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Reasons I'm going to delete your email (As an employer)

greentooth
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PeterK greentooth
I get a lot of email from potential candidates; And for the life of me I try to respond to every one, even when the emails are awful. As part of a conscious effort to take back my personal time from people who shoot off an email without thinking, I've decided to just start deleting useless inquiries.

The reason I bother posting about this is because I'm sure lots of people (students/recent grads) here are applying for positions at many studios, and these are some of the reasons you're not hearing back.

I'm going to keep updating this list, and I encourage others who have this experience to contribute.

Here are the Reasons I'm going to delete your email (As an employer)
  1. You didn't include a portfolio link
  2. You are profoundly unqualified for the job and you know it. (check out your competition here: http://www.Artstation.com)
  3. You are profoundly unqualified for the job and you DON'T know it, which means you don't care to know the state of your art.
  4. You bad-mouth other studios. (I have zero interest in hearing you talk shit about other people - you do it to them, you'll do it to me)
  5. You do strange stuff with the text  (Too small, too big, weird colors)
  6. Asking if I have "any" positions available. ("Any" is not a position at my studio, what job do you want? Artist, coder, writer, etc ?)
  7. You write a novel.



Replies

  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    Sounds good. If possible, can you share emails (with sensitive info redacted, of course) from people who nailed it?
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    I'll do you one better, here's a template to contact potential employers with:

    Template:

    Hi, I'm <Put your name here>,

    I'd like to apply for the <Position> position. Here is my portfolio: <portfolio link>

    I have <#> years experience as a <job title>, and have worked on the following titles <Name a few>, Etc.  My area of focus is <Focus area> , but I have secondary skills in <Secondary focus area>

    I am currently located in < Place >, but I'm willing to relocate.

    regards
    <name>
    <Skype/Discord/whatever>


    Example 1: 

    When you know what jobs they have available

    Hi, I'm Peter Kojesta,

    I'd like to apply for the Art Director position. Here is my Portfolio: http://www.exisinteractive.com/#screenshots

    I have 16 years experience as a Studio and Art director, and have worked on games like Civilization, Bioshock, Xcom, World of Tanks, etc. My area of focus is management , but I have secondary skills in 3d modeling, animation, rigging, texturing.

    I am currently located in California, but I'm willing to relocate.

    Regards,
    Peter Kojesta
    www.ExisInteractive.com

    Example 2:

    When you're not sure what jobs they have available

    Hi, I'm Peter Kojesta,

    I'd like to inquire if you have an opening for an Art Director. Here is my Portfolio: http://www.exisinteractive.com/#screenshots

    I have 16 years experience as a Studio and Art director, and have worked on games like Civilization, Bioshock, Xcom, and World of Tanks. My area of focus is management , but I have secondary skills in 3d modeling, animation, rigging, texturing.

    "I am currently located in California, but I'm willing to relocate." OR "I am currently seeking Remote work"

    Regards,
    Peter Kojesta
    www.ExisInteractive.com
  • Taylor Brown
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    Taylor Brown ngon master
    I appreciate this Peter. As goofy as it may seem, I feel like I stumble when it comes time to write the tiny intro email though I think my resume itself is well worded. Totally stealing a template!
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    Hi Taylor, Thank you. You have great work in your folio, and I'm hopeful this template is of use to you and you land a great gig!
  • sacboi
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    sacboi high dynamic range
    I think this thread would be an extremely useful addition too the selection of Industry Resources over on the Careers/Education board
    :Thumbsup::
  • adrxzero
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    adrxzero polycount sponsor
    Yes! well said @PeterK , golden advice here. 

    As a recruiter, I can certainly relate! Thank you for bringing up this problem and sharing excellent solutions. 
  • corinne_10x
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    corinne_10x polycounter lvl 2
    Thank you Peter, this is great advice! I've definitely been writing too much.
    I noticed the line for games worked on in the template. Do you have any suggestions for someone trying to break into the industry and hasn't worked on any games yet? I only have experience at an advertising agency.
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    Hi Corinne, Just replace that part with a very brief description of relevant experience. Nothing over a line or two. I'll be honest with you though, unless their portfolio is killer, I usually skip people without gamedev experience.

    mind you, a great portfolio excuses most technical/business concerns, but it never excuses a bad attitude or arrogance; which one tries to find out about in an interview or probationary period.

    Edit: Btw Corinne, you have very high quality work in your folio. I'd make a few more game specific assets and apply anywhere you like. I think you have a nice shot if you can show some more game-spec models. Preferably at least 3 more assets; I bet you'd make a killer character artist for a studio,
  • corinne_10x
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    corinne_10x polycounter lvl 2
    Thank you so much Peter. That means a lot
  • HectorLucas
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    HectorLucas polycounter lvl 2
    PeterK said:
    I'll do you one better, here's a template to contact potential employers with:

    Template:

    Hi, I'm <Put your name here>,

    I'd like to apply for the <Position> position. Here is my portfolio: <portfolio link>

    I have <#> years experience as a <job title>, and have worked on the following titles <Name a few>, Etc.  My area of focus is <Focus area> , but I have secondary skills in <Secondary focus area>

    I am currently located in < Place >, but I'm willing to relocate.

    regards
    <name>
    <Skype/Discord/whatever>

    My Cover Letters are pretty similar to this but I add one more paragraph explaining why I'm interested in this company, which projects that they made catch my eye and basically praising them and another paragraph explaining why I'm passionate about this industry, my childhood dreams, my favourite games, bla bla bla. Both of them are around 3-4 lines.

    Is this actually doing me any favour? Should I stop glorifying both them and me and keep a simple CL like this template? On one hand, less is more and on the other hand I feel it's a little cold and direct. I heard companies likes to pick persons not robots and it's good to show your personality but it's also true that the recruiter recieves gargantual amounts of emails and probably gives a s*** about my dreams or why I liked the company.

    I'm a little bit confused :D
  • Taylor Brown
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    Taylor Brown ngon master
    I think those sorts of things might be better off said during an interview
  • NikhilR
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    NikhilR polycounter
    PeterK said:
    I'll do you one better, here's a template to contact potential employers with:

    Template:

    Hi, I'm <Put your name here>,

    I'd like to apply for the <Position> position. Here is my portfolio: <portfolio link>

    I have <#> years experience as a <job title>, and have worked on the following titles <Name a few>, Etc.  My area of focus is <Focus area> , but I have secondary skills in <Secondary focus area>

    I am currently located in < Place >, but I'm willing to relocate.

    regards
    <name>
    <Skype/Discord/whatever>

    My Cover Letters are pretty similar to this but I add one more paragraph explaining why I'm interested in this company, which projects that they made catch my eye and basically praising them and another paragraph explaining why I'm passionate about this industry, my childhood dreams, my favourite games, bla bla bla. Both of them are around 3-4 lines.

    Is this actually doing me any favour? Should I stop glorifying both them and me and keep a simple CL like this template? On one hand, less is more and on the other hand I feel it's a little cold and direct. I heard companies likes to pick persons not robots and it's good to show your personality but it's also true that the recruiter recieves gargantual amounts of emails and probably gives a s*** about my dreams or why I liked the company.

    I'm a little bit confused :D

    I'm curious about this as well. Perhaps its different with applications to outsourcing companies that are more concerned with the artwork you're putting out for them to sell rather than knowing you as a person prior to hiring you? (Bizarre way to judge a candidate but maybe in this line it applies, since game development (especially artwise) can be rather cookie cutter as far as AAA goes in several cases)

    I personally would value reading more into a candidates background since its a person I'm working with not a robot.

    That said I am wondering if cover letters are necessary for reapplications, since they do keep them on file (I think) unless of course there's more info to add to your application. 
    Some companies are better at managing this over others.

    I think those sorts of things might be better off said during an interview
    I've heard that a lot of cover letters seen as "cookie cutter" may not get the same amount of attention and hence may not lead to an interview. 

    But there are so many factors that influence getting work. Most times you just have to keep going and making art despite all the bs.

    Honestly everything is speculation at this point. even the quality of your artwork in several cases.
    Competent recruiters and clients do however make smarter choices and often see potential beyond what is expected of you.
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    Hi Hector,  That stuff will come out in an interview; when we're trying to get a sense of who you are and if we can work well together. I don't need that info from the get go, and it comes off as amateur to include your childhood hopes and dreams.

    Another issue with lofty paragraphs about the developer and your dreams is that you're probably copy/pasting it into every email you're sending out, and you ARE going to slip up and forget to replace a studio name at some point. I get those all the time, Someone forgot to change "Ubisoft" to "Exis" and it reads as disingenuous.

    People don't read your whole email, so the more stuff you add unrelated to the pertinent points, the more they will skim/skip/maybe not read. If you do want to include a one line bit of "flair", just say something like: "I enjoy your work and I'd like to be part of your team".

    The overriding theme is to just keep it simple and professional, and then be a good person in follow-ups and interviews.
  • artbychien
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    artbychien polycounter lvl 8
    Hi PeterK,

    Thank you so much for bringing this up and sharing your insight.
    I always struggle about writing the intro about myself. (stealing the template for sure)
    Thank you again. 

  • AGoodFella
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    AGoodFella polycounter lvl 5
    Some good info here, thanks!
  • Alekay57
    I'm new to Game Art,
    How much do employers care about your education in this industry,
    Is your Portfolio the only thing that matters?
  • CrackRockSteady
    Alekay57 said:
    I'm new to Game Art,
    How much do employers care about your education in this industry,
    Is your Portfolio the only thing that matters?
    education is only important if you're planning to work outside of your own country as that will be important for visa purposes.  Developers could not care less where you went to school, portfolio is king
  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    Just wanted to add information that might be useful to students here sending emails to employers.

    As an employer myself, I occasionally receive emails from students looking for internships. There were times when I received more than 5 emails from students coming from the same school (there was a case where I received 40 emails). Reading their messages and checking their portfolio, it becomes pretty obvious that they're using some kind of template their college professor gave them. I could even tell which of their artworks, even though they look different, came from the same class assignment.

    My advice is to avoid these templates if you can. I understand that in some cases, your teachers require you to follow the template to pass a subject or whatever. Just be aware that employers read countless emails all the time and patterns are easy to spot. As mentioned by PeterK, just keep it simple, professional, and put the best of your work in your portfolio. Try not to make it too similar to your classmate's portfolio.
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    Just wanted to add information that might be useful to students here sending emails to employers.

    As an employer myself, I occasionally receive emails from students looking for internships. There were times when I received more than 5 emails from students coming from the same school (there was a case where I received 40 emails). Reading their messages and checking their portfolio, it becomes pretty obvious that they're using some kind of template their college professor gave them. I could even tell which of their artworks, even though they look different, came from the same class assignment.

    My advice is to avoid these templates if you can. I understand that in some cases, your teachers require you to follow the template to pass a subject or whatever. Just be aware that employers read countless emails all the time and patterns are easy to spot. As mentioned by PeterK, just keep it simple, professional, and put the best of your work in your portfolio. Try not to make it too similar to your classmate's portfolio.
    +1 for sure. Preach Gabriel!
  • Meloncov
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    Meloncov greentooth
    Cold emailing about an internship--unless it's in response to an opening that says to apply by email--seems like a total waste of time. If we wanted random applicants for an internship, we'd post it on our site and you could apply through our application system.

    On the other hand, if a student were to contact me (a mid-level artist, mind you, not a lead or HR person who gets overwhelmed by emails) with a specific request for feedback or technical help, I'd be happy to provide it. And if they worked their ass off to improve their work based on my critique, I'd remember that. If they kept the dialogue open over the course of several months, without getting annoyingly pushy, I might go to my supervisor and see if we could put aside a bit of money to bring them in for an internship for the summer.
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    Added a new one, an addendum to "you are unqualified and know it".

     You are profoundly unqualified for the job and you DON'T know it.

  • Andreicus
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    Andreicus polycounter lvl 6
    PeterK said:
    Hi Corinne, Just replace that part with a very brief description of relevant experience. Nothing over a line or two. I'll be honest with you though, unless their portfolio is killer, I usually skip people without gamedev experience.

    So, in my case that i must find my first job in another EU country because here in Italy the CG scene is pratically non existant, i'm basically screwed right ? Because i don't have the "famous" experience that every other job in this world requires ( here in Italy employers want 3 yeas of experience just to get hired as a shop assistant...just saying ).

    Any advice for my particular case ? I have been applying for 2 years and i only got 1 art test from an AAA company in an eastern EU country.
    Although my works were worse back then, the situation at least for now hasn't changed much.

    I don't mind leaving my country for various reasons but the problem is that i get rejected at the CV screening stage even at indie studios or non game companies.
    I'm currently working as a freelance alongside my full time job and i have been doing it for 2 years more or less but it seems that it doens't really matters for companies. I mean maybe if i had famous titles under my belt that would be a different story but in that case i would stay as a freelancer.
  • NikhilR
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    NikhilR polycounter
    Andreicus said:
    PeterK said:
    Hi Corinne, Just replace that part with a very brief description of relevant experience. Nothing over a line or two. I'll be honest with you though, unless their portfolio is killer, I usually skip people without gamedev experience.

    So, in my case that i must find my first job in another EU country because here in Italy the CG scene is pratically non existant, i'm basically screwed right ? Because i don't have the "famous" experience that every other job in this world requires ( here in Italy employers want 3 yeas of experience just to get hired as a shop assistant...just saying ).

    Any advice for my particular case ? I have been applying for 2 years and i only got 1 art test from an AAA company in an eastern EU country.
    Although my works were worse back then, the situation at least for now hasn't changed much.

    I don't mind leaving my country for various reasons but the problem is that i get rejected at the CV screening stage even at indie studios or non game companies.
    I'm currently working as a freelance alongside my full time job and i have been doing it for 2 years more or less but it seems that it doens't really matters for companies. I mean maybe if i had famous titles under my belt that would be a different story but in that case i would stay as a freelancer.
    As per my previous post up there, this approach is specific to this employer and perhaps does extend to other outsourcing firms.
    Lot of variability in what constitutes a killer portfolio, and I've worked with people with considerable experience that just plain suck because their in studio experience does not translate well to what a freelance outsourcing studio wants, that is, if it actually knows what it wants.

    To be honest there are recruiters that would go with that they consider to be a safer bet. The logic behind going for someone with experience also comes down to extending your own network even if it ultimately doesn't work out that way.
    Its a bizarre situation where a lot of people talk highly of where they work, only to drop the companies when something better comes along, but not everyone is like this and many do value a long term arrangement.

    In AAA, you usually only work on a part of an assigned model in most cases. Maybe you would have more responsibility in the future but many times you may have to move over to another studio for them. 

    For a freelancer you are expected to do more, in the end I wouldn't stress too much about they're rejecting you especially if they are willing to pass over you without actually consulting with you first, something they rarely have time for given how many of these places work.

    These firms service AAA companies and I can't really say that all of them are absolutely stellar/killer in what they deliver if the experience of a colleague who works as a model checker is any indication. (utter shite require a fat lot of cleanup)

    I would suggest that as you better your portfolio for yourself, do look for opportunities in industries that require 3D but are more concerned with what you can do for them given what they have currently than how much of a superstar you are.
    Like Arch viz, medical simulation, defense etc, even sculpting for miniatures, board games, tutorials, animation VFX studios, print media and concept work to build an online presence that reflects well on you.

    And networking does certainly help, in your case perhaps heading to GDC or local game develoipment meetups might be a good way to meet people. 

    With regards to your portfolio, you seem to have mix of materials and props, I would try to focus on one or the other. 
    You could look into Dekogon since they do props.
  • Andreicus
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    Andreicus polycounter lvl 6
    NikhilR said:
    Andreicus said:
    PeterK said:
    Hi Corinne, Just replace that part with a very brief description of relevant experience. Nothing over a line or two. I'll be honest with you though, unless their portfolio is killer, I usually skip people without gamedev experience.

    So, in my case that i must find my first job in another EU country because here in Italy the CG scene is pratically non existant, i'm basically screwed right ? Because i don't have the "famous" experience that every other job in this world requires ( here in Italy employers want 3 yeas of experience just to get hired as a shop assistant...just saying ).

    Any advice for my particular case ? I have been applying for 2 years and i only got 1 art test from an AAA company in an eastern EU country.
    Although my works were worse back then, the situation at least for now hasn't changed much.

    I don't mind leaving my country for various reasons but the problem is that i get rejected at the CV screening stage even at indie studios or non game companies.
    I'm currently working as a freelance alongside my full time job and i have been doing it for 2 years more or less but it seems that it doens't really matters for companies. I mean maybe if i had famous titles under my belt that would be a different story but in that case i would stay as a freelancer.
    As per my previous post up there, this approach is specific to this employer and perhaps does extend to other outsourcing firms.
    Lot of variability in what constitutes a killer portfolio, and I've worked with people with considerable experience that just plain suck because their in studio experience does not translate well to what a freelance outsourcing studio wants, that is, if it actually knows what it wants.

    To be honest there are recruiters that would go with that they consider to be a safer bet. The logic behind going for someone with experience also comes down to extending your own network even if it ultimately doesn't work out that way.
    Its a bizarre situation where a lot of people talk highly of where they work, only to drop the companies when something better comes along, but not everyone is like this and many do value a long term arrangement.

    In AAA, you usually only work on a part of an assigned model in most cases. Maybe you would have more responsibility in the future but many times you may have to move over to another studio for them. 

    For a freelancer you are expected to do more, in the end I wouldn't stress too much about they're rejecting you especially if they are willing to pass over you without actually consulting with you first, something they rarely have time for given how many of these places work.

    These firms service AAA companies and I can't really say that all of them are absolutely stellar/killer in what they deliver if the experience of a colleague who works as a model checker is any indication. (utter shite require a fat lot of cleanup)

    I would suggest that as you better your portfolio for yourself, do look for opportunities in industries that require 3D but are more concerned with what you can do for them given what they have currently than how much of a superstar you are.
    Like Arch viz, medical simulation, defense etc, even sculpting for miniatures, board games, tutorials, animation VFX studios, print media and concept work to build an online presence that reflects well on you.

    And networking does certainly help, in your case perhaps heading to GDC or local game develoipment meetups might be a good way to meet people. 

    With regards to your portfolio, you seem to have mix of materials and props, I would try to focus on one or the other. 
    You could look into Dekogon since they do props.
    Thanks for your feedback. I'm sending CV to non games/entertainment companies to have more possibilities but they are harder to find. Do you know any sites a part from the usual glassdoor and indeed? 

    Regarding my works I usually make environments and hero models like hard surface objects or hero props.
    The materials are usually made for sales but I think that it falls everything into the environment art category except for hard surface. 
    I know that some people want to work for X company so they only make artworks of that particular style or fan art of their games but I couldn't enjoy doing that all day. 
    I started doing CG because I wanted to express myself and create what's on my mind so having a portfolio of only let's say blizzard works wouldn't suite my tastes.

    I appreciate your feedback though. 
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    @Andreicus : You can apply anywhere you like. The point of the list above is to give you some baseline to improve your application process and get past an "immediate delete".  The  take away regarding experience should be that a quality portfolio > experience. You can safely ignore anything else said about the topic; in fact you'd be better off if you did.

    Your portfolio needs work mate. It's inconsistent in the types of things you make, doesn't have game-rez models,  and a lot of them seem like you slapped some basic substance smart materials on something and called it a day. You're not even grouping similar works. Focus your art and improve your presentation, then apply wherever you want. I wish you a ton of success. 
  • Andreicus
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    Andreicus polycounter lvl 6
    PeterK said:
    @Andreicus : You can apply anywhere you like. The point of the list above is to give you some baseline to improve your application process and get past an "immediate delete".  The  take away regarding experience should be that a quality portfolio > experience. You can safely ignore anything else said about the topic; in fact you'd be better off if you did.

    Your portfolio needs work mate. It's inconsistent in the types of things you make, doesn't have game-rez models,  and a lot of them seem like you slapped some basic substance smart materials on something and called it a day. You're not even grouping similar works. Focus your art and improve your presentation, then apply wherever you want. I wish you a ton of success. 
    Thanks for your reply but i don't understand what do you mean by inconsistent. I understand that i have a couple of artworks that are high poly/beauty renders like the sci-fi crate that falls into the hard surface design category or the various terrains that i make mostly for relax myself. But for the terrains you simply export the height map and import it into the engine so it's not really a problem i believe ( ? ). I think it's more important that one knows how to create interesting looking terrains.

    But that's not the point. I can get rid of them without any problem is if the cause that is preventing me from getting a job.

    What i mean is all the stuff that i make except the hard surface models, falls into the environment art category ( props, terrains and indoor env ) From what i know and read from job posts an env. artist is someone that makes full environments so: props and the full composition from 0.

    Is that what you mean ? That i must have only full environments or only props ?
    Or you were referring to the settings of a particular scene ex. only sci-fi, only fantasy, only realistic and so on. Or maybe the art style because i do both realistic and anime ?
    But many artists make artworks with different art styles, is it a bad thing for companies ?
  • PeterK
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    PeterK greentooth
    @Andreicus Post your folio on the forum and ask those same questions of a wider audience.
  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    Andreicus said:

    Thanks for your reply but i don't understand what do you mean by inconsistent.

    @Andreicus , use your grain of salt here because I am just a hobbyist indie developer/artist, not a big shot hiring manager like you'll want the attention of. But recently I had to hire some help and this is my perspective when I am deciding who to hire:

    There is tons of people out there to choose from. Too many. I can be choosy. I don't want somebody then who has more potential than proven ability. And I don't want somebody who is a master in writing AAA quality FPS controllers when I need someone to build an inventory system. Maybe some skill translates? I don't care, I don't need to figure that out the hard way. I can find the guy who specializes in writing inventory systems and hire him.

    Get what I'm saying? If I want somebody to help me improve my forest scenes, are you the guy? Or if I need someone to design a fullscale city that will be destructible, are you the guy? Or if I need someone to sculpt a few hero statues in the central courtyard of my RPG, is that you?

    I am sure it's different for larger company, but for me, I usually have a specific problem that needs a specific solution. I am not looking just to hire somebody to have around "just in case" or for general purpose. Like, just from hanging around these forums, I know that if I want some cute stylized creatures modeled, there is one person I am going to first. Because I know that they are the guy for that.

    I think that's what people are getting at when they say you don't have enough consistency/specialization. What job are you the go-to guy for?

    One other thing, and this is just personal opinion, but it's really important that the person comes across as a winner. I want somebody who is a cold, hard professional. They know precisely how to communicate to get work done right. As soon as I catch of whiff of complacency, laziness, or poor communication skills, forget it. Ain't nobody got time for that. This is honestly my biggest gripe. I suppose making games isn't going to attract the most serious people, but a lot of professionals out there communicate really poorly. It's the most important thing. All the technical skill in the world can be wasted if the communication isn't there.

    Not saying anything about you at all, just making a point about how I personally prioritize hiring a person.


  • Andreicus
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    Andreicus polycounter lvl 6
    Andreicus said:

    Thanks for your reply but i don't understand what do you mean by inconsistent.

    @Andreicus , use your grain of salt here because I am just a hobbyist indie developer/artist, not a big shot hiring manager like you'll want the attention of. But recently I had to hire some help and this is my perspective when I am deciding who to hire:

    There is tons of people out there to choose from. Too many. I can be choosy. I don't want somebody then who has more potential than proven ability. And I don't want somebody who is a master in writing AAA quality FPS controllers when I need someone to build an inventory system. Maybe some skill translates? I don't care, I don't need to figure that out the hard way. I can find the guy who specializes in writing inventory systems and hire him.

    Get what I'm saying? If I want somebody to help me improve my forest scenes, are you the guy? Or if I need someone to design a fullscale city that will be destructible, are you the guy? Or if I need someone to sculpt a few hero statues in the central courtyard of my RPG, is that you?

    I am sure it's different for larger company, but for me, I usually have a specific problem that needs a specific solution. I am not looking just to hire somebody to have around "just in case" or for general purpose. Like, just from hanging around these forums, I know that if I want some cute stylized creatures modeled, there is one person I am going to first. Because I know that they are the guy for that.

    I think that's what people are getting at when they say you don't have enough consistency/specialization. What job are you the go-to guy for?

    One other thing, and this is just personal opinion, but it's really important that the person comes across as a winner. I want somebody who is a cold, hard professional. They know precisely how to communicate to get work done right. As soon as I catch of whiff of complacency, laziness, or poor communication skills, forget it. Ain't nobody got time for that. This is honestly my biggest gripe. I suppose making games isn't going to attract the most serious people, but a lot of professionals out there communicate really poorly. It's the most important thing. All the technical skill in the world can be wasted if the communication isn't there.

    Not saying anything about you at all, just making a point about how I personally prioritize hiring a person.


    Even if you are not an HR i appreciate your feedback.

    I realized that i lost the focus over these years. I started out doing environments in both realistic and anime style. After that i found out about hard surface design and that i enjoyed that too. Then from time to time i get requests from followers on YouTube to make "X" thing that are usually weapons so if they look good i also place them in the portfolio. And to conclude I also make terrains/landscapes but i suppose that this falls into the environments category.

    In the last year i thinked a lot about what artistic path should i follow and i realized that i was shifting more and more towards works that resembled Cornelius Dammrich. Environments with a surreal, fantasy or sci-fi feeling to them, with a lots of details ( hardsurface also ) that tells some kind of story.
    Very artistic if you ask me. It reminds me why i started doing CG in the first place.
    https://www.artstation.com/zomtech

    Of course there are other artists like him but he is the first that came to my mind.

    I'll take some time off and think about my next steps. I'm only sure about one thing at the moment, that i'll keep doing both realistic and anime styles artworks. For all the rest i need to think about it.

    Thanks again.

    Oh and if anyone wants to chime in to add something you are all welcome even if you are not an HR.
  • Zi0
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    Zi0 polycounter
    PeterK said:

    Your portfolio needs work mate. It's inconsistent in the types of things you make, doesn't have game-rez models,  and a lot of them seem like you slapped some basic substance smart materials on something and called it a day. You're not even grouping similar works. Focus your art and improve your presentation, then apply wherever you want. I wish you a ton of success. 

    There is tons of people out there to choose from. Too many.

    I think that's what people are getting at when they say you don't have enough consistency/specialization. What job are you the go-to guy for?
    In your case if you want to work in a gamestudio abroad because your country has no gamedev scene then you really need to step it up like mentioned above. Not trying to be mean but you are not there yet. If you want to get a job abroad you need to improve your skillset and portfolio.

    Lets take a quick look at your most recent work



    Now compare it to other sci fi hallways on artstation



    This is what I think Alex meant by asking "Are you that guy?"
    From what I noticed if you create a portfolio with high quality art work then you should not have a problem with getting a job abroad in Europe for instance.

    Again I'm not trying to be mean and good luck! :)
  • NikhilR
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    NikhilR polycounter
    I think it really comes down to the kind of environment you want to work in ultimately.

    As a first job sure it does pay to follow the piper if you know what a studio wants and more importantly it knows it too.

    As an artist you should just keep going forward with your development and create a brand for yourself.

    A good example of artistic extremes is Robert Crumb (very NSFW), if he filed an application to a studio for a 2D artist position with his "portfolio" well, I'd like to be there when they view it lol.

    But he doesn't need them, he has his audience on his side despite how controversial his art might be.

    Also a word about that comparison above, 
    With where you are in your portfolio, you can get work, sure it may not be in the studios the others can get work, but it can be meaningful.
    As an artist you should aspire to better your work either way.

    And knowing what @Alex Javor wants for his environments currently, its more about evaluating the artist on more than just the first impression from his portfolio of work.

    It is a fact though unfortunately that a lot of recruiters (especially if they aren't trained in recruiting for the pipelines their studios use) can jump the gun on a candidate because of this first impression, totally disregarding other aspects of his profile.
    Its a corporate thing.

    Honestly as far as AAA development goes, so long as you have the basics down and a decent body of work, you can usually do the job given how they have their pipelines set up.

    Even if its devolved to a popularity contest online, not every artist has the means or the rate to work in studio especially if it requires relocation.

    This thread is for this employer, you could take it as best practice but there's no guarantees it will get you work outside of this studio.

  • Biomag
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    Biomag sublime tool
    @Andreicus Besides what ZiO wrote, there are 3 things that stand out for me why I don't see your portfolio as AAA-ready.

    1. Besides what ZiO pointed out, your portfolio shows a lack of understanding of optimization. Looking at your wrieframes I would expect 50-75% of your edges can be deleted. So you either don't understand how to build efficient meshes for games or - far worse because in the first case you can be taught - you don't care about it. If you don't optimize don't show the wireframe - why would you emphasize a mistake?

    2. Materials for Marmorset. I get it if you want to put them out there for others to use, but its nothing that belongs in your portfolio (separate your private portfolio and the one you use for applications). Most game artists use Marmorset, but it has nothing to do with game dev beyond its baking options. No recruiting artist will check them as a reason for hire you as they can't be used in the game. They might check it to see if you have an artistic eye, but already under the suspicion that you lack understanding for game dev because you should have Substance Designer work up there or showing materials in UE4, Unity 3D,... or another engine.

    3. Your props lack the high end presentation. The presentation is a bit too bland and not memorable enough (looking especially at the priestess staff, swords and throne). My usual advice will be repeated again - sorry for that :D - pick a concept from a game you want to work at or get a pro's fan art concept for it and get it done. Those concepts are also properly presented and will give you direction how to best present the assets/scene. Use the concepts artist's eye to aid your presentation if it is your weak point (coming from somebody who sucks at it himself ;) ). It will also prove that you can work from concepts.
  • Andreicus
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    Andreicus polycounter lvl 6
    @Zi0 @NikhilR @Biomag

    Thanks for the feedback. I'll just reply to some of the points that @Biomag pointed out:

    1) You are perfectly right that they could be optimized more. The fact is that if it's a personal project and i know that i'll do a close up render of a model i tend to avoid super low poly meshes where a circle looks more like an octagon. But yes probably by doing that i'm harming myself. I'll get rid of them and leave only the props renderings in the case of that artwork.

    2) I don't usually put my works for sale in my portfolio. They are in their specific store page. The Marmoset materials are an exception because i was thinking that it could show some shaders creation skills because the parameters are the same ones that you find in other rendering softwares. I'm re-ordering my portfolio so i'll get rid of them.

    @NikhilR

    The illustrator that you mentioned reminds me of Kim Jung Gi. He doesn't draw grotesque characters but he likes to draw let's say...very erotic...stuff from time to time and in an interview the journalist asked "Why do you draw genitalia ?" and he answered with "Well, because they are there" lol
  • Biomag
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    Biomag sublime tool
    @Andreicus

    ad 1) I'm not someone who cares too much about optimization in a portfolio. It's not the right place for it except if you are trying to get a job working with really low poly stuff. Optimization completely depends on the game so chasing imaginary goals in portfolios at the expanse of quality doesn't make too much sense. BUT if you are not optimizing stuff, don't show the wireframe. To make it more obvlous - you wouldn't turn on the wireframe on a sculpt, right? ;)

    Still applying as a junior it makes sense to have 'sensible' (instead of overly optimized) wireframes in there and to show them to prove to the recruiters they don't have to worry about you knowing it.


    ad 2) The thing is not about not having them in there as much as showing the skillset with game dev relevant technology. You will have a hard time explaning why you don't do this stuff in Unreal instead, since Unreal is for free, used by many companies and many engines are close to it. And anytime you need to explain your decision you are already losing in a portfolio review because your 'real' competition isn't  and has instead their work speaking for itself.

    So in your case for example, even if its just a shader with the same sliders, I would ask myself not knowing you - do you know that? Have you ever seen/used an engine? Do you understand the performance cost of your shader?
    By you doing the same thing in a real time engine I wouldn't even have to bother questioning you - which actually would just have me skip your portfolio for the next guy that has this stuff in there.



    Enviroment art is very closely related to engines. Showing it in Marmorset is generally a bad idea. Weapons, characters, vehicles,... these things that are not so deeply connected to the in engine tools are fine in Marmorset, but enviornment art needs features that engines give at your disposal to do stuff efficiently and optimized. And again that's what recruiters want to see. So if its not in your portfolio, they will most likely skip you because others will have it.
  • Andreicus
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    Andreicus polycounter lvl 6
    Biomag said:
    @Andreicus

    ad 1) I'm not someone who cares too much about optimization in a portfolio. It's not the right place for it except if you are trying to get a job working with really low poly stuff. Optimization completely depends on the game so chasing imaginary goals in portfolios at the expanse of quality doesn't make too much sense. BUT if you are not optimizing stuff, don't show the wireframe. To make it more obvlous - you wouldn't turn on the wireframe on a sculpt, right? ;)

    Still applying as a junior it makes sense to have 'sensible' (instead of overly optimized) wireframes in there and to show them to prove to the recruiters they don't have to worry about you knowing it.


    ad 2) The thing is not about not having them in there as much as showing the skillset with game dev relevant technology. You will have a hard time explaning why you don't do this stuff in Unreal instead, since Unreal is for free, used by many companies and many engines are close to it. And anytime you need to explain your decision you are already losing in a portfolio review because your 'real' competition isn't  and has instead their work speaking for itself.

    So in your case for example, even if its just a shader with the same sliders, I would ask myself not knowing you - do you know that? Have you ever seen/used an engine? Do you understand the performance cost of your shader?
    By you doing the same thing in a real time engine I wouldn't even have to bother questioning you - which actually would just have me skip your portfolio for the next guy that has this stuff in there.



    Enviroment art is very closely related to engines. Showing it in Marmorset is generally a bad idea. Weapons, characters, vehicles,... these things that are not so deeply connected to the in engine tools are fine in Marmorset, but enviornment art needs features that engines give at your disposal to do stuff efficiently and optimized. And again that's what recruiters want to see. So if its not in your portfolio, they will most likely skip you because others will have it.
    Of course, it all makes sense. Thanks again.
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