Vertex School

The main benefit of Vertex is the access to professional working game artists and developers who can help you build a decent portfolio, but that is about the only benefit. I made the mistake of thinking exposure to these people would give me some connections... Read More that would help me get a job, but this is not the case. The sad truth is a certificate in Game Art from Vertex will not land you a job, especially in this job market. In fact, the instructors at Vertex get noticeably uncomfortable at any discussions related to employment. The curriculum is also clunky and sometimes poorly designed, which some instructors acknowledge and intentionally deviate from. For character art, the curriculum materials lean too heavily on anatomy and sculpture, and not enough on pipeline, model optimization, texturing or portfolio presentation.

I came to Vertex by a friend's advice initially, and from the first second I got into my course I've exncountered so much support. Whether it's logistical, technical, inspirational etc., I always got a solution / the path to it. Students and mentors alike,... Read More I've felt like everyone had each other's backs and everyone is in this together!. During my time in Vertex I've faced troubles in my personal life and always found everyone to be very considerate and found alternatives with the help of my mentors to feel like i'm still on track and could still make it work. I've learned so much about the industry and about myself during my time in Vertex, and gained many tools to troubleshhot different kinds of issues. Also - I feel more equipped to be a member of the creative world outside of Vertex school. From day one I've absorbed more knowledge, skills and prospective to help me see through the workflow in a professional way. With a hands-on mentality Vertex school improved my way of looking at a project, decoding and seizing it with self-learning-analyzation skills. Vertex cheered me on when I was doing great, yet when I was struggling Vertex directed me to decipher better ways to reverse-engineer a problem and get beautiful results!.
I recommend anyone that aspire to be a 3D Game Artist to join right now, you won't regret it for even one second!

The instructors are experienced professionals who genuinely care about student success, offering invaluable guidance and real-world insights. The supportive community and hands-on projects helped me build a strong portfolio. Vertex School Highly recommend!... Read More

My experience from Vertex:

I graduated and finished my term 3 project on March the 4th.
My term 3 tutor helped me get in contact with his connections, providing ample job support.
Set up interviews on March the 15th.
Began working on May the 7th.

The course... Read More is what you will make of it, the curriculum, the tutors and the resources are all there, it's up to you to make the most of it and come out the other side with a portfolio which is hireable.
It's way better than any traditional university program as I came out of 5 years of studying Graphic Design and couldn't land a single job.

There is lacking of term 3 course content at the time of study. Support is quite lacking and I still don’t understand how to use a trim sheet after graduation. Might be better to get a Cgma course or mentorship instead of the this curriculum as it delivers... Read More the same content for lower price
No job support afterwards

I joined Vertex last August and have just recently finished at the same time as I got my start in the industry! I now work at Antimatter Games based in the UK. I studied illustration for 3 years and used 3D applications for all of my work - I was always... Read More drawn to concept art and still image but wanted a job in the industry but didn't know how to approach it or what to try to specialise in. During my degree I did a lot of freelance work for various artists such as directors, writers, musicians etc. And got to early 2020 and decided I wanted to just go for that studio position somewhere. I started looking online at tutorials on game art and how to alter my workflow and was making some progress but felt very lost. So, I searched around for online courses with mentorship to further my knowledge with industry pro's - I checked out Cliton Crumpler's course, cgma, think tank etc. And while all of these are great I was much more heavily drawn to Vertex and what they had to offer as the courses were at a good length, price and split into character and environment. I hopped In after meeting the advisor (who helped me out a lot over the course) and we started with the basics and fundemtals of game art and 3d. Further down the course became more intensive and exciting as we started building our capstone props, followed by a full environment. We would have two weekly meet ups that typically last 3-4 hours which you should pay attention all the way because other peoples problems you most certainly learn from as your instructor helps out whoever is in need in alphabetical order. I found it great as outside of class time instructors will always try to get back to you quickly with feedback and advice - bear in mind they have tonnes of other students to look after as well as lives to live so I really appreciated them going out of their way to do this. John for instance would draw up annotated slides for me to fix issues I was having and Jacob did a portoflio review with me once on his lunch break once. So, they are very caring instructors who do their best for you. What Ryan has built is great and I can't recommend it more. But the catch is - you have to work. Work hard. The minum each week is 20 hours but push that and sacrifice you're free time for the duration of the course if you want to do well and improve your skillset and get noticed. Thanks!

I came in to Vertex School after quitting my job in the film industry. I wanted to do something creative in my life. I began dabbling in 3D art and self teaching myself whatever I could grasp from various YouTube videos and online premade courses. What... Read More I lacked from these resources was stability, a routine, and most importantly live feedback. I found Vertex School and it’s Environment Art Bootcamp online and pulled the trigger. This was one of my best decisions ever! I got two days per week of exhausting (in the best way possible) of one on one interaction with Ryan Kingslien and John Waynick as they taught us everything they knew from industry behavior, to proper industry pipelines and their respective softwares. I came in with limited knowledge of Blender and came out knowing 5 times the amount of software and feeling confident enough to tackle anything. When I was fighting imposter syndrome during the process I was able to reach out to Ryan and John and be able to speak with them, and as proper mentors they guided me back on the right path. All this may sound amazing, and it was, but it was extremely difficult. I worked around 10-11 hours a day on my craft. I was unemployed and this was my hail marry, I poured my soul into this and it payed off. That being said, I feel that if I hadn’t I wouldn’t be in the position I am now. This online course that Ryan provides is not a course that will land you a job the same way an Ivy League does. This place provides you with the tools and knowledge to get to that point yourself. I applied to endless jobs for months before I started working at High Moon Studios. I have the bootcamp to thank for directing me in such a way that I had a strong enough portfolio to get the job, however, after that I had to work on my own to apply and get myself out there. It was comforting to know that any question I had, and any time I needed help with a cover letter or an application, or even my art test for my interview, I had a network of beautiful artists and the team at Vertex to help me out. I’d recommend this program to anyone who has the time and the will to learn but lacks the initiative. I needed the schedule, and the deadlines to work, I was not able to do this on my own. And I found that here. I am eternally grateful to Ryan and John.

I had several specific goals in mind before I started at Vertex. I wanted to receive feedback that was constructive and critical. I wanted to improve my current modelling, texturing and Unreal Engine skills to something closer to the industry standard.... Read More And I wanted to add portfolio pieces that clearly showed improvement. During my time at Vertex instructors helped me to create a large game level in UE4 complete with animation, VFX, custom modelled and textured assets and several basic blueprints. After weeks and months of feedback we refined my presentation of the level greatly and I learned several new skills and improved others, as I had hoped would happen. There is no doubt that if I had done this level "solo" it would not have come out as nice as it did. I may not have even attempted it in the first place. At that point, I was happy with the work I did, felt like I improved over the period of taking the course and would have been content to add the experience to my Artstation and skillset and move on. Half way through the second course at Vertex, I was contacted and offered a position by a studio that, while I was growing up, I had always considered to be a dream job, working on a dream IP. Like so many of us, I have spent many hours crafting and refining resumes and applications, only to never hear back; this is the first time I have ever been cold called and offered not just a good job, but one I was thrilled to do and that I would have previously considered out of reach. I understand this outcome can't be guaranteed for every student that might take a course at Vertex, but in my case, the results far exceeded my expectations.

Hey folks! I've taken multiple classes run by Ryan Kingslien and crew, and I would have to say this is one of the most generous schools in terms of resources and time. The teachers are constantly working on their craft and always trying to improve the... Read More courses. If you need help, teachers are always willing to sit down and help you out. They are very giving with their time, and they really care if students succeed. They also make sure that you take care of yourself, along with doing good work. The courses this school offer are also some of the most affordable. I found that I was a more experienced person looking to push myself further in certain aspects, and I was allowed to fit projects to what I needed from them. The classes gave me a reason to push myself to do the hard work to show progress every week, but they are forgiving enough to understand that their students have work and life responsibilities. Overall, I would say these classes are great for people who are self motived to do the work for their career. You really get the value from the classes if you can put in the effort consistently. Be wary that you are in charge of yourself and your schedule. The teachers are there to help you along, but staying on top of your own things such as coming to class on time, making sure to update regularly, and pushing yourself each week will give you the results that you want more than anything. You'll be taught by some of the best people out there, and one of the most helpful things is to make sure to understand each teachers teaching style and the best way to maximize the time you spend with them. I would say the cons is that in order to do well, you really need to put as many hours as you can. Recommended time to invest in homework is really 30 hours + just because you have to go through useful resources, teacher critiques, and then actually do the work of learning, so its not really a 20 hours a week endeavor. But in the realm of the game industry, that is just a very real amount of time you'll have to spend in order to be better. One of the benefits of course is the fact that you can extend out the time if you need more time to learn things before moving on to another class. They have the classes, happen regularly, so you can jump in at a later date, if you find that life is just a little tough at the moment which is nice. Overall, I would recommend these courses to everybody, but especially the people who need guidance and a deadline.

Since graduating from a traditional 4 year college as a 3D Artist student, I was greatly struggling trying to find a full time career in the field. After learning about the Vertex School and their student's outstanding portfolio work, I was quickly convinced... Read More that Vertex School was the real deal. I enrolled in their 1 year bootcamp training program to help push my creativity as a 3D Artist to the next level and help me compete in the industry. With some prior knowledge of creating 3D artwork, I already had a head start in the beginning of the bootcamp training program. For those who were just beginning to learn 3D, were quickly brought up to speed and even exceled further than most traditional college students. Vertex School strongly focuses on producing outstanding 3D Artwork and helping their students to effectively demonstrate them. To get the most out of the learning experience, attending the online sessions is crucial. This is because when working on a project, there will be times where a mistake is overlooked and it will be brought up by the mentor. In addition, the mentor will demonstrate solutions that will help guide you to successfully achieve the desired outcome. From the online community and the mentors, they will post jobs that they have connections with or came across on the web. After graduating from the Vertex School, I felt more prepared and confident in landing a full time job in the industry. In about 6 Months of graduating, I finally achieved my goal in landing a full time career as a working Graphic Artist & Multimedia Specialist. Overall, the Vertex School is extremely helpful to anyone who is passionate in being involved in creative tech.