Need advice for what direction to go in (UK)

The Rizzler

Hey guys, having an artdentity crisis… I posted a portfolio critique thread and the replies were really helpful to me so I thought I’d also post about this more general topic. I feel indecisive as there’s a few different avenues I feel I could go down but am not sure which one – I’m essentially self-taught so have never had a lot of guidance as it is.

I’d class myself as a generalist (now moving to specialise) who leans towards realistic environment/prop work, but who could also dive into animation as I’ve gotten reasonably far with it already. Basically I’m ready to put 100% into one discipline but want to be totally sure before I commit. I guess it comes down to these three questions;

1. Is animation more in demand/harder to outsource in the games industry or even more lucrative compared to environment/prop art in general? (Specific to the UK if possible) – I feel like the environment scene could be overpopulated, low demand or filled with people using it as a stepping stone to character art, how accurate is this wild assumption?

2. What should I do next (If I carry on with environment art) - should I work on e.g. a new, small, polished environment or try to brush up my game’s art to improve the overall quality of the portfolio? (As my game is the only environment piece on my portfolio right now :poly121:) I've been working on the game for months so I’d love to work on something new - would it be reasonable to just produce more art to make up for it or does it affect the quality significantly?

3. What are my chances of getting a freelance job based on my portfolio? I’m warming to the idea of freelance - I have no experience in the industry yet, but I see how easy it is to post an advert in the freelance section and start earning while I improve my trade – is this a good route?

I’ve already been advised to increase the amount of work on my portfolio in the other thread I posted and I’m totally ready to start grafting away at another piece or improving my past works but I am panicking a little, so I need to know which direction would be the best before I fully commit to avoid wasting valuable time :poly122:

One note - I'm currently working on making the texture maps presentable so I can display them on the portfolio.

Portfolio link in the sig!

Kel-Shaded

Your folio says your a self taught recent graduate, that's confusing.
Environment artists are the most in demand,
They out number artists of other disciplines in a studio, but there are also 10 times more unemployed env artists than anything else too.

If you wanna give yourself 100% to something then its the one you enjoy most, all art fields are more or less equally un-lucrative, defo not enough in it to sway your choice.
Your folio doesn't read like one of a generalist either, if that's what you want to be, or be seen as, you should consider representing your game to show off separate elements of it.

The Rizzler

Kel-Shaded wrote: »

Your folio says your a self taught recent graduate, that's confusing.

True, I was on a really general media course, they only scratched the surface of game art so I reckon 95% of the stuff I know is from self teaching

Kel-Shaded wrote: »

Environment artists are the most in demand,
They out number artists of other disciplines in a studio, but there are also 10 times more unemployed env artists than anything else too.

So env art is over-saturated then? Why is this - is the average level of skill quite low for env artists (e.g. low skill barrier of entry compared to character art or env art as the "go to" discipline for artists starting out)?
Potentially stupid question, but if you were just as good at environment art as a character artist was at their character art, would it be harder for you as an environment artist to find a job in comparison to the character artist, or is it just that there's lots of low skill environment artists?

Kel-Shaded wrote: »

If you wanna give yourself 100% to something then its the one you enjoy most, all art fields are more or less equally un-lucrative, defo not enough in it to sway your choice.

Okay. It's just I've heard people once or twice say you're more likely to get a job as an animator, i'll probably play with animation and end up doing what I enjoy the most, you're right.

Kel-Shaded wrote: »

Your folio doesn't read like one of a generalist either, if that's what you want to be, or be seen as, you should consider representing your game to show off separate elements of it.

I've been told generalists don't get jobs unless you're super lucky to get into, say, an indie company where you're doing multiple things, otherwise you have to specialise! My design direction for the game was weak (I'm only starting to practice concepting now), which means the art doesn't hold up either, so I'm avoiding presenting it in detail. I want to keep it as a piece that shows my resolve to complete larger projects.

marks

I haven't read half of this thread, but if you get seriously into rigging and the technical end of animation then there is basically no way you will ever be out of a high paying job. Technical animators are in so much demand it is ludicrous - even most of the technical artist job openings I see are extremely slanted towards rigging and animation.

Kel-Shaded

The idea of needing to specialise to find work is an outdated idea particularly in the UK, we have dozens more small devs and mobile studios than we do AAAs, and specialists are much less useful in that environment,
You'd be 'luckier' finding a job as a specialist in a AAA than as a generalist in a smaller studio based on the number of studios and number of applications.

Env art is over saturated because most people who aren't up to scratch in other disciplines claim themselves as env artists as a fall back, As a result the majority of 'env artists' aren't even of industry standard but they will still capsize any job vacancy posting.

Tech artists are in such high demand because the barrier to entry is very high, the level of responsibility is high, and proving you know what you're doing in a production environment is pretty much the only way to be employed in it, i.e. work as an env artists with a side interest in shaders, or a character artist with a side interest in MEL, and take on more and more responsibility in tech art aspects.

You can count the number of junior openings per year easily on one hand, and they go to computer science grads with a side interest in gfx.
Its the 'game designer' of art, and also by no means entry level.

The Rizzler

@marks
I have respect for tech riggers, they seem like a rare breed. Rigging to me was the most frustrating starting out but the more I do the less excruciating it becomes... thanks for the info, I'll start thinking about that field as an option.

@Kel-Shaded
So I should embrace my generalism! Cool. I thought that was the case with env art, I'll brush up on my animation and rigging skills alongside my env art.
I might be suited more for technical rigging than technical art (shaders) as my maths skills aren't strong. I've done a fair amount of programming for my game so also learning scripting to help out with the rigging shouldn't be much of a leap. Thanks for the info