advice/feedback welcome! Where do I fit best in the games industry?
vertex
Hi people,
I may be asking too much, but I'm a bit stuck. I'm new here - so new, that in my mid-thirties I've not once met or spoken to another game developer/artist (the blame is part on shyness, part on the geographical isolation)
The tl;dr is "I don't know what my skills level is and what job I should be sending CVs at" - So, any honest feedback, insight from fellow artists/developers is very much appreciated!
I have ~10 years of work experience in UI design, UX design, 2D Graphics (print/web) and software development and a couple of (point'n'click adventure) game prototypes (talking of a generalist here!) but I'm trying to switch career into video games and "world building" in particular. Concept art does sound good - but I'm not sure I have the level yet! A portfolio including some of my work can be seen here.
At this point I feel that I need to get my foot in the door, and since I need it to be a full-time, stable, paying job I'm willing to consider any role, company size and company type (both serious and casual games) - Given my experience, inexperience and current artistic ability, where do you see me fit best?
I'm much obliged for any advice - thank you people!
-Fotis
I may be asking too much, but I'm a bit stuck. I'm new here - so new, that in my mid-thirties I've not once met or spoken to another game developer/artist (the blame is part on shyness, part on the geographical isolation)
The tl;dr is "I don't know what my skills level is and what job I should be sending CVs at" - So, any honest feedback, insight from fellow artists/developers is very much appreciated!
I have ~10 years of work experience in UI design, UX design, 2D Graphics (print/web) and software development and a couple of (point'n'click adventure) game prototypes (talking of a generalist here!) but I'm trying to switch career into video games and "world building" in particular. Concept art does sound good - but I'm not sure I have the level yet! A portfolio including some of my work can be seen here.
At this point I feel that I need to get my foot in the door, and since I need it to be a full-time, stable, paying job I'm willing to consider any role, company size and company type (both serious and casual games) - Given my experience, inexperience and current artistic ability, where do you see me fit best?
I'm much obliged for any advice - thank you people!
-Fotis
Replies
What genre/s or types of games (...your portfolio link didn't work for me) are you interested in?
As for conquering that tyranny of distance plus hook up with like minded people by hopefully instilling a bit of confidence along the way, well these days it's really only a simple mouse click away. Now apart from here at PC a few other akin communities I'd mined for info trying too get a handle on this gamedev thing, so perhaps may provide similar direction at least for the time being:
Modding:
- Nexus
Game Design/Development:
- TIG
- Kongregate
- Newgrounds
- GameDev.net
Anyway a personal selection of what's out there. Also another avenue are gamejams, you'll more than cut your teeth crunching out a game in a day or two with a bunch of kindred souls if you ever manage too attend one that is...actually pretty much come away sporting a pair of sabre tooth fangs :P
http://www.fotis-kalafatis.com/
From the outside looking in. I think if you're looking to get into games, I would play on your strong suits. Since you've got years of experience in UI/UX you should build up some game UIs.
I will say though checking out your folio, I think you might need some re-branding on your site and some definite focus. I understand for sure that you're labeling yourself as a generalist. But, your work is honestly all over the place.
-Games
-Illustrations & Studies
-Prototypes
-3D Modeling
-UI/UX Design
-Web and App Design
-Prints
That's a lot of stuff from many different disciplines. And searching through your site there wasn't a single piece that really stuck out to me. I think if you want to do games you need to have some more focus. You mentioned in your post about world building and concept art. Those are super difficult positions to land yourself into and will definitely take a lot of work, but if you're passionate about it you should still pursue it.
There's a lot of resources online for that, but I think this is a great one to start with:
https://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/
Hope this helps and good luck!
@sacboi and @Brian "Panda" Choi, I've fixed the link
@sacboi, if I have the luxury of choice, I would be doing mainly (point'n'click) adventure games, or story-driven games in general! (I loved the witcher/deus ex series and been a big Half-life fanboy too). But my 3D skills are probably my weakest, so I wouldn't imagine myself going that direction. Great links you got there! Thank you!
@Joebewon, I'm so grateful for all the constructive comments and the time you took to look through the material and reply! Admittedly my portfolio is "all over the place"(unfocused) and will certainly need pruning-down/rebranding before I start applying for jobs. This was intentional - I wanted to present everything there is so that with the community's help I might be able to decide primarily the kind of job(s) and secondarily the company sizes that would be reasonable for me to send cv/portofolio's at given my current level of abilities. As soon as I narrow down, I'll be making that portfolio into something more specific too!
Now, you say that in this portfolio there was nothing that stuck out and this is quite to the heart of the matter! I suppose you are referring to the quality/skill in my work. I can make the portfolio more focused and produce perhaps a few more individual artwork pieces, but I certainly cannot fake my level ;-)
So, given your experience, would you say that the work quality demonstrated in the portfolio is most probably insufficient for landing any job in any company whatsoever? Casual and indie studios included? That further focused studies is the only way to go? Or would you say there are still options for immediate full-time employment in my case?
again, thank you for your time and forgive my lengthy post!
-Fotis
And when I mentioned the nothing really stuck out I actually didn't mean your quality of work, I meant more of a compelling piece of interesting concept regardless of the final execution. Digging through your folio I actually really do dig the "macroom213" & the "roomFotis10" under the point & click. And you've got some interesting concepts under the "Visual Style Exploration". I think that's the part of the problem though, I had to dig through multiple different things to find some I find kind of engaging . But again, keep in mind that I just dig the cartoony style. I think your best overall pieces are your vector & web stuff.
And with my experience, granted I'm not pro in the industry but I'll give you this. If you apply to a studio, AAA, Casual, Indie, Mobile, etc for a UI Artist or Concept Artist. The HR or Art Director doesn't have a lot of time to really dig through your work to find the best looking stuff for their project. And the first thing people see when going to your page is "Point'n'Click Adventure Game (2017, WIP) so you're selling yourself with something that is a Work In Progress instead of a polished finished piece.
And with the rest of your portfolio it really depends on what and where you'd be applying too. I think the best thing you can do is just tidy up and organize your portfolio a bit and really hammer down on what you'd like to be creating for games. And I think if you're looking for immediate full-time work I would focus on your web and UI work, since it's your most polished work.
I think if you're passionate and really buckle down on what you're wanting to do you can make it happen! Your stuff shows promise, I think you just need some growth and fine tuning. Keep pushing!
I finished reorganizing the work in pretty much how you suggested; undoubtedly it's much more accessible this way, no need to be adding obstacles!
-Fotis
From what I heard, UI/UX artists are actually more in demand that any other artist role in the game industry. I don't exactly remember where I heard it but I think it was a talk or an interview video I saw. Either way, you look like you are on a really good path if that's what you wanna do eventually.
Good luck! It's an uphill battle, but the reward is immensely satisfying.
Also, note taken about the site needing a makeover so that it is more eye-catching! It's the second time in two days that I hear a case in favor of large images with the art becoming front and center! Noted also about simplification, and less text, good ideas.
I also understand your valid criticism that I should focus on one thing and excel at that before moving on - maybe not something I can apply from one moment to the next, but good advice nonetheless.
@Swaggernaut 's suggestion of creating work and posting it on polycount for feedback is something I ought to be doing, might help with producing some more interesting work for my portfolio too!
In any case, thank you both for all the comments!
-Fotis