Creature Artist + Rigger, is it worth it?

Ryonvieira · Jun 22 2026

Hi!! I wanted to ask you for some advice.

I'm looking to create a portfolio of creatures (and maybe a little bit of characters, but preferably creatures), which is what I really enjoy doing, and I want to increase my chances of getting hired.

So I want to add more skills to my repertoire. I'm thinking of starting to study rigging, buying the "The Art of Rigging" course, which I've been told is one of the best on the subject.

What do you guys think? Is it a good path to follow?

I've been told it's better to focus only on making characters, but I've also been told that someone who produces rigging at the level that the guy in the course offers doesn't stay unemployed.

I don't know who to believe.
I would appreciate any advice anyone can offer!

Eric Chadwick · Jun 22 2026

Character artists with technical skills are generally more in demand than character artists without.

But... more people want to be character artists that there are openings for character artists, so in general it's a saturated field. Especially in game development.

If you're interested in the technical end of things, I would recommend diving deeper into that, since technical artists are often more difficult to find. Rigging is one aspect of it, but you could look into scripting, shaders, etc. http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Technical_Art

Ryonvieira · Jun 23 2026

Eric Chadwick said:

Character artists with technical skills are generally more in demand than character artists without.

But... more people want to be character artists that there are openings for character artists, so in general it's a saturated field. Especially in game development.

If you're interested in the technical end of things, I would recommend diving deeper into that, since technical artists are often more difficult to find. Rigging is one aspect of it, but you could look into scripting, shaders, etc. http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Technical_Art

Thank you for your reply, Eric!

I already work with creating materials using Substance Designer, and I even have an intermediate understanding of the software. I've never worked with creating shaders, and I don't understand programming languages.

Do you think my knowledge of material creation (Substance Designer) plus rigging skills would make a difference? Or would that still not be enough?
I'm more interested in working with indie developers, not necessarily as a generalist, but producing characters, creatures, creating materials so the prop team can work more efficiently with textures, and also doing rigging to help even more.

Eric Chadwick · Jun 23 2026

It's really not a question of "how much is enough", it's more a question of "does this candidate have an artistic eye? and do they have enough technical aptitude to get the work done properly?"

Staying employed is difficult in game development these days (here's my take on why).

Creature Artist + Rigger, is it worth it?

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