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Want new career (game art), could use advice
altyalterson
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
I'll try to be brief here.
I've kind of drifted without knowing exactly what I wanted to do for a while. I drifted through university, and was mediocre at everything, except some art classes I took. I went to a school that was engineering and business focused so not much of an art program though. I do technically have an engineering degree but it's quite useless and I've forgotten all the programming I learned since graduating. It's been a couple years and I've been doing manual labor. I am going to change that now. I have a small amount of money and I'm going to give working on a portfolio for game art a shot. I actually applied to a studio as a 3d modeler, got an art test, and they said they'd be interested in hiring me for contract work (or possibly internship since things are slow). I mention that because I think I can do this but I also know I can't rely on one possible job offer.
I want to do 3d modeling, although I have had an interest in learning rigging and python but haven't taken serious steps toward learning either. I have good grasp of anatomy I think, I gravitate toward modeling characters rather than props or environments.
Given this, should I just focus on character art? Should I balance modeling with trying to learn something more specific like rigging, or lighting or something more in demand and with less of a saturated pool of applicants for a better shot at a job? Should I reach out to recruiters in the area (if they exist) rather than applying directly? I've been working for the past couple weeks, have a few small projects done, but I just hope I'm focusing my energy toward the right things. It's fun working on things I like and ideas I have, but I want to be practical and create what companies are actually looking for and need.
If anyone is in game dev and has an eye for critique I could share what I've done by pm, would welcome feedback.
I've kind of drifted without knowing exactly what I wanted to do for a while. I drifted through university, and was mediocre at everything, except some art classes I took. I went to a school that was engineering and business focused so not much of an art program though. I do technically have an engineering degree but it's quite useless and I've forgotten all the programming I learned since graduating. It's been a couple years and I've been doing manual labor. I am going to change that now. I have a small amount of money and I'm going to give working on a portfolio for game art a shot. I actually applied to a studio as a 3d modeler, got an art test, and they said they'd be interested in hiring me for contract work (or possibly internship since things are slow). I mention that because I think I can do this but I also know I can't rely on one possible job offer.
I want to do 3d modeling, although I have had an interest in learning rigging and python but haven't taken serious steps toward learning either. I have good grasp of anatomy I think, I gravitate toward modeling characters rather than props or environments.
Given this, should I just focus on character art? Should I balance modeling with trying to learn something more specific like rigging, or lighting or something more in demand and with less of a saturated pool of applicants for a better shot at a job? Should I reach out to recruiters in the area (if they exist) rather than applying directly? I've been working for the past couple weeks, have a few small projects done, but I just hope I'm focusing my energy toward the right things. It's fun working on things I like and ideas I have, but I want to be practical and create what companies are actually looking for and need.
If anyone is in game dev and has an eye for critique I could share what I've done by pm, would welcome feedback.
altyalterson on
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A bachelors degree is never useless, especially in a STEM field. You may have forgotten the programming, but you can always brush up through online resources. Even if your goal is game art, its easier to get a job when you have one and a entry-level engineering job can pay pretty decently while you develop a portfolio.
I'd recommend poping over to the Artist's Corner here, a bunch of folk do work in the industry on these forums.
From my own work and experience in gaming art, the best way to get noticed it to actually have something to show. If you don't have a substantial portfolio of the things you want to do, start working today on that.
The industry itself has more variation than people give it credit. I would start browsing sites of companies that interest you, and see what technical skills they list for positions you'd like to apply for. Trying to land a triple a company will usually have different needs than a small studio.
Posting in the AC would be a great start!
So I can't really say if your current portfolio has the chops for the games industry without seeing it. As Enc and Iruka said, posting in the Artist Corner here will get you some feedback. There are also a bunch of professional/serious hobbyist forums across the web that would be able to give feedback as well.
As for the industry itself, I'm sure you've heard all sorts of things about working in it. Long hours, layoffs, etc. That can be very very true. In my time in the games industry, I've worked at 6 different companies, with 5 different layoffs (three of which I survived before personally moving on), multiple game cancellations, frustrating management, 4 cross country moves, two major international moves, and many many long hours. I'm in a really good place right now and I don't want to say the industry is completely unrewarding both professionally and emotionally. But it would be a lie to say that it hasn't made me break down in tears and question everything multiple times. Some people have had way way less tumultuous times, some have had way worse. I have personally known people laid off literally weeks after buying a house. I have known people that have had the gods own luck in the industry and landed their dream jobs at Blizzard or Valve pretty much right out of the gate. The companies have perks like snack bars, massages, nights out (which can be a hell of a lot of fun) and talk about being a family, but ultimately you need to look after YOURSELF. I don't want to say 'don't do it' because I don't think I personally could do anything else, but understand that it is not an industry that is easy on people.
As another warning, the art side of AAA games is going further and further towards outsourcing. A lot of this is done in India, China, and Eastern Europe. It will never be all - as of now theres still tons of opportunities at major companies as well as indie companies and theres even opportunities at high level game outsourcers in the US, Canada and Europe.
Just know that its one thing to know these things and be prepared for them so you can do art all day, and another to actually live through them.
Now that the scary part is over! The job itself. This changes at pretty much every company. If you are going to be joining a small 5 man indie team you are probably going to be doing game art, rigging, tools, lighting and everything else considering your skill set. If you are at a AAA studio, if you were a character artist you might be doing modeling, unwrapping, and texturing. Some companies even take this further and have it broken down into things as specific as Character Texture Artist where you would only be doing... character textures. So depending on how focused or general you want to get with what you do day to day, you can focus on specific areas of the industry.
One job type that you might be unaware of but might be suited to considering your background and interest in rigging and Python would be Tech Artist. This is where game art and programming meet - you need both an artistic mind as well as a very analytical mind. Generally a tech artist handles the intersection between tech and art (gasp!). Sometimes this is something that traditionally artists train in like rigging or shaders. Sometimes its scripting functions for Maya or 3dsMax automate artist pipeline. Sometimes its something like engineering entire tools for the artists to be able to perform their jobs better. It really runs a pretty wide gamut so it might be good to actually look at some job listings at various companies (and company sizes) to see if its something you might be interested in. The benefit of this position is that because its so specialized and theres pretty much NO education that points at this career, it can be on the higher paid side of the industry.
So... good luck. As said earlier, I don't want to dissuade too hard as I don't think I would be happy doing anything other than art for a living. When I joined the industry I was aware of the industry ills and made my choice anyway. I hope this helps.