Feng, there is no need to apologise for these delays. You are doing everyone a favour by making these episodes for FREE, on top of your busy schedule. Thanks so much for the awesome content!
I've been binge watching a couple of Feng zhu's videos. And all I can say is they are all eye opener for me. I've gained so much knowledge from fundamentals to actually learning what the industry like. Thank you so much for this. Hopefully one day I could enroll at fzd school.
man your podcasts and words of advice is so valuable, cheers for actually taking the time from your busy schedule to give us an hour of great information. sucks people even disliked this
Hi Feng. I'm from Indonesia, i've been following your RUclips Channel since 6 yrs ago. And still get a lot of inspiration, ideas, thoughts, good lessons from you. Thanks for keeping this positive youtube channel of yours and FZD school. I've growing from time to time as a concept artist, by learning, and get updated from watching your videos. And i really love this new podcast videos. Thanks so much for being a humble person, great speaker and generous artist, by sharing all kinds of experience, story, work life, and others stuff you have received all these years with all artist (junior, freelance, fulltimer) all over the world. Keep inspiring, stay healthy even you are so busy! God bless!
Great tips! I do disagree with the work hour thing though. Yeah sure, don't pack up at 5 if work hours are 9-5, use common sense, but you can also get burnout from continually staying over what you're paid for. And actually, I think that shows in Feng's health issues in many videos - flu, fatigue, etc. From reading studio artists' personal viewpoints, it's not always all it's cracked up to be - they work yourself nuts, but their work may end up on the "cutting room floor" & not chosen. So I think it's all about balance. There must be a lot of waste in these industries imo.
Plus it's kind of dick move for an employer to guilt a worker to stay overtime without pay. It's entitlement and unethical. But definitely studio culture forces people to give in out of fear. Respect swings both ways, valuing other people's time as well as your own. As a newbie at a new studio, you have no leverage.
True, but I think you have to look at the context. I come out of comics and I can tell you theres a LOT of people who want these jobs so I do get where he's coming from for the first month you should be staying an a couple of hours over. No the first one out but not necessarily the last one out either. Just show some initiative and once you've found a niche there just muse human judgement. If your leave at 5 make sure its at the beginning of a development cycle as with comus if you your going to go easy you do so at the beginning of a monthly not at the end
It's not that you are wrong, it's that the industry isn't fair. If you won't stay those extra hours, someone else will. You'll just get replaced. Is that fair? No of course not, but that is how it is.
@@sociallyresponsiblexenomor7608 How is it not fair. What wouldn't be fair is to demand a company keeps paying you even though the guy next to you works harder. Your priority for the first couple years should be learning, the company is investing in you by hiring you. What people don't understand is that as a Junior artist you aren't a proffessional yet, you need to learn the craft on the job. The alternative is, no one hires you unless you have 3 years in the industry, and the industry gets harder to get into. For reference, Feng works from 9 until 6 then heads to the gym, he does not extra time, so I don't know what health issues due to overwork you are talking about. It's just temporary until you catch up.
This was very insightful, Feng. Thank you. Also, as unimaginable as it sounds... some people don't like (or in my case case because of heart condition, can't) drink coffee. An apple can give you just as much energy as 2 normal cups of coffee. :) It's good for fighting that 2:30pm sleep wave that comes after a long morning of concepts.
Like the others, just want to reinforce how great your podcasts are. As for someone who chose to go down a different career path - away from conceptual art, I still listen to your podcast whenever I get a chance!
Interesting, inspiring, on point as always. Thank you so much for making it available for everyone! People who dislike this must be the ones who screw up and still don't want to learn.
I've found that even as an animation student/ comic artist, your advice is still incredibly helpful. Thank you so much! I can't wait for more podcasts!
I'm not a designer, but have been watching all your videos. I'm a Freelance dev Games / Mobile apps. Thank you for the advice, I appreciate the knowledge sharing.
Thank you for your insights and tips! In a future video or podcast, please give us a cribs tour of your home studio. Would love to see what you surround yourself with.
Always great stuff, thanks Feng. One question tho, for beginning professionals like myself. Given you worked freelance for an I.P. and after you're done on the project and looking for your next job what do you do to claim experience if you have a nondisclosure for a decent amount of time and can't prove you've worked on anything?
07:58 - WAIT WHAT. Stop this, guys. We have lifes to live. If you had your daily ours fulfilled and you are not in the middle of an important task, YES you can be the first to leave the studio.
Hey Feng ! Many thanks for this new podcast, it's so great. Just one question regarding your last advice about getting a good monitor; I'm buying an Asus PA279Q. Do you have any experience on this kind of device? Thanks man, you're awesome !
Hey Feng can you maybe do some episodes where you talk one on one with other industry artists you have connections with or with past students of yours and talk about their experiences
Feng have you ever experienced wrist pain? if yes, any recommendations in how to work around it?Benn strugling with it lately It's really killing all my motivation to draw...
thank you Feng! By following your videos for the last couple of years, you have made it clear to me what career path I want to aim for in my life. One question, as a female, will it be harder for one to be considered as an asset for a full-time position in a studio? I get the impression that this industry is quite male dominated, however I share the same interests and passion just like everybody else but I'm worried that I will have to "prove" myself before I get a fair chance, although it's a skill based profession so it theoretically it shouldn't matter but I can't help but feel the stereotypical concept artist/concept designer is a male.
+Amanda Björklund however that's how it should be, a purely skill based job should be gender less, but in reality it is not always the case. I'm curious if anyone has any experience or in sight perspective from the actual industry
I find that the salary for this job is a bit low compared to the kind of stress and work surrounding it? Is RUclips inaccurate and what is a good wage for a concept designer.
Hey Mr Feng thx for all of ur podcasts ... but wanna remind u that on Episode 7 u said u will show us next time on design cinema how to go on a project with a theme, so ppl wont get stuck in wat to draw. Just a small reminder :D Take Care
I'm currently learning persperctive from scott robertson's book(How To Draw) but i don't know how long should i practice something, btw i'm on early stage's of the book so when i draw something it doesn't look sexy, it kinda crushes my moral. i try to put 5 to 6 hours a day when can i see progress?(I'm tired of drawing boxes and curves, is this normal) Thanks in advence
Feng, can you talk about cars? You say you're into military themed things so I assume you like cool and fast cars too, but the cost of driving in Singapore is so high, so I think it'd be a interesting topic just to dabble in.
QUESTION: Do concept artists for film belong "above the line" or "below the line" in a film crew? my friends and I are starting a new film production crew, doing video game commercials, and they say that concept artists are below the line. I know they do not really understand what they do. Even after I explain it, they put them in the same category as 'illustrators'. Please help! I'm asking different concept artists, filmmakers. No one is giving me a clear answer.
+zsoldier Below the line. Don't get your feelings hurt but there are only a handful of above the line people in film, defined as producer(s) (the person who wants to make the film), screenwriter(s) (the person who writes the movie), director (the person who makes the film happen), and actors (the people who are right in front of the camera). Everyone else, even when they have a very important job, are part of teams led by the above the line people. If you're a concept artist, chances are, you are being told of what to draw by one of the above the line people, usually the producer. Unless you are part of the elite four group, you're not above the line, no matter what you do, even if you're the best in the world at your job. Don't feel bad, the Director of Photography is on the same boat as you are. And he's the one who is in charge of the camera.
I take a break every half a hour or maybe a bit more. Also my hand starts to acke or hurt when i work more than 4 or 5 hours. So i got this brilliant idea. Ill use the left hand for a few days Hah hah hah hah. Its a break for the right hand yet i keep my mind busy hah hah hah. I'm such a genius. Tough my left tires twice as quickly. Hah.. hah... And time to time the left hand moves erratically. hah.
great podcast as always.. however also kinda... i mean, i don't know if feng is kinda over the top with his ideas about working hours. Yes you have to put your time in, but what he is regularly talking about, working so many hours, is literally against THE LAW in most countries in europe. And I fear that people get the wrong ideals and principles from this... For example I'm an engineer and worked in german tech companies. Regular working day was 7 hours and you must not have an average of 8 hours / day in 2 weeks and you certainly must not work more than 10 hours per day - otherwise you are risking that the company gets in trouble and this means you get in trouble.
Yeah if you compare it to german work hours in regular jobs u are right, but this one is not ordinary. I study architecture and we need to meet deadlines on projects every month and many times you are grinding like 13 - 18 h a day sometimes. I think because this is the creative industry and projects, as feng said always evolve and you need to push them hard to make it to the finish line. I think this what he was talking about. Many times you see film/game Studios to work through the night a few times and sleep like 3-5 hours a day whe the crunchtime starts.
you are probably right, it has to do with the industry.. though sometimes i wonder if this industry is maybe a bit missmanaged. risking burn outs of employees just to meet deadlines that were set too tight from the beginning. at least I hope that this overtime is compensated properly with downtime.
I take 15 minutes for lunch, no other breaks and work 8 30 - 6 making furniture for minimum wage. I think it's so shocking that people can even take an hour out for lunch. I'd feel so uncomfortable knowing I'm still being paid for that time but the company isn't getting anything out of me for it.
"This last MINUTE tip might actually last TEN minutes." ....or Another 120 Minutes :D. Pls, No rush. We dont mind... AT ALL. (great tip on Monitors btw. Those Cheap Monitors Power Bomb the eyes.)
I'm surprised you let clients change their mind on deadlines? Don't freelancers have full schedules with many clients. If client keeps moving the goal post it interferes with everybody else deadlines and your work flow? Wouldn't that get abused? If a client low balls a project due in three weeks for cheap, and intentionally tries ask for it much earlier instead to cut in line. Would that entitle an artist for rush fees?
So, not only it's impossible to get into industry in the first place, but also.. even if you will somehow.. then you can be easily get banned from the most start of your career by just 1 mistake/accident/some artdrirector don't like you/whatever else reason... This is awesome xD
basically you are telling us to knee dwon in front of capitalism und get fucked right how the bosses want it. DO YOU EVER HEARED ABOUT UNIONS OND ORGANIZATION IN LABOUR? r Guys srsly, we are people too. Also designers have basic labour rights.
Fuuu o_O In many countries in europa, you, as the company can't just monitor the activities without telling the employee beforehand. If you suspect, that your emoplyee is surfing the web for hours every day, then you are obligated to tell them, that you are going to monitor the activites. And who the f#*! has a 10 hour workday anyways?
Feng, there is no need to apologise for these delays. You are doing everyone a favour by making these episodes for FREE, on top of your busy schedule.
Thanks so much for the awesome content!
I really like the honesty in this podcast. I learned a lot! Thank you!
You can't Imagine how helpful and inspirational your podcasts are, Thanks Feng for everything.
I've been binge watching a couple of Feng zhu's videos. And all I can say is they are all eye opener for me. I've gained so much knowledge from fundamentals to actually learning what the industry like. Thank you so much for this. Hopefully one day I could enroll at fzd school.
man your podcasts and words of advice is so valuable, cheers for actually taking the time from your busy schedule to give us an hour of great information. sucks people even disliked this
Don't apologize for tardiness on videos brother. Its a free resource! We appreciate these so much.
Hi Feng. I'm from Indonesia, i've been following your RUclips Channel since 6 yrs ago. And still get a lot of inspiration, ideas, thoughts, good lessons from you. Thanks for keeping this positive youtube channel of yours and FZD school. I've growing from time to time as a concept artist, by learning, and get updated from watching your videos. And i really love this new podcast videos. Thanks so much for being a humble person, great speaker and generous artist, by sharing all kinds of experience, story, work life, and others stuff you have received all these years with all artist (junior, freelance, fulltimer) all over the world.
Keep inspiring, stay healthy even you are so busy! God bless!
the best podcast I've ever found online. thanks so much
Great tips! I do disagree with the work hour thing though. Yeah sure, don't pack up at 5 if work hours are 9-5, use common sense, but you can also get burnout from continually staying over what you're paid for. And actually, I think that shows in Feng's health issues in many videos - flu, fatigue, etc.
From reading studio artists' personal viewpoints, it's not always all it's cracked up to be - they work yourself nuts, but their work may end up on the "cutting room floor" & not chosen. So I think it's all about balance. There must be a lot of waste in these industries imo.
Plus it's kind of dick move for an employer to guilt a worker to stay overtime without pay. It's entitlement and unethical. But definitely studio culture forces people to give in out of fear. Respect swings both ways, valuing other people's time as well as your own. As a newbie at a new studio, you have no leverage.
Very true.
True, but I think you have to look at the context. I come out of comics and I can tell you theres a LOT of people who want these jobs so I do get where he's coming from for the first month you should be staying an a couple of hours over. No the first one out but not necessarily the last one out either. Just show some initiative and once you've found a niche there just muse human judgement. If your leave at 5 make sure its at the beginning of a development cycle as with comus if you your going to go easy you do so at the beginning of a monthly not at the end
It's not that you are wrong, it's that the industry isn't fair. If you won't stay those extra hours, someone else will. You'll just get replaced.
Is that fair? No of course not, but that is how it is.
@@sociallyresponsiblexenomor7608 How is it not fair. What wouldn't be fair is to demand a company keeps paying you even though the guy next to you works harder. Your priority for the first couple years should be learning, the company is investing in you by hiring you. What people don't understand is that as a Junior artist you aren't a proffessional yet, you need to learn the craft on the job. The alternative is, no one hires you unless you have 3 years in the industry, and the industry gets harder to get into. For reference, Feng works from 9 until 6 then heads to the gym, he does not extra time, so I don't know what health issues due to overwork you are talking about. It's just temporary until you catch up.
This was very insightful, Feng. Thank you.
Also, as unimaginable as it sounds... some people don't like (or in my case case because of heart condition, can't) drink coffee. An apple can give you just as much energy as 2 normal cups of coffee. :)
It's good for fighting that 2:30pm sleep wave that comes after a long morning of concepts.
True. I stopped drinking coffee and my brain went from high anxiety right back to normal state. be very careful. same with energy drinks.
Thank you FZD. May God bless you for all your tips and sharing.
Have a long way to go, lots of catching up to do.
Pardon my language. You are fucking awesome.
I love these podcasts! I don't mind it being out in irregular times, we understand you're a busy man :) Thank you for taking the time and making this!
Thanks a lot for sharing all of this important and exciting information Feng :). Always a pleasure to listen to your wisdom.
Like the others, just want to reinforce how great your podcasts are. As for someone who chose to go down a different career path - away from conceptual art, I still listen to your podcast whenever I get a chance!
Thanks for the video! What an awesome cap by the way.
Interesting, inspiring, on point as always. Thank you so much for making it available for everyone!
People who dislike this must be the ones who screw up and still don't want to learn.
What a great episode! I learned a lot especially about freelancing, thank you so much for taking the time to do this.
I've found that even as an animation student/ comic artist, your advice is still incredibly helpful. Thank you so much! I can't wait for more podcasts!
Solid gold, thanks SO MUCH for making these videos. Great freelance advice. ..
I all ways thought you drank water. The work you show us is awesome.
i've watched every video so far in 3 weeks amazing stuff.
that moment when you're on RUclips and you just look up FZD in hopes of a vid and then there is one!!!! :)
every episodes of you are all super valuable!!!!!!! Thank you for released this videos
I'm not a designer, but have been watching all your videos. I'm a Freelance dev Games / Mobile apps. Thank you for the advice, I appreciate the knowledge sharing.
Thank you for your insights and tips! In a future video or podcast, please give us a cribs tour of your home studio. Would love to see what you surround yourself with.
The fundamentals of having a job.
Always great stuff, thanks Feng. One question tho, for beginning professionals like myself. Given you worked freelance for an I.P. and after you're done on the project and looking for your next job what do you do to claim experience if you have a nondisclosure for a decent amount of time and can't prove you've worked on anything?
Thanks for uploading Feng! I can't wait for the next one, keep it up!
Absolutely LOVE these! Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Long live Feng Zhu!
Great podcast! I have learned so much so far.
Very helpful information, I feel a lot more comfortable with my goals. Thank you!
Yesss a new podcast!!! Thank you.
Great words Feng, thank you so much!!
Good luck with your new company!
When you mentioned pressing your pen really hard I was doing just that haha
thank you
Thank you Fang, very educational!
can't wait the work from you new production company
oh its the first time i'm seeing feng zhu! only listened to him till now ccx
Thank you Feng!
Great Stuff! looking forward to hear the next ep! learned a lot! thanks!
awesome as always
I'm not a cap guy, but I love yours.. where did you have it made?
07:58 - WAIT WHAT. Stop this, guys. We have lifes to live. If you had your daily ours fulfilled and you are not in the middle of an important task, YES you can be the first to leave the studio.
I've been to Taipei! Great place, nice people.
OMG Feng you were in Taiwan few days ago!? Wooh...... I wish you were having a good time here! :)
Hey Feng ! Many thanks for this new podcast, it's so great. Just one question regarding your last advice about getting a good monitor; I'm buying an Asus PA279Q. Do you have any experience on this kind of device? Thanks man, you're awesome !
You should consider adding show notes to all of your podcasts. A brief description and links to any referenced materials or people is very helpful.
"art01" "stuff_02" i laughed hard haha!
DELL Displays are the best!
Hey Feng can you maybe do some episodes where you talk one on one with other industry artists you have connections with or with past students of yours and talk about their experiences
Feng have you ever experienced wrist pain? if yes, any recommendations in how to work around it?Benn strugling with it lately It's really killing all my motivation to draw...
Gyorkland watch till the end lol
Awesome to see your face :D
i am very happy to hear that =) new company ^^ it is great news
great podcast feng!
Thanks for your content
You're one of my top idols. I've learned so much from you. :D
You're awesome, mate. You're absolutely right about common sense.
thanks Feng!
thank you Feng! By following your videos for the last couple of years, you have made it clear to me what career path I want to aim for in my life.
One question, as a female, will it be harder for one to be considered as an asset for a full-time position in a studio? I get the impression that this industry is quite male dominated, however I share the same interests and passion just like everybody else but I'm worried that I will have to "prove" myself before I get a fair chance, although it's a skill based profession so it theoretically it shouldn't matter but I can't help but feel the stereotypical concept artist/concept designer is a male.
+someguyummm ahahahahahah good point
+Amanda Björklund however that's how it should be, a purely skill based job should be gender less, but in reality it is not always the case. I'm curious if anyone has any experience or in sight perspective from the actual industry
I find that the salary for this job is a bit low compared to the kind of stress and work surrounding it? Is RUclips inaccurate and what is a good wage for a concept designer.
Hey Mr Feng thx for all of ur podcasts ... but wanna remind u that on Episode 7 u said u will show us next time on design cinema how to go on a project with a theme, so ppl wont get stuck in wat to draw. Just a small reminder :D Take Care
more paintings pleace!!!!!
I'm currently learning persperctive from scott robertson's book(How To Draw) but i don't know how long should i practice something, btw i'm on early stage's of the book so when i draw something it doesn't look sexy, it kinda crushes my moral. i try to put 5 to 6 hours a day when can i see progress?(I'm tired of drawing boxes and curves, is this normal) Thanks in advence
I hit the "Like" button even before watching your vids
10 minutes in, i'm listening, open the browser .. WOW, actually Feng )))
inspiring!
Anyone have any suggestions for healthy food to eat?
thank you for these tips! :)
Thank you :D
Feng, can you talk about cars? You say you're into military themed things so I assume you like cool and fast cars too, but the cost of driving in Singapore is so high, so I think it'd be a interesting topic just to dabble in.
QUESTION: Do concept artists for film belong "above the line" or "below the line" in a film crew? my friends and I are starting a new film production crew, doing video game commercials, and they say that concept artists are below the line. I know they do not really understand what they do. Even after I explain it, they put them in the same category as 'illustrators'. Please help! I'm asking different concept artists, filmmakers. No one is giving me a clear answer.
+zsoldier Below the line. Don't get your feelings hurt but there are only a handful of above the line people in film, defined as producer(s) (the person who wants to make the film), screenwriter(s) (the person who writes the movie), director (the person who makes the film happen), and actors (the people who are right in front of the camera).
Everyone else, even when they have a very important job, are part of teams led by the above the line people. If you're a concept artist, chances are, you are being told of what to draw by one of the above the line people, usually the producer. Unless you are part of the elite four group, you're not above the line, no matter what you do, even if you're the best in the world at your job.
Don't feel bad, the Director of Photography is on the same boat as you are. And he's the one who is in charge of the camera.
Oh I want a hat super cool
I want to become a concept artist.
POLITICS??? i thought they were just pure-hearted artists passionate about making games?!!
It's Cool~
Thanks feng zu mine goal is trying become a freelancer. I appeciate all the tips ,
I try to take to heart to make a good impression.
I take a break every half a hour or maybe a bit more. Also my hand starts to acke or hurt when i work more than 4 or 5 hours. So i got this brilliant idea. Ill use the left hand for a few days Hah hah hah hah. Its a break for the right hand yet i keep my mind busy hah hah hah. I'm such a genius.
Tough my left tires twice as quickly. Hah.. hah... And time to time the left hand moves erratically. hah.
great podcast as always.. however also kinda... i mean, i don't know if feng is kinda over the top with his ideas about working hours. Yes you have to put your time in, but what he is regularly talking about, working so many hours, is literally against THE LAW in most countries in europe. And I fear that people get the wrong ideals and principles from this...
For example I'm an engineer and worked in german tech companies. Regular working day was 7 hours and you must not have an average of 8 hours / day in 2 weeks and you certainly must not work more than 10 hours per day - otherwise you are risking that the company gets in trouble and this means you get in trouble.
Yeah if you compare it to german work hours in regular jobs u are right, but this one is not ordinary. I study architecture and we need to meet deadlines on projects every month and many times you are grinding like 13 - 18 h a day sometimes. I think because this is the creative industry and projects, as feng said always evolve and you need to push them hard to make it to the finish line. I think this what he was talking about. Many times you see film/game Studios to work through the night a few times and sleep like 3-5 hours a day whe the crunchtime starts.
you are probably right, it has to do with the industry.. though sometimes i wonder if this industry is maybe a bit missmanaged. risking burn outs of employees just to meet deadlines that were set too tight from the beginning.
at least I hope that this overtime is compensated properly with downtime.
it is nice to put a face into the voice XD~
wtf are those junior artist on, vacations and raises after one month of working? i would kill for that kind of job.
it troubles me that i couldn't see his eyebrows the whole time because of his cap
538 Cronin Valleys
834 Lucious Run
I take 15 minutes for lunch, no other breaks and work 8 30 - 6 making furniture for minimum wage. I think it's so shocking that people can even take an hour out for lunch. I'd feel so uncomfortable knowing I'm still being paid for that time but the company isn't getting anything out of me for it.
"This last MINUTE tip might actually last TEN minutes." ....or Another 120 Minutes :D. Pls, No rush. We dont mind... AT ALL. (great tip on Monitors btw. Those Cheap Monitors Power Bomb the eyes.)
AR is tha future
I'm surprised you let clients change their mind on deadlines? Don't freelancers have full schedules with many clients. If client keeps moving the goal post it interferes with everybody else deadlines and your work flow? Wouldn't that get abused? If a client low balls a project due in three weeks for cheap, and intentionally tries ask for it much earlier instead to cut in line. Would that entitle an artist for rush fees?
047 Runte Walks
mmmhmmm i love me some good real talk
So, not only it's impossible to get into industry in the first place, but also.. even if you will somehow.. then you can be easily get banned from the most start of your career by just 1 mistake/accident/some artdrirector don't like you/whatever else reason... This is awesome xD
basically you are telling us to knee dwon in front of capitalism und get fucked right how the bosses want it.
DO YOU EVER HEARED ABOUT UNIONS OND ORGANIZATION IN LABOUR?
r
Guys srsly, we are people too. Also designers have basic labour rights.
I honestly think that I'll be the best employee ever.... IF I ever get a job
6668 Rogahn Course
Fuuu o_O
In many countries in europa, you, as the company can't just monitor the activities without telling the employee beforehand. If you suspect, that your emoplyee is surfing the web for hours every day, then you are obligated to tell them, that you are going to monitor the activites.
And who the f#*! has a 10 hour workday anyways?
lol i have a 12-13 hour workday and i work at a college cafeteria
+macheifach I have a ten hour workday and I dont even get paid shit