I knew nothing of Humber or their 3D for production program when I applied, I have to admit. That being said, I was still incredibly excited when I found out I was accepted, and I remained optimistic about what my post grad education would bring me. Before Humber’s 3D post grad program, I graduated Fanshawe College’s 3 year Fine Arts program. With my brain bubbling with artistic inspiration from the likes of obscure traditional artists, I was ready to dive head first into 3D at Humber! Or would it be more of a belly flop? Well, I’m still alive, and more importantly, I’m working in the industry. This is thanks in large to the decent education I received from Humber.
I graduated this program in 2006. At the time, I believe it was in its second year of its existence, and it definitely still had some kinks to work out. Other than having a program title that was way too long, ironically, the 3D for Production: Games and Interactive Entertainment program simply wasn’t long enough to truly prepare its students for the real world of game development. On top of that, the program faculty did not have enough in depth studio experience in gaming for the students to truly benefit from them. I believe the true value of this post grad program comes when you are already a graduate of another 3d program and you want to take your 3d capabilities to the next level.
There should be a balance here and I felt the course weighed much too heavily on character design courses.
The Courses
The first two semesters are designed to give you a good foundation in all things 3D. The third semester is all yours. With guidance and advice from your professors, you had the freedom to choose whatever discipline in 3D that you wanted to. I chose to focus on Environment Art. Which reminds me, please for the love of god people, stop focusing on being character artists unless you are really, really good! You are much more likely to break into the gaming industry as an environment artist/prop artist. Apparently the program didn’t realize this either because it was flooded with character based courses. There was a character modeling course, which was expected. But the program went on to have a character sculpture class, a character design/drawing class, and a figure drawing class (I had to draw enough wrinkly balls in my Fine Arts days). All the while there wasn’t one program that focused on environment modeling. Also, there was not nearly enough attention to developing texturing skills. There should be a balance here and I felt the course weighed much too heavily on character design courses. I feel that this was a huge problem because the industry is absolutely flooded with mediocre character artists trying to break into the industry. You have a much better chance of breaking into the industry if you are a good environment artist or prop artist.
We also had a motion capture course that was cool as hell, but I’ve never needed those skills, and chances are you don’t either. In the end, I’d say about 50% of my courses ended up being of use to me. We had an acting for animators course that pretty much showed us the observational and performance skills we would need to be better animators. That’s all cool and stuff, but we didn’t even finish half of our 3D animation course! This happened because the class was not getting it. People were failing the most basic aspects of the course besides myself (surprisingly) and one other student. The teacher would not move on with the course until the majority got it. This was a huge blow to me. I was eager to move on and learn more, but nope, that wasn’t happening, unfortunately. I felt as if I had gotten ripped off.
Where Did They Get Some of These Students!?
This reminds me, who was being let into this program? There were some fantastic artists who are now working in the industry; however, I’d swear the majority of applicants with any old diploma were just accepted into the program. A lot of the student work was just plain bad and I had trouble figuring out how they were ever accepted into the program at all. I wanted to be a part of an exclusive club that was full of artists who showed a lot of talent and potential. When you have a course full of talented people they will drive you, and you undoubtedly will become a better artist because of this! During my year at Humber, this was not the case. There were a lot of dropouts and a lot of people barely getting by. However, maybe it was just a bad year. I do know that the next year’s students, the talent was tremendously better.
It’s not all about your program; there is a big world outside of your little 3D education where you can get more help than your program can ever give you!
Get Your Money’s Worth!
I learned very quickly that I’d have to milk everything I could get out of the program. I had to take full advantage of the time I had to study 3D. It’s the only way you will ever get a job in the industry. I knew I had to be a part of online forums and discussions on all things 3D. I knew I had to stay up late and work as much as possible. I knew I had to bug the professors for clarification and advice all the time. This goes for any program. If you sit back and just try to take in whatever the course gives you, you won’t make it. During my time at Humber, I was put in touch with someone in the industry by chance. He was a tremendous help! It’s not all about your program; there is a big world outside of your little 3D education where you can get more help than your program can ever give you! It is absolutely crucial that you go above and beyond to get the education you need to make it. Your course can be pure garbage, but in the end you really have nobody to blame but yourself if you don’t come out of your course being the best 3D artist you can be.
The Faculty
The faculty was decent. Our main 3D professor was a great guy, and he knew his stuff. If he didn’t know something he did an excellent job of finding the answer. He was a good teacher; however, he had no real in studio game industry experience. We had another good professor. He was very hard nosed and realistic. He’d tell you if your work sucked, and he’d tell you why. This is also known as constructive criticism, something the course greatly lacked, which led to a lot of disillusioned students who thought their not so good work was indeed good (this may have been me at times). Unfortunately, this good professor was only available to us during our final semester, when we worked on our demo reels. We needed a professor like this to be available to us throughout the entirety of the program.
When I was there the course was new, and I’m certain that a lot of my concerns and problems with the course have either been fixed, or have at least been acknowledged in some way.
The Verdict
Overall, Humber College has helped me in my path to being an artist in the gaming industry. During my time there, I witnessed a lot of problems with the course. There was even a little student uprising where petitions were signed complaining of too much required texts that weren’t used, no student funding for conferences, and course material objections. Although it might not sound like it, Humber College was probably an average course. When I was there the course was new, and I’m certain that a lot of my concerns and problems with the course have either been fixed, or have at least been acknowledged in some way.
I did enjoy my time at Humber, a lot. I felt that the majority of the professors were knowledgeable and fun to be around. It just would of been nicer to have professors with more of a gaming background, (as opposed to a lot of 2d/3D film) so the gaming students could gain more of an inside edge into the industry. Many of the courses were useless. It would have been nice to have a course outline that was more intensely focused on teachings that would have prepared us better to be artists in the gaming industry. And finally, I think there were mistakes in accepting some students into the program. There were many dropouts, no shows, failures, and work being done that would get you nowhere in the industry. I have what I’d consider to be decent skills and artistic ability and if I were to be surrounded by a tighter, more talented group of classmates I believe it would have pushed me further to become a better artist.
If you plan on attending Humber’s post grad 3D program be sure to find out if the imperfections I mentioned have been addressed. Humber will provide you with all the basic skills you’ll need to be a 3D Artist. It’s up to you to go above and beyond to ensure that you become a great 3D Artist!
Come visit my website at www.boogeyman3D.com.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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