Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Digital games designer to 3D modeller

A digital games designer already meets 63% of what the 3D modeller role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From digital games designer
63 % overlap
Strong match
To 3D modeller
49 You already bring
8 Still to learn
72 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

48.2/ 100

1 How much of what a 3D modeller is expected to do is already part of a digital games designer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the 3D modeller role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A 3D modeller role treats 8 of its required skills as things a digital games designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • 3D lighting
  • 3D texturing
  • apply 3D imaging techniques
  • augmented reality
  • computer graphics
  • create 3D characters

What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 49 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 3D modeller role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a digital games designer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held principles of animation arts and humanities
  • already held 3D texturing arts and humanities
  • already held create 3D environments communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held animate 3D organic forms communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held software interaction design information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held create 3D characters working with computers

All 49 carried skills, including the 8 the 3D modeller role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 23 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn create 3D texture map required
  • still to learn discuss artwork required
  • still to learn build business relationships required
  • still to learn develop creative ideas required
  • still to learn render 3D images required
  • optional, not held maintain an artistic portfolio optional
  • optional, not held select illustration styles optional
  • optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
  • optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
  • optional, not held create 2D painting optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
02 working with computers 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn use polygonal modelling required
  • still to learn migrate existing data required
  • optional, not held perform data mining optional
  • optional, not held perform ICT troubleshooting optional
03 arts and humanities 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn holography required
  • optional, not held 3D printing process optional
04 business, administration and law 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
  • optional, not held Process-based management optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
05 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held emergent technologies optional
06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a 3D modeller role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 49 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held 3D lighting knowledge
  • already held 3D texturing knowledge
  • already held apply 3D imaging techniques skill
  • already held augmented reality knowledge
  • already held computer graphics knowledge
  • already held create 3D characters skill
  • already held create 3D environments skill
  • already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
  • already held ABAP knowledge
  • already held AJAX knowledge
  • already held APL knowledge
  • already held ASP.NET knowledge
  • already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held C# knowledge
  • already held C++ knowledge
  • already held COBOL knowledge
  • already held CoffeeScript knowledge
  • already held Common Lisp knowledge
  • already held Erlang knowledge
  • already held Groovy knowledge
  • already held Haskell knowledge
  • already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held JavaScript knowledge
  • already held Lisp knowledge
  • already held MATLAB knowledge
  • already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
  • already held Objective-C knowledge
  • already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
  • already held PHP knowledge
  • already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Perl knowledge
  • already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held R knowledge
  • already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held SAP R3 knowledge
  • already held SAS language knowledge
  • already held Scala knowledge
  • already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held TypeScript knowledge
  • already held VBScript knowledge
  • already held Visual Basic knowledge
  • already held animate 3D organic forms skill
  • already held computer programming knowledge
  • already held principles of animation knowledge
  • already held software interaction design knowledge
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held 3D printing process optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
  • optional, not held Process-based management optional
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held maintain an artistic portfolio optional
  • optional, not held perform data mining optional
  • optional, not held select illustration styles optional
  • optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
  • optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
  • optional, not held create 2D painting optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held emergent technologies optional
  • optional, not held perform ICT troubleshooting optional
47 held skills the 3D modeller role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Agile development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role CryEngine knowledge
  • not needed by the target role DevOps knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Frostbite (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role GameSalad knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Gamemaker Studio knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Havok Vision knowledge
  • not needed by the target role HeroEngine knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT performance analysis methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT security legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Project Anarchy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Prototyping development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role RAGE (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Rapid application development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Shiva (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Source (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Spiral development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Unity (digital game creation systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Unreal Engine knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Waterfall development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse business requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role application usability knowledge
  • not needed by the target role compose digital game story skill
  • not needed by the target role create concept of digital game skill
  • not needed by the target role create digital game characters skill
  • not needed by the target role create software design skill
  • not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role design graphics skill
  • not needed by the target role design process skill
  • not needed by the target role digital game creation systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role digital game genres knowledge
  • not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
  • not needed by the target role formulate game rules skill
  • not needed by the target role hardware platforms knowledge
  • not needed by the target role id Tech knowledge
  • not needed by the target role incremental development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interactive media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role iterative development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage localisation skill
  • not needed by the target role manage online content skill

7 further entries not listed here

8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn holography required
  • optional, not held 3D printing process optional
  • optional, not held Agile project management optional
  • optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
  • optional, not held Process-based management optional
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held lean project management optional
  • optional, not held emergent technologies optional
Index

Other moves recorded from digital games designer

Full index of moves from digital games designer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a digital games designer become a 3D modeller?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A digital games designer already covers 63% of what a 3D modeller is expected to do: 49 skills carry over, 8 of which the 3D modeller role treats as required.

What skills does a digital games designer need to become a 3D modeller?

8 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is create 3D texture map.

How hard is the move from digital games designer to 3D modeller?

Its learning distance is 48.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.