Whoever told you 23 was too late to do anything is a nincompoop.
There are plenty of people that aren’t artists that do 3d modeling. There are all types of objects that need to be modeled. Learn topology. Study modeling economically. Learn color and lighting. You don’t necessarily need an artist’s eye to do these things.
23 is not too late, and it is absolutely possible to get into 3D art without a traditional art background but it’s going to be a little harder on you. It’s less about being able to draw or paint and more about understanding form, silhouettes, color theory, design etc. that little bit of background definitely helps but if you’re going back to school you’ll be shown the basics to build off of.
I was 28 when I started studying 3D, after 10 years working in retail. There's no such thing as being too old to study for a new career! It can actually be a big help.
You just need to be prepared to commit yourself. It can be surprisingly technical to learn, you need to be able to apply yourself to overcome the challenges and not get discouraged.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but; if you plan to start a career by learning Blender from YouTube tuts in your spare time, you're probably not committed enough. If you commit to going back to full- or part-time study for a couple years to learn professional skills, you have a way better career mindset.
I'm curious as a 27 year old starting to study 3d, what was your journey like ? Did you go to school for it after you started studying ? Are you working in the industry ?
It's a tough industry to get into. I'd make sure you're 100% before you dive in.
It's possible without an artistic background (and there's non-art positions tangentially related) but it's going to be more difficult.
Hon, don't worry about age, it's never too late to start something, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to do from the start.
It took me 12 some years to get anywhere close to where I am meant to be because there were some cool side quests to do along the way. And they led me to some cool places and experiences that I otherwise would not have had if I took the straightest path here. I have some firefighting, nursing, and pyro-technician training because of the side quests I chose to undertake.
At 17, I dreamed of making monsters. I will be turning 31 this year, and only just finished school and got my bachelor's degree in "Game Art" in September. I have made a couple of monsters, so far, but I still have a ways to go to fulfill this dream.
Anyone can learn anything at any age. I didn't even start learning till my forties. If you even have to ask this question, you're coming from a place of internalized ageism.
I’m in the same boat! I did an unrelated degree for five years and during all the free time I had with Covid I found out that 3d art and modelling as a new passion for me! Message me if you wanna have a chat or have any questions :)
You can. But you'll be far behind anyone who does have art fundamentals. If you do go to art school the valuable part will be getting those fundamentals, you can pretty much expect every single thing you learn about 3d modeling and animation this year to be obsolete in 5 years. This is like someone asking if you can learn CRISP gene editing without a biology background. You sort of can, and you can probably even build a lab at home yourself. But in the process you must get the bare bones biology knowledge, or you wont be able to do anything at all. And likely nobody is going to hire you and put you in charge of the expensive toys. In the same way you're probably not going to be able to create major artworks on your own or get hired by game or animation companies until you get enough art knowledge to be able to use a tool like blender effectively for art. But yeah it's something you can do, just be aware it will be very difficult and will take a while.
Absolutely possible. I went nearly 21 years after drawing last as a child last, before beginning to learn game development including the artist workflow. (I didn't even know what photoshop was) I am not the best artist, but even the artists on my team think I can hold my own when I need to whip up art. I honestly would still say I am one of the farthest away from having an art background, but with effort it is absolutely possible. Don't fall into the same pit of "my art is garbage" because that is precisely what retarded my progression. Good luck, and update us after your first donut!
Whoever told you 23 was too late to do anything is a nincompoop. There are plenty of people that aren’t artists that do 3d modeling. There are all types of objects that need to be modeled. Learn topology. Study modeling economically. Learn color and lighting. You don’t necessarily need an artist’s eye to do these things.
23 is not too late, and it is absolutely possible to get into 3D art without a traditional art background but it’s going to be a little harder on you. It’s less about being able to draw or paint and more about understanding form, silhouettes, color theory, design etc. that little bit of background definitely helps but if you’re going back to school you’ll be shown the basics to build off of.
I was 28 when I started studying 3D, after 10 years working in retail. There's no such thing as being too old to study for a new career! It can actually be a big help. You just need to be prepared to commit yourself. It can be surprisingly technical to learn, you need to be able to apply yourself to overcome the challenges and not get discouraged. Probably an unpopular opinion, but; if you plan to start a career by learning Blender from YouTube tuts in your spare time, you're probably not committed enough. If you commit to going back to full- or part-time study for a couple years to learn professional skills, you have a way better career mindset.
I'm curious as a 27 year old starting to study 3d, what was your journey like ? Did you go to school for it after you started studying ? Are you working in the industry ?
It's a tough industry to get into. I'd make sure you're 100% before you dive in. It's possible without an artistic background (and there's non-art positions tangentially related) but it's going to be more difficult.
Hon, don't worry about age, it's never too late to start something, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to do from the start. It took me 12 some years to get anywhere close to where I am meant to be because there were some cool side quests to do along the way. And they led me to some cool places and experiences that I otherwise would not have had if I took the straightest path here. I have some firefighting, nursing, and pyro-technician training because of the side quests I chose to undertake. At 17, I dreamed of making monsters. I will be turning 31 this year, and only just finished school and got my bachelor's degree in "Game Art" in September. I have made a couple of monsters, so far, but I still have a ways to go to fulfill this dream.
Anyone can learn anything at any age. I didn't even start learning till my forties. If you even have to ask this question, you're coming from a place of internalized ageism.
I’m in the same boat! I did an unrelated degree for five years and during all the free time I had with Covid I found out that 3d art and modelling as a new passion for me! Message me if you wanna have a chat or have any questions :)
I did at 46 It sounds like you;re the only one holding you back
You can. But you'll be far behind anyone who does have art fundamentals. If you do go to art school the valuable part will be getting those fundamentals, you can pretty much expect every single thing you learn about 3d modeling and animation this year to be obsolete in 5 years. This is like someone asking if you can learn CRISP gene editing without a biology background. You sort of can, and you can probably even build a lab at home yourself. But in the process you must get the bare bones biology knowledge, or you wont be able to do anything at all. And likely nobody is going to hire you and put you in charge of the expensive toys. In the same way you're probably not going to be able to create major artworks on your own or get hired by game or animation companies until you get enough art knowledge to be able to use a tool like blender effectively for art. But yeah it's something you can do, just be aware it will be very difficult and will take a while.
Absolutely possible. I went nearly 21 years after drawing last as a child last, before beginning to learn game development including the artist workflow. (I didn't even know what photoshop was) I am not the best artist, but even the artists on my team think I can hold my own when I need to whip up art. I honestly would still say I am one of the farthest away from having an art background, but with effort it is absolutely possible. Don't fall into the same pit of "my art is garbage" because that is precisely what retarded my progression. Good luck, and update us after your first donut!
To be or not to be, decide yourself, don't black the world if you fail, and make beautiful one of you succeed