Last month, I mentioned that I set up a gig on a website called www.fiverr.com, where I offered to render someone's Sketchup Model for $5.
Well, after a month of waiting, like buses, they all come along at the same time. I've now done six jobs and potentially, there may be more to come. And at last, they were clients who understood what I offered as part of my gig. I guess most who didn't were lay people who thought I could just conjure something out of thin air with one or two clicks and it'll only cost $5.
Having worked on those jobs, I've found it's a bit more work than I expected. The trouble with some models is that there's still a bit of fiddling around before it's render ready. My renderer, SU Podium, is a third party plug in for Sketchup, so no surprises that there might be a few technical issues from time to time. Other people wanted materials added to the material, but even without all that fiddling about, at the most fundamental level, you still needed to set up and test the lights. That can take as little as 15 minutes or an hour, depending on how the model was set up and how many lights there were/the client wanted. To top it all off, the model needs to be rendered and that can take hours depending on the settings used.
I guess I should probably have anticipated it over time, given I used to do this full time for a living.
If I get the chance to 'Level up', then I will probably structure my gig so that I get at least reasonable recompense for my time. I'm thinking of doing something similar to stock photos. A small sized image might go out for a very affordable price (in the case of my gig $5), but larger resolutions may cost more, etc.
Anyway, it's starting to feel like a real business. I'm getting more emails than usual, but I wonder if it's just a last minute rush to Christmas. In my experience, things tend to get more hectic as major public holidays approach, mostly because employees are chasing pay rises, so the work comes in thick and fast.
Still, all that extra work done is no bad thing and hopefully I've won a few regular clients.
That said, I don't think Fiverr is going to replace my previous job as a major source of income, so I guess the ideal thing would be to try and get a few more contacts or sit tight and hope that more clients with serious work will come my way.
I've had one or two people asking me about full scale 3D Visualisation services. One or two of them appear to be put off by the price I quoted (or they're just taking forever to come to a decision). I'm still negotiating with one or two others. If they don't balk at the price I quote them, then I might have some real work to do after Christmas and the New Year.
If it goes as planned, then it will have come full circle. This time last year, I was made redundant from my previous stressful job and since then, I've tried to find something that didn't involve 3D Visualisation as my experiences leading up to my redundancy almost put me off 3D rendering for life. But now that I'm essentially working for myself (even if it's for peanuts), I'm beginning to rediscover some of that 'job satisfaction'.
Who would have thought?
Friday 21 December 2012
Saturday 24 November 2012
Working for peanuts: Fiverr
About a month ago, I joined the website Fiverr which allows you to buy or sell services for US$5. So since I'm out of employment and am struggling to get freelance projects, I thought I'd give it a go.
The way it works is you create a 'gig' in Fiverr and you do this by naming the gig and describe in detail what you are going to do for $5. Then you wait. Hopefully people will come across your gig by searching or browsing and actually buy something from you.
You can offer anything, from article writing to posing in a Santa's costume and singing Christmas songs to a friend or relative of yours. Since Architectural Visualisation is all I can do, I thought I'd offer something along those lines.
I discovered a rendering plug in for Sketchup which allows you to create photorealistic renderings of your Sketchup models. It also achieves it's worth by being simple so you don't have to spend months learning new software. I figured I could offer to sell renderings of Sketchup models that people provide. It isn't much work - all I would have to do is load the model and render. Simple.
Well, a month after joining, I've completed two jobs. One I felt was a bit pointless - the buyer simply wanted me to copy a photo, but in 3D. The other (which I finished today) I almost screwed up because I didn't realise the guy had left instructions for me. I assumed Fiverr was going to drop an email if the buyer responded with instructions, but it seems like they didn't. So the poor guy waited three days while I was oblivious. Luckily, I indicated in my gig that I should be allowed 5 days to complete the job. This is mostly to cover my own back in case I somehow get loaded with work or something goes horribly wrong. Like my house catches fire and my computer is destroyed, etc.
And then I've had three enquiries that came to nothing. Actually, make that four. One came requesting models and renderings of socks, of all the things on planet earth and they were apparently in a rush. Since socks aren't my forte and I refuse to be caught up in rush jobs, having learned my lesson in Hong Kong, I turned that one down.
The thing with these clients is that they not only misunderstood the intention of my gig, but they appear to want a lot of work to be done for peanuts. Either that, or they don't realise how much work is actually involved in what they ask. The three enquiries that came to nothing wanted me to build something from a plan or an image and create a rendered image with it. The guy I just finished working for probably at least understood to some extent what is involved in my gig, but I had to draw up the model in 3D anyway since all he could give me was the front elevation of the house (he had apparently misplaced his 3D model and other important files...).
With the three enquiries that came to nothing, I made it clear that they needed to pay more (order another gig) if they did not have their own Sketchup model and wanted me to build one for them. I also named a few terms and conditions of my own that they needed to be aware of before work went ahead. Other than that, I was willing to do whatever they wanted.
I heard nothing from them since.
So for the job I just finished today, I screwed the T&Cs, requesting the extra pay and just did the work for $4 ($1 of the total $5 is actually pocketed by Fiverr).
I suppose I'll have to do this from now on. While the pay isn't great, it's obvious some of these people are looking for a cheap lunch, whether they are cash strapped companies looking to outsource on the cheap or bored housewives with nothing better to do. Still, I would at least be getting some exposure (provided I did well) and if I was really serious about starting up, I can't afford to be picky about pricing, etc.
That said, many sellers are requesting multiple gigs for jobs that they feel are worth more than $5 and they are pretty successful too. I was simply following suit. I've tried a few of these sellers myself and I've had no qualms about paying more for work that appears to be way beyond $5. But then, it's maybe because I understand what goes into making a 3D model, having worked in a similar industry for four years.
But that said, I also understand the wanting to get away with paying next to nothing for a service. I have that temptation myself, but it's also worth keeping in mind that sometimes you really do get what you pay for. I paid $5 for a 3D model that was shoddily made and I requested a refund straight away. A professional quality model might cost you in the region of $80 or more and in Arch viz, most professionals are hesitant to charge less than $25 per hour.
As for my latest job, well... somehow it kinda feels good to be working again, despite dreams of being financially independent and not having to move a mouse around for pay. Surprisingly, it has taken me only 8 hours to complete the job. 6 if you don't count the rendering times. 5.5, if you don't count time spent washing up and making coffee. Far less than the 5 days that I quoted in my gig. I guess the rule of thumb is to model only what you can see, whereas one personal project took weeks because I was concerned about all the niggly details and I was looking to sell the model on Turbosquid and other places.
Well, here are the results:
There's room for improvement, but I did this quickly (for me, anyway) and I didn't bother to sweat the really small details. But then, I can only really go on whatever information I was given. The grass looks a bit too uniform and unnatural, but I've never really figured how to make good looking grass without crashing the system. I think in the future, I'll probably be better served trying to fake it in GIMP instead. It's worked in the past when I was still an obedient employee.
Hopefully, I've done well enough to earn some favourable feedback. The first guy I worked for left one message with, literally, a few words in order to get me started and then I never heard from him again, despite submitting my work.
I think it'll be a good thing if I get a steady stream of business from Fiverr. If I can get 10 good reviews, then I can start adding extras to my gig and charge more for my services. So, with that in mind, if anyone reading this wants some work done that's similar to the above or if they have a 3D model built in Sketchup they would like me to render, then feel free to visit my gig.
Or better yet, if you have money to burn, go here instead...
The way it works is you create a 'gig' in Fiverr and you do this by naming the gig and describe in detail what you are going to do for $5. Then you wait. Hopefully people will come across your gig by searching or browsing and actually buy something from you.
You can offer anything, from article writing to posing in a Santa's costume and singing Christmas songs to a friend or relative of yours. Since Architectural Visualisation is all I can do, I thought I'd offer something along those lines.
I discovered a rendering plug in for Sketchup which allows you to create photorealistic renderings of your Sketchup models. It also achieves it's worth by being simple so you don't have to spend months learning new software. I figured I could offer to sell renderings of Sketchup models that people provide. It isn't much work - all I would have to do is load the model and render. Simple.
Well, a month after joining, I've completed two jobs. One I felt was a bit pointless - the buyer simply wanted me to copy a photo, but in 3D. The other (which I finished today) I almost screwed up because I didn't realise the guy had left instructions for me. I assumed Fiverr was going to drop an email if the buyer responded with instructions, but it seems like they didn't. So the poor guy waited three days while I was oblivious. Luckily, I indicated in my gig that I should be allowed 5 days to complete the job. This is mostly to cover my own back in case I somehow get loaded with work or something goes horribly wrong. Like my house catches fire and my computer is destroyed, etc.
And then I've had three enquiries that came to nothing. Actually, make that four. One came requesting models and renderings of socks, of all the things on planet earth and they were apparently in a rush. Since socks aren't my forte and I refuse to be caught up in rush jobs, having learned my lesson in Hong Kong, I turned that one down.
The thing with these clients is that they not only misunderstood the intention of my gig, but they appear to want a lot of work to be done for peanuts. Either that, or they don't realise how much work is actually involved in what they ask. The three enquiries that came to nothing wanted me to build something from a plan or an image and create a rendered image with it. The guy I just finished working for probably at least understood to some extent what is involved in my gig, but I had to draw up the model in 3D anyway since all he could give me was the front elevation of the house (he had apparently misplaced his 3D model and other important files...).
With the three enquiries that came to nothing, I made it clear that they needed to pay more (order another gig) if they did not have their own Sketchup model and wanted me to build one for them. I also named a few terms and conditions of my own that they needed to be aware of before work went ahead. Other than that, I was willing to do whatever they wanted.
I heard nothing from them since.
So for the job I just finished today, I screwed the T&Cs, requesting the extra pay and just did the work for $4 ($1 of the total $5 is actually pocketed by Fiverr).
I suppose I'll have to do this from now on. While the pay isn't great, it's obvious some of these people are looking for a cheap lunch, whether they are cash strapped companies looking to outsource on the cheap or bored housewives with nothing better to do. Still, I would at least be getting some exposure (provided I did well) and if I was really serious about starting up, I can't afford to be picky about pricing, etc.
That said, many sellers are requesting multiple gigs for jobs that they feel are worth more than $5 and they are pretty successful too. I was simply following suit. I've tried a few of these sellers myself and I've had no qualms about paying more for work that appears to be way beyond $5. But then, it's maybe because I understand what goes into making a 3D model, having worked in a similar industry for four years.
But that said, I also understand the wanting to get away with paying next to nothing for a service. I have that temptation myself, but it's also worth keeping in mind that sometimes you really do get what you pay for. I paid $5 for a 3D model that was shoddily made and I requested a refund straight away. A professional quality model might cost you in the region of $80 or more and in Arch viz, most professionals are hesitant to charge less than $25 per hour.
As for my latest job, well... somehow it kinda feels good to be working again, despite dreams of being financially independent and not having to move a mouse around for pay. Surprisingly, it has taken me only 8 hours to complete the job. 6 if you don't count the rendering times. 5.5, if you don't count time spent washing up and making coffee. Far less than the 5 days that I quoted in my gig. I guess the rule of thumb is to model only what you can see, whereas one personal project took weeks because I was concerned about all the niggly details and I was looking to sell the model on Turbosquid and other places.
Well, here are the results:
There's room for improvement, but I did this quickly (for me, anyway) and I didn't bother to sweat the really small details. But then, I can only really go on whatever information I was given. The grass looks a bit too uniform and unnatural, but I've never really figured how to make good looking grass without crashing the system. I think in the future, I'll probably be better served trying to fake it in GIMP instead. It's worked in the past when I was still an obedient employee.
Hopefully, I've done well enough to earn some favourable feedback. The first guy I worked for left one message with, literally, a few words in order to get me started and then I never heard from him again, despite submitting my work.
I think it'll be a good thing if I get a steady stream of business from Fiverr. If I can get 10 good reviews, then I can start adding extras to my gig and charge more for my services. So, with that in mind, if anyone reading this wants some work done that's similar to the above or if they have a 3D model built in Sketchup they would like me to render, then feel free to visit my gig.
Or better yet, if you have money to burn, go here instead...
Tuesday 20 November 2012
Christmas Decorations - LED lights
So it's almost that time of the year again. Christmas is coming and all the stores around the UK have already put up the decorations. It's all commercially driven, of course. Most households won't put up their decorations until well into December. Still, it's a good time as any to shop around for Christmas decorations before all the festivities are well under way.
I love putting up the Christmas decorations, particularly the incandescent fairy lights. To me, nothing screams Christmas like a string of multicoloured bulbs.
Other family members aren't quite so keen on it. I guess it's more to do with their upbringing - they don't identify with Christmas as I have growing up. They are even less keen this year because of the rising cost of electricity. Coupled with the poor economic climate, it's more important than ever to find ways of saving money.
Fortunately, saving money doesn't necessarily leaving out the lights altogether. I did a bit of online shopping and came across this website: http://www.lights4fun.co.uk. It's a family run business that specialises in lighting for all occasions.
The Christmas lights they sell are all LED. The thing with LEDs are you can apparently save up to 90% on your bills. Specifically, the equation goes something like this: 10 LEDs = 1 incandescent bulb. Since I want to save a bit of money over Christmas, I thought it might be worthwhile to try them out. There was a bit of a clearance sale going on, so I bought a few.
LEDs never really did it for me in the past. I don't think they really captured the spirit of Christmas the way old fashioned incandescent bulbs did. Maybe they were too white. Maybe the colours aren't quite the same. Whatever it was, I just preferred the incandescent bulbs.
Having opened and tried out the lights when I received it, however, I was quite impressed. They now have LED lights in 'warm white' and for me, these look the best out of the bundle. The coloured lights didn't seem all that at first glance, but having hung them up just to see what they would look like, they looked pretty good. They're brighter than my old set of lights, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
So does this spell the end of the incandescent lights? I still see them being sold in places like Amazon, but having a brief scan on the web, it seems that most Christmas light vendors now favour LED lights - Lights4Fun even go as far as saying this is what they specialise in. I guess it means that incandescent lights are being phased out gradually, if not all at once.
I grew up with the incandescent lights, so it'll be a shame to see them go. But I guess we have to move on with the times, particularly since the LEDs are more energy efficient, last longer and are better for the environment.
I love putting up the Christmas decorations, particularly the incandescent fairy lights. To me, nothing screams Christmas like a string of multicoloured bulbs.
Other family members aren't quite so keen on it. I guess it's more to do with their upbringing - they don't identify with Christmas as I have growing up. They are even less keen this year because of the rising cost of electricity. Coupled with the poor economic climate, it's more important than ever to find ways of saving money.
Pretty on the eye. Not good for the wallet...
Fortunately, saving money doesn't necessarily leaving out the lights altogether. I did a bit of online shopping and came across this website: http://www.lights4fun.co.uk. It's a family run business that specialises in lighting for all occasions.
The Christmas lights they sell are all LED. The thing with LEDs are you can apparently save up to 90% on your bills. Specifically, the equation goes something like this: 10 LEDs = 1 incandescent bulb. Since I want to save a bit of money over Christmas, I thought it might be worthwhile to try them out. There was a bit of a clearance sale going on, so I bought a few.
LEDs never really did it for me in the past. I don't think they really captured the spirit of Christmas the way old fashioned incandescent bulbs did. Maybe they were too white. Maybe the colours aren't quite the same. Whatever it was, I just preferred the incandescent bulbs.
Having opened and tried out the lights when I received it, however, I was quite impressed. They now have LED lights in 'warm white' and for me, these look the best out of the bundle. The coloured lights didn't seem all that at first glance, but having hung them up just to see what they would look like, they looked pretty good. They're brighter than my old set of lights, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
So does this spell the end of the incandescent lights? I still see them being sold in places like Amazon, but having a brief scan on the web, it seems that most Christmas light vendors now favour LED lights - Lights4Fun even go as far as saying this is what they specialise in. I guess it means that incandescent lights are being phased out gradually, if not all at once.
I grew up with the incandescent lights, so it'll be a shame to see them go. But I guess we have to move on with the times, particularly since the LEDs are more energy efficient, last longer and are better for the environment.
Lights out. Let's do more for the environment and save money.
Saturday 10 November 2012
Selling 3D models: my first sale
Because I'm out of work, I'm currently thinking of ways I can earn income online, but most of the options I've looked at either don't earn you that much or turn out to be a complete waste of time. Others have some potential, but a lot of effort has to go in to make it work - sell your work online.
I worked as a 3D artist in Hong Kong and I threw something together during my spare time. Something I made using nothing more than a set of software tools that either cost very little (compared to high end tools like Maya, et al.) or nothing at all. Specifically, I use Sketchup and SU Podium, the latter being a rendering engine for the former and is capable of photo realistic renderings while being very easy to learn and use.
In fact, it's so easy that I wonder why I ever had to bother using 3DS Max for work like this, but I suppose it'll come down to how versatile the tools are and while SU Podium is easy to use, it likely lacks many of the more advanced features of Max that give users better control over what they are doing.
Anyway, I spent more time refining the 3D model I made so that I could throw it up at The3DStudio.com and various other places that sell 3D models for you and give you a cut of the profit.
That was two months ago. Recently, I had an email from Creative Crash (of all places) announcing that one of my models have sold. Good news, but ultimately nothing to get that excited about since I managed to make a record breaking $31.90 by selling stuff online. In two months. And making it available on more than one website.
I think it isn't helped that the product I submitted was a 3D model of a house and architecture in general don't sell that well as 3D models. Oh, well. It's something and it's probably worth adding to it from time to time. Plus, the beauty is that I was at least able to use a free program like Sketchup to create something that I can sell online.
I worked as a 3D artist in Hong Kong and I threw something together during my spare time. Something I made using nothing more than a set of software tools that either cost very little (compared to high end tools like Maya, et al.) or nothing at all. Specifically, I use Sketchup and SU Podium, the latter being a rendering engine for the former and is capable of photo realistic renderings while being very easy to learn and use.
In fact, it's so easy that I wonder why I ever had to bother using 3DS Max for work like this, but I suppose it'll come down to how versatile the tools are and while SU Podium is easy to use, it likely lacks many of the more advanced features of Max that give users better control over what they are doing.
Anyway, I spent more time refining the 3D model I made so that I could throw it up at The3DStudio.com and various other places that sell 3D models for you and give you a cut of the profit.
That was two months ago. Recently, I had an email from Creative Crash (of all places) announcing that one of my models have sold. Good news, but ultimately nothing to get that excited about since I managed to make a record breaking $31.90 by selling stuff online. In two months. And making it available on more than one website.
I think it isn't helped that the product I submitted was a 3D model of a house and architecture in general don't sell that well as 3D models. Oh, well. It's something and it's probably worth adding to it from time to time. Plus, the beauty is that I was at least able to use a free program like Sketchup to create something that I can sell online.
Thursday 8 November 2012
LFC out of the Europa League???
So LFC are defeated by Anzhi 1-0, a reverse of the scoreline at Anfield. To be fair, LFC played alright, but Coates made a mistake in defence, allowing Traore to race clear with the ball and lift one over Jones for the only goal of the game.
But anyway, most LFC supporters appear to think that the media has an agenda against their beloved club. I guess it's not difficult to see why. Just take a look at this.
Okay, so maybe the beeb are anti-Liverpool and want them to be kicked out of the competition, but isn't this out of order??? And Anzhi are clearly cheating. Just because they are rich, it doesn't give them the right to field two teams in the same competition!
But anyway, most LFC supporters appear to think that the media has an agenda against their beloved club. I guess it's not difficult to see why. Just take a look at this.
Thursday 1 November 2012
LFC stays at Anfield
It's old news, now, but it was announced that Liverpool Football Club won't be going anywhere and are going to redevelop the old stadium by increasing it's current capacity to 60,000 seats. As a supporter of LFC, I think this is good news, if only for the reason that this is LFC's 'spiritual home' and the history surrounding the stadium. The prospect of moving to a new ground just didn't feel right and a ground share with Everton was a big no-no. I had initially feared that it wouldn't be possible since it meant they would have to demolish the streets around it, but it seems like a solution has been found.
Well done to those involved. Unlike the previous owners, they were mindful of what the fans thought in a situation like this. It will also make more financial sense in the long run.
Of course, it's not yet set in stone since there are still obstacles that might prevent it from getting the go ahead, but hopefully these will be ironed out in due course.
As for what happened on the pitch, Swansea proves that they were the better team in the Capital One Cup against Liverpool and the latter was at home. It was almost too easy for them, especially the first half. LFC had no cutting edge and playing Joe Cole and Yesil meant they might as well have been playing with nine men. The latter can be excused since he's young and has simply proved here he isn't ready, but we all know that Cole has overstayed his welcome a long time ago.
The big guns, Gerrard, Suarez and Sterling were thrown in the second half on to no avail. Not ideal, since they really should be rested and losing just makes it worse. Now they will have to recover again quickly for Sunday.
Well done to those involved. Unlike the previous owners, they were mindful of what the fans thought in a situation like this. It will also make more financial sense in the long run.
Of course, it's not yet set in stone since there are still obstacles that might prevent it from getting the go ahead, but hopefully these will be ironed out in due course.
As for what happened on the pitch, Swansea proves that they were the better team in the Capital One Cup against Liverpool and the latter was at home. It was almost too easy for them, especially the first half. LFC had no cutting edge and playing Joe Cole and Yesil meant they might as well have been playing with nine men. The latter can be excused since he's young and has simply proved here he isn't ready, but we all know that Cole has overstayed his welcome a long time ago.
The big guns, Gerrard, Suarez and Sterling were thrown in the second half on to no avail. Not ideal, since they really should be rested and losing just makes it worse. Now they will have to recover again quickly for Sunday.
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Curse of Emusic
I decided to try out Emusic, an Indie music download site that sell their tracks as VBR mp3s, mainly because I wanted to use Trialpay to get access to Winzip which I found useful and can see myself using in the future. It so happened that Emusic was one of the Trialpay offers so I gave it a whirl. They gave newcomers a seven day trial, where you could download £12 worth of music for free. After that, they will start billing you every month.
Having signed up, I began to notice all the various disgruntled and angry customers venting their bile at Emusic. 'Scam' was a word that came up often. It's almost universal. Despite what 'professional' reviewers might say, almost everyone else was unanimous in saying that Emusic are crooks, they won't let their customers cancel until they pay, etc.
Well, not a good sign, but since I was there, I might as well make the most of the trial and see what happens. Download as much as I can and get out as quick as I can.
It's a good job that I knew what I wanted to download in advance. Having tried out the seven day trial, I found there isn't really enough time to browse around and use up the £12 worth of downloads unless you did nothing but browse their extensive catalogue every day for seven days - or you know what you want. It's worth browsing the selection first and listening to the full tracks you've shortlisted on Youtube, Spotify, or whatever before you even sign up.
I guess that is what Emusic wants: people feeling as though they don't have enough time to download everything they are interested in, ultimately paying for the first month in order to get those tracks. Or maybe hoping people will be busy enough they will forget they even signed up in the first place - as was the case with some of the angry customers.
Well, anyway, I got what I wanted. I was interested in Midnight Syndicate's Halloween Music album as well as one or two others they had in the catalogue. I wasn't really interested in anything else, so I cancelled after the trial, but they threw another £5 in an attempt to get me to stay, so I said yes, used up that quota and cancelled.
I kept checking my bank account and it seemed as though nothing has happened. They have cancelled my account and I haven't been billed at all, like many claimed to have. I have to say, though, I think some of those complainers simply forgot they signed up or maybe they didn't realise they actually had to cancel through the website. Some even thought they didn't need to do anything at all and the trial will automatically cancel itself.
So is it a scam? I just think people were just drawn in by the promises of a free buffet. As for me, well... I benefited. I was able to get a fully functional copy of Winzip without paying for it and downloaded a couple of nice Halloween themed albums for free - just in time for the 31st.
Happy Halloween to you all.
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Into the blogging bandwagon.
Since everyone is doing it, I might as well join in. Blogging, that is. Not sure where this will go or if I'll even post that regularly. Regardless, I find I now have a lot of spare time on my hands having been made redundant on December 2011 - on the Sunday before Christmas.
To be honest, I probably could have started doing this earlier, but there are many excuses... ahem, reasons why I didn't. One of them would be I went through a phase where I couldn't be bothered doing anything. I couldn't be bothered with the soul destroying act of looking for work. I couldn't be bothered thinking of alternate ways to make ends meet. I couldn't be bothered doing much other than be a couch potato.
Yes, I agree it's not the best attitude when you're out of work. I guess I allowed it to happen because I wanted to make up for those lost evenings and weekends and generally bum around.
As for what I did, I worked as a 3D Architectural Visualiser in my last job in Hong Kong. At first, it felt good because when people asked me what I did, it was far better than saying I'm a banker, or I fill in forms all day - the latter being the job I did before becoming an 'artist'. I fared pretty well for a couple of years. I was motivated, driven to succeed and all that. And then I wasn't. It became a daily grind afterwards with very little in terms of recognition and reward.
December 2011 was when it all ended. It was the worst month I ever had in my life at the workplace. Things came thick and fast, from clients who were unreasonable, unforgiving and expected things to be handed in the next day (usually with other projects on top of that). Having kept it up for almost a month, I burned out completely. No sympathy from 'the man' either.
It came to the point where I realised it just wasn't worth it and I was about to hand in my notice, but the decision had already been made. I'm quite adamant it's really a decision based on my performance during that month, even if they said they observed me for a while and it seemed like I was going nowhere and stagnating. They also said it was due to a change in vision for the company and I was no longer to be part of it. It certainly felt like a release when I got made redundant.
Still, something must have bothered me because I found it hard to sleep for a few days after. I guess maybe I wondered where my next paycheck was going to come from and subconsciously, I started to worry.
Maybe my termination was justified and maybe I could have put more in, even if it meant I had to stay overnight, but when you burn out, you... well, burn out. You barely have the energy to even think coherently.
So for now, my Blog title is Post Redundancy. An account of all the the things I get up to and think about while unemployed.
To be honest, I probably could have started doing this earlier, but there are many excuses... ahem, reasons why I didn't. One of them would be I went through a phase where I couldn't be bothered doing anything. I couldn't be bothered with the soul destroying act of looking for work. I couldn't be bothered thinking of alternate ways to make ends meet. I couldn't be bothered doing much other than be a couch potato.
Yes, I agree it's not the best attitude when you're out of work. I guess I allowed it to happen because I wanted to make up for those lost evenings and weekends and generally bum around.
As for what I did, I worked as a 3D Architectural Visualiser in my last job in Hong Kong. At first, it felt good because when people asked me what I did, it was far better than saying I'm a banker, or I fill in forms all day - the latter being the job I did before becoming an 'artist'. I fared pretty well for a couple of years. I was motivated, driven to succeed and all that. And then I wasn't. It became a daily grind afterwards with very little in terms of recognition and reward.
December 2011 was when it all ended. It was the worst month I ever had in my life at the workplace. Things came thick and fast, from clients who were unreasonable, unforgiving and expected things to be handed in the next day (usually with other projects on top of that). Having kept it up for almost a month, I burned out completely. No sympathy from 'the man' either.
It came to the point where I realised it just wasn't worth it and I was about to hand in my notice, but the decision had already been made. I'm quite adamant it's really a decision based on my performance during that month, even if they said they observed me for a while and it seemed like I was going nowhere and stagnating. They also said it was due to a change in vision for the company and I was no longer to be part of it. It certainly felt like a release when I got made redundant.
Still, something must have bothered me because I found it hard to sleep for a few days after. I guess maybe I wondered where my next paycheck was going to come from and subconsciously, I started to worry.
Maybe my termination was justified and maybe I could have put more in, even if it meant I had to stay overnight, but when you burn out, you... well, burn out. You barely have the energy to even think coherently.
So for now, my Blog title is Post Redundancy. An account of all the the things I get up to and think about while unemployed.
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