CGTalk - Breaking into the Game Industry as an animator!

View Full Version : Breaking into the Game Industry as an animator!

sparkysavar

12-02-2009, 10:14 PM

Hi everyone! I'm an artist with experience working with Activision as a game designer and concept artist. I originally when to school for animation though and have been looking to really move into pursuing animation in my video game production career, but it's hard to figure out exactly what I need to work on to accomplish that. I assume it's mainly creating character cycles for my reel, but was wondering if anyone has some good advice curtailing to this and what I can do?

If you go to my website you can view my work:

http://www.yonyonderstudio.com

any advice for improving that to proceed in the animation for game direction would be great! Thank you!

mHobby

12-04-2009, 06:50 PM

Hi Christina,

Your demoreel is heading in the right direction, you just need a few new pieces to really show off your skills. Some clips that you have like the champagne bottle opening/spinning or the vines/graphic growing aren't really necessary if you plan to apply for a Character Animator position, but they'd be good to keep on your reel if you're applying to a game studio who's looking for a generalist with strong animation skills.

Here's a link to Matt Ornstein's demo reel who strongly demonstrates his knowledge on posing, weight, timing, and acting (among other numerous basic animation skills).

http://www.mattornstein.com/demo_reel

Although game animation is not limited to 3D, I'd suggest putting a shot or two of 3D animation on your reel since you have Maya listed on your resume. If you don't have time to rig a character there are some great free rigs online that you can find on Cgtalk or by googling 'free maya rigs'.

Also I'd urge you to check out the 11secondclub.com forum. You don't have to enter the competition to sign up to the forums (although it's good practice and tons of fun!), and it's a great place to post your works in progress and get quick feedback.

Best of luck to you!
~Megan

KielFiggins

12-05-2009, 01:22 AM

Hey Christina, here are a few links that may help:

Getting Work in Animation:
http://www.3dfiggins.com/side_page.php?id=73

Getting a Job in general:
http://www.3dfiggins.com/side_page.php?id=67#10job

Basics to show in a demo reel:
http://www.3dfiggins.com/side_page.php?id=67#10demo

Hope these help, and good luck!

sparkysavar

12-06-2009, 03:36 AM

Thanks mHobby and KielFiggins, very helpful advice! I'll start looking up some free rigs to play with. :)

CGTalk Moderation

12-06-2009, 03:36 AM

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.