What is Technical Art .. ?

marks

So this is a topic I've been thinking about, and discussing with some friends and colleagues for a while. It came up recently on someone's social media and it kinda spurred me to make a post here because I'm really interested to hear people's opinions on it:

What is Technical Art? What does a Technical Artist do? How do you define that role? 

It seems like the answers to these questions are quite different depending on which person you ask, or which studio's job advert you look at. It seems to be a role which is becoming increasingly in demand as the complexity involved in building games increases, yet there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on what the field actually is.

What do you think?

JordanN

When I think Tech Art, I think of this thread.

I see it as Science + Art or Programming + Art.

You can get by just fine as a Character/Environment Artist making art that only relies on the fundamentals.

A tech artist creates art by instructing a computer to do it. 

valuemeal

You know, a fellow who makes many rigs.
Kinda programs in the python for the rigs but not too much. 
Fixes bugs and cleans up meshes sometimes for better animation.
They also make sure all the characters are the right and everything matches specifications/
Some times they do the FX work or clean it up.
Some times they do crowd sims and other things in programs. 
From my experience, it seems to be a debug and specs kinda guy.
I did this at the first job many years ago.

Meloncov

Ultimately, I think it's just a catch-all term for anyone that falls into the fuzzy space between art and engineering. The exact responsibilities of two people who both have the title of "tech artist" could easily have absolutely no overlap.

Which is annoying when looking for jobs. Going off a job title alone, I have absolutely no idea whether or not I'd be qualified for a given position.

PolyHertz

If you talk to an experienced 3D artist about the details of something you're working on, and they tell you to stop because it's making their brain bleed, you're probably a tech artist

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel

what I think... not comprehensive, just a sketch based on places I've worked 

throttlekitty

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel said:

what I think... not comprehensive, just a sketch based on places I've worked 

A written list wouldn't do at all for a tech artist! No sir!

fmnoor

It depends on the studio, but a lot of it revolves around art integration and the aftermath. I think there were a few talks over the years at GDC talking about the evolving role of a tech artist, but it is hard to define.

I know a while back only riggers / character TDs were considered to be 'technical artists', but that's changed quite a bit - I don't rig or really make many artist facing tools anymore, but rather focus on stuff artists don't see, but still need.

Eric Chadwick

I wrote up some stuff along with a coworker, also we added some links at the bottom. This was 9 years ago, but surprisingly it hasn't changed all that much.
Technical Artist Guidelines

Also we have some stuff on the wiki, but not much really.
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Technical_Art

Ruz

a technical artist  is someone who cannot draw but is quite clever:)

fmnoor

Eric Chadwick said:

I wrote up some stuff along with a coworker, also we added some links at the bottom. This was 9 years ago, but surprisingly it hasn't changed all that much.
Technical Artist Guidelines

Also we have some stuff on the wiki, but not much really.
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Technical_Art

Looks pretty accurate IMO. Things have kinda changed, but nothing really has changed in terms of roles and definitions.  Stakes are kinda higher due to expected increases in visual fidelity, but memory restrictions still require a lot of workarounds and solutions to help things seem more than they really are.