Hi, I'm 20 and live in Russia. That year I will go to study graphic design here (in Russia). I want to work in game industry: technical artist, 3d modeling and other like that. I will study graphic design here because it is only thing here that I can afford for now. So I have some questions:

1)how does specialization called that related to 3d modelling(making characters, landscapes, some basic programming, rigging etc.)?

2)the main problem is money. It is imposible for me to get such money, to get bachelor degree in Canada or USA(I want to study exactly there), every thing I saw is from 10 000 for semester and higher(only for tuting). SO question is: may be there is some cheaper oportunities? PS I need a full-time program

3) are there some post-graduate degrees, relatet to gameDev, that i can get with me graphic design bachelor?

PS thank for reading that mess :)

??????! :)

This specialization is called CG - computer graphics, I believe. But I doubt you can get bachelor degree in something like that. There are some 1-2 year courses though. I have heard of 'Vancouver film school' or something like that, they teach VFX related stuff, like modelling and animation. I've seen a number of demo-reels from people who have finished such courses, and honestly, most of them are bad.

Only demo-reels from people who have studied with Animation Mentors are good. Those guys rock.

AIn my opinion - these courses do not worth time and effort. It is just a ripoff. You will spend thousands of dollars on the courses themselves, and thousands to pay for rent, food etc.

The Internet is full of high quality video tutorials on modelling, sculpting, rigging, VFX, compositing, matte painting, color correction, DSLR video shooting... Basically, anything you might want as CG artist. They will often teach you whatever exactly you want.

You can check video tutorials from companies like cmiVFX, gnomon, digital-tutors, 3d-buzz, lynda.com and so on.

Besides serious programming, nothing in CG requires formal education. You only need to have a passion for something and be ready to spend a lot of time studying this something.

Thank you both. Right now I got no portfolio at all, I just study from digital tutors)) so I dont know if I will have awesome portfolio after some years of practice and self education or not, but I think to be a great specialist in some field there must be some university degree especialy in our time.

I don't agree that the degree is not worth the time and effort

Fair enough. I try to view college education in terms of how much knowledge can you get there which you can't really get without formal education. In most cases when it comes to CG (not talking about programming though, it is totally different thing) you won't learn much in college.

But on other hand, a degree really helps in getting your first job. Untill you manage to make outstanding portfolio, your degree might be your best friend.

))

so still some qustions, is it ordinary cost of education in canada and usa? or there is some colledges or ways with chiper education?

It is entirely possible to get a job in gamedev without a degree. One of the best 3D artists I know has some business degree and never studied art. He just learned 3D max and zbrush himself. A while ago I read about a guy from Russia that just learned to sculpt in zbrush on his own, published his spaceships online and guess what... Blizzard offered him a job.

If you don't have the money to study abroad, don't. There are other ways to get knowledge. I am not saying that you are one of them, but people tend to think that getting a degree in some field will get them a job in the field. In majority of cases, they just lack initiative to learn on their own and the degree itself will only give them a skill level somewhere between basic and average. No university or degree in the world will make them great without their own effort.

In your situation and at your age, I would strongly advise you to try learning by yourself. Even if you start the 3D studies, you will end up learning on your own most of the time anyway. Networking can be done in so many different ways - you don't need to live in California to be a game developer.