So the Game Developers Conferece was fun. Volunteering as a conference associate was worth it. I had a great time durning the past week. It went by so fast though. At least this year I got the satisfaction of submitting a demo reel and a portfolio to serveral companies. Among them were Blizzard, Lucasarts, Namco, EA, Monolith, and other places I can't remember. But I basically gave any place that was hiring 3D artist my reel and portfolio. However, I felt a lotta discouragement, not from the companies but by the fact that there were also many other people looking for a job. Some who I knew had better work to show than what I have. Plus I wasn't able to really talk to employers about tips and advice about getting hired in the game industry since so many people were there. I was hoping to have my portfolio and reel to be viewed on site but some of the employers were HR or marketing staff and not artists. I know I shouldn't say this but I really doubt that I'm gonna land something this time. Maybe next year. I was able to attend some Visual Art sessions and tutorials most which were helpful and inspiring. Got to see Iain McCaig for the second time. Also I met Don Seegmiller who is a really kick ass painter. Also Paul Steed who just recently wrote a book about 3D character modeling who I also gave my reel to have a look at for critque. So many artists who have established their names in the industry and who've been in the industry for years. It seems like a far reach for me. I know I'm at the low end of the hierarchy and it's gonna take time but sometimes I am overwhelmed. I know it's just a matter of taking it little by little everyday. Right now I feel discourage cause I don't even have a foot in the industry and I also have so much regret for not giving myself time and opportunity in the past to make an effort to get my foot in the industry. But people tell me I'm still young and that I have a lot of time ahead of me to do something. Heck, I've met people who are over 40 who are just getting into the industry.
Other than that, I always say that I'm gonna try get some freebies at these thing but I never do. Well, I did get some schwagg but not much. I don't know how other people do it. They get as much schwagg as possible. Maybe it's because I don't like to get useless things. All those little trinkets and stuff. I think I'd prefer useful schwagg. They were giving out free copies of Anarchy Online. The first month of online playing is free however after that you gotta pay. I was trying to get a hold of a nVidia Quadro 4 video card. They were holding a 20 minute drawing contest were you had to drawing anything and have the nVidia logo implemented somewhere. I drew a stock car with nVidia decals. I didn't win though. All I got was a shirt and an entry to win a Dell laptop with a Quardro To-go video card. Doubt I'll win anyway. Maybe next year I'll try to get some more schwagg.
I met a great deal of people. Some who were still working and some who were like me, unemployed. Pretty much the whole Conference Associate staff were all nice and enthusiastic. We had a great time this GDC and the conferece attendees and staff were very happy with our work as volunteers.
I hope to attend next year again. Hopefully by then I will have a job or at least more art work to show. I would encourage anyone who wants to go into the gaming industry to volunteer as a Conference Associate for the GDC. Sure, you'll have to put in 20 hours of volunteer work but you get a $1700 pass to attend the whole convention. Speaking of which, I still haven't registered for Fanime Con yet.
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