Well, I always had a knack for art while growing up. About 30 years ago while living in Miami FL. I landed a job for a company that did contract work for All the major theme resorts, and tourist sites in FL. and nearby states. Including Walt Disney World, Warner Bros. (Universal Studios), Kennedy Space Center, etc. as well as many other local industries, and private companies.
We produced everything from Kids coloring books to T-Shirts, too much to list here. After a few years there, I was fortunate enough to become a private contract artist for The "Disney Store" chain of retail stores. After moving from Fl. many years later, I continued working as a freelance illustrator, designer for many major companies including Phillip Morris, Danskins, and again too many to list here.
I've only been doing 3D art, and modeling for around 2 years or so, but the background I had helped quite a bit. The hardest part was adapting my skills to be used in 3D work.
So now I just do this for fun, not profit. Beats sitting around the house watching TV all day.
2.5ghz QuadCore,4gb ram,1gb ATI graphics. Dual OS. WinXP, Win7.