Questions about a 2D artist's involvement in game/project production!

Steen_dl

Hello, i am steen, a 2D undergrad artist looking to learn more about what kind of help, involvement and feedback i can deliver to my co-workers (to what extent) 

i started wondering because i have recently worked with a project involving 3D modellers and animators, i wanted to make sure and know just how much help and guidance should i allow myself to offer my teammates! sometimes i feel like i may be stepping in too much or may be stepping on someone's artistic ego.. through hearing some valid opinions from you guys, i might be able to affirm my judgement more in the future and wont be hesitating; since i would know that i stand on the right ground. or at least, i will have a referene to base my actions from!

Hope to learn and to help you guys through this post!

I have prepared a short list of specified questions...

• How far should 2D artists (concept artists/2D artists) guide the 3D people? should we help them all the way?
• is it true that the fewer the concept artists, the better (senior concept artists?) and then the junior c.artists are the ones that do most of the paintovers in production phase (some may call it the boring part)?
  
• do they also help later in production phase, like overpainting models and such in assuring the consistency from the initial-final concept up to the final cg? or is it totally different from what we usually see on the internet?

Personally i believe that in order for a project to keep its artistic spirit intact from start to finish,
a consistent guidance from the Art team is essential if not required.
imho this includes... 

1. delivering sketches
2. finalizing sketches
3. paintover of early model builds to check on proportions
4. artistic input as the model gets finalized (we all know a concept sketch/art will almost certainly look somewhat different from the final CG; unless both artists are very goood/skilled)

Thank you guys for taking in the time to read and answer, i hope some folks like me would find it helpful to read your feedbacks! cheers!

Kwramm

Depends on the size of your shop and how departmentalized it is. In some shops you're not even physically close to the 3D team. With some gigs your contract ends before all of your stuff has even been modeled.
The things you care about are usually the art director's domain. He has to make sure the concepts are clear or rough enough for the modelers. It depends on his direction how much freedom later stages, such as modeling, have in interpreting the 2D work. Sometimes it's very strict and sometimes it's not.

Sometimes things get bounced back to concept for paint overs, but I have also seen art directors who pretty much did all the paint overs, because they were responsible for the big picture, i.e. to make sure all the art from all different artists looks coherent. They felt it was faster doing it themselves.

In many studios I saw very little interaction between 2D and 3D. Usually 2D art is approved. Which means it is found as good enough to proceed with production. This means the art has reached a level of clarity and definition that is deemed appropriate for starting 3D production. It also means the 2D art is in line with the art directors artistic vision. Since this has been finalized the 2D artist doesn't really have much to do. We definitely do not want the approved 2D piece to change, because that would void the approval and the art director's vision wouldn't be honored. It's okay for 3D artists to ask for clarification, but where I worked this was up to art directors or even leads. If it was serious then we would find the responsible concept artist, but in general this just causes admin overhead in a production and should be avoided - either by having better concepts or giving the 3D artist the freedom to decide himself.

Steen_dl

@Arkaria
-That is what i think so too! all in all, i think that everyone should work together, not thinking about themselves, for the project to succeed. thank you for sharing your thoughts.
@Kwramm
-my last experience was in a college org collaboration with 2d and 3d artists, i guess you can say it is very derpartmentalized! Thank you for mentioning things about the Art Director's involvement, it's becoming clear to me a atleast, ho we 2D artist can communicate and work around with other people without stepping on other people's pride or ego. cheers!

(still welcoming all sorts of insights and comments from anyone if they have a say!)

Chimp

Don't forget there's a thriving 2D category of games too, ubisoft seem to be doing a lot there.

Steen_dl

@Chimp
 what do you  mean? aha i dont get it