Taking my own advice.

Building my first environment has come with many challenges. By this, I don't mean the actual 3D modeling phase but rather, the whole idea behind it all.

Ever since revamping my entire portfolio, I've begun treating my environments as more than just "art pieces to get a job". I see something much bigger than that. I want everything that I make to be extremely memorable. Something that could actually be treated like a real video game, with all its development entails.

For example, while coming up with The Classroom, I began writing a short story for it. I wanted to explain everything about the setting and why I chose it. To better get this point across, I also started drawing some simple concept art. Eventually, I became so overwhelmed with ideas that it wasn't just a classroom anymore. No, it had to be an entire school!

So you are wondering "what does this all mean? What are you saying?". I've realized something about myself, and how it relates to my work. When I'm given a project, I want to turn it on its head. Nothing is "too simple" to me. I will and can try to make something much more bigger and interesting.

This type of interactive story telling has been both a pro and a con to me. The con is, I kinda take longer to get something done. Because I always aim for having a good first impression, it means I wont show something off till I think it's ready. Now, the pro means I'm giving myself more time to make my work better. I'm inspired to go research, or practice, or refine a subject.

As of today, my portfolio is still bare bones. I'm aware of this. I don't consider this as laziness, because I really am working hard right now. I personally want to fill my portfolio up with good work.

But as I stated in the above, I'm sort of moving at my own pace. It's not a matter of laziness but time. I put in a lot of time into everything I do just building my first environment.

However, I also realize I can't spend forever on certain assets or concepts. It's why I'm writing this blog post. With The Classroom, I had a lot more ambitious stuff planned. But I'm now cutting them until I can at least have some environments up. It's a shame, because I really think the stuff I cut would go a long way to leaving an impression on people.

But just like in the game industry, there are real restrictions that come with development when you are short on time. In a way, I'm teaching myself to get use that.