Game Artist's Perspective

[bentllama]

Thanks Erik for contributing your time to the community!

I wanted to share my thoughts after reading his article "6 Tips for a Game Artist's Portfolio". I have commented on the article in the text below.



1. Don't bring a Car to a Horse Race

Great art, is great art. Period. If your skills and style match the production, or your work shows that you can adapt to different genres and visual direction, then in my opinion it does not matter what "type" of art you have in your portfolio.

There are some things you must think about. For example, if you are going for a character gig, then there better be an understanding of anatomy shown. I would much rather work along side someone with a command for anatomy than an artist who cannot show that command with a limited polycount, and never showed that they understand through a high-res model or drawing studies.

2. Don't be a Film Industry Reject

I agree with this statement. I once heard someone starting out in this industry mention in an interview that games were a "stepping stone" into film. Bad idea.

Many studios welcome former film artists with open arms and equal respect.

In addition, you do not have to be a game nut to work in the industry, it does help, but you need to show appreciation and respect for the artform of interactive entertainment. The respect you show will go along way when the studio pushes for the next big advance in game development...under those circumstances they need to have everybody's pistons firing.

3. Live in the Now

While I do not think it is neccessary to be "trendy" with your portfolio, catering to a companies given style and past genres of games can help.

I think the most important thing is to show that your thought process is up to today's standards and your ideas are fresh and original.

4. Be an Artist

While I will not address the behavior and learned/not learned debate, I will however like to acknowledge Erik's comment of tailoring your portfolio to the position you are seeking. This is a truth that everyone must adhere to. If you are going for a position you better be certain that your reel contains a stellar mix of the skill you want to contribute to the company.

5. Think Real-Time

Very sound advice...but as I mentioned previously you need to show your command of your skills through this work.

6. Skill vs. Talent

In my opinion, most artists can learn to use the computer. It really is not a difficult task to teach a great artists to produce great art on a computer.

Again, thanks Erik for contributing to the community. I enjoy your work and hope to see more of it here at cgtalk soon.

Cheers.
:beer:

[Anim8rJB]

Tip #7 - Never wear a suit to an interview at a games studio. Seriously, don't.

[spakman]

Pretty good points here. I've got a slightly different take on the matter, and have re-arranged/combined points in order of their importance to me.

1. Be an artist

Observation, and the mind's desire to convey it's take on what is seen, has always been independent of the medium used to convey this desire.

2. Skill vs. Talent

These concepts are not confrontational. They are complementary. If somebody shows talent, the company hiring will assist in developing techniques and shortcuts to get the best return out of the talent in which they've invested.

3. Think Real-Time/Don't be a film industry reject/Live in the Now

The rules here are whatever you can get away with. Don't be a film industry reject, but be aware of current FMV techniques (living in the now), and start thinking about how they can be applied/adapted to realtime. So live in the now, but think about the future.

4. Don't bring a Car to a Horse Race

Bring a rocketship. As long as you're hip to tips 1 thru 3, bring whatever you can to seperate you from the crowd.

peace d=^)

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