying nicely and tomorrow i can start doing the detail work. So yeah, taking breaks to process a failure and coming back to it fresh is the best way I've found to help.

[@bauken5315]

Thank you! This video inspired me to get back to work on my portfolio and get back in the industry! After I lost my job, I felt like a failure and that killed my motivation to work on my art. So thank you for helping me to re-discover my passion.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Bauken thats awesome to hear! Glad the video helped you out :)

[@visionaryarts2380]

been modelling for 6+ years and focused on modelling exclusively until now. Only just learned texturing within this year, I felt like a failure for awhile because of that. Kept telling myself "oh man if Id have just gone to the right school, could have done it in half the time. Now I look back on it and just think about where I was when I started vs where I am now, and it's night and day and my quality has improved massively. That's always a good way to center yourself.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Yea! Looking back is a good way to measure progress :) and build confidence seeing what you have accomplished by finishing projects 💪

[@blacshairon]

I've found the best youtube channel!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Marc PG hahah thanks :)

[@dadades690]

Good advices x) I must say, I just graduated, and by doing my portfolio, I feel like I'm failing on every projects I'm doing, cuz I always think they're not good enough. But I still put them in my portfolio, or I'll never have something in x)

[@RustyShacklefardd]

Every day. I graduated a year and a half ago from game art school. It’s hard to find the motivation when retail jobs are sucking out your soul. Failure would be a better step than being unmotivated for me currently

[@PolygonAcademy]

Austin France yea you cant rely on motivation to get the job done, its hard but work even when you dont feel like it! The good feelings come AFTER you have done the work :) thats something most people dont realize. You can do it! Start small and just try to be consistent 👍

[@ItIsNathan3D]

Every damn day lol, but then I make something small or learn a new tip that I want to try and that keeps me coming back for more lol.

[@magnusran]

Same

[@PolygonAcademy]

Hell yea, thats the right attitude to have 🔥🔥🔥 it will take you far in life :)

[@bentripn]

Great advise! I've also been taking daily screenshots of my work. If I hit a low I look back over my progress and draw inspiration from what I've already accomplished. I really liked the idea of using a mood board for reference that you talked about in one of your other videos. Thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Ben Johnson cheers! Yea its good to look back and see how far you have come over time, its hard to see progress in the day to day but when you look back several months or years, the results can be shocking!

[@WraithDesignz]

This is how i learned what I know so quickly. I messed up A LOT. best teacher I had next to videos and documentation and other Artists. You should hope you mess up, it helps you learn stuff and also learn stuff in strides. Sometimes you mess up and figure out like 3 things you had no clue about prior, that may even web out into other skills you may gain or just did through the screw ups. That is how you expand and understand better every time. Becomes sort of like a natural method to form artistic 3d instincts.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Wraith Designz hell yea! Failure is a powerful teacher :)

[@WraithDesignz]

@@PolygonAcademy agreed! To learn, one must embrace failure and know that success is always temporary.

[@satrayanaeldindepecoulas4767]

Thank you so much for this video, it really spoke to me. I failed to get a job in the industry and I kind of gave up, doing a somehow unrelated job. I never could give up on 3D though and I keep trying to practice my skills, but I keep feeling frustration on a daily basis. I exactly went through all these feelings of having to rush and putting unecessary pressure on myself to catch up with so many talented artists. I think it becomes easy to forget what draws you to what you love and it is important to keep the passion burning. Hearing you talk about patience and how even professionals could feel this way really gave me hope and I will definitely try not to end on a low note. Thank you again and bless you sir for your inspirational words. PS: sorry for the long comment, my English isn't very good either.

[@Gusando]

I failed today making a pbr trash can, I moved past it by looking at my daughters picture on my desk. She reminds me not to force the process and to enjoy what im doing.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Paolo Yatar learning to enjoy the process is super important. It can be a grind at times but just keep moving forward and you will get it eventually 👍🔥🔥🔥

[@ashervisalis]

Probably the last time I felt a fail was during this ArtStation contest. Spent a good week or two trying to create a beautiful Japanese shrine, studying Japanese roof construction, etc. When I checked out the entries, there were people who had done 10x as much work as I had already done, and it looked so many times better.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Electronic Pulse of Sound literally steal their techniques haha. Seriously try and deconstruct how/why theirs looks better and use that to level yours up! Dont be afraid to restart or redo it, your results will get better and faster!

[@ivanmalau4945]

Honetsly Ive always wanted to tell a story through my works but often times found that what I have in my head and what comes out do not coincide with my skill level... if that makes sense? But this video does bring me a sense of relief

[@PolygonAcademy]

makes total sense, it's happened to me before many times! usually it comes down to doing more revisions and implementing feedback from others with more experienced eyes, find communities to post your work on and get critique from professionals, it will help you grow much faster

[@GamingOnTheRaidar]

I was recently modeling a vehicle (Submarine) which isn't typically what i model as an Environment Artist. Especially the way the shape was more rounded, organic and most importantly had to be all connected with a hollow inside that made sense. It was tough, took maybe 9 different prototypes and new methods to get right. At one point i seriously thought i simply couldn't do it... that it was impossible. But somehow i pushed through, something clicked and i found a way that worked. It is hard, it's a part of being an artist. But i think those challenges make us stronger, smarter and more confident in our ability in the end. Great video!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Michael Pearce dude, super inspiring story! Sometimes you literally just gotta put the car in gear and grind forward no matter what!

[@toxicsludge77]

After your nudge on Twitter about how your most important video was your least viewed one, I thought I'd better check it out. You make some great points! It's so hard to get past that feeling (for me) that you'll just never be good enough. Personally I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I'll be good enough to get a studio job, but I'll keep trying anyway - as you said, you might pleasantly surprise yourself :) Thanks for the vids Tim!

[@PolygonAcademy]

ToxicSludge i thought the same way, i just kept grinding for 6+ years until something happened :) consistency of output is super key!

[@Jackoasta]

I feel it everyday. One thing I always do is take one of my dogs for a walk to clear my negative thoughts so that when I come back, I can then come back into it with a fresh mind and look at a task at a new perspective and see if it works much better. I always like to end on a high (e.g. If I'm not liking what a texture for a modular piece looks like, then if I have some modular assets that I'd think I can make to make a building much better, I will happily do it and end on a high because that means the modular kit is much closer to being done and I will look forward to tackling the texture task again).

[@PolygonAcademy]

good point! nothing like spending some time with a doggo to cheer you up :)

[@DarkAutumn3D]

I've been a self taught 3D model artist for about 19 years now and speed definitely does come and it doesn't take all that long. Heck I have hotkeys setup for everything these days, including exporting because clicking on menus slows me down lol. Even though I've been doing this for almost 2 decades, I still have those same struggles. I'll struggle with a project for a few days and then think "well I COULD give up on this and start a new one using the things I've learned because I'll be much faster and efficient now..." ZBrush is a MAJOR frustration for me as I know it's stopping me from "evolving" but the interface is just so confusing. I keep telling myself I'm going to start using it more but I get frustrated when things don't look as I want them to xD

[@danecustance2734]

As a noob to art this video, including the tips relating to your process, have been very helpful for helping me manage my expectations.

[@PolygonAcademy]

thats awesome to hear, just focus on working through any problems and progressing and you will become a badass artist :) its the long game, but rewarding if you stick with it!

[@bohdanbilous9]

Really good advices. Especially with ending on high note. I kind of implemented this into my work routine, and I even didn’t know I am actually doing it.

[@ZeroBigSis]

That's some great advice, wish I'd had access to that info a few years ago. I felt like I'd failed by trying to keep up with the turn over on sites like Polycount and ended up burning myself out, seeing the amount of work that was being uploaded on a daily basis kept me thinking that I wasn't doing enough to get good enough, dumping projects because they weren't looking perfect from the midway point. Getting into the games industry is portrayed by some as finding the holy grail and can feel like if you aren't putting 100% of your time into it then you'll never make it. I ended up taking a break from 3D for about 18 months (!) because I couldn't stand to open up 3dsMax. Eventually, I got back into 3D and am now working with a great mod group. Found your videos today and have been binge watching. Thank you

[@KiLaMaJiRaa]

Such a good video great advice

[@MrSmith01]

Awesome advices. Thanks a lot, man! God bless you!

[@olahaldor]

I work at a studio and have been thinking I should look for work somewhere else because of struggling with “leaving on a low note”, and your points are.. on point. The “don’t end a session on a low note” part hit me hard. As if you read my mind. So it was inspiring to hear your take on it. Love your videos and explaining everything, look forward to see more.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Ola Haldor Solvik Voll yea sometimes you just have to make a jump and change jobs if you are not enjoying it. Change can be good! Thanks for watching :)

[@GamingOnTheRaidar]

Good point with your "Leaving on a high note", i'v found myself doing this a lot. Another tip i'd give is to almost try to leave things halfway too. There's been many times where i'v tried to finish something *that day* so i could start a new model the next day, but that process ends up leaving me dreading starting a new thing the next day. So i'v found sort of going halfway between the two helps a lot more. Finishing a half done project, and getting to the halfway point with a new one on the same day is better than doing model per day. Lets you pick up with the momentum you left off with and warms you up to get a good start on the new model.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Michael Pearce good point, any way you can harness momentum and stay excited is a great way to work 👍🤛

[@markrennie86]

Needed this today

[@PolygonAcademy]

Glad it helped! You got this!

[@jamizo9390]

Oh man thank you Tim, this is exactly what I needed.

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers! you got this :D

[@balzac617]

Thank you with all my heart.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Mathieu Vaillancourt welcome :)

[@tjalle199]

Good video Tim! I'm currently in a junior position, and my lead and seniors tell me quite frequent it's fine to take longer and learn whilst working on assets, it's what juniors are there for after all. To add to it, I'd say to also make sure you show your seniors things you already know quite well, maybe you can help them with certain things, i.e. a software package or some brainstorming.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Tjalle yup, collaboration and sharing info helps you and them learn, i know i am learning a lot doing these vids to teach :)

[@forestpump3]

Currently learning Substance Designer and sometimes I get my texture to a certain point and another time I completely abandon it because it just doesn' look good or I don't know how to make something specific yet. I usually go to the gym, play some games etc to freshen up my head. I really like your point about "leaving on a high note". I will take that to heart! Getting that good momentum going is so helpful and also makes it more fun. Thanks for the videos Tim, awesome as always!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Pall Smenis hell yea! Im a bit of a gym rat myself (notice the gains shirt in my other vids 😂) and there is nothing more that helps clear the head and boost my mood like snaggin a sick pump hahha. Cant show up to a 5 hour modeling session looking flat bro!

[@forestpump3]

@@PolygonAcademy Haha yep I saw that ;) Always nice to see an Artist who's got some gainz. (Real gym talk here lol)

[@iExistBand]

Lots of really cool stuff here, thanks. Stoked to dive into this channel

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks for the kind words :) hope you continue to enjoy the vids!

[@Kwenron]

Thank you for all your videos, they're really inspiring and full of great advice!

[@PolygonAcademy]

you're welcome!

[@Rick_Kopines]

Yes!

[@SimplyCrazySid]

Didn't know how much this video was needed until now. Great video Tim. I was stressed and didn't have much confidence in myself when I was taking Jeremy Huxley's CGMA class. It was my first time working on an environment and I had never really used ZBrush as much. Messed up a couple of plants I first started working on and felt I wasn't cut out for the job. I spent some time just looking at projects created by other artists on artstation and this gave me enough motivation to get back and start new. Also Jeremy helped me get that boost in confidence and I am glad it worked out and I finished the project. Definitely gonna work on being patient as you mentioned. Keep up the awesome work Tim.

[@PolygonAcademy]

SidSmarthouse thats awesome sid, glad it worked out!

[@coffee3d556]

Hey, I know it's been a while since you posted this video, but I just wanted to say thanks for the advice. I wish I had heard this ten years ago.

[@JoshAntonio]

Great video thanks!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Josh Antonio you’re welcome :)

[@propulsetoi]

Probably some of the best tips I've heard as an full time artist. Thank you very much!

[@deanpountain59]

Ive come back to this video again. Ive been losing a lot of steam recently where applications have gone wrong, re-watching has made me see things in a different light and where I've been going wrong on how im treating my portfolio and pieces im working on. Thanks so much man!

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers! that's what it's here for :) thanks for letting me know it has helped you out!

[@Eron_135]

I've had quite a bunch of instances particularly during our thesis when my ability as an artist fell short in terms of what our group needed to accomplish. I would make promises that I wouldn't be able to keep like learning a software within a limited time frame and failing to delivery assets. There are also times when I would slack-off and later be demotivated and just do nothing. And most occasions, I'd be very frustrated on failing to deliver due to the limits of my abilities and such. There are a lot things that can affect a person and self-awareness plays a crucial role in getting back on track. And what really helped me are my friends and classmates who has always been supportive whenever I'm feeling very down or tilted as hell. I've always kept a lot of things to myself and opening up to other people about my struggles and personal issues really puts a ton of weight of my shoulder. Another thing is that I would usually stop at some point when frustration kicks in and just you know, have that short moment of relaxation, analyze what's driving my head nuts, rethink my workflow, figure out what's slowing me down or what's giving me a headache before going back to work. Having a positive mood really helps in maintaining that momentum as you work on projects. It's ok to have breaks or pauses but not too much :) I was able to produce more work in a few hours with a positive mindset than 10-24 hours of non-stop frustrated work. And lastly, Acceptance. We can do many things but we can't do everything. It's important to know what you can or cannot do for the time being and improve on what you can do. While it's important to learn and try new things, some of these things may just be too much for you for the mean time but eventually, you'll get there :D I just wanna give a HUUUGE thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. Being aware of an artist's struggle really helped me in putting my mind at ease. Once again, thank you and wish you all the best Tim!

[@PolygonAcademy]

thank YOU for that huge post, really awesome mindset and way of looking at things :)

[@DanyGates0693]

Never saw such a video like this in the whole KZbin, thank you Might be a good video for the future of tips for getting your foot in the door once you overcome this problems and you are ready to put all the meat in the grill and starting a new life as a digital artist :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

Dani Baena oh totally, ill have a ton of industry info/tips videos coming out after the challenge finishes 👍

[@nikolaymarinov7806]

I think that this is inevitable as an artist, doesn't matter if you're a student a junior or a senior. You're spot on on everything you've said in your videos so far and thats amazing. For me I've turned feeling bad about my art into a good thing. Everyday before I start doing whatever I have to do I browse Artstation from half an hour to an hour to see not only what the pros are doing but also people of similar skills and then when I see all the amazing artwork they produce I used to tell myself that I'll never be that good and that there is no point in competing with them. In time I learned that there will always be someone better than me and thats okay. People better than you should only motivate you to keep practicing and keep a good standard of your work. Upon getting my first job as an artist while still being in university that kept me grounded because I've seen a lot of students like that start early on somewhere and start thinking that they're better than everybody but in reality when I started everything that I haven't had the chance to do previosly posed a challenge and because of the mindset I have build I am aware of my actual skills and my weak spots.

[@PolygonAcademy]

really good attitude and mindset :) thanks for sharing your story! there are always better artists, and you can find ways to learn from them over time. you never want to be the smartest/richest person in the room, it means you are maxed out and not learning anymore!

[@KC-li3zc]

I really want to become a better artist because I love art and it’s amazing that people can create a world with there hands. However it’s really hard and I can’t even draw for 20 minutes like I used to because I just feel so horrible about how my art looks and I feel like I’m failing.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Silver Rain yea thats understandable. I would recommend just sitting down and pushing through it. It takes time, expecting results in 20 mins is gonna hold you back. If you just start with zero expectations other than having fun, it helps. No one has to see your work, you are 100% in control of that, so who cares if it sucks at first, i know my art did when i first started out! Just try to get back to enjoying a good doodle session!

[@Gazzoth]

Thanks you so much. Awesome tips, that will help me a lot for sure! That happens a lot to me and is good to know that its normal and still happening in experienced artist! My motivation keeps growing every video I see from you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Gazz's 3D glad to hear it gazz!

[@chuanjenchang3153]

Ok, you really convince me to go polish my last project instead of starting a new one. thank you! I think this video is exactly what I needed right now!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Chuanjen Chang hell yea! Hammer on that art until it’s the best you can do 💪

[@AndrewWeirArt]

All the time too! I like to fall back on something I'm comfortable with. If Im burnt out making something, I'll either fall back on something like Substance Designer for a day, and then get back to it. Or say to myself its just this push, then I can do the other stuff. Either way, the task that i'm excited to do is a reward for putting more work into one I dont. And as for failing in general, I just share it anyway and do it again. Try things in different ways.

[@PolygonAcademy]

AndrewWeirArt any way you can get those small wins and positive momentum is a big step forward. Thanks for sharing :) 🔥🔥

[@yeliseikulesh7292]

Thank you very much for your help! It's so helpfull! I'd read all your articles at your site, it's help me so much as a beginner artist! It's so nice to see that people in CG so open and help each other to get better! Thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Gordan32 3 thats great to hear, thanks for watching!

[@Mike-hp7lv]

This video definitely spoke to me, made me feel motivated again! I felt like I failed the most trying to create an environment for a game we were designing in school, I didn't know enough about the unity system, and ended up not being able to function in the client correctly. After tons of troubleshooting and an approaching deadline, I figured out a few ways to go past the issues and made it work. I never got to finish the enviro the way I wanted, but I am glad I was able to do something that worked within the time period.

[@PolygonAcademy]

The Starting Artist that story literallly mirrors every production ive ever been on. You never get it to where you imagine, but you get better at getting it close to that initial vision when the pressure is on! Here is an article i wrote on motivation you might find helpful: www.polygon-academy.com/tips-for-artists-struggling-with-motivation/

[@emmanuelebiondi_3dart]

Ohh great video, as usual. Sometimes I have a bit of anxiety when I start a new asset, it`s like if it will be impossible to get certain shapes, so I'm going under a lot of stress, even though in the past maybe I've modeled even more difficult things. It is difficult to overcome this feeling, and it leads me to make so many mistakes. One thing that I understood in my young career it`s when you modeling or create art in general, the result is closely linked to your state of mind, I do not know if I explained myself well.

[@PolygonAcademy]

emmanuelebiondi47 me too, any time im tackling scifi or hardsurfsce stuff i struggle to make interesting shapes, I am making it a goal to study industrial design and get over that soon! Looking back at completed work, your track record will show you that if you put in the work you can do it. Thats why it is so important to finish projects, it tells you mentally that you finish what you start and that builds self confidence 💪

[@VitorGuerreiroVideos]

woah! that's exactly me as well xD! Every time I look at the reference and the mind starts boiling in trying to think how is it even possible to achieve such shapes, and tension builds up and usually, after trying and failing several times, I have to give up for an hour or so and get back at it later, more relaxed. I usually go for a walk or do a gaming session for this and when I come back I tend to have better results. I'm planning to spend some more time training hardsurface as well... I've seen those Fusion 360 guys on youtube and stuff and one nice thing that I want to give a try is to grab the reference, bring it to photoshop sketch over it and try to deconstruct the shapes and how/what techniques/etc could I use to approach it (- here is a cylinder, this is a box with extrusions, here is a boolean, etc). Awesome video again @Polygon Academy ! Thank you for sharing! :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

Vitor Guerreiro bro, i over think things all the time too. As soon as i “fired” the internal technical director and just focused on having fun and enjoying making art without trying to make everything 100% technically efficient, especially in my personal work, my output skyrocketed. If a project at work has hardcore tech limitations i can adapt and work within them but for personal work, just focus on having fun and making it look gangster af.

[@WizardReel]

Awesome advice. Especially ending your work day or shift with a good note. In some projects I got so frustrated, I actually started over again with that project. The fresh new start could be what you need to succeed.

[@PolygonAcademy]

yup! good point :)

[@stevenprimrose906]

Great Video, i think as a student i feel like the list of things i need to learn to gain entry into the industry is growing faster than i can learn it. This is ultimately meaning i spend almost all of my day procrastinating and looking at videos and trying to justify what is most important to work on first. Over coming something is difficult but i tend to work of something unrelated to anything a small prop that once finished shows me i can do it, but damm its hard to see my own progress lol

[@PolygonAcademy]

yea its good to put things in the long term perspective and focus on small chunking the work. each thing you accomplish will grow your confidence and self esteem, positive momentum, starting is the hardest part!

[@bowilliams8643]

1 dislike? Had to be a misclick! Love your channel and content!

[@PolygonAcademy]

haha thanks bo :)

[@user-ee9wf9hv1o]

Very good, thank you very much for your video. When I was at the bottom of my life, it helped me. I hope that I can take the artist's road and wish you happiness every day.

[@PolygonAcademy]

鸣宇 庄 cheers! Im really happy to read that it helped you, good luck on your artist journey 👍

[@mikkelmelby]

high note and momentum, very good! thanks

[@PolygonAcademy]

Mikeru merubay awesome, glad you got something out of the video :)

[@mikkelmelby]

@@PolygonAcademy keep it up! I Spread ur channel to my friends :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

@@mikkelmelby thank you so much, I appreciate the help in growing the channel :)

[@PropheticGamesProductions]

Really thank you for this video. I "add" another point, 4, understand and speak English correctly ah ah ah. I am French, and my English is very bad but I will improve and take classes. I really liked the three points you mentioned, especially the one of patience and, if I understand correctly, the one of taking your time. I'm a manga comic artist, and sometimes when I have the white page syndrome, I leave my job and come back later or the next day and then everything rolls like clockwork. For your question, the last time I felt that I had to leave my work and come back later, it was this night, on the layout of my last boards of my manga. Thanks dude.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Chrys Gaman ah yea the blank page, i know that feeling! Your english is great bud, dont sweat it haha. Interesting to know this helped a manga artist as well :) thanks for the comment and watching

[@PropheticGamesProductions]

@@PolygonAcademy Thank you for your answer. I am developing a game on UE4 and also on another 2D engine named construct 2. So I'm just looking for advice on level design and I found your advice very informative for me. So thanks. For my English, I still need google translation ah ah.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Chrys Gaman awesome, if you havent watched it check out episode 2 of the artstation challenge series i put out where i talk about greybox and level design :) full of info that could be useful to you

[@PropheticGamesProductions]

@@PolygonAcademy Of course I have already watched, it is super interesting, it is this video that decided me to subscribe to your channel. I will still study it when I finish my manga boards for my publisher.

[@Yehoogame]

I'm having huge anxiety at the moment because of my feudal japan challenge. I posted my first post 3 days after the start of the challenge and since then I couldn't get anything done because of work. I work in Switzerland and at an average late of 65h/week in 3D in the office I've been depressed to go back home and start working on the challenge. And now about 11 days remaining I'm failing myself because I have a good storytelling going but I couldn't produce anything and I can't get my head around it. And as an Artist in a field where there is a competition, any potential employer could see that I didn't finish the challenge and then wouldn't take me seriously. I've taken 10 days vacation starting Monday and I wanna focus on the challenge but I'm anxious about the deadline. I'm not confident at all because artists with years of experience haven't finished their pieces while working on it since day 1. And I'm here trying to accomplish something with 10 days left. I feel lost. I really don't know how to do it.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Midogame dude there is no shame in taking a break. The last thing you wanna do is get burned out, i actually just stepped away for a year on sabbatical to travel and scuba dive etc. Doing totally diffetent things for a while had me excited to come back to art and games again. Don’t feel the need to finish the challenge if its gonna stress you, take care of yourself first! No one is gonna hold it against you bud! If you do continue with the challenge just focus on doing the fun stuff and dont even focus on winning/finishing. Just have fun and finish or not, you don’t have to answer to anyone.

[@Yehoogame]

@@PolygonAcademy Thanks for answering Tim! :) You're right. I've this anxiety that keeps me wanting to be appreciated by others and I find it intoxicating. The challenge is far gone now for me. I'll take this remaining time as encouragement to learn UE4 as I use Unity at work and I simply hate it. I'll continue working on my scene during my free time and I'll take as long as I'd have to to do it justice. For now I'll learn the engine to be able to create quality content. :) Thanks again! And I've been loving following your progress throughout the challenge.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Midogame dope, just go at your pace, and enjoy the journey :)

[@marcomantuetto5267]

Amazing video!

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks! I think it's one of my most important videos but it has some of the lowest views haha. appreciate the love!

[@marcomantuetto5267]

@@PolygonAcademy is amazing! I saw like 3 or 4 Times..

[@neilgoodman3708]

Every day, ahahaha. But seriously, I've struggled for a long time with the whole "Yeah! Start a new project! Okay, how am I going to do this thing 20 steps down the line? Oh man, I have no idea how to do that. Wait, that affects this other thing. So if I can't do the first thing, how am I ever going to do the second thing? Forget it, it's too advanced for me". This applies to almost anything too, be it a software I'm not familiar with, an asset I've never produced; whatever. The way I've been working on it, is to try and let myself play around, and see what works and what doesn't. And if I get seriously frustrated, I step back for a while, maybe play a game or read a book, and more often than not, the problem works quietly in the back of my mind, until I suddenly get a Eureka moment, and figure out a solution. These videos are ace man, and a real confidence booster. I think it's easy to forget sometimes, just many other people are in the same boat as you, and that end of the day, everyone learns and improves at their own pace.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Neil Goodman man you have no idea how many of those eurika moments ive had just standing there thinking in the shower. Find what works for you and embrace it :) problem solving is an important skill to have for sure!

[@erfanmomeni961]

Thanks for the video! Actually, I feel really confused and lost. I've studied computer engineering for almost 4 years, and now I realized I love making art for games. This video was really helpful. Thanks again!

[@3DOT3D]

OH COOL FOR YOUR ADVICES GOOD ITS WORTH FOR ME

[@rizalrizfani9092]

This video is awesome... You know i'm kind of have that feeling right now, before i watch this i feel that i failed as an artist because i spend 3 years of my lifetime into cg and i don't get what i want... But after i watch this video i thinking back again, is i study well in that 3 years... And yeah all i have to do now is patience and learn more stuff... Thanks for the video and make more like this :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

Rizal Rizfani awesome. Rizal: it took me 3+ years of working on my portfolio after the initial 3 of learning some 3d in highschool to get to the point where i was able to get my first jr artist job in the industry. Thats 6 years to get to that point, so keep going!

[@jonasotto5196]

Hey Tim, first of all i watched every of your videos so far and there are some really usefull tips in there. I appreciate the time and effort you invest in your content. Did you think about streaming your work you are doing on this project ? I would love to see the entire process even if it has not the linear structure your videos have. I think seeing someone creating a scene of this high quality level in relativaly small time, in which not every asset has to be perfect, would really be motivating for a lot of people including me. I am looking forward to see your next videos. Keep up the good work :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

Jonas Otto thanks jonas, i really appreciate it :) i have thought about streaming and i probably will in future, but im literally learning all this video/social game, working on a big milestone at work and also doing the challenge, so i dont have time to figure that all out right now and add something more to my plate 😂 as soon as the challenge is done i will probably dive into that, definitely also wanna do some livestream Q&A sessions as well

[@GamingOnTheRaidar]

@@PolygonAcademy Well if you need any tips of help with setting up streaming feel free to PM me here, on twitter (@atomicpang) or on Facebook (Michael Pearce). I'v dealt with setting all that stuff up many times and thanks to todays technology its easier than ever for anyone to jump into. And i totally agree with Jonas, these videos have been a great help, not just for their advice but to simply see someones process on video like that. It's sadly not super common to have youtubers who also do videos like this so thank you! (And thank you for inspiring me to do the same on my other channel)

[@wirrexx]

Jesus Tim, you are great!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Wisam Odish thanks homie 🤛 appreciate you taking the time to consume the content!

[@ericrektorski7446]

the time i felt like a failure was when i got let go from a indie video game studio. Still trying to find my way back

[@PolygonAcademy]

That can be tough! Ive been let go before, i might make a video on that sometime. But sometimes it can lead to new periods of personal growth or opportunities :)

[@MichaelKendallMrMk619]

Me being patient and student loan to pay off gets hectic and frustrated.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Yea student loans can be a pain in the ass, just keep your output level consistent and you will get there :)

[@MichaelKendallMrMk619]

@@PolygonAcademy Thanks. I been trying.

[@Dragonbras]

I feel i fail as artist after my first game... i know i know it was the first, but i expend so much time on it [3 years] trying improve again and again and the sales was a disaster... i feel so bad about it its take me 6 months to start a new project because its destroy my auto-confiance.

[@PolygonAcademy]

hey atleast you made a game! thats better than the 99% of people who think about making a game and never start, so congratulations. just try again, you got your whole life to succeed :)

[@Dragonbras]

@@PolygonAcademy I will! Also, Love your videos they inspire me to be a better artist. :)

[@Kinkoyaburi]

Right now, I am struggling with a simple loincloth and feeling like a hack fraud. Turns out good looking crumpled cloth is really hard to do, at least for me. Still have no idea how to do it correctly.

[@PolygonAcademy]

getting cloth to look good is one of the hardest things ever, so just keep trying, it can take a bit of practice and patience, or marvelous designer haha.

[@Kinkoyaburi]

@@PolygonAcademy Marvelous designer did the job, thanks! Took me 4 hours to do it, but it worked.

[@PolygonAcademy]

@@Kinkoyaburi awesome, happy to hear it worked out :D

[@Indigoplays]

whats the name of the athmospheric song in the Background at the beginning? Awesome Video btw!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Thanks! It was something off artlist.io

[@kovra1305]

I wish that this is not true, but man got a point. Thank you.

[@PolygonAcademy]

no worries, glad the video was useful :)

[@TrinhStudios]

A few months ago I got serious with 3D. As a level designer I had little art experience. But I thought that understanding and knowing how to create environments would make me a better level/environment designer. I started of really bad, I didn't realize how bad I was until I looked back. When I first started, everything I made, I was really proud of. That kept me going. I saw great improvements each week. And now this is what I was able to achieve within 2 weeks without knowing a lot about environment modeling: www.artstation.com/contests/feudal-japan/challenges/51/submissions/38544?sorting=latest I totally get the feeling of starting from nothing. When I still was a novice at level design, my mentor would burn me down to the ground. Each day I had to make a new whitebox for a week. He gave me a lot of good feedback and during that time, I learned more than I had ever learned in 2 months. I am really grateful for that and my peers, who kept supporting me at times I wanted to quit, thinking this wasn't the thing for me. Luckily I kept going and that is what made me who I am today. Thanks for making this video 😁 Watching your videos was my main trigger to start the Artstation challenge!

[@PolygonAcademy]

TrinhStudios your as challenge is lookin solid dude! Yea mentors and community are a huge element to getting better quicker. Glad the videos inspired you, hope you are having fun with your art 🔥🔥🔥

[@TrinhStudios]

Polygon Academy thank you! I sure am enjoying every moment of it 😉 haha

[@CliffCliffy]

hi Tim, great video. I have learnt so much just from watching your blog tutorial series. I guess for building portfolio in our own time is okay to take it slow and leaving it in a high note at the end of the day, but could you always end your work at a high note when there's a tight deadline? How do you usually deal with those? thanks

[@PolygonAcademy]

Cliffy_C on tight deadlines you just have to know when to move on. Get stuff to 80% across the board and then go back and polish key assets that will have the biggest visual impact with the time you have left. You develop that kind of awareness with a couple production cycles under your belt. Having a deadline like the artstation challenge is a great way of simulating that. Prioritize based on screen real estate and assets that are re-used a ton of times

[@Dhieen]

When someone says to me: "try to do that on this scene" and i say: i ll do it on my next scene Its because im so sick of the scene im working on, its been hours and hours or days or weeks or months even, and i just want to create a new one, a better one; i dont think its a problem, because i make better scenes after the experience i learned from the past scenes And when you work on a scene for so much time you dont know what is right or what is wrong, what to change, you dont have the same look as a person that see for the first time your scene

[@PolygonAcademy]

Yea for sure, i think many people feel like that. Just be aware that you cant do that in a studio job haha when you art director says change this this and this, you gotta to do it, even if its another month of work hahah. Thats the downside of people paying you for the art, they get to tell you what to do 😂

[@Dhieen]

@@PolygonAcademy Yes haha i dont have a job yet so im working on my portfolio, thats why i said that!

[@ccart2343]

Love the video. But I have to disagree with at least one thing about "juniors" not having to be fast. Not every studio gives junior artists the time they need. I've seen many juniors beeing fired because they didn't improve fast enough and didn't become as fast as other regulars during the first two months. This ofcourse varies from studio to studio but if you are new sometimes you realy are under pressure and are not given the right environment to grow, wich is sad.

[@PolygonAcademy]

there is definitley a balance, the juniors I have seen who remained pretty slow usually tend to be the ones insisting on doing things "their way" and fail to take advice where to focus their time and energy from their leads, at a certain point it can become clear that the artist is not ready to be in the industry, like if its taking you 2 months to make one asset thats hard to justify, but in my experience, atleast 90% of juniors thrive pretty well. I would say its probably the same for any job in any industry. some financial anaylists are not going to cut it right out the gate as well etc.

[@MercStrider]

I actually just had a negative experience with the Artstation Feudal Art challenge. I felt like I had a good thing going at first, but I really over-scoped. Then I also kept finding things I didn't really understand, like, skyboxes, lighting in UE4, proper baking (avoiding errors), and more. I spent all this time going and learning this huge variety of stuff. It was still a good experience because I had to go learn these things, but I didn't end up with a finished environment. But, since then, it's been really hard trying to sit down and pick up again. I keep thinking I should just take parts of the project and make a smaller project. Just to keep things more manageable. Do you think that's a good alternative? I still have some enthusiasm for the project, but I kind of want to be done by now. Anyway, this is what I was posting: www.artstation.com/contests/feudal-japan/challenges/51/submissions/33981 I wish I found your channel while I was doing the project, but I'm still super glad I found it today. Keep up the great work man!

[@PolygonAcademy]

MercStrider yea dude definitely keep going until you finish! Env production is a long grind so its good to get used to that if you wanna do it professionally ;) just keep learning and executing until its done :) glad you are enjoying the channel!

[@harrysanders818]

I love your videos very much. But I have to partly disgree here. Its heard a lot that you "should just do it", just work, keep producing, push through...or, smth like: "jus practice, the results come naturally". This advice is only partly true, in fact , it can even be harmful to beginners. They put a lot of time and huge effort in just producing, while they are held back by the lack of knowledge about the fundamentals which underly art. In 3D, there is even the misconception that decent knowledge and usage of a program will make your art somewhat for you. They work their ass off, only to find that the results grow very slowly or not at all, so they are feeling stuck. Long story short: My Advice would be: Dont underestimate studying. Learn. Before you put out 10-20 bad to mediocre characters or environments... learn about Anatomy, Composition and Design, Lighting, Modularity and how it connects to Composition and such... learn what it is that makes good art first, as a priority, so you actually start knowing what you are doing and what to practice and improve on, instead of a blind grind.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Definitely valid points! I would highly emphasize incorporating the study of those high level foundations into every single one of your projects. My main point is just get started and dont overthink, but there should be an asterisk there and also include dont lose sight of the fouhdations! Cheers :)

[@alexandruachim743]

This is gonna sound weird but it's something I've had a problem with for years. I love the modeling process and especially the UVing process of making environments. During my second year of school I was introduced to normal maps and all those other maps. Whenever I do those and then textures, it feels like all the motivation is sucked out of me. Artifacts in a bunch of places, color of texture doesn't feel right (though I know when it's in engine with proper lighting it looks so much better). Then when I place everything in the engine and layout the scene I'm happy again! So Tim, I was wondering is there a phase in the environment creating process you don't enjoy doing? If so, how do you move past it? or at least make it more bearable without slowing you down? Thanks!

[@PolygonAcademy]

alex achim haha great question :) i actually hate modeling, which iskinda hard to skip past for personal work haha. I just accept its part of getting to the end goal, put on some good music, and execute. I know my goal and the end product will be a lot more rewarding vs dwelling on the short term discomfort or boredom ;)

[@nodesofnature603]

I’m trying to blend three materials in UE4 and it’s frustrating. Plus I can’t get the textures in UE4 to look like substance painter :(

[@PolygonAcademy]

yea, blending in unreal can be tricky for sure! I find in unreal you really need environments for your materials to properly reflect like the hdr images substance painter uses to add reflections.

[@VValkyr]

Sadly this video is old, so no one will ever notice that. And sadly no one to ever hear me out. I am lost, confused, and do feel like a failure. But yeah, no sense in writing it down I guess. Anyways, you haven't uploaded in a while, so I hope work on a next project is going quite alright!

[@PolygonAcademy]

VValkyr we all fell like that from time to time, i went through a period of thst myself recently :) not fun but trust yourself to push through. Got some exciting stuff going on, hence the lack of uploads but am trying to get my ass back in gear soon with the vids! Appreciate you watching and commenting 💪 good luck on your struggle!

[@VValkyr]

​@@PolygonAcademy Oh wow, I didn't actually believe you would answer. And its good to hear you are working on something exciting, so I can't wait for it. And well, my problem is quite different from what you described in the video (at least I believe it is). I would have brought my works to easily explain my thought, but I really don't want to seem like annoying cheap advertisement. Its just that... I am lost. And I don't know whether what I do is right, whether I do it correct, or if I even should do it and try to get better at it. And sadly, my works don't look any good to back it up either. All I do is just get free assets, place them around the map and try to make them look "nice". With my last work I did far more assets myself, but still, what is the border between calling a work truly mine? Or is it just simple shaped building with quixel materials on top of it. Or maybe I should have just go around the town and do photos and then build material library myself, or hell, even sculpt and paint the materials myself. I don't know what direction I want or SHOULD take, and really nobody seems to be of any help. In addition... no one really cares about my work (which maybe indicates I shouldn't do it). And I don't mean like a huge amount of people, but when I show it to my friends, or some strangers, barely anyone notices, and if someone does, its just a "oh, looks cool, idk how can it look better". I can't find feedback anywhere. Hell, even on facebook group dedicated to unreal engine 4, people only started to argue out of the blue with each other, ignoring me and bringing any feedback. And on reddit I got like 2 comments saying it looks nice. When quixel announced free bridge, and now also such amazing mixer, I thought "hey, I dont need substance painter anymore! I dont have to buy it, or *borrow* ( ;) ) it to study how to material paint". But then, I just felt like its cheating. Like I don't know shit about model and asset creation, and am just using free megascans library and its the only reason it looks any good. Just like with my latest level I made, I was super proud of it as it was the one that was my original work, took me a lot of time, I tried new techniques and learned few more, I made far more assets for myself than any other level... And yet still I knew that the only reason was that I just slapped nice looking material on it.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Haha i think you are overthinking it a bit bud, you are learning and thats totally cool! You dont have to make every asset from scratch, at ubisoft for 5 years i didnt make a single asset, just placed them and focused on world building and level art using other peoples and outsourced assets to build the world. Thats a growing job and its own unique set of skills: composition, layout, matching reference etc. There is no “cheating” using megascans for materials is fine and something studios do as well, we are all literally slapping a nice material on a model and usually that is enough, no one ever sees your wireframe when they play the game ;) just keep at it and see what you enjoy most, there is no rush! Try to enjoy the process, not the end result. Just sit down, thrown on some tunes and get creative without any “rules”. Best of luck!

[@VValkyr]

@@PolygonAcademy uhmm, I will try my best I guess. Thanks a lot however, I guess I will just try my skills in everything and try to make something out of it. Still doesn't solve the problem of feedback and fact that I am going totally blind :/

[@PolygonAcademy]

VValkyr post your work on the polycount forum, or the dynusty empire and no more grid discord servers, you will get feedback from professionals and other artists, might be scary at first but that is exactly how i grew quickly when i was first starting out.

[@SynisterGatess07]

10 minutes ago . Thats why i m watching the video . Lol

[@PolygonAcademy]

nothing wrong with that :) hope the video helped put things in perspective!

[@SynisterGatess07]

@@PolygonAcademy went back to my scene and nailed it . Thank you :D

[@adamplechaty]

Just finished one of the podcasts over at Dinusty Empire where you say you enjoy travelling. Would love to be your guide here in the Czech Republic if you ever wanted to dive in to the heart of Europe. Lots of genuine medieval castles and villages here as well as gorgeous nature! (google "Old Gasworks Hrensko" oO ) Hit me up. In the meantime can't wait for your next video. Peace!

[@alperisler89]

great advices but that "motivational" background music is cheesy.

[@PolygonAcademy]

true dat, thanks for the feedback :)

[@fl260]

Yeah I think the Hemingway method is brilliant. Your description of the feeling was so on point... "Finishing on a good note" is really crucial, but I think it doesn't have to be related to the work. Meaning you can go for a bike ride or a run, play a bit of music or continue a drawing not related to your work. Often you will think of a solution to your problem while doing that other thing, especially if it's in a different environment than where the problem emerged (it can sound trivial but it's not). I'm describing all this but man, I still feel like a failure all the time hahaha! Being obsessed by not being good enough is probably not bad thing though.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Expod yea good point, you wouldn’t believe the ammout of solitions to problems i have came up with just standing in the shower haha. Sometimes its good to step away and let the mind wander :)

[@fl260]

@@PolygonAcademy Dude, the shower has something magical I swear. The amount of ideas/solution I had in there; ridiculous!