Internships?
polycounter lvl 17
Hey guys,
I've been working quietly over the past few weeks to get my texture work upto speed and am starting to build a portfolio with the primary focus of getting an internship at X publisher/studio by the end of my next quarter.
I do have a few questions about this topic in general though :
a. Apart from EA, are there any studios or major publishers which have an internship program (San Francisco)? (Before I go through each one manually and check).
b. After going through dozens of reels/portfolios I see people pretty much just putting up works in specific areas they work in (i.e malcolm has environments/daz seems to lean towards characters etc). If I wanted to steer towards environmental art in the future should I stick fast or should I put in some characters and life drawing on the side?
Any general insight on the topic, ramblings / rantings or opinions would be great.
I've been working quietly over the past few weeks to get my texture work upto speed and am starting to build a portfolio with the primary focus of getting an internship at X publisher/studio by the end of my next quarter.
I do have a few questions about this topic in general though :
a. Apart from EA, are there any studios or major publishers which have an internship program (San Francisco)? (Before I go through each one manually and check).
b. After going through dozens of reels/portfolios I see people pretty much just putting up works in specific areas they work in (i.e malcolm has environments/daz seems to lean towards characters etc). If I wanted to steer towards environmental art in the future should I stick fast or should I put in some characters and life drawing on the side?
Any general insight on the topic, ramblings / rantings or opinions would be great.
Replies
(Before I go through each one manually and check).
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oh heavens forbid you should actually do some research off your own fat arse and get the world handed to you on a plate.
a. Apart from EA, are there any studios or major publishers which have an internship program (San Francisco)? (Before I go through each one manually and check).
b. After going through dozens of reels/portfolios I see people pretty much just putting up works in specific areas they work in (i.e malcolm has environments/daz seems to lean towards characters etc). If I wanted to steer towards environmental art in the future should I stick fast or should I put in some characters and life drawing on the side?
Any general insight on the topic, ramblings / rantings or opinions would be great.
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At intern level I would keep a somewhat more varied portfolio. It will give the studio you're working with a broader range of skills to evaluate. Certainly life drawing is a good example of something that should be in an interns reel.
I no longer work at EA Redwood shores, but I'm not sure why you would specifically discount them for an internship. You might have some political reasons for doing so, but I think the term 'beggars can't be choosers' is most definitely valid in this instance.
And yeah, go through each one manually and check. There are not much more than a handful. As one of the bigger studios, I would think Lucasarts probably have a program, but I really don't know.
At intern level I would keep a somewhat more varied portfolio. It will give the studio you're working with a broader range of skills to evaluate. Certainly life drawing is a good example of something that should be in an interns reel.
I no longer work at EA Redwood shores, but I'm not sure why you would specifically discount them for an internship. You might have some political reasons for doing so, but I think the term 'beggars can't be choosers' is most definitely valid in this instance.
And yeah, go through each one manually and check. There are not much more than a handful. As one of the bigger studios, I would think Lucasarts probably have a program, but I really don't know.
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Not discounting EA, I had gone through a list of most of the major publishers that have locations in/around SF and EA was one of the few had made their requirements very clear so I know what they were looking for in potential candidates.
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oh heavens forbid you should actually do some research off your own fat arse and get the world handed to you on a plate.
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Sorry about that, I had gone through a list of them at gamedevmap.com and didn't come up with much on my first go. I thought I might ask before I dig deeper.
So basically, I think it might be best to phone the company you want to work for free for, and tell them you're popping over to make the tea for a few weeks.
Honestly I would just email places and ask if the are accepting interns. The place I'm currently doing an internship didn't list anything. Just find a list of all the places in the area you are looking and drop them a line.
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Yea, it seems a lot of them haven't listed anything, while some others have snuck them in under job postings (like Activision).
Thanks for the tips guys, I'll be making a few calls and sending some emails soon and cross my fingers.
some emails soon and cross my fingers.
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Don't forget to make follow up calls/emails in a week or so. Oftentimes the most imporant thing in business and sales.