Bucks Graduate Mike Swan lands job with Architectural Visualisation leader ThinkBDW

Mike Swan recently graduated from the animation, games and interactive media course at Bucks, and since then has forged a successful freelance career, doing excellent 3D work for a variety of private clients. Gradually building up a solid portfolio of digital artwork, he recently landed a full-time job with ThinkBDW, a company that describes itself as "The UK's leading property marketing agency". Mike told us how the job came about, and what he had to do to get it.

Architectural visualisation by Mike Swan

Bucks: You've just secured a job as a digital artist at the property marketing company ThinkBDW - tell us about it!

Mike: I start at ThinkBDW in four weeks. For me it will involve relocating to Essex, which is really exciting. I will be going into the company as a Junior CGI Artist to further my skills as an architectural visualiser. I hope to specialise in photo realistic stills but I am keen to learn about the other areas and skills of the company.


Bucks: How did you get the job?

Mike: I have been applying for positions online since I graduated last year. Most of the time these positions are put out by agencies and head-hunters. In this case, I was given a project task put forward by the company to the agency. The agency in turn asked applicants with a strong CV to complete the project and then pass the work onto their client. Below is a task I completed recently: http://www.facebook.com/l/GAQHAmeoMAQFABKaHzjq7j3tD5kTdGpbnsro72q0SR6vbxQ/mrredoko.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/fi_michaelswan_02.png?w=1000&h

This got me an interview at ThinkBDW, who then offered me a position!

It was hard work though. I had to have strong enough skills to be considered for an interview by completing the task to a professional level. The task tests on you key elements, such as (but not limited to):

• being able to read an elevation plan, and autoCAD blueprints
• accurate modelling
• realistic texturing

Without meeting their standards on every part of the image I would have been turned away. It's really tough, but if you put the work in, people will give you a chance. Then, you can learn the steps and techniques in an environment of professionals who will help guide you to take your images to a professional level.

Bucks: What advice would you offer to a student who wants to pursue this kind of work?

Mike: My advice for anyone looking for work after completing a degree course is to not give up, and to keep practicing. I am currently teaching some 3D software to some second year students at Bucks New Uni and the advice I tell them is that they should treat their work tools like an instrument. Turning up to lessons is only half the battle, you have to practice in your own time to learn and develop. Practice, practice, practice.

(Editor's Note: For more practical advice on careers in the digital arts, read what Blue Zoo has to say about demo reels. See also advice from Disney, Sony Pictures Animation, and watch our video on how to create a great demo reel. Read about what our graduates had to say at the recent Graduate Panel. Check out this post on how to set up an small business. Also learn about your first client project, read out our post on Portfolio Careers, and read this piece on Survival as a Freelancer. Study the nuts and bolts of freelance life by reading our guide to invoicing clients, and our guide to freelancers and taxes.  For more on careers in general, check out our guide to animation careers here, and also take a look at this map of digital studios - a great place to start your search for work in the business. Finally see our article on the jobs page at awn.com )

Mike Swan on the challenges of a freelance career

Aston Martin by Mike Swan - final year project

Mike Swan is a recent graduate of the Animation, Games and Interactive Media course here at Bucks. He did some excellent work while a student at the University, studied hard, and left with a very strong portfolio, especially in the fields of digital modeling and architectural visualisation. We persuaded him to talk a little about what it takes for a graduate to build a successful career as a freelancer.

Bucks: You recently graduated from Bucks and have started work as a digital artist - how are things going so far? 

Mike: Well I actually started freelancing during my 2nd year while studying at Bucks. A client came up to me about a job. From then on I had a few projects going on until I finished, and I am currently still working for one of those clients today. Things are going great; it's so good to put my skills to work. 

Bucks: What are the challenges of managing a freelance career? 

Mike: Managing your time effectively is really tough. I've have been working part time for Waitrose for the last 5 years as well as balancing my degree and more recently my freelance work. However, I think because of that, it has put me in a good position because I've had to manage my time efficiently before.
 
Bucks: How is the market right now - are you finding it easy to find work? 

Mike: It's tough, there's is no doubt about it. It's still going to be tough, for a good few years yet. But it is getting better, slowly. 

Bucks: How are you finding work? Are you finding it or is it finding you?

Mike: So far it's finding me.

Architectural render by Mike Swan

Bucks: What skills are most in demand in the market place? 

Mike: Of course it goes without saying that students will be looking to perfect their skills in their particular field, but I feel like a lot of students don't always know the bare essentials of surviving in a working environment.

Having the right digital skills isn't enough. You also need to be able to communicate well with your client. Politeness is really important, and also staying in regular contact is critical. Another big life skill is punctuality. If I have a meeting with a client, it is vital that I arrive at least 15 minutes early. Being on time (or even early) means that you are reliable, which is exactly what a client wants to see in you. 

 

Bucks: What advice would you give to our students at Bucks on making the most of the opportunities here, so that they can be properly prepared to launch their careers? 

Mike: I made the most of my time at Bucks by juggling my part time job that I had since I was 16, plus my degree and - later on - my freelance work. The freelance work gave me great experience and further expanded my portfolio. My part time job supported me financially throughout my studying.

I think that taking on as much as you can is great, but don't bite off more than you can chew. Don't be afraid of ambitious projects; if you can manage your time effectively and put the work in, you will have a great piece of work for your portfolio.

Don't forget why you are there at University. You are paying for a service, an education, so try to make the most of your (great) tutors and learn from them. Balance your free time well; if you have a project that you know you're behind on, work on it.

Don't feel too much pressure to go out and party every night. You work is important and by all means socialise and have a great time, it is part of the experience, but make sure you are balancing work and play properly.

Student Showcase - Mike Swan's graduation year project

Bucks student Mike Swan has just completed an ambitious project for his final year - the modelling, texturing and lighting of an Aston Martin sports car. We asked him a few questions about his project and how he put it all together.

Bucks: You have just completed a modelling project as part of your final year assessed work. Tell us about how the project came about.

Mike: I knew I wanted to do something big. It needed to be the flagship final piece of my time I've spent at University. I already had other projects completed throughout the year that covered Architectural Visualisation work, so I wanted to focus on a Product Visualisation piece. What better product than a car?

Bucks: What were the biggest challenges you faced in getting it right?

The whole project was intensely challenging. I viewed a friends DB9 and took near 150 photos of it; without doing this the project would have of been impossible to complete as the point of it was to make it recreate it exactly in 3D. The biggest challenge would probably be keeping everything perfect, because it had to be. Anyone could look at the photos and compare them to the renders, so it had to be same.

Bucks: What sort of work are you hoping to do in the industry?

Mike: I thoroughly enjoy creating both Architectural and Product visualisations.

Bucks: What advice would you give to anyone starting at Bucks, so that they can make the very best use of their time on the course?

Mike: My top tips would be these:

• Learn in your spare time
• Constantly play around with your software.
• Learn to manage and balance your projects, time keeping is important.
• Problem solving. The chances are that someone has had the same problem before - look online!
• If you can't fix it yourself, ask your lecturers, they are there to help.

Bucks: What software did you use to create the Aston? 

Mike: I used Autodesk 3DS MAX for the modelling, lighting, texture creating and rendering. Then I used Adobe Photoshop for the post production work such as colour correction, compiling the various different passes etc.

(Editor's Note: You can see more of Mike Swan's work at his website here.)