3D Pipeline Advice, Small Studio
polycounter lvl 7
Hey guys,
I'm seeking advice for a small studio I work for as a 3D artist. Our team recently had its annual reviews, and while there was a lot of positives, we're trying to figure out a better process for our pipeline. We're a team of 6, ranging from generalists to game developers/coders and some in between.
We're currently creating interactive training games for the military, and creating projects for the government can be challenging. Receiving meaningful feedback can be a tedious process. We don't have an art director in place, so the critique we do receive is from our team of writers who don't have an art background. We also don't have a designated employee dedicated to concept art, and hiring one isn't an option right now. The 2D team we do have is in place is used mostly to create graphic design pieces, UI elements, etc.
I've been working to improve our blending of art styles/individual preferences for 3D software, organization of files, communication, scheduling, etc. What's difficult for us is knowing how to begin on assets or environments when there isn't clear direction, receiving request changes at the last minute because there isn't a nailed down concept to begin with, and having to ask for deadline extensions because the client is behind schedule.
Don't get me wrong - I'm very grateful for this position and have only been on the team for about 6 months (starting as entry-level). However, our supervisor has asked us to think of positive and creative ways to improve our process within the means of our budget and the size of our studio. We have upcoming meetings to discuss these, and I'd love to be able to contribute some ideas.
Thank you in advance! I really appreciate it.
I'm seeking advice for a small studio I work for as a 3D artist. Our team recently had its annual reviews, and while there was a lot of positives, we're trying to figure out a better process for our pipeline. We're a team of 6, ranging from generalists to game developers/coders and some in between.
We're currently creating interactive training games for the military, and creating projects for the government can be challenging. Receiving meaningful feedback can be a tedious process. We don't have an art director in place, so the critique we do receive is from our team of writers who don't have an art background. We also don't have a designated employee dedicated to concept art, and hiring one isn't an option right now. The 2D team we do have is in place is used mostly to create graphic design pieces, UI elements, etc.
I've been working to improve our blending of art styles/individual preferences for 3D software, organization of files, communication, scheduling, etc. What's difficult for us is knowing how to begin on assets or environments when there isn't clear direction, receiving request changes at the last minute because there isn't a nailed down concept to begin with, and having to ask for deadline extensions because the client is behind schedule.
Don't get me wrong - I'm very grateful for this position and have only been on the team for about 6 months (starting as entry-level). However, our supervisor has asked us to think of positive and creative ways to improve our process within the means of our budget and the size of our studio. We have upcoming meetings to discuss these, and I'd love to be able to contribute some ideas.
Thank you in advance! I really appreciate it.
Replies
All of the below is usually producer work. If your producer doesn't want to do it, you gotta do it yourself - which sucks, but it's better than living with a shitty process or pipeline.
First, I would try to tame the chaos.
Communication: reduce number of communication channels.Maybe have a private medium (e.g. e-mail) and a public one (e.g. Slack). This ensures a few things: fewer channels = easier to follow; reduced risk that communication happens somewhere where others are not aware (=lost communication). Have a wiki for team-wide, permanent communication.
Commit things in writing. "What do I have to do?", "What does the team have to do?", "What does the client want us to do right now?" should be clearly communicated, and easy to look up. Having it in writing avoids that goals change or are interpreted differently by different people => less confusion.
Clear up responsibilities. Who does what? Who has the final say in what? How are we, as a team, making decisions? Who can override them? Then stick to this. It should be easy, for everyone, to know to whom they should talk if they need feedback or a decision in a hurry. This way you can react quicker. (e.g. use a RACI matrix for all of the above).
Read up on some Scrum. Keep a product backlog where all requests of the client and of your team are listed, clarified and prioritized. This is your total amount of work. Keep the priorities up to date - then you always know what to work on. Use a sprint backlog so you know what your team should work on in e.g. the next 1 or 2 weeks.
Implement "Change Management": have a process with defined criteria that allows you to accept or dismiss changes, such as "last minute changes".
Track time of "re-work / implementing changes" vs. time spent on creating new things.
Track feedback loops because they waste time. Feedback loops internally (internal art approval) and external approval (approval by client). How can you reduce the time of these loops? How can you reduce the number of loops? ...maybe the review process is slow. Maybe you notice the same sort of errors popping up again and again, etc.
Keep feedback in writing. You can analyze it, look for patters, and learn from them and avoid those errors in the future.
Do post-mortems and feedback rounds with the team to gather ideas where you as a team can improve. Do this regularly. Post mortems can also happen at milestones.
Visualize upcoming and done work with tools like a Kanban board (or use an online version like Trello) and with burn-down charts.
I also recommend risk management: think of what can go wrong and have a plan-B. This can be especially useful when you master new technology, or if you have a difficult client. Then you're not as unprepared when you get crazy requests from your client.
Use templates: if your client has no clue, give them a template to fill out. For example for feedback. The template should include all the info you would like to get. Some clients rely on you to tell them how to do things, because they don't know any better!
Once your process is defined, think of tools which can support the new process. Do not choose tools before you have a good process. i.e. don't let software tools dictate how you should work!
Good luck!
edit: fixed some spelling