So much of what you’ve said is so good. It’s fantastic to hear from someone so freshly introduced to VFX. In all the comments you’ve said, you’ve touched on the 4 points that seem to be recurring themes for most of us. Very cool.
I love your chart! We certainly do tend to fall in the middle. My only thought to add here is that our community spans from “2D FX Artist” all the way over to “Particle Artist” (and even beyond to “Simulation Artist”). Maybe if there were a lot more of us, we’d split these communities, but even then, I think it’s healthy to cross-pollinate. Heck, I myself am both! In one day, I might paint up a concept for an effect in Photoshop, draft a rough frame-by-frame mock-up to nail down the timing and motion, create the textures and meshes, wire up a material, build the particle system itself, then tie it into a scripted event so it plays in game.
Pitching that whole spectrum of work might be exciting for some students, but in my experience, it’s generally more overwhelming to a newbie than not. The approach I’m starting to take is to meet students where they’re at, and where they’re interested, whatever the point on that spectrum is. Then we build out from there in both directions until eventually they’re as versatile as they need to be to move forward into their ideal job. And heaven knows, after getting into that position, they’ll be on a never-ending journey going deeper and wider in their skills! I see no end to my growth in this craft–and that’s one of the reasons I love it so much.