Dealing with Art Tests
polycounter lvl 14
Hey there folks,
Over time I've got a lot of letters from people asking for advices on their art tests and recently the influx of those letters increased again so I decided to write down what I usually have to say. You can get it on my blog here or on my website soon. But I know you're too lazy to click a link, so I'll just leave it here
:
Recap(TL/DR):
-Research the team
-Research the test
-Outline the traits worth repeating/improving, mistakes worth avoiding
-Figure out your unique input/twist on the test
-Impress. Overdeliver if you have to
-Go do another one
I hope it could be helpful to some of you folks
Cheers,
Andrew
Over time I've got a lot of letters from people asking for advices on their art tests and recently the influx of those letters increased again so I decided to write down what I usually have to say. You can get it on my blog here or on my website soon. But I know you're too lazy to click a link, so I'll just leave it here
:Dealing with Art Tests
In my opinion with art tests it's not really about the quality - it's about the impression. As long as you make people go "wow" and don't allow any major incompetence to show through - the job is yours.
The audience never knows what they want to see. They usually expect something similar to what they've already seen, but that impedes your ability to impress or even bring something new to the table. Which is exactly what we need from people in this industry and what the audience really expects.
So my advice would be to go through all the versions of the test you can find on-line, make a bullet-point list of qualities that you think made those tests impressive and another one for all the mistakes you must not repeat.
Then go through all the games the studio has made, the whitepapers they've published, their history on wikipedia or elsewhere, the art dumps they post online and the artists they employ and the test specs they've given you. Try to figure out what makes them tick, what makes them them.
Whatever info you find, try to use it in some capacity to show the studio that you're more intimate with their processes then they expect, that you're trying to conform to their ways and would be a great fit for them right off the bat.
After a thorough analysis add a few original points to the first list. Something of your own that you think will take this test to the next level. And then make sure that all your actions reinforce the vision you set for yourself and avoid the mistakes you've outlined.
It's important to remember that since it's all about impression you can go out of the boundaries(not specs) of what the test initially requires. In fact, I always would. Make an impressive piece of artwork and not an impressive art-test. Allow yourself no excuses for whatever restrictions you have. If the test doesn't look good to a person absolutely ignorant to your constraints, then chances are you'll have a hard time impressing the people you need to impress.
I'm not saying that people don't get jobs by just following the guidelines, but when you are going to take no small amount of time to fight for a place at a particular studio you must really want that job.
So go all out or go home.
If you're going to half-ass it you might not even start at all, 'cause there's always going to be someone more motivated who will crush you with sheer enthusiasm. Show the company that you are that guy.
Now to be honest, I'm against the idea of an art test that takes longer then a weekend to complete. The test system, as it is now, is unbalanced and at places downright exploitative of the potential employees. It is an employers market and even a successful art test does not guarantee you a job. Keep that in mind when investing a month in your next test to avoid potential disappointment.
Noticed I used "when" instead of "before"? That's because you will take whatever test they give you and you should. It's reckless to talk about fairness when your future is at stake. You don't toy with that. The world is not fair and it never was.
That's why in the long run it's not the quality of your tests that will decide your future, but your resilience. Be relentless in chasing your dreams and you'll get what you desire.
And one day we'll get a union
Recap(TL/DR):
-Research the team
-Research the test
-Outline the traits worth repeating/improving, mistakes worth avoiding
-Figure out your unique input/twist on the test
-Impress. Overdeliver if you have to
-Go do another one
I hope it could be helpful to some of you folks
Cheers,
Andrew
Replies
To me they are about proving you can produce great work under pressure and to a deadline. You can take your time working on a portfolio, but you only have a few days or a couple of weeks at most for an art test - it can be hard for someone inexperienced to produce something great in that time.
I may not be the best person to be giving advice on this, but if I was to give advice I would say work like a beast, don't procrastinate, and try to make yourself stand out in some way. Be prepared for critique and be able to receive it well. Focus on your strengths and show confidence in your ability.
Justin, that just means you didn't want that particular job too much. You still ended up doing a bunch of test for 2 weeks or more only to get 1 position in the end and not get the others. Yet I'm always in favor of smaller tests(or a smart interview).
And you're right, sometimes in order to get another job you might want to turn down one test in favor of another. Or a company that is capable of evaluating you without a test.
Thanks, TimSpanjer. I hope it helps. The trick is that I don't think the people checking your test would ever give you this kind of feedback. They would way more likely just compare your test to the successful ones and tell you the difference. But in the end people accepting your test want to be amazed as much, if not more, then your general audience. So give them just that feeding on previous experiences of others.
Amen to that Ryan.
I hear you and this is what I do. I have a special folder I make for each test on my ftp and I can track when, where and how many times it was accessed. I have seen a few never get touched. It really is frustrating.
Can't believe some studios wouldn't even look at the test they gave. Grrr.
Karmageddon and Jesse Moody this is just horrible I can't believe they would not even download the tests. I use Google Analytics but I did not know you can track separate folders, files. Will have to look that up.
Maybe we should write them off? As an artist I would greatly appreciate a list of how much trouble artists had with this or that company. To know if it's worth committing to an art test. Not even opening a test sounds like a deal breaker and I'd like to know about cases like this.
I mean I hate to sound jaded, but at places there is just little to none responsibility for companies or recruiters wasting peoples time like that.
I personally know of recruiters who just forget to follow-up to people when they should. Stories like that go around and your buddies warn you but it's never public. Nobody likes to be a whistle blower in this industry.
If we make a wiki page anonymously describing peoples experiences, both good and bad, with art tests for different companies would it be too inappropriate?
Because some companies are actually nice with their art tests and give you some proper feedback and stuff like that. This is something worth knowing too.
We could also make a tutorial on how to track whether your test has been downloaded so everyone can make sure their stuff was.
Anyway thanks a lot for your input guys and gals. I'm glad you also found the write-up useful.
Yeap. I have not done many art tests but more than one of mine have never been downloaded.
One place asked me to do an art test then the HR person went on vacation over the deadline. This caused my submission to be "late" and not considered.
I have to say I am a bit jaded as well.
"Nooo, no, what actually happened was... I looked up at the heavens, God poked his beardy face out of the clouds and pointed at me, uttering the words "Call this studio, they may have a job going..."