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"So You Want To Be An Environment Artist" by @GameTxtures

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MagicSugar polycounter lvl 10
Saw this on twitter:

http://gametextures.com/blog/?p=646&preview=true
Here’s some stuff you should know about that path, and some directions you can go to make yourself “the-real-deal” to recruiters, bosses, and yourself; because confidence is everything.
It’s true that classic art fundamentals might not have applied [as much] to Environment Art in the past. Those days are gone. If you’re choosing Environment Art because you think that we don’t need to draw, understand color, composition, and form as much as a character artist you’re sorely mistaken.

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  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Heads-up to whoever wrote it, I'm supposing it should say 12:59am, not pm.

    Otherwise, I'm loving the article. Very informative.
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    Joopson wrote: »
    Heads-up to whoever wrote it, I'm supposing it should say 12:59am, not pm.

    Otherwise, I'm loving the article. Very informative.

    (fixed) :)
  • MagicSugar
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    MagicSugar polycounter lvl 10
    @Seaseme Cool. Thanks. Saw it from one of your retweeter (actually a re-tweet of a retweet).
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    Glad you enjoyed, thanks for sharing!
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    Yup, that part about not getting concepts is the troof! Even doing character art, I typically only get a 3 quarter action pose. If I need orthos or breakouts I have to draw it myself.
  • glottis8
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    glottis8 polycounter lvl 9
    We should get some discussions about curiosity in here... i have always thought that curiosity is a big part of being an artist... and in the industry its something that stands out. Curiosity to learn how things work, how things are put together, how things are running in code, optimizations... i mean... all the drive that makes work reach new levels of awesome to me lies somewhat in curiosity.

    It's something i have been trying to nurture at work... but its also something that not everyone has/share or even has interest in. Which is a shame... you guys have any thought on this?

    I really enjoyed the post tho... you hold a lot of truths out there, and i think there is a lot of attitude that is involved in game development.
  • J0NNYquid
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    J0NNYquid polycounter lvl 5
    Awesome read, thanks for the tips!
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    glottis8 wrote: »
    We should get some discussions about curiosity in here... i have always thought that curiosity is a big part of being an artist... and in the industry its something that stands out. Curiosity to learn how things work, how things are put together, how things are running in code, optimizations... i mean... all the drive that makes work reach new levels of awesome to me lies somewhat in curiosity.

    Not being interested in tech doesn't mean a lack of curiosity - I'm a CS degree dropout, code just has no soul to me, it feels like the opposite of art.
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    I think Curiosity is a pretty important part of keeping on our game though, people who aren't super curious about all the cool new innovations out there tend to drag things back, and down.
  • glottis8
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    glottis8 polycounter lvl 9
    i am not saying that it has to be code directly... curiosity applies to a lot of things... to how we make art... fundamentals of art...
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    Seaseme wrote: »
    I think Curiosity is a pretty important part of keeping on our game though, people who aren't super curious about all the cool new innovations out there tend to drag things back, and down.

    How so? Every old school texture I paint sets back the industry a day?
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    How so? Every old school texture I paint sets back the industry a day?


    Actually, that's a great counter. Thanks :) You're totally right, I wasn't thinking as much about art style and workflow as I was thinking about the tech side, but you're totally right.
  • leleuxart
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    leleuxart polycounter lvl 12
    Nice article. Really inspirational, with some funny parts too. That Michael Scott addition to the quote made me laugh out loud.
  • ExcessiveZero
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    ExcessiveZero polycounter lvl 12
    How so? Every old school texture I paint sets back the industry a day?

    lol yeah its a crazy statement, besides theres endless streams of software out there, its good to find ones you like and even niche software, I like lazy nezumi and Knald and manga studio for example, no doubt there are inefficient workflows but I don't think you could just pump out a DDO texture for every type of game and artistic style and call it a day.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    lol sorry, it's a bit of a beef I have and maybe more suited for another discussion.
  • Norron
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    Norron polycounter lvl 13
    Really enjoyed that read. Thanks for sharing.
  • Gheromo
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    Gheromo polycounter lvl 11
    Great read! Thank you for it! :)
  • AtlusZMH
    Thanks for that article :) Although it reminds me I need to work on my traditional skills more! :E
  • LordSebbington
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    LordSebbington polycounter lvl 6
    Good read Seaseme - thanks. I really enjoy hearing emotional insights and opinions on the role (I never knew that about COD either).
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    @justin Meisse - No worries man :) I think I misread what I was replying to. It is an interesting topic, though.

    @Norron My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed :)

    @Gheromo Any time! More stuff is coming.

    @atlusZMH Glad I could help remind you! Just get a pad of post it notes and sketch on them all the time.

    @lordSebbington that was a really interesting little tid-bit for me too! I tried to keep it light, but that was a really fun article to write.
  • Visum
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    Visum polycounter lvl 7
    Great read. Liked the 5 hour sleep part like it was a luxury or something :)
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    Visum wrote: »
    Great read. Liked the 5 hour sleep part like it was a luxury or something :)


    Sometimes it feels that way :)
  • HitmonInfinity
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    HitmonInfinity polycounter lvl 11
    The concept art part definitely depends on the studio. (And probably the style of the project.) The last place I was at I got concept art for like 99% of what I worked on. Not to mention paintovers mid-progress. Yeah, it was awesome.
  • Wesley
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    Wesley polycounter lvl 14
    I'm always a little skeptical with these motivational/guidance things. But then I saw The Office reference and knew this was legit. This is a great article!
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    Solid tips and good advice how to be proactive and cope with our work environment, but I'm not getting the motivational part here - "it sucks what you do and occasionally it's great and that makes it worth it". I feel the article would have been better without the "omg it sucks" intro, especially since you could get the feeling the 5hrs sleep are a result of somebody forcing you to do this (bad) vs. you wanting to do this (better, but still bad in the long run). Somehow the mixture of solid advice vs. polemic irks me about this.
  • Ged
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    Ged interpolator
    The concept art part definitely depends on the studio. (And probably the style of the project.) The last place I was at I got concept art for like 99% of what I worked on. Not to mention paintovers mid-progress. Yeah, it was awesome.

    yeah totally agree, most of what Im currently working on is concepted to some extent. One thing thats tricky when getting concepts is when you are given a concept and then told not to make it but to make something similar, that can get really confusing as different people like different parts of the original concept. Then sometimes a few days into modelling you get given a new updated concept of your model and its changed drastically haha.
  • AlexCatMasterSupreme
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    AlexCatMasterSupreme interpolator
    I like how you replied to my swag question. Top lel, you're the best.
  • Seaseme
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    Seaseme polycounter lvl 8
    Kwramm wrote: »
    Solid tips and good advice how to be proactive and cope with our work environment, but I'm not getting the motivational part here - "it sucks what you do and occasionally it's great and that makes it worth it". I feel the article would have been better without the "omg it sucks" intro, especially since you could get the feeling the 5hrs sleep are a result of somebody forcing you to do this (bad) vs. you wanting to do this (better, but still bad in the long run). Somehow the mixture of solid advice vs. polemic irks me about this.

    Thanks for the feedback. You're right, and I agree. The intro was more of a creative piece for me, and the intention was not for it to be negative. It was more to voice a reality of my experience. Surely it's different everywhere. I was careful not to libel, and I was also careful to turn the article to a more up-beat at the end.


    In this case, it was more of what I remember experiencing at that time. There were plenty of great experiences, but none were more memorable than that horrible crunch. But, I suppose it's best to take it with a grain of salt, since we all have different experiences and that is just mechanism I chose to tell this story with.

    Thank you for your input. It's been a long time since I wrote, and I really am enjoying getting feedback and learning how to improve.
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