A 3D designer has a very exciting job. A 3D designer most likely started drawing nice things even in kindergarten. His drawings were always decorating the hallways of the school. He is the one who really enjoyed the art class and even stayed for after-school art clubs in elementary and junior high school. 3D designers are involved in many businesses. Big furniture companies use 3D designers to make drafts of their ideas so that those in charge of production can actually get a pretty accurate idea of what they want to build. Car manufacturers are no longer pleased with a rough draft before they build a prototype. They want to see these accurate 3D designs and they expect it to almost look like a photo of something that has not been built yet.
A 3D designer immerses himself in his project. He learns about the brand he works for. He learns about the similar products and how this particular product has to be different. A 3D designer does research and makes an initial sketch. He has to know all about 3D modeling, information architecture, strategy and experience mapping.
While some of the work is done very individually, it is very important that a 3D designer can also work in a team with other “artists”. This is especially important with bigger projects where several designers work on for instance the design of a car. A 3D designer has to be very computer savvy. We are not in the nineteen hundreds anymore and it is extremely important for a 3D designer to learn to work with Adobe Suite long before he puts in his first job application. He has to be able to work on 3D visualization with at least 3D StudioMax and often also with other 3D apps. Working on a 3D project requires good organizational skills. The 3D designer learns about materials and building techniques before he starts to work on his project. A 3D designer has to have good enough communication skills to talk to clients and employers. He is often the one who sets up and does a presentation of a project long before it is being built.
3D designers go through some extensive schooling before they reach the top. They have to learn to work with specialized computer software called 3D computer imagery. They go to 3D training schools and most good 3D designers pursue a degree in Animation, Video Graphics, and Special effects and after that a four year college education that gives them a bachelor’s degree. In college they learn everything about conceptual modeling, drawing, digital cinematography, character design, and video editing.
3D designers are extremely appreciated in the advertising world. Wages for 3D designers are attractive. A beginning designer will set of his career at forty dollars an hour, but an experienced designer makes around one hundred dollars an hour.
Mention the job of 3D designer when you talk with your children about career choice. It is a very exciting profession where growth to even more exciting positions is possible and salaries more than double over the time of a career.
