Tech Art vs Tools Programming
Hey all, I'm hoping people here can help me figure out where the line is between tech art and tools programming. They both seem to sit between the game developers and the artists, and the scope of both of their responsibilities seem a bit fuzzy around the edges from what I can find, being general problem solvers requiring a foot in both the art and tech camps.
I want to get in to making tools to generate in-game content, like generating planets, laying out cities, automating the construction of buildings / characters from sets of base elements, coding shader / vfx / particle effects to make that content work visually. The technical side of content creation, as well as content presentation.
Is this Tools Programming? Tech Art? Or something else entirely? I've been finding it confusing because I know of people who call themselves Tech Artists who do all of the above, and others who say the above isn't covered by Tech Art. Tools Programming I've been finding equally hard to pin down.
Any insight people might have would be a huge help.
I want to get in to making tools to generate in-game content, like generating planets, laying out cities, automating the construction of buildings / characters from sets of base elements, coding shader / vfx / particle effects to make that content work visually. The technical side of content creation, as well as content presentation.
Is this Tools Programming? Tech Art? Or something else entirely? I've been finding it confusing because I know of people who call themselves Tech Artists who do all of the above, and others who say the above isn't covered by Tech Art. Tools Programming I've been finding equally hard to pin down.
Any insight people might have would be a huge help.
Replies
The Overall scope of TA work is very big already when you look at possible TA jobs out there. In my studio we handle pipeline R&D and art tools development; day-to-day support (e.g. plugin install), content creation (e.g. create rigs, create shaders) and training for technical subjects. Even within the TA field there are already many specializations.
In the end, the difference between "Tool developer" and "technical artist" is often just down to the job title a particular studio picks for the role.
You will see technical artists kind of float between different titles, depending on the studio they end up at. I know at a previous studio I worked at, TA's were very performance, pipeline development, and shader development focused. They, however, all had their own specialties and other skills they brought to the table, such as; Shading, Rendering, Level/Design scripting, Ai development, Rigging, Engine development, etc. They all did have some sort of art background as well, so they could work on assets just as much as any of the artists on the team. Its a very vast role within a games studio, and they are rapidly becoming more important to larger games success (also hugely involved with Indie development, but I see a TA more widely adopted in a AAA or mid tier studio environment).
Basically a TA can do most of which an artist or a programmer can, just depends on the person themselves to kind of brand their type of TA work and specialties and market that. You can be branded as a TA but be 100% focused on characters (rigging, shaders, lighting, etc). I was a technical artist at a previous job, but was 100% focused on everything technical regarding lighting, as well as lighting the levels themselves where needed. Now I am a lighting artist with a technical background as what I bring to the team on top of my main role's responsibilities. Its all a grey area lol. You do you, do what you enjoy, but be diverse and you will be a great TA.
Would it be fair to say that common to both of them is an understanding of the asset pipeline - familiarity with 3d modeling programs (a bit of modeling/rigging, some basic scripting), and the shaders and techniques needed to present them properly. After that whatever way you want to focus your efforts - whether it be diving deeper in to pipeline, shaders / vfx, editor tools, there's a need for it, whatever it may be called in any given company?
If you can prove that you can do any of those things, you will be hired. The key is to actually get your hands dirty and make something, don't talk about it.
We're living in a golden age of free or nearly-free tools. Grab an engine and start making stuff.