Expectations of environment artists
Hi
I am doing some research for a project on the current industry expectations for an environment artist at a indie games studio compared to a much larger, AAA studio. It will also benefit my own practice as it is an area of game art that I am very interested in working towards when I graduate.
I have done some research already and found that it is generally expected that artists at indie studios may be required to cover other areas of game art such as characters, props, etc. While larger studios will look for artists to specialise and will be assigned a specific area to work on.
I am interested to hear about the expectation of skills, portfolio and experience for environment artists at either small and larger studios.
For example if a job posting for a 3D AAA game, states that applicants must have been apart of at least 2 game development cycles, and I have only 2D mobile games experience and portfolio does that mean I would not be considered? as their expectations would be different from what I could offer.
Thank you for any replies!!
I am doing some research for a project on the current industry expectations for an environment artist at a indie games studio compared to a much larger, AAA studio. It will also benefit my own practice as it is an area of game art that I am very interested in working towards when I graduate.
I have done some research already and found that it is generally expected that artists at indie studios may be required to cover other areas of game art such as characters, props, etc. While larger studios will look for artists to specialise and will be assigned a specific area to work on.
I am interested to hear about the expectation of skills, portfolio and experience for environment artists at either small and larger studios.
For example if a job posting for a 3D AAA game, states that applicants must have been apart of at least 2 game development cycles, and I have only 2D mobile games experience and portfolio does that mean I would not be considered? as their expectations would be different from what I could offer.
Thank you for any replies!!
Replies
It is extremely rare for a studio to find the "perfect" candidate, someone who matches all the items on their wishlist. Which is exactly what every job description is... a set of wishes.
Experience shipping a game or two... that's really needed only for high-profile studios, senior artists, or art management roles (lead artist, art director, etc.). It's a desired trait for the rest of the team, since there are things that occur in a product lifecycle which inform everyone working on the next production.
An artist in a small studio... small teams need generalists, artists who can pick up just about any art task and do a good job. This is because often you are the only artist available, or maybe there are two artists, but you must both wear many hats. Concepting, modeling, rigging, animating, characters/vehicles/props/terrains, effects, interface, etc.
If you're targeting a smaller place, then yeah, work some on each of these things, get a decent handle on what each takes, show good-looking examples in your portfolio.
It's a life-long task though, there are always things to learn and improve on. That's part of what makes it so much fun!
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/PortfolioContents
There's some good advice on the Portfolio page too.
I have a few other questions but I believe the wiki should help me with that! Thank you for the help you have given me already.
Thank you Meloncov! that is quite interesting to hear. Its good to know that there maybe some recruiters that may still consider artists without much experience.
I am also interested to find out about how important in-game assets are to show for a portfolio? I have been looking at the wiki for environment artist but the wiki did not mention much about showcasing assets in engine. I am asking this as I do not have much experience with engines, but have some basic UDK skills. I also some game jam assets which I believe are not illustrating my best ability. I assume that if recruiters are looking to hire a game artist they would expect the artist to have some game development to show?
The nice thing is now most of the modern game engines are free for you to use. (Unreal engine 4, Unity, etc.) Depending on where you apply, some companies might like you to have some basic experience on putting it all together in something like Unity or Unreal. Alot of mobile companies tend to have Unity down as a plus in their job applications (as in, nice to have some working knowledge of it)
Marmoset Toolbag is nice for showing off character models or singular pieces (a weapon, prop, mini diorama, etc.) although I'd recommend using an actual game engine for anything larger such as a city block, interior, corridor, or a full environment.
You should have still images of your work to show in your portfolio, some people do demo reels but that's more of an addition and not really necessary unless you are doing animation. (Pretty sure some recruiters will just pass over a portfolio if they only have a demo reel to view as they don't have time to sit through hundreds of minutes of different people's reels.)
It's fine to have some high poly stuff in your portfolio, but it's pretty much essential to have good, polished stuff in engine (or at least in a real time viewer like Marmoset or 3Do).