The global economy is shifting and if you think you can follow the “old ways” in getting a job – you’re in for a surprise. The whole global game has shifted and remote working is only going to increase in prevalence. In fact, any job that relies on “repetitive action” is bound to be automated at some point. In other words, regular “jobs” will one day be done entirely by software or robots. The type of jobs that will not be automated are the ones that rely on creativity, spontaneity, and will be predominantly “human” in nature.
In the meanwhile, jobs like designers, engineers, and the likes will continue to have relevance in the future job market. In today’s article, I’m going to introduce a novel idea of taking a stoned hobby and turning it into a revenue stream in a new series I’m calling, “Self-Employed Stoner”. Today’s archetype will be the “AniGamer” and relates to an industry that is only growing year after year. I’m talking of course about “animation” and “game development”.
You might say, “Reginald – these things are hard! You need to go to school, spend loads of moneys on software…there’s no way in hell I could ever become an animator or game developer…I don’t even have talent!”
To that I’d say, “Fair point!” however, you’d also be completely wrong in your assessment. The gaming industry is HUGE with more than 2.5 billion people engaged in video game playing. By 2025, the industry is set to generate $256.97 billion and a significant chunk of those earnings come from independent developers. There are plenty of gaming marketplaces out there that can host a myriad of gaming styles, and potentially the best news of all – the software to develop thus said games is totally free!
That’s right, the same goes for Pixar level animation. The software is entirely free.
Considering that stoners like to be creative, and the fact that it seems we’re being sold the idea of a “Metaverse” really hard by most corporations – there is a unique overlap between “Gaming + Animation”. Therefore, for those stoners of you reading this article are looking for a “next thing” or want to swap careers…spark up and let me explain a thing or two.
The software is absolutely free!
The two specific software I’m talking about is “Blender Animation Studio” and “Unreal Engine”. Blender is a complete 3D / 2D animation software that allows you to build worlds, skins, models, and a lot more without any additional costs. What’s more, it’s open source – meaning that there’s a lot of tutorials online to get you started.
Similarly, Unreal Engine is a gaming engine that is also being used in film. If you search for “Unreal Engine Short Film” on Youtube you’ll see the extent of what this software can do and it seems that every year there’s a new update available that revolutionizes the landscape once more.
There’s other game developing software out there for free as well, but after extensive research I found these two to be the “top of the game” in their respective categories.
You’ll still need a good PC
While the software is free, the real cost of engaging in this type of work will be your hardware. You’ll need a lot of ram, a good video card, and fast processing power. Additionally, you’ll want to opt in for a lot of space since these projects can get quite “heavy”.
However, even with all of these requirements, you could start with whatever device you have – use it to its capacity and upgrade as you can.
Why learn blender…
Personally, I’m interested in learning both simply for the sake of being able to create amazing art digitally. However, the reason you’d want to learn Blender is because you will be able to learn how to model 3D characters, rig them, and even build out scenes, worlds, etc.
Considering that the next wave of computer gear will be immersive, having the ability to model 3D objects and create 3D environments will become something that will increase in demand. Furthermore, you could also use the software to model virtually anything – including engine parts which could be 3D printed for use in building things.
The fact of the matter is that learning to work with 3D or even how to animate in 2D will always grant you access to jobs;
You could sell your services;
-
Selling custom 3D skins
-
Building 3D environments
-
Animating commercials
-
Music videos
-
3D modeling for games
-
Real Estate Modeling
-
Etc.
You can also sculpt 3D models in Blender and import them in Unreal Engine.
Why you should learn Unreal…
Unreal Engine is only getting started and will become much more in demand in the near future. The Mandelorian utilized Unreal Engine to create an immersive set for the actors to interact with the movie environment. This open source, game engine allows you to create any type of game with hyper photo realism.
You can check out FatDino’s Channel for the range of games you can develop using this software. Just like Blender, this too has plenty of tutorials to get you started and also has a marketplace where you can purchase assets premade to be used in your games, etc.
You could simply buy pre built models and build out your own games, or start from scratch – the option is truly yours.
With the inclusion of movies, if you know how to master this software you can make a lot of money either developing games, building 3D environments, or modeling parts for companies all over the world.
Furthermore, there are gaming marketplaces like Steam where you can host your game and promote, create a fanbase and simply have people play your game while you make cash. Of course, it’s not as easy as said – but that too is a possibility.
The Stoner in you…
Stoners like to play games, overcome challenges, and grow – these two software options gives you all of that and as a result, the ability to leverage another skill in your favor. At the very least, by mastering these two software you could literally build out any game, model any toy or figurine, create entire worlds, right in your computer.
The next time you’re bored…smoke a bowl and begin messing around with Blender or Unreal. Who knows maybe you like it, and when you make it big – you can call one of your characters “Reginald” in my honor. This was a general overview of the “AniGamer” – maybe that’s you?
KEEPING PEOPLE WORKING WITH WEED, READ MORE..
