transferring University

8

hello,
im currently in Semester B studying concept art and comic in Uni of Hertfordshire, previously i did 3D animation and visual effects for semester A.
In alevels I considered Leeds art uni because it was close to my home and i went to the open day it was amazing! but it didnt have the course i want to do (3D animation and visual effects), now i went through semester A and i realised i lean more towards concept art rather than 3D. I know that leeds art uni do the same course and now thinking about transferring to leeds art. i really like the uni and I really hesitated when it came to picking Leeds or Herts back in alevels.
do you think its a good choice?

Reply 1

aspalax

Clearing and Applications Advisor

19

Original post

by Llllan

hello,
im currently in Semester B studying concept art and comic in Uni of Hertfordshire, previously i did 3D animation and visual effects for semester A.
In alevels I considered Leeds art uni because it was close to my home and i went to the open day it was amazing! but it didnt have the course i want to do (3D animation and visual effects), now i went through semester A and i realised i lean more towards concept art rather than 3D. I know that leeds art uni do the same course and now thinking about transferring to leeds art. i really like the uni and I really hesitated when it came to picking Leeds or Herts back in alevels.
do you think its a good choice?

IMO, I think probably Herts is the better course, but Leeds Arts is by no means bad. I think if you have other contributing factors that might mean you have a better time at Leeds, it could definitely be worth it for you. You'll do your best work somewhere where you're content, so i'd give it some thought and work out what's more important for you. Take some time to chat to your personal tutor and lecturers too, they may be able to do more to support you.

Obligatory (i'm afraid, sorry) concept art is the most competitive area of games and animation and even if you're amazing and do absolutely everything right you could still be stuck unemployed for multiple years. I work in a games company with ~200 people and we have just one permanent in-house concept artist (and a cycle of 1 or 2 temporary contractors, depending on the stage of development). 3D animation and VFX might open more doors for you and give you more future career options. Please make sure you're doing your research on current industry trends and entry level roles :redface:

But obviously don't force yourself through it if you're having a bad time.

Feel free to ask me any Qs, best of luck.

Reply 2

Llllan

OP

8

Original post

by aspalax

IMO, I think probably Herts is the better course, but Leeds Arts is by no means bad. I think if you have other contributing factors that might mean you have a better time at Leeds, it could definitely be worth it for you. You'll do your best work somewhere where you're content, so i'd give it some thought and work out what's more important for you. Take some time to chat to your personal tutor and lecturers too, they may be able to do more to support you.
Obligatory (i'm afraid, sorry) concept art is the most competitive area of games and animation and even if you're amazing and do absolutely everything right you could still be stuck unemployed for multiple years. I work in a games company with ~200 people and we have just one permanent in-house concept artist (and a cycle of 1 or 2 temporary contractors, depending on the stage of development). 3D animation and VFX might open more doors for you and give you more future career options. Please make sure you're doing your research on current industry trends and entry level roles :redface:

But obviously don't force yourself through it if you're having a bad time.
Feel free to ask me any Qs, best of luck.

hello,
thank you for your response it helps alot.
Im not really enjoying my time here its not that i didnt find friends or anything but it just doesnt feel like the right place for me. And undeniable the course at herts is very good the lecturers are very helpful.
To be honest I knew from the start that CC would be very competitive but i enjoy doing it and just want to get a degree on it and see where it will take me, maybe ill end up in the industry or maybe not. I dont know if im making the right choice here however i much rather do something that makes me happy rather than having a really bad time.

some question from me is
even if you have an extremely impressive portfolio you would still be stuck unemployed?
and do you think leeds art would accept me for the transfer?

thank you for you time.

Reply 3

aspalax

Clearing and Applications Advisor

19

Original post

by Llllan

hello,
thank you for your response it helps alot.
Im not really enjoying my time here its not that i didnt find friends or anything but it just doesnt feel like the right place for me. And undeniable the course at herts is very good the lecturers are very helpful.
To be honest I knew from the start that CC would be very competitive but i enjoy doing it and just want to get a degree on it and see where it will take me, maybe ill end up in the industry or maybe not. I dont know if im making the right choice here however i much rather do something that makes me happy rather than having a really bad time.

some question from me is
even if you have an extremely impressive portfolio you would still be stuck unemployed?
and do you think leeds art would accept me for the transfer?

thank you for you time.

I think that all makes sense. I wrote a post not so long ago about why studying high risk courses is still generally worthwhile, even if it doesn't pan out exactly how you imagined, which might be worth a read for you.

I think only you can really know what's right for you - I can't meaningfully tell you if you should switch unis or not - but I don't think any of the reasons you've given are silly and I'm generally in favour of people doing what they're passionate about and what feels good for them, rather than trying to push through when you're not having a great time.

About your transfer: Depends on what you ask for, the work you're currently doing, and a whole lot of circumstantial things that might be out of your control. It does say that they consider transfers into later years on this course. So Leeds Arts might offer you:
A) A direct transfer to year 2 of the course, providing they find your current course to have enough overlap that you wouldn't be behind, and you get enough credits in your first year at Herts to qualify - usually just getting an overall pass on the year. May also require you to pass an interview stage.
B) A transfer to year 1 of the course, where you would lose your "gift year" of funding, and you'd start again as if you were a fresher at Leeds. You might get this offer if they think you are a good fit for the course, but you haven't got enough transferable skills from your current course to jump into Year 2, or if their current year 2 is at capacity and they can't accept anymore students onto it. You might ask for this if you don't want to finish your current year at Herts, or you are worried about joining in "late" or feeling behind. May also require you to pass an interview stage.
C) They don't offer you the transfer - maybe because you don't meet their entry requirements (although if you previously got an offer from them this is unlikely) or they are already at capacity and can't take on additional students.

About employability in C&CA:
"Even if you have an extremely impressive portfolio you would still be stuck unemployed"

Basically, it sucks to say, but yes. It never gets easier telling people that, cus it just feels like crushing dreams. But i've seen a lot of really talented concept artists let go, especially recently, with lots of layoffs. It's hard to not want to warn people.
You have to be more or less really, really lucky, or really, really exceptional. And quite often, both.

Even if you _do_ get a concept art role, they are very regularly contract based or freelance based, so you may have work for a few months, or on a part time basis... but you won't be protected by the company, often aren't eligible for the same benefits, and might be out of work with little notice. Where you then have to start the whole process of trying to apply all over again.

I also have this post, specifically about challenges with C&CA courses and industry, stuff to learn, stuff to consider. It more or less boils down to "Try to keep your options open" and "Learn freelance skills".

Best of luck :smile:

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