Internships and unpaid work
polycounter
Hi all, I've been trying to get into characters as a junior or even intern but have been struggling for a long time now. I'll cut straight to the chase, I'm not a pro by any means, but I'm working on improving myself as much as I can. I wondered if game companies would actually consider taking on someone for a short period of time, say 1-2 months, (unpaid work experience) to see how they would do in a production setting and, following a good performance, would then hire the intern as a junior. I don't want to go bothering the HR departments of these studios if it doesn't seem like a good idea to enquire about it, but just thought I'd see what you guys thought.
I've been working in QA for a long time now but really want to get into development, even if it involved me working on 30 rocks a day! Be good to hear what you guys think, thanks
EDIT: Just saw there's a 'getting into the industry' sticky already up, doh! Shoulda read that first XD
I've been working in QA for a long time now but really want to get into development, even if it involved me working on 30 rocks a day! Be good to hear what you guys think, thanks
EDIT: Just saw there's a 'getting into the industry' sticky already up, doh! Shoulda read that first XD
Replies
Get a copy of Unity Engine and work on your own stuff. You can sell your work on the asset store and make some money while building your portfolio.
If you have time to spend on an unpaid internship, you've got time to spend on self-study. You have to treat self-improvement as a job - you need to keep regular hours, regular schedules, and put in real work. If you really need the motivation of someone else telling you what to do, try doing self improvement via contests to have some deadlines, or set some deadlines yourself. Post daily progress to hold yourself accountable.
Here's the major issue with your attitude - you are saying you really want to get in as a junior, and you'll even make rocks. Meanwhile, the other applicants are at home making stuff.
There are no words in the English language that express passion more clearly than doing real work. Anyone who has time to talk about how much they want something is someone who is not working on achieving those goals. No amount of desperate pleading or searching for some Magic Opportunity is going to yield actual opportunity - the people with those opportunities will extend them to the folks who have spent their time demonstrating ability rather than asking for a chance.
Redouble your efforts. You feel you have enough time in your schedule for an unpaid internship. Take that time and devote it to interning at Philip Mehr Studios.
Heck when I started I've had to ask for help every 15mins, on a volatile pipeline and would frequently crash the game. I've also spent countless hours (lost weeks of my schedule) to helping out juniors debug their issues, or simply get them to follow basic documentation.
Character Art pipeline's are brutally expensive now, and very taxing schedule-wise.
Having the additional responsibility of getting a junior up to speed with the tools, pipeline, and debugging methods just isn't in the cards for many studios.
ESPECIALLY if the quality of your work alone isn't up to the standards set by the leads and seniors.
Never expect the studio to help you improve, It will probably happen but it's better to meet them half way.
Heck, I'm no character artist , I just do 'em for fun but
The Beastman needs proper presentation: Lighting, mood/atmosphere, maybe a small pedestal. If you still don't get a decent result maybe it's the design that needs to be more interesting.
You've got a lot of sculpts, you'd be better off taking some of them and making them into proper model busts. The whole process, texturing and lighting them.
There are three main areas in 3d-art generally:
- Artistic and creative work that overshines its' lack of technical difficulty
- Really technical work that gets you the wow omfg-effect.
- Both of the upper.
Sooo right now you don't shine in neither of these two, if you're gunning for something I'd go for creating something really artistic and creative. You can always learn the technical stuff, but being a creative and artistic individual is a whole other thing.
Being in QA is hard and tedious work, you should ask yourself if this is helping you on your path to becoming a character artist. I mean would a better paying job with no overtime leave you with more time than your QA-job? I don't know, but maybe you should think about it. Might also be worth it trying to get into another art-field, like environment or props.
Next thing after you up your skill, is to make proper contacts within the industry. People will generally recommend you when you're good enough, even if you know them well. Recommending people that might not be able to get the job done will make them look bad, keep that in mind
And good luck!
100%.
Not all character artists are exclusively character artists either. If you can get a position as a junior environment artist, you're already in a much better position to get where you want to be later down the line.