All The Tools You Need To Build A Successful Online Business

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, metus at rhoncus dapibus, habitasse vitae cubilia odio sed. Mauris pellentesque eget lorem malesuada wisi nec, nullam mus. Mauris vel mauris. Orci fusce ipsum faucibus scelerisque.

Call To Action

Student Spotlight - Frankie

Nov 14, 2024

Student Spotlight

We’re excited to highlight one of our standout students from Group 1, Frankie Eaton, who recently completed our Character Class course with incredible success!

Meet Frankie: Frankie, a former 3D artist specializing in Architectural Visualization, took the leap to transition into character art. Through dedication and hard work, he completed a full character project during the 8 week course.

Frankie’s Experience:

Every course or tutorial requires some form of “effort,” but a great course makes putting in that extra effort easy. Character Class breaks down the 8 weeks into roughly 8 sections, so the best thing I found is to handle one week at a time.

You can get super nerdy with time scheduling and task management, but my non-negotiable every week was to just be ready to head into the next stage of the project the following week. I was really trying to avoid time pressures & snowballing if I fell behind. I’d say this is the most important tip if you’re looking at doing a full character, as your weekly workload is higher. It’s more important to stay on top of each checkpoint. This is also a great simulation of the real-world work environment.

BIG TIP - CONSISTENCY.

Set the weekly class task as your weekly task. If it’s Retopo & UV’s, be ready for texturing next Monday. This compounds, and it’s going to set you up for guaranteed success.

I would do a couple of hours before heading to work, then a few hours when the family goes to bed. It was a grind at the start, but by the end, I was actually looking forward to those late-night sessions.

Right out of the box, J’s course handles some of the toughest elements of finishing and sticking to a portfolio project: structure and accountability. Before the course, I usually found this part difficult because when I bailed on projects, nobody was there to hold me accountable. The weekly structure made it not only easy, but almost exciting to hear what we were going to be doing that week, and which industry pro we were going to get a couple of hours of gold from.

Discord community.

The Community is a great place to get feedback and a fresh set of eyes from J, industry professionals, and fellow class members. Regularly posting your WIP work and handling critiques is a really great soft skill to get comfortable with. The CC Discord server is a great, chill place to tackle what might be an uncomfortable part of the process for newcomers. It became a step in my process to regularly post there and get feedback from everyone.

Frankie’s Course Insights:

On the Course: “Nobody does game characters like J. The course is packed with time-saving tips that only a veteran like J can offer. If game characters are your niche, or you’re looking for a place to start, look no further”
Advice for New Students: “Consistency is your best friend. Stay on top of each checkpoint, and you’ll set yourself up for success.”

BIG BIG TIP - BE ANNOYING.

A helpful, safe place full of talented legends is rare. Use the Discord as much as you can to keep improving your project, get a second set of eyes, or just get help!

The best way I can describe it: it’s like playing a game… with a walkthrough… every week… by the guy who made the game. JUST KEEP PLAYING.

Frankie's Recent Achievements:

His finished Character Class project was featured in 3D World Magazine
2024 Rookies - Career Opportunity - Winner
2024 Rookies - Rookie Of The Year - Finalist

See Frankie’s Work:

Check out Frankie’s finished character project on ArtStation: Frankie’s Character

I am super proud of Frankie’s achievements and excited to see where his skills take him next!