Question about being a Senior
I recently got promoted to Senior Character Artist and I had some questions about what that actually entails.
Our company structure currently is rather flat and I am the only one creating Characters as of now , I think we'd be hiring in the future , but for now I am the sole character dude.
I asked some friends what it actually means and what the responsibilities entail of being a Senior. As much as it excites me that I got promoted , I at the same time feel that this has put some pressure on me to perform even more and deliver even better quality ( Because I can't stop comparing myself to others on Artstation who are Seniors at larger Studios )
So from what I was told , it's more or less a confirmation from the company itself that the work you are doing is good and you will have some more non-art responsibilities including management or preparation for xyz.
Does anyone else have some more stuff to add? I get the impression that it's just not that simple, or perhaps I have overthinking it.
Either way it has lit a fire under my ass and rekindled my motivation
PS: I have checked out job ads where seniors are hired but the majority of them just list the skillset that one should have which mostly doesn't differ too much from a normal character job ad.
Replies
The following link was made especially for sofware buisness but i really like the explanation (dumb title image):
Here is the most explaining graphics from this website:
So the absolute super title after expert would be MacGuyver (of course the one from the '90's) ..
If you got promoted to Senior you are already a Senior. Just keep doing good work.
Job titles mean different things to different people. It's really up to your manager/employer to explain what your duties entail,
I would suggest asking them whenever you have doubts. This is a very reasonable question to ask. "Thanks for the promotion! What responsibilities come with this new title? Should I change anything I'm doing?" etc.
Often a title change helps the company in their efforts to seek more funding, since it looks like they have more experienced talent on the team.
It can also be just a justification for paying you more. If you're doing well, they may also be paying you more to help retain you in the seat, make it less likely you'll jump ship to work elsewhere. There's a number of potential reasons why, from a purely business-oriented decision.
As a Sr. artist for characters, all I've personally ever recognized it being as is the following;
A.) Years of experience worked, products of value that you have shipped.
B.) Dependability & demonstration of ownership of tasks with absolute minimal, to no oversight whatsoever in completion of work. (Meaning, your manager/lead doesn't have to correct, tweak, fix anything you've submitted when work is completed.)
C.) You're competent in your ability to seek out tasks, communicate effectively with your co-workers by being a team player.
I agree with oglu, and Eric above ^. Most studios if I'm not mistaken, in unspoken terms seem to value "Principle Artists" as those who take initiative in creating their own tasks, and are often seeking out methods to contribute their efforts in artistic language in setting the language/standard of the products the company creates. In the end, if you are working as an artist at a studio for whatever that discipline would be. You're good, and good enough. The higher the title, you will probably be offered "cooler & exciting" tasks that make yourself want to say "I wanna own that".
I would stay away from art-station as much as humanly possible unless there's a definite reason to visit it. Same goes for social media of all kinds. You could visit my page there and find nothing, because my job keeps me busy and in a good way. There's just absolutely no reason to compare yourself to others these days. Because information is at an abundance that I've never imagined to show people how to do such and such for art. The tricks are out there, and secrets are no more. Just do as you do, make what you make and have fun doing it! Hopefully this 2 cents I can offer can put you at ease as a fellow Sr.
The above is a solid assesment
I don't promote anyone to senior unless they exhibit an ability to think a year ahead and can manage their own shit.
Great advice in this thread.
Definitely agree that it's best to keep it simple. Congratulation on being promoted to Senior Character Artist :)!
Highlighting what Oglu said above, it's likely that your job title is simply catching-up to better reflect your demonstrated skillset/experience at your current studio.
Lots of great advices , thanks for that!
@Eric Chadwick @Matt Fagan @poopipe @Leinad @oglu @okidoki
normally artist are promoted to senior from inside the company, they prefered to promote artist from how they are able to work, and those artist try to share they workflow and some method