When did you start applying for game industry jobs?
grand marshal polycounter
Just curious how you learned the skills and then gauged when your work was good enough to start putting a resume out there. I know a lot of artist tend to be perfectionist, and then on top of that art can be a pretty subjective thing. So what's a good rule of thumb for knowing when to start putting yourself out there?
I suppose one needs a resume/portfolio first, haha -- I am still working on my first models as part of a prototype game project-- but I'm curious about the paths others have led.
I suppose one needs a resume/portfolio first, haha -- I am still working on my first models as part of a prototype game project-- but I'm curious about the paths others have led.
Replies
What am I trying to tell you with that? You can probably always find a team to work with, though probably the less skilled you are the less skilled the team will be and less money/future the project will have. For AAA studios don't bother applying until your work starts to get some serious attention. There are simply too many people trying to get in. For character artists in Europe for example I've not seen a junior position opening through out 2016/17.
Basically you can apply for places where your portfolio pieces look at the same level or above as their product. No one out there has the need to take people with potential and spend money/time in developing them, since the market has a lot of artists that are already on that level. Keep in mind - if AAA studios hire only seniors and they fill their positions, it means that there were several other people on the same level that got the interviews, but didn't get the job. So these guys are still available for AA studios and so on... in other words there is a shitload of talent out there.
You are ready to start applying for jobs in the industry when you feel confident in your skills. The job market will tell you if you are on the right track if you start getting interviews, art tests and people start emailing you with job offers. If the above isn't happening, then you probably are not executing at a AAA level that is required, and need to crank out some more work. The market will always give you feedback, and if you are hearing radio silence, then it should be clear that there is room and opportunity to improve your skillset.
Ideally you should be able to hold your work up next to a screen of a current AAA game and there shouldn't be much of a quality gap. With so many huge art dumps from awesome games like horizon, wolfenstien 2 etc on art station, oftentimes with breakdowns, or tutorials being put out on gumroad by people currently working in the industry, there should be a clear reference point in terms of the quality bar and enough breadcrumbs left behind on how to get there. Hope this helps!
Sometimes I get discouraged because I feel like I'm jumping into the game really late, and with the rate technology advances I feel like I'll never catch up. Then I just need to remind myself that everybody is just a bunch of furless primates winging it like I am. But at any rate, my only real goal with this stuff is to have a fun creative outlet.
If I recall correctly, I think this is the second time I've seen you mention weirdo's in interviews on this forum...Are you involved in the hiring process by chance? Haha
I'm aware mobility is something you must expect working in the industry, so I'm not afraid of that. But what if your first job offer is literally on the other half of the country? Did you still do it and or received any assistance moving, or did you take offers that were closer?
The radio silience is the message that we - who are looking for a job - have to understand and keep working on our skillset if we want to get into the industry. As long as you can't get beyond this point it is no ones fault but our own that we don't get a job. Once you get to the interview phase, like with every job, there are so many things that come together making it sometimes a matter of luck or how someones day has been up until the interview. Except if you are one of those weirdos mentioned before
Anyways if what everybody says is true then this industry has one huge advantage compared to so many others - if your portfolio is up to their expectations they will call you, no matter what your cv says or how few people know you or whatever.
People are neither objective nor perfect. I've never been the one making the decision, but all previous teams (not just games) I worked for had the team taking a look before making decisions. I was also part of a handful of interviews. At the end of the day its all about the impression. I've seen enough people with a being horrible judges of character doing the selection process. But its not just the employer side that might have had a rough day or something. There were interviews I completely screwed up because I wasn't in the right mindset that day. I've been also in interviews were people simply didn't like each other, although on paper everything looked good and there was no objective reason against the candidate/company. I've seen also people having their own agenda why they opose certain candidates (like getting a friend in).
I remember having a job interview for a job in an insurance company with a recruiter. He didn't seem very impressed with me and never called back. I had pretty much the same interview with their competitor and got the job within a week, with my employer being very satisfied with my performance. Now it could have been me, the interviewers or whatever else that affected those decisions. Hard to know.
Keep in mind you are one of several tasks the recruiter / HR / team lead / ... has that day. Not a special event they are looking forward to. Often enough recruitment process takes away a lot of time from their daily work. There are several candidates. I've seen people forgetting what each candidate said, mixing them up,... that's nothing personal and I wouldn't take the decision the company makes personal. Once you are in the interview phase it is a very subjective matter. As long as you don't have any specific social issues that you should be aware of, there is nothing to worry and sooner or later you will find your fit.
Just get to the interview phase - that shows you have the quality they look for. After that it is just a matter of time. You might need some practice to not screw up the meetings being 'weird', but again, its all about the first impression. Sometimes being neverous is seen as a weakness others see it as a sign of committment to the application and so on
In my experience, humans are emotionally driven, mostly unaware of their own driving factors, and usually unreliable. To make matters worse, given the tiniest degree of power over others, they become real monsters.
And like others mentioned, moment to moment factors like fatigue and boredom play huge roles in every decision they will make -- even if its an important one in your mind.
Sorry, feeling pessimistic this morning. But the point is, don't count on others to strictly adhere to objectivist principles. Even if they claim to be an objectivist, it's impossible for a human to be. Just not the way we are wired.
My portfolio wasnt all that great to begin with.
Local game company had immediate vacancies, but for a newly setup, small animation division (TVSeries/Cinematics)
Got in through that avenue
I've always been anti-move for my career for the most part. My husband has a very good job where we live so yeah it'd be a big ask to get him to up and leave. Also I have a lot of friends and family in the area. This has made it harder for my career but you can still make it work - it just means you can't be too picky. I do live near London, UK though so there are lots of studios around. My first job was actually in Casino Games locally where I was more of an art generalist. After that I found a lot of remote full-time/freelance work as a 3D Artist - along with some freelance work in London. I've also known a couple of other people who can't move for the job and they have still managed to get remote work so it's not that you have to move. I do think being able to move will help you get a better job quicker though. My sister is an animator in AAA and moved for that position a year after graduating so her career has accelerated a lot more than mine.