Is "Level Artist" the new Environment Artist job ?
polycounter lvl 6
Hi, i was browsing some European game companies website to take a look at the various positions and i noticed that there are way less Environment artists or Prop artists positions than some years ago and instead i noticed a lot of request for Level artists.
Now i always knew that in the "Environment field" for games there are basically 2 artistic position: level design and environment art but i never heard of a level art job before.
From what i read a level artist make the terrain and natural stuff of the game ( vegetation, rocks etc. ), do the set dressing of a level and also do the level design part ( ? ) without any modeling and texturing of props, building etc. involved.
Is that because all the props and buildings are outsourced nowadays ? Or are there other reasons ? Or maybe i'm completely wrong and it's only another specialization that doesn't replace anything ?
I'd like to hear your opinions about it.
Now i always knew that in the "Environment field" for games there are basically 2 artistic position: level design and environment art but i never heard of a level art job before.
From what i read a level artist make the terrain and natural stuff of the game ( vegetation, rocks etc. ), do the set dressing of a level and also do the level design part ( ? ) without any modeling and texturing of props, building etc. involved.
Is that because all the props and buildings are outsourced nowadays ? Or are there other reasons ? Or maybe i'm completely wrong and it's only another specialization that doesn't replace anything ?
I'd like to hear your opinions about it.
Replies
Some studios don't say environment artist they say level artist, world builder etc.
so probably just the words, look more on what they write about what experience they are looking for and what software you need to know.
prop artist: tends to mean you just focus on modeling and texturing smaller to medium sized assets
env artist: you are modeling larger scale assets as well as small ones, as well as placement
level artist: you are focused more on placement, terrain generation and texturing, working quite closely with design for gameplay layout
I do think level artist and world builder are essentially the same though. I think a lot of studios are looking for more world builders/level artists because props and env assets can largely be outsourced. They need people who understand the technical implications of world building, placement, and actual level design rather than someone who just makes the assets. I think as a jr, you tend to focus on just building cool props but once you get to Sr, a world builder with a broader knowledge in tech becomes far more valuable.
I was a level artist at ubisoft for the last 5 years or so. There it means world builder, you focus on the big picture and use assets the modelers make and place props from outsourcing. I think I opened 3ds max maybe 2-3x a year. I spend 99% of my time working in the editor.
when i hear level artist I think worldbuilder/layout artist, no real modeling or texturing just object placement and composition. environment artist I think of someone who is still creating art assets for the world, like shell geometery or modular kits.
I think traditional "environment artist" jobs where you actually make content are on their way out for larger studios. It is just cost in efficient to have people creating assets when it is so much cheaper for them to outsource it to china and then have someone with an artistic eye work with level designers to assemble it.
that's where the value for the company comes in, having quick iteration time because the artist and designer are building the world together. Having people with western salaries making fire hydrants and dumpsters is just not really realistic anymore, and becomes less of an option as time goes on. This is why I keep telling most "environment artists" who's portfolios consist of a few props to build actual scenes to show they understand composition and layout, which are more relevant skills than creating mailboxes or crates. People who show they can be creative with the big picture in mind are more valuable than ever.
There are starting to be huge asset libraries and asset packs a studio can buy for those simple generic objects, and its only going to get more intense as there is more competition in that space. Look at the quality of textures and assets you can get from Megascans or substance source, for a fraction of the price of an artists salary. I think actual art/asset creation is going to be exponentially commodotized over the next few years, and there is going to be a bit of a job shakeup. Especially for photoreal style games.
why would a studio need 4-5 texture artists creating mud and rock substances that look 95% like the 100s availiable megascans or substance source? Much more budget friendly to have 1-2 world texture artists who just use those library assets to achieve the same results with a little tweaking.
I think you will still see more traditional environment artist jobs at small-medium studios for a bit longer, but large studios like ubisoft and EA and gonna transition to even more of a worldbuilder/level designer style pairing. As open world games get bigger and bigger, asset outsourcing is the only realistic way to get them done on time and in a realistic budget. Go on ArtStation and search rock or brick substance, all the results look quite similar.
These are just my thoughts based on trends I've seen happening over the last couple years, especially here in montreal. I could be totally wrong, but looking at it from a business perspective it just makes sense. I think the "big picture" jobs like world building, and design will continue to grow and transition, and hopefully there isn't too much of an industry shakeup over the next 5 years.
hands down whatever can save a company money and increase profit margin will win in 99% of cases, and it should. That's how companies are designed to work. So I would be looking to learn skills that are not as easy to commoddtize. Communication, creative thinking and problem solving are super valuable skills to develop. Try to see where the ball is going and adapt to that.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Even if you go back 10 years ago, the idea someone was being paid full time to just model crates or knives sounds too good to be true.
Games would have been super easy to manufacture since there was always a horde of college students with that skillset, yet PS3/360 games still took a while to develop and cost millions.
Maybe that profession would exist in outsourcing, especially for indie games where budgets would accept props of that caliber. But AAA always concetrated on bigger is better. You could be a prop modeler, but it had to be extremely detailed.