Where can i find 3d modelers for an hobbiest game?

#1 Here are my suggestions where to find some artists...

IRC channels: All of the major IRC networks have channels dedicated to 3D and 3D programs, there are a lot of users there.

Here on GG: Post a job and give a description

College/Universities: Most colleges and univsities have art programs with loads of students who are willing to do some work that they can add to their portfolios.

Network: Talk to people you know, you would be amazed at the leads that you can get.

Those are the best places to go if you want to have a bit of success finding people that know the software to certain degree. My personal recommendation is screen people, there are a lot who claim that they know the software but only a few can follow up those words with action.

Logan

#2 News Flash!!!

College students fresh out of college do NOT want to do 3d modeling for free! I am a recent graduate of Vancouver Film School (2nd best 3d animation and digital effects school in Canada) and we have all been told by our mentors etc NOT to do free work. Everyone trys to pickup students for free and it's complete grabage if you ask me....I mean we pay $20,000.00 to attend college and work our asses off to get a GOOD paying job in the industry.....we didn't spend 20 grand to do free work. Half this "work" is a lost cause anyways....we pump out the models you take them and we never see the game....nice.

3/4 of college graduates with a brain agree with me.

Andrius
"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."

#3 Then what are you doing here?

This is probably the last place you'll find a decent paying job. People here are looking to make games with minimal/no funds. If you're looking to make a lot of money, you shouldn't be in games anyway.

People, quite a few of them in fact, are willing to work for royalties or even nothing. They're just hoping they can get noticed, or they just want to do it because they enjoy it.

#4 *** NEWS FLASH ***

Developer, paid tons for his education, spent thousands and thousands on research materials(mostly books)/build machines/development tools, funding his game out of his own pocket.

Hmmm... artists aren't the ONLY ones making a donation...

If you wanna make money, go get a job at a graphic arts company, and work on a game on the side if you wanna get noticed.

And nobody said your work was free. IF you do well, and get with a good group, who knows how much the game might sell for... I'm in a 3 man team, and we'll split the profits three way... or how ever many parts we need to split for an even cut for every member (if we expand).

I'm here for personal IMPROVEMENT, and to make myself a more sellable commodity in the gaming industry. You want instant gratification, go buy a lottery ticket.

Sorry if I'm ranting, but EVERYONE here is pretty much doing this for love of the field...

-Blayne / Rogue101

#5 Dave is probably just a little wired since he realized that Vancouver produces talented artists from 5-10 different schools every 6 months and finding a job is tough there.

Hey, I was the same way, lol. I personally don't like to do work for free, right now, but when I find a practical and interesting idea(to myself, not nessarily in general) then I'll see what I can contribute. So its for free? Produce something good and you have portfolio work and the chance to say you worked in a team.

#6 Dave exactly how long have you been out of school? I don't mean to insult you but like Matthew said, VanFil and VanArts (well most colleges in general) are revolving door schools where you pay your money and in the course of a year a few hundred students with the exact same training are dropped on the streets to find a job.

Although the education from VanFilm or VanArts is decent with experianced instructors or lecturers, you are trained primarily in FX and composition for movies and TV.

As for your comment on volunteering, if you don't want to work for free then don't no one is forcing you to. Just don't come in here spouting off some crap that your instructors have told you, because its almost a guarentee that you will have to work for cheap or even free to get your foot in the door at your first few jobs.

FYI: People are volunteering their time because they are investing in their future. This is as close to real world experiance in a games company as most people can possible hope to get at this time. This is no different than going to school again to specialize on games, buying a book, or spending hours in your room/office working in your 3d program. You need to start from the bottom and work up the ladder and I don't care what school or training you have but you cannot skip this step.

Sure you might help out a group that doesn't finish the project or that might take your work, but EVEN PAYING COMPANIES WILL DO THIS TO YOU! At the end of the day though if you have some really awesome looking examples to put in your portfolio can you still honestly say that the volunteering wasn't worth it?

I speak this not as someone who was somewhat amaused by the nievity of your post, but also as someone who has been in the for a few years doing 3D/2D graphics and multimedia: its a big rough world out there and your training gave you a small stepping stone ahead of the self-taught people thats all.

This is free advice that you don't have to pay 20K for and you can either take it or leave it.

Logan

#7 I kinda have to laugh at the whole "Here's my degree, now gimme my multi-million dollar job so I can get my Porsche and supermodel girlfriend" philosophy.

You are in for a VERY rude awakening......

With that attitude, you will be lucky to get a job bagging groceries.

The richest and most successful people on the planet throughout history were not necessarliy motivated by money alone, or even money at all, but rather a passion for what they do.

I am a professional. I have a good job, I make good money. I'd give it up in a heartbeat to make games for a living....ehh...forget it, if I have to explain you wouldn't understand anyway. You will learn the hardway what they didnt teach you in your fancy-shmancy college, I promise.

#8 How is working on a game without immediate cash exchange considered FREE ? There are a bazillion benefits besides cash that are exchanged when a project gets completed and recognized. You get recognition for your work and if the game goes to market you benefit from residual proceeds. In the end you benefit regardless of wether or not it made you instantly wealthy. You increase skills/talent and your exposure to the market place.

#9 Well put Shawn, IMO you come out on top pretty much any way that the volunteer project goes as an artist.

If it succeeds, you have a credit to your name, some vital experiance, a great portfolio piece, and possible a job and/or some cash (or other bonuses).

If the project fails you still get vital experiance, you will have some stuff that you can put in your portfolio to help you get a paying job, and it looks good that you stuck through to the end on a volunteer project.

Sure there are some downfalls to volunteering: you get no pay, you have less free time, and there is the risk that someone could take your work and run. But this is a choice that each person needs to make.

L

#10 Mr Gibson,
You sound bitter that your expensive education is not doing the work of getting you your dream job. Maybe you should stop blaming your education for not getting your dream job and work on getting yourself some exposure.
Do some practical work. Education will only get you so far. Doing work for free is not going to kill you.
You should try offering your services for free to everyone you can. This will provide proof of your skills. This should also put you in great demand. When you run out of time to help more people, start telling everyone who asks for your time, "sorry, I would love to help you, but unless you are a paying customer, I do not have any free time."
Then when you get paying customers, start bumping your free projects down below the paying people on your list of things to do.
This works for me. Now the only free work I do is for fun, and I make more than I have ever made in my life.
I spent the same amount on my "real world" education that you got in your expensive school. I had to earn
the money to buy the tools while I work in the field that requires them. I got no hand holding when I learned what I do, and I don't have an attitude about learning it the hard way. I am not bitter. I am employed.
Relax and have fun or find something to do for a living that doesn't make you sound like you are yelling at some poor people on a forum, Mr. News Flash.

#11 Free work gets you name recognition. One of the guys you worked with might get a big project in the industry and remember that you were a competent modeller. Also someone might see your work on one of the game sites and want to use your skills.

The name of the game is exposure, have a lot of competent, high quality work out there and you stand a better chance of getting a job than some guy who sits in his parents house whining about how no one appreciates him.

The other thing is it gives you practice. Working by yourself is one thing. But working with a team, on a project, with a deadline gives you experience in the job market.

Most college students graduate wondering why the perfect job doesn't just appear the minute they leave school. Many other grads with same skills as you are graduating every year. You have to show you are better than everyone else to get a job.

A lot of graduates have little work experience besides the minimum wage level and companies realize this. They want someone who knows how to work. All those 'free' models you did will make your portfolio look that much more impressive at job interviews.

#12 Hi Guys,

No point adding a load of stuff saying how everyone who went to uni is probably in debt and how 80% of them are unemployed or that 76% of all statistics are made up.
Ones as pointless as the other,

Im sure that Dave realises the views that other people have, but we also should respect his right to say what he did as we should respect other peoples right to comment on his comment.

As long as is it all stays nice and civil, everyone should be happy. After all a forum is a place to post questions, views and information.

But hey lets not forget the topic of the post:
'Where can i find 3d modelers for an hobbiest game?'

man that is a hard one. I myself am in a similar position. After porting from UT to v12 along the way we lost a few good men.
We have a few gun models made, however these models need to be turned into fully animated skinned weapons that can be implemented into v12 engine.
Not only that we need a new modeler/animator to construct some new weapons.

If anyone is out there who wants to help out then please let me know fastdraw@boothillonline.com
site is www.boothillonline.com
, thanks :)

oh and Dave, yes if the person can model, animate, supply skin-templates, and can have the gun ready to be implemented into the game, then he will get paid.
Or he if you dont want to work freelance then you could join as a team dev member and claim a cut of the money if the game makes any.

thanks again,

---FASTDRAW---
fastdraw@boothillonline.com
www.boothillonline.com

#13 How much would a beginning or journeyman freelance modeller expect to be paid, and on what basis ? per hour ? per model ? is there a commonly accepted scale ? (I'm in Canada, so Canadian scales would be more appropriate).

I can and do pay for effort, but I can't afford a lot.
Email me at kfinney@canada.com if you have some solid skills and availability to sell, and think I might be able to afford you ... If you are in Canada, that would be better, and in the Toronto area would be best ...

#14 Well since I am a canuck as well, I feel obliged to give you some numbers as per the pay scale of 3d artists based on information that I have leant or found through discussions with other people.

There are a few factors which can change the amounts that I list here (both up and down)...

First, it is really difficult to give a general pay scale that is universal as it all depends on the type of job and the person's expertise in it.

Second, the cost of living where the artist is. Places like Toronto are far more expensive to live in than say here in Edmonton.

Third, how quick does it need to be done (mostly for the freelancer).



The Freelancer...
Generally when I have found freelance 3D is roughly between 50 and 75 dollars per hour. Artists also charge for my machines to sit there and render the animation (usually at 25 to 40 an hour per machine).

Most freelancers will work their payment either on the per hour, or they will just guesstimate how much time it will take, add 15%-25% to the cost, and give you that figure for the whole thing.

Why so high? Well the freelance artist has software to pay for, hardware to buy and maintain, taxes, medical expenses and other bills, and this job will probably be the one big ticket paycheck for the whole month.


As an Employee (Full Time)...
This figure really jumps around between (and I am sure more people will post additional comments on this) a low figure of say 2400 per month (at the absolute lowest) for a new guy out of school to well anything the employer wants to give.

As the full time employee you have no set hours and are expected to make sure the job is done on or under budget (time and money). The employer takes care of the hardware and software (and can possible also provide some other benefits) which is why you earn less at under someone elses employment (but it sure is nice to know you are getting a steady paycheque).


If you are curious on more wage figures I am sure you can call up local animation studios and companies and ask them the general wage that they pay their people.

I hope this helps you and any others who are wondering.

Logan

Added:
One other thing thats a factor is how intersted the artist is in the project. If he is doing it just for the money then they will charge full amount, but if they really see the project as use for them (either from skills or equipment that they will aquire, or just for the portfolio piece), the artist will usually charge less.

#15 Thanks L. That was informative.

#16 A new modeler will also be willing to work for reduced pay, especially if it is purely a hobby at the moment.

While you can find people who will work for free, mostly new modelers looking to make a name for themselves. It is better to pay people at least a small amount for their troubles. This gives them an incentive to actually finish the project.

Even if the pay is small it encourages you to work harder knowing that there is a payoff for completing the project. Royalties when the game is completed just do not cut it, especially when you consider the failure rate of most independants. Most people have bills now and want to at least know that they can make money at this. Also it allows them to justify their investment in equipment as a business and this has tax benefits.

This applies to any job type in game design. If you want to develop a successful game then you should be prepared to spend a little money for it.

One idea I've seen is contests, put up a good set of prizes for the best map, level, weapon, etc, on your games website. Make it fun and a challenge for the people involved. This can boost interest in your game and get people involved in it.