3.
Diversification
By "task diversity," I am specifically
addressing how an artist responds or reacts to a wide variety of assignments. An
artist's approach to task diversity affects both their career growth and their
artistic development.
In my experience, this is a challenge that is more
common among junior artists. In the worst-case scenario, an artist complains or
refuses to do work that they deem "beneath" them.
This can happen for
any number of reasons, but the most common complaints are when the work isn't
creative, inspiring, or engaging enough.
The ego element is relatively easy to identify -- the
artist has now applied a subjective value judgment to the work. The challenge
lies in recognizing that the work still needs to be done by someone.
As a
professional artist, you are expected to execute to the same level of quality
and commitment regardless of personal preference.
The
mindset is understandable. Personally, I believe that every artist delivers his
or her best work when they are passionate about the work they're doing.
Arguably, that artist could be right, and may deliver lower-quality work on the
less-desirable assignment.
Strong leaders are capable of identifying the
strengths and weaknesses of the people around them. As such, most managers and
leads do try to distribute the workload with this in mind... but there are no
guarantees.
The
easiest way to deal with these types of assignments (and you will get them) is the manner in which
you approach them. Even if you may not enjoy the specific work, it can
represent an opportunity for personal growth:
-
Technical
Tasks. Some artists are put off by technical work as they feel that it
disengages them from pushing their own creativity. However, technical work
usually provides the artist with more exposure to the systems that drive the
game.
In addition, this work can often show an artist how content is
functioning "under the hood." Gaining a greater understanding of the
technical limitations also means that you can make better decisions and stronger
recommendations on how to push the visual quality of your project.
-
Organizational
Tasks. Scheduling and workgroup management are something that most every
artist will have to tackle at some point or another. In addition, the growth of
outsourcing within our industry has clearly expanded the need for artists who
are capable of tracking volumes of assets and directing counterparts overseas.
Again, it's easy to see why an artist would be more interested in building art
content than creating tracking lists of content that needs to be created. At
the same time, this level of planning experience is critical for any lead-level
position. If you hold aspirations of art directing projects in the future, then
these tasks can provide you with solid experience at how to manage vital
elements of the production schedule.
-
Team Value.
Artists who are capable of tackling a wider variety of issues are
understandably more valuable to their team as those individuals can have
greater impact.
As such, these artists frequently reap career benefits more
quickly than their peers who may choose to carve out a very specialized niche
for themselves. Please don't misunderstand; specialists are valuable to the
projects as well. However, projects are always hungry for people who can
problem-solve in a variety of areas.
In summary, we've looked at just three facets of professional
practices for artists. There are many more that can be discussed, but these are
the ones that have really stood out to me over my career thus far.
This is by
no means an attempt to call to light the worst part of being an artist in the
gaming industry. Being an artist in the gaming industry can be a very rewarding
career path.
However, these are the
things that challenge us all as artists, and these are also things that those
of you who are interested in pursuing a career in this field will likely
encounter and should keep in mind.
I wrote this article to kick off what I feel
must be a broader dialogue. There are other aspects of this topic that I would
like to write about and discuss, but I am genuinely interested in hearing more
of your thoughts and opinions on these
topics.
Last of all, I really need to
recognize and thank the large number of individuals who discussed this topic
with me, shared their opinions, and ultimately provided a lot of input and
feedback as I was writing this article.
They are too many to name, but their contribution is no less
appreciated.
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Well done!
The line that ironically sums it up for me is: "I wrote this article to kick off what I feel must be a broader dialogue." When dealing with artists or as Jeff stated, with any organization with specific teams, dialogue is the key.
Whether it is production vs. sales, or artists vs. management, all egos need to be in check in order for proper communication to be conveyed. The ultimate goal is to have a cohesive team that works together to present a powerful product inspite of the deadline.
Also, I loved your overall conclusion that teams need to understand where the other group is coming from in their language. If artists could work closely with programmers from the onset and have an understanding of their programs and limitations and vice versa, at least a clear direction can begin.
Before anyone enters a strategy meeting, this article should be required reading!
Perhaps part of the problem (in every industry, I think) is that our educational and training institutions continue to stress specialization even when the real world work often requires diversification. This is also true for the hiring process; job postings and hiring searches seem to home in on specifics rather than listing diverse requirements.
Like so many things, communications is key. Understanding and accepting (but not necessarily agreeing with) a multitude of viewpoints is important in any group effort.
1. Don't lose your roots. Fundamental and traditional art skills should be continually honed even with all the technology around you. It's always relevant.
2. Keep abreast of technology. While you're maintaining your roots, you should also be savvy as to all the amazing new tools and innovative workflows that are constantly coming in. Artists who hold too tightly onto out-dated ways of working will quickly lose influence if they can't communicate on the same level as the rest of the company.
3. Does what you do serve the look? Some artists are extremely talented in working in their pet style, but how about when the new project throws you a curveball and goes in a different direction? Comic, photo-realistic, gritty, cel-shaded, apocalyptic, casual, etc. etc. there's a million ways the art direction can go, and most artists need to be able to adapt.
4. Efficiency. Games are still slaves of real-time performance issues. Is your work optimal and clean? The more efficient it is, the less of your vision (and punctuality come alpha) is compromised.
5. Criticism. Giving it and taking it is an art that needs to be learned through practice. All I will say is that all criticism should end in a tangible, achievable, and mutually agreed upon goals. If you can't agree on one of two things, then do both and let that help make the decision - artist discuss better with art than patter.
- Respect gameplay and realize that it comes first before your artwork
This is a tough comment to swallow for many artists today, believe me... Artists are so rapt up in their own world in trying to create content, that they forget the big picture. The advancements in graphics has created a culture in gaming that thinks art trumps gameplay. This does open up a much bigger discussion as games have become more of an art piece than a game. Graphics and Gameplay go hand in hand and both need to be respected.. at the end of the day your end product is a game!
Keith's article is generic enough to fit any position; but if you put the article in Programming from a programmer's perspective, some artists might miss the points of this article.
Um... so when are you guys going to start working on Summoner 3? You've got the engine (Saint's Row 2) - I've got some ideas... call me.
g.