for years now visual effect schools have been churning out hordes of eager students like an assembly line all dreaming of Landing their first gig in the movie industry and ever since blender became the Digital Playground of choice among the younger generation about a decade ago we've also been seeing a new breed of digital artists without degrees but often with equally impressive skills gunning for those same entry-level roles for a while that was all good Production Studios were throwing money at new vs and animation projects like Charlie Sheen at a strip club it's always been a competitive industry but there were entry roles available offering somewhat of a path forward for newcomers but on May 2nd 2023 all of that changed on a dime wga went on strike followed shortly by sag Afra two major Hollywood unions representing key workers vital to the creation of content and since then and for a variety of other reasons the VFX and animation Industries have never really fully recovered so now prospective VFX artists and Veterans alike are left scratching their heads asking themselves is it still worth it so if you're a VFX industry vet who's been hit by the current chaos you might have had a sleepless night or two maybe even wondering if you chose the right career and if the roller coaster of uncertainties and high demands of the VFX industry are worth the exhaustion of your passion unsurprisingly many longtime VFX artists have been planning an exit strategy While others might feel like they've invested too much and lack the transferable skills necessary to Pivot elsewhere let's be real there's no sugar coating this situation it's rough and no one has a crystal ball to predict the outcome if if you're finding it hard to stay optimistic and if it's totally wrecking your mental health then looking at Alternatives might actually be the healthiest choice adjacent Industries looking for similar skill sets do exist product design and marketing architecture and construction Automotive manufacturing and Tech all have fairly High need for CG artists and there are plenty more although to be fair many of those Industries are also suffering from similar issues making them more competitive too with all that said though this isn't the end of VFX as a career despite the depressing constant slew of negative word vomit from disgruntled senior artists who are entirely disenchanted with their realities as VFX technicians I like to think there's still hope I've come across far too many posts recently calling out their fellow artists for trying to make ends meet by selling courses and mentorships as a last ditch effort while the industry crumbles beneath them but there's nothing wrong with sharing your expertise as long as you're not promising a golden ticket to guaranteed work there are still tons of people offering courses and mentorships teaching students how to draw or paint even if these skills won't pay the for most the fact is VFX remains an art form and that people will always be eager to learn so if you're already up in arms about this maybe take a step back and focus on the many real issues we're facing there's nothing wrong with teaching your skills to those interested even if it will only ever be a hobby for them unless maybe we should only teach courses for jobs that are guaranteed restructure the entire High School to employment Pipeline and get rid of all the cultural courses and side programs that don't promise high paying work I mean we might as well just get rid of band camp and little league alt together because the chances of becoming the next messy or Bieber are pretty slim if you haven't been discouraged yet and are still hoping to one day be part of this industry for those of you who aren't willing to syn thousands of dollars into a college degree in an uncertain field there are plenty of online resources to hone your skills in focused areas for this video we partnered up with skillshare an online platform offering courses on everything from General photography to lessons on specific 3D effects skillshare offers learning paths that essentially bundle up multiple courses with a specific goal in mind if you're wanting to start learning blender for instance I can recommend the class my first day in blender 3D by Southern shotty he takes a fun approach to teaching that makes learning more fun I tried it and it was good the platform can even be used to brush up on adjacent skills like photography or creative writing and storytelling so if you're already an artist looking to take on more responsibility and a leadership role a freelancer looking to expand your client pool or just someone interested in getting into movie making skillshare might be a good place to get started by learning new skills and the first 500 people to use our Link in the description will receive a one-month free trial of skillshare so get started today the truth is VFX has been a nomad's industry ever since it walked out of La in favor of lucrative tax credits years ago many artists are forced to move from country to Country to keep consistent work and if there's no entry point within the city you live in breaking into the industry can be incredibly challenging and competitive so if your goals are to settle down with a stable income and have a family and own a home then for a lot of people VFX can be a tough career to manage and despite all that many have managed to settle down for years at a studio but with everything going on lately it's become much more difficult to navigate especially for those just starting out like somewhat stable jobs do still exist and they do seem to be coming back in some way but I think I Echo the sentiments of many senior artists and producers when I say it probably won't be returning to its former glory that we saw right before the strikes hit competition among artists has Skyrocket over the years there's no shortage of kids who grew up on blender and unreal over the last decade now ready to storm into the workforce like Leroy and his chicken VFX schools have been pushing out graduates fast fter than a Zoomer swiping through Tik Tok reels there isn't enough work to feed every new prospective graduate studios are trimming the fat everywhere leaning hard on seniors to take on more responsibility of their own to add to that AI seems to be causing some fear and indicating to employers that more experienced artists should be able to produce more work on their own without having to rely on armies of Juniors to pick up menial tasks how true this is remains to be seen But the effects of the fear seem pretty evident already and until things brighten up and they better you're not only vying against other fresh face Juniors anymore season seniors with many years of experience are also sometimes hustling for the same gigs just to keep some form of income coming in while they struggle to find consistent work and while it's true that there are real struggles lately and on many levels it's hard in good conscious to encourage newcomers to go down this path I don't want to scare any really passionate young people away either frankly VFX is all I know and I struggle to Pivot to anything else and honestly I don't want to I love fs and the work that I do and I don't plan on switching to anything else anytime soon so if you're anything like that if you love that sweet spot between the technical and the artistic despite all the craziness and if you find joy in tackling complex shot puzzles and there's likely a place for you in this wild industry just know that now more than ever it takes grit really a lot of hard work determination and maybe even a willingness to move around if you're willing to put in the hard work to build up an incredibly prolific and outstanding body of work it'll probably get noticed and if you do manage to find a posting for an entry-level position even out side of entry-level artist roles like production assistance and editorial jump on those opportunities because they can be stepping stones personally I began in this field as a render angler just watching over renders on the farm making sure everything got through it wasn't glamorous but it got my foot in the door and allowed me to start navigating into the roles I ultimately wanted the paradigms of content creation are shifting previously nearly every VFX Studio focused on servicing big budget Productions from a select few clients like Disney Universal Paramount Warner Brothers and Sony but the big five no longer hold all the cards not only have streaming platforms like Netflix Amazon and apple come online but we're seeing a huge shift towards more independent Productions as well films like Godzilla minus one have demonstrated that it's possible to make highquality VFX heavy content on much smaller budgets taking a very different approach than your usual Hollywood Productions game shows and talk shows have already found their place on platforms like YouTube animations originating on YouTube have made their way onto streaming services and all of these Productions require VFX artists and animators so your next next employer may very well end up being a YouTuber I don't think I'd downplay the significance of this aspect of content creation and I'd recommend any young artist looking for their start to explore these alternative Avenues to post their work online create their own stuff and discover alternative ways to monetize their work for some that might offer more stability and financial reward than a traditionally stable Studio job that isn't accessible to everyone anymore and I might just be optimistic about this but I truly believe there's a future in independent content creation on platforms like YouTube there's going to be a substantial gap between now and the moment AI directly drills movies of our thoughts through our skulls and into our brains where independent teams will be able to achieve a high level of engaging animated and VFX content with small Crews producing Innovative work that's less risk verse than the seemingly endless parade of remakes and superhero spin-offs that we've been fed over the last decade but more on that in the next one