Inspiration/ what I'm aiming to do over summer

First of all I want to list all the things I aim to do over the summer because I've had such trouble with 3D this year, I want to actually get good at it! My lack of confidence really gets to me, even though I want to do things, I find it incredibly hard to actually decide what to do, and I might come across to some people as lazy or unmotivated. This isn't true of course, I was just scared. (Thought I was making progress in class, but managed to fail both things, I just felt a bit useless, like I wasn't getting anywhere) But, I have got myself out of that hole now and I've been looking at environment artists blogs and portfolios to try and get some inspiration. I quite obviously would love to be an environment artist!
Whilst looking at various job advertisements, and looking at artists portfolilos, I have a good understanding of what skills I need - I just need to get there!
By the end of the summer I would like to at least improve my skills so that in my third year so that I can produce something to industry standard. Yeah, that would be awesome!

An example of a job advertisement:
http://cghub.com/jobs/view/141/Linked%20in.com

I don't necessarily want to work for Blizzard, but by looking at this, I can see what I need to do to get a job (A pretty good one, and a pretty good standard to aim for! :P)

'• 2+ years experience in game development modeling and texturing environments using Maya and Photoshop (or equivalent 3D and 2D programs)
• Experience working with unique modeling and texturing styles for environments
• Superior eye for light, shade, color, and detail in creating texture maps
• An exceptional understanding of form, shape, structure, and silhouette in regard to modeling
• Self-motivation, good communication skills, and a great team-player attitude
• Skill in one or more of the related creation tasks: illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing
• Understanding of Blizzard's visual style and a passion to push it to the next level.'

http://www.valvesoftware.com/jobs/index.html

You know what, I think I would actually love to work for Valve :P While most of my fellow classmates would probably give their right arm to work for Blizzard, I think I'd give my right arm to work for Valve. I remember playing Half Life when I was little, and Half Life 2 is definitely one of my favourite games.
I think I will try and make something realistic fitting with Half Life 2's art style.

Portfolios/artwork:
I came across this guy, even though he isn't a 3d artist, his work is so awesome.

http://www.sparth.com/






I really like his work, it really shows that he is very talented. He understands composition, presentation, aesthetic appeal, even in his more simple pieces. It's something I really need to think about in my own work too.



These are a few of the many pieces that I liked, the third pic being so epically awesome (was called 'Owls Moving Castle', as Howl's Moving Castle is definitely one of my favourite films ever) Maybe one day I will model one of his concepts.

I found this portfolio:

http://mcjdj.com/#home

I really liked the temple that she did, it looks amazing! Again looking at the composition, it is very good.



The lighting is really good, and the level of detail, it's just.. good :P

http://members.shaw.ca/alexkam/gallery/duskyhall/

This guy is pretty good too, I like the fact that when you look at the light shining in through the door, this scene looks almost real. All these artists are very talented and have very good artistic abilities, it is obvious that they understand every aspect of it.



It's beginning to dawn on me that I may take 1000 years to get this good. Well, maybe I am exaggerating just a little bit, but what I meant was, if this is the industry standard, I have a long way to go! I've only been using Max for about 6 months, and yeah, there are people in my class that haven't struggled with this at all, but unfortunately I was one of the ones that did. I want to make sure that I am fully prepared for the third year, no matter how hard I have to work this summer.

http://www.3denvironment.co.uk/

This guy is extremely skilled, it really inspired me actually. (rather than the usual reaction of my jaw dropping and thinking, 'Oh, if only I were that awesome') And also, that there is more to being an environment artist than just using the bog standard packages. One day I aim to learn something which I can make my own unique ability that might make me stand out from other artists.



http://www.toren3d.com/barn.html

I looked at this guys portfolio and thought he could have done so much more. It's not that he's not very good, it's more like, you could do something more with those polys, or you could have presented that better.



Especially this, when you look at the pieces individually, there's nothing really wrong with it. But when you look at it as a whole, it's not that great. Black background, lighting could be better, grass alphas could DEFINITELY be better, presentation in general could be a lot better.
This piece inspired me too, because in terms of my skill, I could probably come up with something like that (and think it was good) And then I'd get a low mark/ (and or fail :P) and it'd dent my confidence all over again. From all the things I've made in the past I now know where I went wrong and what I need to do to improve. Even though I know that what I'm going to come up with over the next couple of months won't even be as good as this, I want to at least show the progress I've made, and how I now understand where I went wrong in the past. Once I've managed that, then I can concentrate on learning the good stuff. Ohh yeah >__< style="font-weight: bold;">

Things I would like to do this summer:

1. Keep myself busy with Max, the more I practice, the better.
2. Improve my skills AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
   
3. Give myself a project. (I'll get back to this part once my deadlines are over ¬_¬)
4. Learn how to use Zbrush.
5. Learn how to use Maya.
   
6. DRAW (Did I mention my 2d skills could be a lot better too? Lolol)
7. Make something, and be proud of it. Yes that's right.
8. Maybe have a little time off, yeah?
9. Prepare for third year.