How to become a technical artist?

salimmatta

Hey guys,

I'm a 3D game artist for the past 3 years and so far I' am doing really well in UE4 concerning materials and master materials, optimization tricks, pay attention to polycounts, texture size, post processing and lighting. I'm also interested in simulation inside the engine, for example: destruction of buildings, scattering things, assigning particle effects to joints in the mesh or character, changing of weatherv mood and dynamics, everything has to do in order to make the game alive and dynamic.

So the part I stated above is technical art? in case no, then how someone can become a technical artist? if he/she has a solid background in understanding game art, artistically and technical wise.

Thanks in advance  

JonMurphy

The first part definitely falls under the remit of a technical artists, and can grow through into scripting tools, whether in C#, Python or UE4 Blueprint, and assessing performance through tools such as RenderDoc or PIX.

Your second skill batch you talk about would be more towards a VFX artist, should the team be large enough to require one (or more). In smaller teams such a skillset could be required by a TA, as we do have to wear many different hats.

Yes, a TA must have a solid understanding of game art, engines, pipelines and optimisations. The base skillset of a TA is problem solving. Also a strong desire to help the team goes a long way.

salimmatta

JonMurphy said:

The first part definitely falls under the remit of a technical artists, and can grow through into scripting tools, whether in C#, Python or UE4 Blueprint, and assessing performance through tools such as RenderDoc or PIX.

Your second skill batch you talk about would be more towards a VFX artist, should the team be large enough to require one (or more). In smaller teams such a skillset could be required by a TA, as we do have to wear many different hats.

Yes, a TA must have a solid understanding of game art, engines, pipelines and optimisations. The base skillset of a TA is problem solving. Also a strong desire to help the team goes a long way.

So I'm kinda on the right path? but I'm learning C# in Unity now, besides that I always will prefer UE4, but I though learning to write a code at first would be much better than going straight to blue prints in UE4, correct me if I'm wrong

Farfarer

All that linear algebra and stuff you learned at school, sat the exam and then promptly forgot? Vector maths, matrices, derivatives, integration... Try and re-learn it again early on, it'll save you a lot of headaches later on (I speak from experience).

As for the code/blueprints distinction... you'll definitely find life easier if you can code and beyond a certain level it'll basically be a requirement to be able to code stuff up directly. But there's no harm in using blueprint like methods to do small things or to quickly prototype bigger ideas (it's all about picking the best tool for the job, really). Especially if you're learning, it can be helpful to visualise the logical steps in your blueprint because there will be many similarities between the logical steps you'd take when writing code.

I'd also recommend picking up Python as a general tool - regardless of what you're using to work in the game engine itself - Python will get you quite far in a lot of things (most 3D applications have some Python interface, you can write scripts to automate processes, extend toolsets, etc) it's a pretty flexible tool and it's really quick to iterate in - and it's largely cross-platform friendly.

poopipe

It's a wide and varied field with many specialisations - where I work we have technical artists writing render and engine code, writing shaders, writing tools, concentrating on optimisation, rigging, handling materials, developing authoring pipelines and so on. 

The core personal skills are problem solving, communication and having the balls to just try stuff. The technical ones are outlined in other posts. 

To impress prospective employers,  build a tool that helps people make things.  It could be a building generator, something that turns models into Lego bricks, an auto rigger - whatever you fancy - the point is to find a problem and  come up with a solution.  The WAYWO thread is full of great examples at the moment so if you're stuck for ideas just copy something  

Eric Chadwick

All great answers, by active professionals. Polycount delivers!

Some links here that might help too
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Technical_Art

salimmatta

Eric Chadwick said:

All great answers, by active professionals. Polycount delivers!

Some links here that might help too
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Technical_Art

Thanks a lot dude!