[Plouffe]

I dont work for a game company and I miselft would like to work for one in the futur. I would say that you cant do ALOT to get this kinda job UNless your are the best one that applies. So i would say is work hard on Human anatomy, perspective and your creative side. Depending on what job you want to apply for i would show all of your Best work in your portfolio and try not to show any weeknesses. If you really really suck at perspective than dont put something that isnt all that great in your portfolio just to show that you have very little understanding of it. As to what to study in college um if you go look at jobs for gaming industry alot of times for a game artist they want a bachelor's in fine arts. But im sure even though you dont have one of those and you are AMAZING at doing whatever then they prolly would hire you.

All that I said was from doing alittle research on the internet also been talking to a few game artist SOO I'm sure their are alot of people out here that can give you more info

[Ben Barker]

Yeah, all of that good stuff. Also I would have to say get a website. It's helped me.

[Rob M]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice.
Keep it coming too, I can use all the good advice I can get.

[aquamire]

Sleep with John Romero... err.. well. Uhm I heard of 3 essential things you'll need to get a job in the industry.

1. Portfolio
2. Portfolio
3. Portfolio

Do some volunteer stuff for a game mod or something. Do some testing for a video game. Or if you have a friend in the industry talk to them. Sleeping with John Romero might be your last choice.. I dont recommend it.


------------------
-Aquamire
"Quotes are for mislead wussies." - Me.

[Brain]

Definately get a good looking varied portfolio together, digital and traditional, online and off. The industry is starting to look more at people with fancy pieces of paper (ie degrees), but with a faboo portfolio, the need for a degree can easily be forgotten.

Variation I believe is a good thing. Sure, your speciality might be human anatomy, but you do seamless textures too? YOU'RE HIRED! @;-) If you're a 2d guy, get a little 3d experience in there, and vice versa. And show traditional media examples.

Then once it's all done, show it off to us. @:-)

------------------
Brain
http://brain.gamekey.com/

[MeatyCheesyBoy]

Well, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

First, location, and from the looks of things, you've got that covered. The Seattle metro area has about 20 different game companies. I've got a list of local companies (I'm in WA also). If you'd like it, I can send it to you. They range from little mom and pop studios that make 16 bit RPGs to Valve.

Second, like people said, it's all about the portfolio. I have a bachelor's degree in fine arts but it hasn't really helped me because my portfolio isn't the greatest, yet.

Third, any contact you can get. Almost any company around here will let you just come in and walk around. Take tours and get to know people. Go to the sputnik users meetings in Seattle every month (sputnik is a local gathering of game developers). Sputnik has 2 meetings a month, one where they give a long technical presentation and one where everyone just meets at a bar, gets drunk and talks about whatever game project they're working on. Goto to the bar, get drunk meeting.

Fourth, when you are finally ready to apply, do some research on the company and tailor your portfolio to match their style (This is where a good variety comes into play). For example, if you apply at Humongous (this is where I work) or at Edmark, they really aren't gonna care that you can draw a cool spaceship since they make games for little kids.

If nothing works, as was the case for me since as I said my portfolio is sorta weak, try for an intern or a nonskilled art position. I'm a digital ink and painter at Humongous. This is considered a non skilled position that almost anyone can do since it's pretty much just pushing pixels and coloring things. But, I've got my foot in the door, so to speak, I have experience on a soon to be shipping title, I get paid, and I can tell all my friends that I make video games.

Good Luck, and email me if you want that list. My address is in my profile.

[Rob M]

Thanks Meaty, I'd love that list!
At the moment keeping our state's Representatives and Senator's computers in working order after a 3rd party software download frenzy is taking up 100% of my time, but that'll be done with when session ends in April/May.

After that I'll be deciding upon a college at which to get an art degree.

[Rob M]

Hey folks, I need some help, here.

My plan is to work for a game studio as an artist. Be it texture or game art in general.
Pretty much, I'd like to do what Dhabih does.

My question is: what courses should I take in college, what degree's would help me the most? Pretty much, what should I focus on while in college.

Also, what sort of things do these companies look for when hiring new artists?
What would help me get on at a game studio?


I realize that this is a BIG question, but I'm trying to plan out my future here, and I really need some input!

A BIG thanks in advance!
-Rob

[Svanur]

As people are talking about degrees as such.
How good/bad does it look if perhaps someone has a bachelor or master of fine arts in Sequential Art? Like the one they teach at Scad.edu

I have been wondering whether I should study illustration or sequential Art and lately, sequential art has been looking better, with creative writing and such.

[-HoodZ-]

anyone here know any game companies in New York?

[Cooter]

Hey Meaty, could you send me the list as well. I know of quite a few of them, but there may be some that I missed in your list. Danke!

PS Also I would be most happy with an unskilled art position...

[This message has been edited by Cooter (edited February 07, 2001).]

[Danny]

Latest issue of 3Dworld Magazine (issue 9) had one or two industry fellows write some tips about this.

( www.3Dworldmag.com )


------------------
[email protected]

Trust in Trance

[BarefootMatthew]

Well I thought I'd throw my two cents in, having done my fair share of interviews as a senior artist at EA, Cavedog and a few smaller companies. I thought it would help those interested to tell you what I look at when we are bringing people through, and to tell you the perspective of someone who's been on BOTH sides of that table!

First of all...forget degrees. I know, many people look at me like I'm crazy on this point, but seriously the only thing that stands out about your education, to ME at least, is the school you attended. In that vein, I tend to look a lot closer at someone who went to a school like Art Center or CalArts...but even then it's only a minor consideration. I know for a fact that I've never made a hiring recommendation based on whether someone had a BA or an AA, which is what I have myself, having gone through the Art Institute here in Seattle.

So what DO I look at? Portfolio IS important, but of equal importance to me is a demo reel or CD-ROM that shows off digital work in the medium it is supposed to be seen in. Seeing work in motion, even if it's just a flythrough or a walkaround of an object or character, does a LOT for me. This can also be served with a website, but I can tell you that most artists at game companies are quite busy and may not have the time to spend walking through your website. I always recommend that people include their web pages in HTML on a CD-ROM portfolio so that the artists can easily load them on their desktop and just browse through at their leisure.

What do you include in your portfolio? There was a time that I stressed "only your best work" but being a game artist sometimes means taking shortcuts and finding the best "workable" solutions to problems on a VERY tight timeframe. Yes, I love to see magnificently modeled and rendered cutscenes and high polygon count characters. But the realitu of the game business is still lower polygon modeling and as much detail in texturing as you can muster! Things will eventually change, but as of right now I still prefer to see instances where an artist shows me a model that they made using under 300 triangles, or a complicated scene that they crafted in only 2 days. Maybe it's NOT their best quality work, but to me I look at such work as proof that I don't have to hold their hand and that they know how to approach a realistic deadline. After all, when we see those highly detailed rendered scenes we can't help but wonder..."Just how long did that take?"

Now of course in the above paragraph, I am talking about the basic "meat and potatoes" game artist position. You will want to tailor your portfolio to meet the needs of whatever position you are applying for. Animators should include lots of character animation and should send such as a demo reel on VHS since that still is one of the best formats for us to view on. Modelers should show off their ability to work in both high and low polygon situations...texture artists should include renders of their art in application.

Getting into the industry is definitely made easier by location, although more and more that is becoming easier to accomplish. I had wanted to relocate recently to Colorado, but my job prospects rest solely on one company...not exactly a stable future! There IS a growing resource for us in the industry called www.gamejobs.com and I have been seeing more and more companies put offerings up on that site. But once you are ready the best advice I can give is to start small.

Smaller studios typically have less money to dole out, and thus they cannot afford to hire many of the senior people that are in the areas where the industry grows. Achieving a position as a junior artist at a smaller company is a good place to start and get the skills you need to impress those art directors at the bigger ones!

Or, if your dream is to work in a bigger company right away, start at the bottom and make yourself invaluable. Starting out as a tester or a tech support person may not seem like a glamorous thing, but it can be an invaluable tool for showing you the way the industry works and to pick up "on the job" training for what you really want to do.

That's about all for now...I just found this forum and I will likely be checking in pretty frequently. Looking forward to more discussions!

[Ian_Milham]

Hi Rob.

Matt has made some excellent points above. I do disagree with him on the degree, though.
Although we're the exception rather than the rule in the Games Industry, here at Lucasarts we require a BFA for consideration in an art position. There have been exceptions, but they're rare.

We have an information page at http://www.lucasarts.com/jobs/ that gives some good info on what we want to see in demo reels and portfolios.

Also, we've got an extensive internship program that is a great opportunity to get into the industry. Lots of star interns get asked to come back as full hires.

All the rest that Matt said I agree with, especially the part about demonstrating real game production skills like low-poly modeling. It's also very important to specifically tailor your portfolio for each employer you meet. It should clearly show your skills and how they match with what that company does.

Oh, and one last thing, don't show anything you didn't do ALL of. Some people do it, but when I'm interviewing someone, it's never good to hear "I didn't do those textures" or whatever. If you're applying for a modeling position, I'd rather see flat-poly wireframes than someone else's work.

I'm not sure how it works at most other game companies, but here the portfolio only gets you in the door. As part of the application, artists here do a two-day skill specific test (modeling a character, texturing some models, a level design proposal, etc.).

What I'm saying is that your portfolio should be your best work, but you should be practicing so it's also representative of your current skill level. If your portfolio is full of your best twenty things from the past five years, and you can't consistently achieve that quality, we'll know right away.

As for what classes to take in college, that's easy. Fundamentals. It would almost be better if you didn't look at a computer for a couple of years. Learn the core skills of drawing and color theory and you can not go wrong.

[Rob M]

...wow...

Thanks BarefootMatthew and Ian_Milham!
You have both been very helpful.

Luckily being in NW Washington there are quite a few game companies here already. Most notably Microsoft Games and Valve.

I can't wait to get into a good school in the NW and get a degree in either Fine Arts or, as Dhabih has, Interdisciplinary Art.

As for where I start, I think my route of choice would be to start at a smaller company, and perhaps move to a larger one at a later time.

I just recently decided what I wanted to do for a living, now the idea of working on games has me very excited.
I figure that as a huge gamer and someone who has always loved to draw, that this would be a dream job.

Once again guys, THANKS!
That REALLY helped.

[-HoodZ-]

how do i make a cdrom reel? i already know you put the best first and the ok last...but how do go on about setting it up? ive chcked out gamejobs and there is one area that interests me....i

[BarefootMatthew]

Thanks Ian for filling in the blanks, as you're quite right on everything you've said.

I should have clarified that I am a senior artist and have been a lead artist in the past, but even at those times I was simply brought in to make recommendations on hiring and to conduct interviews. All of the companies that I have worked for had human resources handle all the hiring and qualifications of candidates. I have only ever hired one person in my life, and that was for someone to replace me as a game tester, and so that is why I say that the degree an artist gets has never been an issue.

It could also be that the industry climate is slightly different between California and here, as I have never worried about the fact that I do not possess a BFA. At any rate, I DO think a higher education is important to anything you want to do in life, so do what feels right for you! :-)

Good luck to you Rob!

[Seeg]

Since I am the art director at a game developer called Saffire, I will throw in my two cents. I should say that we have about 130 people working for us in three offices and about 4o of those are artists...so we are not the biggest but not the smallest either. What do I look for? I agree that a degree is important but not for the artistic reasons. I feel that a degree says to me that here is a relatively well rounded person that knows how to finish something he/she starts. I have never asked to see a persons piece of paper but you have a much better chance of getting in to see me personally if you list a degree on your resume. As far as what to show? I also teach Illustration to the Senior class at the local University. I hire my four or five best artists each year. These are artists with very high skill levels in "creating pictures". Drawing is essential as well as painting. I love to see sketch books so I can see how someone thinks. If they have computer skills so much the better but the computer is only a tool and easy to teach. I rarely hire anyone that has only gone through an animation program. They, simply are not good enough artists. So, what do I look for? Your best pieces. Maybe a dozen or so, your sketch book (can you draw a compelling image?), and examples of digital work if you have it. The truth is that my assistant screens all the portfolios. We get so many that I simply do not have the time. If it passes her muster she will bring it to me. If I like what I see, she will make an appointment. If you get in to see me I have already decided that you can do the work artistically. Occasionally, I will have a short "test" for the applicant to complete. Mostly I am trying to see what a person is like and if they will fit in our "culture". how well are they dressed? Yea, I may be in jeans and a t-shirt but the applicant should at least be dressed in clean clothes. I have rejected good artists simply because I wouldn't ask any of my other artists to sit next to them. The programmers smell bad enough as it is ). If, it looks like I can work with you and you will be able to work on a team, you're in. Anyway, just my opinions.

good luck
Don www.seegmiller-art.com

[immi]

Here are some other links for you:
http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.12/totb/ http://www2.ravensoft.com/getajob.htm http://www.cliffyb.com/how-to-get-hired.htm http://www.zdnet.com/egm/stories/main/0,11589,2629913,00.html

Dose of Reality? http://www.happypuppy.com/features/bth/bth0805a.html

[AprilYSH]

hi, i've got a sorta related question but didn't want to start a new thread for this little thing.

i want to know how much you would charge for a digital picture commissioned directly by an individual (not a company), per hour, by size, etc...

to my utter amazement, some people want to pay ME money for this... it's so embarassing...

thanks

------------------
April http://april.digitalart.org

[Rob M]

Thanks again everyone, It's good to geat a variety of opinions and to learn what you are really looking for in an artist.