Strong background in traditional arts necessary?

YF_Sticks

Hey guys!

I went through a lot of job-offers today, just to get a new overview of what the industry requires etc. My goal is to be an environment artist. Some job-offers said you need to have a "strong background in traditional arts". I can't draw or have any degree. I am studying "only" 3D right now. Will this be a problem when applying for a job or will the chances be bad?

Thank you for your reply.

almighty_gir

no but it can't hurt.

Brian "Panda" Choi

No, but it can help more often than not.

Jakob Gavelli

No, unless you want a job at those places that requires a traditional arts background. ^^
If the job specifically includes concepting and painting I'm pretty sure that's what they are looking for.

sacboi

No, but having a traditional art background will definitely help.

Additionally I'll drop this related write up here which may interest you, just provides a point of view as to the reasoning why.

aryarie

I don't think you need to learn traditional art to the extent that a concept artist is required to, but I believe that understanding the fundamentals can be beneficial. I think learning to paint can be especially helpful if you are doing any kind of hand painted work, which is why I take time out of 3D now and then to just purely focus on 2D painting.

Larry

They mostly prefer a background in traditional arts because that means you have a more trained eye for observation and detail

YF_Sticks

Thank you all for the answers! Got a clearer picture now. I actually want to learn drawing. Sketching comes in really handy.