Deciding What To Do Next in 3D Art & Design

So for the past month I've been stuck with the dilemma of trying to figure out what to do next with my 3D art self-education. Prior to this time, I have spent a large amount of time gathering resources to learn from, as I ascertained the different areas that were available to me, I continued to gather more and more information for each. Now I have a large collection, but having a hard time trying to figure out what do work with next. To me all of it is extremely interesting, and wish I could decide how to prioritize my educational path.


Last week I signed up for the Architecture Academy instructed by Andrew Price of Blender Guru. Just in the first part of the introduction, I was extraordinarily invigorated by the information given to me covering the art practices of architecture. As I continued on, I learned very quickly that doing these large scenes was not going to happen with my ATI card as the computing device for rendering. So, that night, I ordered a cheap, but "good enough" video card to get me by for awhile, until Cycles supports ATI completely, or until I decide to switch over to nVidia completely.

While waiting for the video card to arrive, I had an issue of trying to figure out what to do in the meantime. It was obvious this didn't mean it was time to take a break until it arrived. Not long after, I found myself diving into my collection of tutorials, books, and various websites covering several areas of 3D art. In that time, I finished the 3D Game Textures book, and found an impressive love of making my own textures. Near the end of the book, I found myself looking for more texture books, and viewing Game Textures to see others that have been made. At the same time, my mind is wanting to learn about other fields I've gathered an abundance of knowledge for.

So this is where I am, constantly wanting to learn more, but overwhelmed with the amount of choices that are presented to me. My subconscious tells me it's best to learn something other than spending time thinking about it, so I continue on to something at the very least, a podcast, an article, viewing art from various communities, or reading another book that is art related. While it could take my quite some time to go through all I have accumulated, I'm sure I will amass even more as I advance. I must make sure that I do not hinder myself with my options, but simply continue to move forward, or I will surely stop completely.

At first I had a feeling it would be best to stay on one track, and just learn a specific category of 3D art & design, but knew that wasn't mandatory. This is one thing that makes me love this profession. No matter what part of the field I learn about, ultimately everything fits together like a glove, and compliments all other areas. Texturing in Photoshop was a large jump from creating architecture in Blender, but those textures will allow my architecture work to become much better, and not have to rely on pre-made textures. With the ability to create my own, every structure I create will have my own style to it, even in the materials, and maps.

So I guess the point of this article is that if you ever feel overwhelmed with your study, just make sure to maintain the ability to absorb everything like a sponge, without stopping to worry.