Question about working Game Industry (as 3D Artist)
greentooth
Question about working in Gaming Industry:
Is working as a 3D Artist for Games really a creative job day for day? Or ist it more of repeating the same technical workflows all over over?
I am trying to figure out if this is the right way to go for me jobwise. I do enjoy doing 3D, even if I am by far not a professional yet. It was also always a hobby, which could then get lost by doing it for a living.
I can imagine to work in a Studio, doing amazing game environments from scratch or concept and I would love that, but is this really the case? Does the job feel creative? Or is the truth more of doing the same things all over again?
quick info about me: started teaching myself 3D fulltime (beside a minijob) last september, but the first time I got into 3D was wiith age of 15.
I want to do 3D environments and prop art. Character Art doesn't interest me that much, never did. (thinking of early drawings and stuff I always did houses or scenes)
I dont care about moving to different countries or even continents, I'd actually like it I guess.
But what I expect from a job is alot of freedom, creativity and the work should offer alot of variation. Can I expect this from a job as 3D environment or prop artist, Level Designer in a game studio?
I would love some insights into your experience of working in the industry or any tips on how to figure out, if this is the right thing to do.
Replies
But it really depends on the studio, I have mostly worked for bigger studios, some that really wanted me to do just one thing over and over and some places where I started from concept and went to finished product with little to no interference, both with their positives and negatives.
Your experience level comes into play too though. Smaller studios likely want more experience from their limited staff numbers. They want someone that can handle a wider range of tasks. Unless they are a small startup, in which case their budget might force them to take on juniors.
Location is a final factor. Many larger companies in the US and UK work very heavily with outsourcing to keep their costs down. Its not uncommon for a large proportion of the in-house art team to spend the bulk of their day managing the outsource assets. Building spec sheets, sending feedback and change requests rather than hands on asset creation.
If you want creative freedom, keep a side project going outside of work.
I don't want to make it sound like just a job though. In the end it's still a creative role in a (generally) exciting industry. That cannot be said for the majority of other careers out there.
It's just good to keep in mind it's still a job, something you do to make a living. So there will be some drudgery from time to time.
The trick for me is to tweak my perspective so I find the interesting parts in each task, no matter how uninteresting a task may seem at the outset. For me it's all about the challenges.
I have read them already and thought about them alot, really helped me to get an overview of what I can expect of the industry.
Right now I am applying for an university teaching Game Design, but only 40 seats with about 500 applicants.
Anyways, sorry for not answering yet. I was busy making a 3D Environment for my application.
Thank's again,
Finn
If you really want to get into design then fine, but if its game art you want to do then make sure you will be spending all of your time developing your art skills.
There are so many courses that spread themselves too thin, trying to cover everything. Instead of just doing art, you often find they require you to take modules in level design, scripting, etc. I just think you want to be maximising your time spent on developing your art skills (ideally specific discipline art skills), not getting distracted with a load of unnecessary stuff.
I've seen way too many graduates coming out of courses that are too general and so haven't developed the required skill level to make it into what is now a very competitive industry.
Going to college/university costs you a considerable amount of time and money. You want to be confident you will get a return on that investment when you graduate.
I am learning on my own right now and I feel like I could reach a point where I am ready for a job. I am motivated/focused enough because it's simply fun to learn it. But I need other people around me to learn with and from.
My idea was to finish this program and beside that doing my portfolio, but maybe continuing my self-leraning could result in a better portfolio after 3 years. Anyway it's not a private program and therefore not very expensive (normal student costs in germany).
I am not sad about it, because I can focus on learning Game Art on my own.
Well, I am thinking of applying for History or Computer Science at university just to keep myself busy with different inputs and to meet new people.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts, it really helped me thinking about everything and deciding where to go.
If I could go back in time 20 years, I'd probably try to become a contract/freelance programmer, and do my own stuff as an Indie game developer whenever I had a nice amount of money saved up.
I should probably just try to get an internship in a studio that might be my kind of studio. I like historical games with immersive worlds, there should be some studio outthere.
But if I've never tried to work in game art, I will never know if this is my dream job or not.
Well, I really do love making Props, Game Art, Environment Art or whatever I will do in the next years. There is so much to learn and I want to learn it, I NEED to learn it
Sounds like a blog right now, sorry for that.
Thank you everyone for your answers everyone here really helped me structuring my thoughts.
Like making new friends in other industries connected to game development. traveling places, learning new skills etc.
How ambitious you are and if you have any specific goals would determine how much satisfaction any job might ultimately give you.