hired with no experience?
What are the odds of getting a environment artist job with no experience at all, but having a very very strong portfolio? and also strong character(personality wise)
thanks, michael
thanks, michael
Replies
Now I am in a position were I have to hire people and “years of experience” is not were I look first.
Good luck.
I'm trying to break in at the moment, I'm sticking to characters but I honestly dont know if I'm barking up the wrong tree. I haven't seen an entry level character gig yet, and I dont think that my folio is strong enough to apply for the experience required positions.
I see a fair few 3D modeller Jr positions. Should entry level character artists focus on props to get in the door and then work up from there? By that I mean drop the characters from the folio and get a few well done assets up instead ( i'm worried about diversity being seen as negative in a portfolio)
Sorry if that comes across as nonsense.
Having a very strong portfolio is a good start.
Some companies, such as the one I work at, have intern positions. We have hired people from the intern position to full time work.
There will occasionally be junior positions opening up. Especially at companies that need a lot of new staff for some reason.
And you can sometimes get a job from another position such as QA. It's not as easy as it sounds though.
See how people like it, most of the users here work in the industry in some way you will certainly get some good/constructive feedback.
As Justin said, that 1-3 years experience is largely a deterrent. Obviously if there are two candidates with equal skill but one with more experience, there's a good chance the more experienced candidate will get hired. Don't let that keep you from applying though - I've seen it go the other way around as well.
Too be honest Seth , it's really really really hard to break in as a character artist. I started out only doing characters, but soon realized that there are very few character artists positions announced and the ones that are have heavy competition. You have to be brilliant, I know you're good, but you'd have to take 1-2 steps above your level right now as well.
Then again, getting a job is about: Skill, networking and luck. Sometimes you situations happen when you nail all three.
Or to put it another way, if your portflio looks like you have been doing game art for 3 years then it doesn't matter.
There also is a counter argument that people who have been around a few years, could be jaded, disgruntled, combative, using bad habits from the last place they worked and or fairly disillusioned with the whole process of making games.
Either way, have a rockin portfolio.
1. A good gauge of your portfolio if whether or not it matches the quality of work at the studio you are applying to. Be honest with yourself here!
2. ONLY show your strongest pieces. Don't put up something half arsed to 'fill space' - you might know that you did it a year ago and can do better, but a recruiter going quickly through your work doesn't. It might look like you can't spot quality or still produce sub par stuff.