What would you be looking for in a Mentor who helps you get into the industry?

YF_Sticks

Hello everyone

I recently got into the game industry in a AAA studio. I went through some tough years but after lots of hard work I finally achieved my goal.
I want to help other people struggling with getting into the industry. A mentor definitely helped me, so I want to give back.

My question is, what would you be looking for in a mentor? Would you expect your mentor to have 10 years of experience in the industry and 8 shipped titles, or would you be looking for someone who can guide you, motivate you and support you all the way, even though there is not as much experience as a Senior has.

Let me know what your thoughts are, I am curious.

Cheers!

TheGabmeister

I'm currently not working in the games industry and only have around 3 years of experience, but I occasionally dedicate some time to mentor students who want to become good in 3D art.

Aside from having industry experience and an amazing portfolio, I think a good mentor must have excellent interpersonal skills to communicate well with mentees. There are subtleties in language that can be utilized to make a more effective mentorship. An example is using the phrase "You can..." instead of "You should...." when giving comments on an artwork so that it sounds more like a suggestion rather than a command. Another example is replacing the pronoun "You" with "We" in certain cases to emphasize that the mentorship is more of a partnership rather than just one person transferring knowledge to another. These are just some snippets of information I read from business and leadership books in the past.

So yeah. Other than being a distinguished artist, a mentor should be a fine leader and communicator as well.

Ashervisalis

The 3 qualities I would want a mentor: If they are better than me at art, if they have professional experience, and if they have some time to dedicate to guiding me.

Some bonus characteristics that would be cool;
- Same discipline (character/enviro, realism/stylized).
- Close geographically, can meet up for coffee or introduce me to others in the industry.
- Patience and kindness while also being pushy.

I think anybody that takes time out of their busy schedule to mentor a newer artist is a godsend!

Alex_J

Experience depends on what I am using the mentor for. I don't think they necessarily need ten years experience in AAA if getting job there isn't my goal. If their art is good, it's good.

Main thing important to me is earnestness, strong communication, and that mentor teaches by example.

I used Georgian Avasilcuties mentorship a little whiile back and he did a great job. Took about two hours to open up my project, screenshared example of edits he suggest, takes the time to make sure I understood clearly... basically, he didn't seem like he was just trying to make a buck and counting the clock. He cared. 

Could he make a bit more money by cramming in more students and giving lightning reviews? Maybe. But then I wouldn't be advertising for him every chance I get. So that's one good example.

YF_Sticks

TheGabmeister said:

I'm currently not working in the games industry and only have around 3 years of experience, but I occasionally dedicate some time to mentor students who want to become good in 3D art.

Aside from having industry experience and an amazing portfolio, I think a good mentor must have excellent interpersonal skills to communicate well with mentees. There are subtleties in language that can be utilized to make a more effective mentorship. An example is using the phrase "You can..." instead of "You should...." when giving comments on an artwork so that it sounds more like a suggestion rather than a command. Another example is replacing the pronoun "You" with "We" in certain cases to emphasize that the mentorship is more of a partnership rather than just one person transferring knowledge to another. These are just some snippets of information I read from business and leadership books in the past.

So yeah. Other than being a distinguished artist, a mentor should be a fine leader and communicator as well.

100% agree. I'd say it's even more important. If a mentor can assess your situation, empathize and work straight from there, that's very powerful. Thanks for the answer!

YF_Sticks

Ashervisalis said:

The 3 qualities I would want a mentor: If they are better than me at art, if they have professional experience, and if they have some time to dedicate to guiding me.

Some bonus characteristics that would be cool;
- Same discipline (character/enviro, realism/stylized).
- Close geographically, can meet up for coffee or introduce me to others in the industry.
- Patience and kindness while also being pushy.

I think anybody that takes time out of their busy schedule to mentor a newer artist is a godsend!

Thanks man! Mentorship can be very powerful for sure.

YF_Sticks

Alex Javor said:

Experience depends on what I am using the mentor for. I don't think they necessarily need ten years experience in AAA if getting job there isn't my goal. If their art is good, it's good.

Main thing important to me is earnestness, strong communication, and that mentor teaches by example.

I used Georgian Avasilcuties mentorship a little whiile back and he did a great job. Took about two hours to open up my project, screenshared example of edits he suggest, takes the time to make sure I understood clearly... basically, he didn't seem like he was just trying to make a buck and counting the clock. He cared. 

Could he make a bit more money by cramming in more students and giving lightning reviews? Maybe. But then I wouldn't be advertising for him every chance I get. So that's one good example.

True. I think if a mentor cares and shows that he wants to bring you to a next level with him, you'll get a very good feeling about the whole mentorship. I'll check him out