Soon after hitting ‘publish’ on my last entry, I made a decision.
It is in my and my family’s best interest for me to switch careers and get out of vfx.
This was the best decision I had made in quite some time and to be honest, I’m now healthier and happier for it.
Good luck.
TK1099, Why aren't you at your post? 
I made the same decision back in late 2008. I’ll never go back into VFX full time, but I do still enjoy working on small VFX passion projects with cool people. Sure it’s not as sexy, but I still have a marriage and my health.
Having just stumbled on your blog and been quite inspired by it, may I ask what you decided to do? I’ve also been thinking about other lines of work but they all feel somehow less “alive” and unfulfilling than bringing stories to the screen.
Out of curiosity, what is the new career?
We are all dying to know…. to which industry did you jump? And is there room for the rest of us?!?
Hey how are you doing?
I’ve read your blog with great interest and I’m just about to make the same decision to change from vfx to something else. I’m working in Germany and maybe the pressure isn’t so high as in LA or the rest of the US but you can see a change for the worse here too. With companies like Pixomondo outsourcing more and more work to their offices in Peking and Shanghai they are copying the US (worldwide?) trend.
I’m just interested what was your PLAND B? What are you doing now?
All the best,
Marc
I posted this over at VFX Soldier’s site, this covers it:
“tk1099 says:
October 7, 2011 at 4:59 pm
I have 20 years in production with 16 or 17 years of them in vfx. I also have a wife and kids.
It got to the point where my family and I couldn’t tell the good shows from the bad ones anymore. The hours were too long, the work too stressful due to mismanagement. I found myself drinking more frequently with the younger guys… a big warning sign that I was starting to see as a widespread vfx issue. The final straw was that the money has actually started to backslide as time and budgets disappear.
Working as hard as I did for someone else’s business gain was never going to pay off. I know that now.
So a few other vfx artists and I started a non-vfx business of our own.
I was concerned to let any details. I know now out but that I’m not alone. I’m getting emails from other groups of artists that have done the same.
I did fill out a rep card and send it into IATSE. If we crash and burn and I am forced to crawl back to the box, it needs to be better than it was before.”
best of luck!
hey guys just came across this side. I will keep it short.
I always wanted to work on big Hollywood films, and worked very hard to get a good position as a vfx artist with one of the big vfx studios. After few months I left the studio without looking back.
too many wannabe 3d whatever artists, who think they are celebrities, too many big egos, too many producers and studio heads without film/vfx knowledge, too many people without social skills, and the worse of all, are those whatever artists with just a small fraction of 3d knowledge, but with the biggest mouth at the launch table, those who watch 6 hours of “making of” and think to know how everything works.