Is it possible/wise to be an all-rounder?
polycounter lvl 6
As I'm building my portofolio i keep asking me: How important is it to be an all-rounder? Because since the beginning i have ony modelled hard surface stuff, mostly guns, because i'm doing them for mods and i enjoy making them. How imortant is it to learn environment or organic modelling, too? Is it good or bad to be an alrounder? Or should you be a specialist at your field? And does my "only guns" portfolio keep possible employers away from hiring me?
Replies
If you want to have the most broad appeal doing full environments and props is your best bet.
+1
Besides smaller companies will usually look for people who can do everything, as they simply can't afford paying top specialists that is expert in doing one thing.
Don't be surprised if someone ask you to rig character for example (;.
Really it comes to what do you enjoy? You'll do it better and be more driven to be awesome at it.
Think about it like movies. When they first started there was 1 category: movies. Now they are so specialized: comedies (romantic comedies, dark comedies, slapstick comedies, etc). The industry is still very young but we are coming into an age of diversification. Bur there are film directors that jump genres and do it well. So it's like there is 1 path for everyone.
^^This
*goes cries on a corner*
A lot of people I've worked with that have been doing this for 10+ years are usually fairly well versed at 2 or more disciplines
Don't some of the skills that it takes to create characters and environments cross over so the process shouldn't be that long? I imagine if you had good time management, in two years you could be proficient at both. That is if you have at least some starting knowledge.
But my first gig was at a smaller studio and I got the job because I was able to do a variety of things. Being able to adapt has kept me in a job ever since. I live in an area that has seen bad times for for games and a lot of studios closed over the years. But because I have a variety of skills i've been able to apply for more jobs at the studios that survive. I started out as a 3D modeller, animator and VFX artist.. I've done concept art, environments, characters and props modelling since and I am now a UI artist which was something I never thought i'd be doing. I'm really glad I didnt specialise and I dont think I ever will... At least until I land that perfect concept art job :P
anyhoo.. If you live in an area with a lot of studios and a lot of positions in the specific area you want then specialise. But if there's a shortage of jobs its always good to be able to adapt.
While learning concept art, I notice some things that translate over to environment art. From environment art, I find stuff that can be used for texture art. And so on and so on.
Also, learning more disciplines means more job opportunities! I was surprised to see many job positions I could apply to if I simply taught myself to do them.
Setting your own art-direction, setting up lighting, shaders, particles, props, textures and making a bigger environment , that's the sign of a good environment artist in my opinion. To be able to be disciplined enough, organized enough to make something bigger happen than just your regular zbrush sculpted rocks.
You still have to be at a professional level at one of these things though.
As an environment artist you'll instead go: Now I want to make a handpainted or stylized scene -> so you learn skills to make that environment happen , then you want to make a sci fi environment -> you learn hard surface skills etc etc.
As long as you can make stuff that looks good, either by itself or in a bigger environment. In the best of worlds it's both. I would never spend more than a day modeling and texturing a chair though unless it's a super specific chair. In the bigger picture a chair is tiny detail in an environment and should come later in the priority list of things. What takes the most time is setting up the environment and art-direction to such an extent that the only thing you will have to worry about is making props for it.
and if you're going to be smart about things, usually most companies outsource their guns I'd say, and usually I'd say if you're going to do that, you hire the best. Really good environment artists though, that can adapt to several visual styles and make the game work together with game designers, level designers etc etc.
Those are worth diamonds
In small-scale and indie development, being multi-skilled is essentially a requirement. Indie developers not only have to wear more than one hat, occasionally they have to wear EVERY hat. Being multi-skilled will make you much more attractive to indie development studios, as they need to squeeze every once of possible utility out of every employee. They can't afford the luxury of specialization.
I disagree... being more well-rounded opens more doors and makes you more "useful" regardless of if it's for AAA or indie.
that and things can get stale when you are doing the same thing all the time.
I touched on this briefly. While I agree with your assessment, I believe it applies more to established employees than entry-level developers. Once you've already been hired and have proven yourself to be reliable, it is safe to start learning new skills. Under those circumstances your expanded skill-set will make you more valuable to your current employer, and more desirable for future employers. But all of this is when your foot is already in the door. The game industry in particular is known for shuffling employees among studios, and once you have positive experience it is a lot easier to maintain yourself, no matter what studio you end up at.
For entry-level positions this is not the case. The competition for entry-level developers is insanely high, and not likely to decrease any time soon. For those prospective developers having a broad skill-set is a disadvantage. These unproven applicants have to struggle in a sea of highly capable competitors. One of the only means for them to stand out is to focus down and excel in a single category. And unfortunately the current hiring process for the AAA industry is risk-averse when it comes to entry-level positions. They are much more likely to favor specialists, because those individuals can be integrated into the development process faster and for less money. (not as much training expense)
Branching out for a broader skill-set is great if you are already a game developer. If you are new to the industry, specializing is one of the only ways to really break into AAA development.
The inverse situation is true for indie development. Attempting to specialize in that industry pretty much means contract work only. If you get hired by an indie dev and are currently a specialist, you will have a much more generalized skill-set before you leave. Necessity is the mother of invention, and necessity is rampant in indie development.
My generalist skills come in handy once I'm at a studio, but everybody gets hired to fill a slot, and you need to target yourself for that slot if you want the job.
Branch out if it interests you and if it helps make the game better, but don't expect it help you get jobs. It can help you do your job, but usually won't help you get hired.
A specialist as someone who only does one subset of a normal job role, so their portfolio would be just guns, or just cars, or female characters, or mechs, or aliens. Not saying they only do one thing, but you wouldn't know otherwise just by looking at their portfolio.
Then there's the people that fit a broader job role, an environment artist who does environments, guns, cars, and props, or a character artist who has aliens, male and female, and different styles of costume. I don't have a good name for this, so please suggest one.
And then there's the generalist who can do concept art, characters and environments, rig, UI etc.
Of course everyone has some generalist skills, or skills that are outside of their portfolio, but isn't the most important thing about this topic how you market yourself?