Architecture to Level Design
Hey guys, I am kinda new to the polycount boards but have found some great insightful information and plan on sticking around. I have seen a few similar posts on this topic but was looking for some more insight on the transition described in the title.
About me:
I have a bachelors degree in architecture and currently working on my masters. Both my degrees focus on heavy digital design primarily in maya and max. I love architecture but am also very interested in gaming and design due to the possibilities conceptual exploration can bring.
I understand there are many differences between the workflow in the 2 industries. The wiki section as well as world of level design has provided some great insight.
Questions:
1) In establishing goals for the next year or two what would be a realistic achievement in terms of portfolio work?
2) I believe this varies studio to studio but for a position in level design I am again guessing it would be beneficial to block, model, and map as much as possible to exhibit as many skills as possible?
3) Should I be blocking out a design in a game engine or can I work out of Maya natively?
4) I have some experience scripting in python and node based scripting in grasshopper for rhino (probably not used much here) but how difficult is it to pick up something like the similar node scripting in unreal4?
Sorry if this is a little overboard for my second post or if I have some concepts completely wrong. Hoping to start off on the right foot and tackle mistakes as they come! Thanks in advanced!
About me:
I have a bachelors degree in architecture and currently working on my masters. Both my degrees focus on heavy digital design primarily in maya and max. I love architecture but am also very interested in gaming and design due to the possibilities conceptual exploration can bring.
I understand there are many differences between the workflow in the 2 industries. The wiki section as well as world of level design has provided some great insight.
Questions:
1) In establishing goals for the next year or two what would be a realistic achievement in terms of portfolio work?
2) I believe this varies studio to studio but for a position in level design I am again guessing it would be beneficial to block, model, and map as much as possible to exhibit as many skills as possible?
3) Should I be blocking out a design in a game engine or can I work out of Maya natively?
4) I have some experience scripting in python and node based scripting in grasshopper for rhino (probably not used much here) but how difficult is it to pick up something like the similar node scripting in unreal4?
Sorry if this is a little overboard for my second post or if I have some concepts completely wrong. Hoping to start off on the right foot and tackle mistakes as they come! Thanks in advanced!
Replies
I have a bachelors degree in architecture and currently working on my masters.
I don't want to break your bubble, but most of the people here are school dropouts and socially awkward. This isn't going to attract replies if you blot yourself and say you own the world. Nobody will care about how many degrees you have.
just so you know.
This is an extremely broad generalisation, I'm not a drop out and I know that many others on this forum have under graduate degrees and some have post graduate degrees.
I'm wouldn't say people here are socially awkward or they wouldn't bother posting...
This guy is simply asking for some help and has given us a little bit of background so that we can answer his question, he isn't proclaiming to own anything, just the opposite.
To answer the OP:
In terms of portfolio work its hard to say how much you can complete, as it depends on your speed & workflow, and importantly how much time you have to put into this around your studies & life.
Start with the basics you have mentioned (blocking, modelling, unwrapping, texturing), then get some knowledge of real-time engines (Unreal4 is great and free now but the choice is yours) and the workflow involved in importing assets into them.
Create some basic props that teach you the workflow and the knowledge to then move onto making a basic environment.
Share these creations on polycount, listen to the feedback, follow it, and don't give up.
I for one think it's awesome you have a degree in Architecture. As an Environment artist understanding how things work and are built, proper dimensions and ergonomics, knowing Architectural history and different styles is awesome. You already have an understanding of 3D space because you design buildings.
On a similar note I had the pleasure of going to a presentation by someone from Pixar, and his background was Architecture. He worked as a Layout/Building Lead. He also said Pixar loves Industrial Designers, people that have strong design, research, and problem solving skills. That is ID but I think Architecture can share similar aspects.
So good luck with your Masters degree!
A realistic goal for a year of work would be maybe 1 Environment, maybe an interior space so your scope isn't too large. And a few really well done props. Showing you know the process of High Poly, Baking to Low Poly, good UV layout, good Texture skills, good Material definition with your shaders all packaged up and presented nicely with good Lighting. That's if you're going for Environment Art. If you want to get into Level Design, it's good to know all that stuff too just not to the extreme. Some engines have existing assets you can use to build levels. You can also look at joining a Mod team as an LD. You'll have a library of assets from an existing game to build levels from.
I shouldn't be generalizing. This is the internet, you and me just finished Uni and we all have a limousine and ...
Many artists in top game companies I have worked in at least 50% or more have had art school degrees of some sort and yes also had many great artists who are self taught, at the end the foundations matter first and foremost. Which ever way you go if you do not study the foundations of form, color, composition technique, and so on you are doing yourself a great disservice if you intent to go into any art field.
Now
Level Design
Or
Environment Art
These are two different fields entirely in the industry.
Level Design
Designers usually only make block mesh levels which are very simple game play only spaces some relationships of form and composition can be introduced here but usually it is the art side doing this. Design also involves scripting/coding depending on the studio. It is not really an art field more so a technical field. Some studios the Designer are also the environment artists but this is rare. Designer usally work closely with the Environment artist when it comes to space relationships and composition.
Environment Artists
Involved with all the modeling, textures, and lighting of the space in many studios. Though this position has started to split more and more in the coming years. Now we have Lighting Artists and Texture Artists. The environment artist in ND for example takes care of the design mesh to art layout, working together with all disciplines to model the best forms based closely on design. The Environment artist has to know design elements and layout problem solving also to be able to communicate well with design especially in moments when design does not work for art or the opposite.
So in a gist what are you looking for? I would assume environment artist is more your route but I could be wrong.
I started as a Level Designer than moved to Environment Art. When I was a designer I was able to art the levels I was working on, but now because of the complexity of levels I only do textures and also help in Modeling. I like all these fields a great deal all are really rewarding to work as part of a game studio team.
Good Luck
- I dont know what your background or skill level is, but if you can get at least three solid portfolio pieces full realized to professional level over two years in addition to getting your school work done, Im guessing youd be doing pretty well. Let your heart guide your portfolio work while you bring something new into the world that people can relate to. One of the architects at LucasArts recreated Francis Chings catalog of spaces from the classic Form, Space, and Order in an early version of the Unreal Engine. I found this exercise inspirational it was amazing to be able to walk around in these minimalist spaces that Id loved experiencing as pencil drawings. We referenced the Palace of Versailles and Lebbeus Woods Radical Reconstruction for parts of the Asylum in Psychonauts that was an example of bringing two disparate ideas together to create something new. Grim Fandangos Day of the Dead and Art Deco motifs are better known
- Conceptualize, block, model, and map. Whatever you take on, demonstrate a part of your ideation process (concept sketches, color studies) and always choose polish over quantity.
- Definitely use either Unity or Unreal Engine as a part of your workflow so that you can iterate on level design thats playable and fun.
- You can give some movement to your spaces with some simple scripting. My last scripting work was in LUA on Psychonauts; I dont think it should be too difficult to translate your Python experience to Unreals Blueprints. And of course, a knowledge of Python will be useful to you when you need your 3D tools to do something specialized that they dont do out of the box!
As Rogelio says, many studios split Level Design and Environment Design. It sounds like from your initial post, you may be more interested in Level Design, but if youre also wanting to pursue your concepts through to the final shipping state, theres nothing to stop you from demonstrating this in your portfolio and then seeing whats out there when you start a job search. I started in games as an Environment Artist on adventure games (including Grim Fandango). I did some environment art and level design work on Psychonauts before shifting back to the art side of things (these days I manage prop assets). It is possible to do both (especially if youre at a small studio) or move between them from project to project.And finally, I hope the supportive responses here so far motivate you to keep posting and showing your progress on Polycount! We all have our own ways we got into the game industry. I didnt go to architecture school or a traditional art school, myself. I did my undergrad in a new media program, and was the first artist from my small college to be passionate about a career in games. I brought with me some foundation art skills, years of programming (mostly BASIC and Pascal) from childhood through college, and an interest in architectural history, urban design, industrial design, and human factors design.
e.g.("Oh this area would look so much more nicer if we opened up some of these walls and ceiling to let some skylight in here" - environment artist. "WTF man now there's nothing to block visibility from one side of the map to the other completely unbalancing the map and making it too sniper-friendly!" -level designer "Alright, is it fine if I instead leave it as indestructible windows to show of our cool new glass materials?" "Alright, although now players can be seen in the room, but then again that might add a nice dynamic I didn't think about before, we'll playtest it out and see how it goes" etc. )
This video might help provide a little insight into things at the very least:
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That said having a degree/studying architecture would be a definite plus for both sides of the fence in my book, and I've seen plenty of jobs such as interior designer positions for Rockstar games that view a degree in architecture as a definite plus in their job application. (alongside killer portfolio o' course)
If you want to do both level design and the handling of art you'd probably have better luck finding a position like that at a smaller studio/indie scene. The larger the studio the more specialized the positions there are it seems. (big ones having lighting artists, level designers, prop-placement/level dressers, prop/environment artists, level scripters, scene choreographers for stuff like Half-life 2's NPC sequences of Eli walking around and talking or Call of Duty's many scripted sequences, cinematographers who set up in-game cameras like for Mass Effect's dialogue sequences etc.)
I wouldn't worry too much about that level of specialization, but the split between a level designer and an environment artist is something to consider. If you're a level designer you'll definately want to focus more on having fun, playable levels and showing your work process/iteration/playtesting more versus an environment artist who will be focused completely on the visuals, good textures and usage of texture space, the ability to think in terms of modularity, clean / optimized wireframes, etc.
Take that with a grain of salt as a guy who always wanted to be a level designer since he was little and worked on some mods for HL2, decided to study art in college while self-learning modeling, and is currently doing 3D ad animations to pay the bills while looking for his big break in the industry/doing personal projects when having the time.
Can you post some of your work?
I'm just curious as you say you got an architecture degree so I assume you should have some pretty good looking models in maya.