I need advices for a path to be concept/character artist.

Wazikhiel

Hi, it's been a while since I didn't sent a message on here. A lot of IRL stuff was going on for me.

So what's going on? Well I took some drawing courses (anatomy, design, workflow, opposite curves and so on) aswell as a course for the coloration. However I have a big issue right now and I need to have some clarity of what I'm suppose to do.

Heres some information regarding my situation:

- I've been working on a 2D Game (made with GMS2) for quite a while. I even took a design course regarding this ( made by Will Wright ).
- I'm almost done with my drawing course (60% done, after that I have plans to take a course regarding colors ).

- I'm 24 years old (not sure if it's a problem...I think that the fact I'm 24 and not in the industry yet is somewhat a problem, it's probably more due to the fact that I'm very hard on myself).
- I have a part-time job.

Knowing that I wanted to be a concept/character artist...The fact that if it doesn't stick on the wall, it stresses me out a lot. However it's something that I very much enjoy. I draw 2-3 hours per day, every day plus I work on my game 3-4 hours, 5 days a week.

I've got some feedbacks from my friends and they told me that I need to focus on one thing, at first I wasn't totally open to that idea but...I begin to think they're right.

So here's what I would like to know :

- What exact path I need to take to become a concept/character artist? And how do I know that my portfolio is good enough?  (I don't have one right now, I'm focussing on my drawing assignments).

- Before learning how to do some character modelling, I thought of doing my drawing courses first (so that way I would have the knowledge to do believable characters). Is it a good thing or should I learn Zbrush and what not first ? (I have some basic knowledge regarding Maya,Blender and Zbrush).

I feel like I've made a huge mess on my way to be in the industry and I need to fix it...Any advices?

Biomag

3D Character artist and concept artist share not a common path. Like at all. Fundamentals (mainly anatomy), but that's it. Exceptions are small studios, but general wisdom is pick one category and get good in it for an industry job. There is too much competition too spread out the skillset in the beginning. Again small studios might take it, but even there you see clearly split roles more often than not, especially when they have a solid quality level.

Game designer, programmer,... blah - shares even less with previously mentioned. It might be a nice hobby, won't really help you find a industry job besides some basics so that you understand the connections.

24? Nobody cares. I've started at 30 with a background in legal/business economy. No issues there. As long as you reach the quality level nobody asks about your age. Skills are still the most valued thing in the industry when it comes to candidates as the entry bar is very high.

Now you could be the one genius that actually is that good and can pick up all these skills and come up with a surprisingly successful indie game, but if you are like most people and not one of the rainbow farting unicorns from Mars, the best way will be deciding what job you want and at what company. Check out their job positions to see what skill sets the job demands and spend the next couple of years training/learning to reach that level and master their art style

To get an idea where you are at, get your portfolio online, put your link here, get some feedback and see what people have to say.


Good luck

Wazikhiel

Biomag said:

3D Character artist and concept artist share not a common path. Like at all. Fundamentals (mainly anatomy), but that's it. Exceptions are small studios, but general wisdom is pick one category and get good in it for an industry job. There is too much competition too spread out the skillset in the beginning. Again small studios might take it, but even there you see clearly split roles more often than not, especially when they have a solid quality level.

Game designer, programmer,... blah - shares even less with previously mentioned. It might be a nice hobby, won't really help you find a industry job besides some basics so that you understand the connections.

24? Nobody cares. I've started at 30 with a background in legal/business economy. No issues there. As long as you reach the quality level nobody asks about your age. Skills are still the most valued thing in the industry when it comes to candidates as the entry bar is very high.

Now you could be the one genius that actually is that good and can pick up all these skills and come up with a surprisingly successful indie game, but if you are like most people and not one of the rainbow farting unicorns from Mars, the best way will be deciding what job you want and at what company. Check out their job positions to see what skill sets the job demands and spend the next couple of years training/learning to reach that level and master their art style

To get an idea where you are at, get your portfolio online, put your link here, get some feedback and see what people have to say.


Good luck

Thank you for your feedback ! I've always been more into the indie scene than being in a AAA studio. I just like the freedom of creativity that it gives. However I just don't know what studios I would like to work for. I live really close to Montreal and I just don't know the Montreal indie scene. AT ALL. But I'll check for the difference between concept artist/character artist (I however tend to go more towards concept artist, simply because I can come up with a lot of ideas, back to back).