[What guidelines do video game artists need to follow to succeed? Volition manager Self-Ballard draws from his experience to suggest three key traits of the best game art creators.]
Last year, I was contacted by a professor from my alma
mater, Purdue University.
This professor asked me for "five tips for artists" that could be
shared with the student body. Purdue has
a Computer Graphics Technology department, and I serve on the Industrial
Advisory Board.
I and many other alumni
have entered the gaming industry since graduating from the department. Thus, the faculty shows a great deal of
interest in what its students should know.
This is a topic that has interested me for many years
now. Over a decade ago, I started in
this industry with admittedly very little understanding of the expectations in
place for professional artists in our industry.
As I learned new tools and techniques, I also developed an understanding
of how to collaborate with peers and leads, resolve issues during production
and work with a wide variety of truly unique individuals.
At the same time, I also made mistakes in conducting myself
professionally. We all make
mistakes. Thankfully, mine were not so
egregious that it resulted in my termination.
I would argue that most mistakes that people make when they're new to
this industry are more like your common workplace pitfalls.
In the intervening years, I've continued to
be vigilant for these behaviors, both in myself and in others. And I have continued to observe them and
their impact.
The impetus behind all of this analysis revolved around a
personal career change. Roughly two
years ago, I moved from my position as a veteran production artist to a studio
management position at my current employer.
This prompted a change in my
priorities, and I found myself in a position where I would be addressing issues
of staffing, hiring and personnel performance as they related to artists. As
such, I desperately wanted to identify common expectations for professional
artists.
To those ends, I began doing research into established
expectations that our industry holds for artists who work in this field. I ultimately wanted something concrete that I
could share with artists and use as a coaching tool for employees who are
coming straight from educational institutions or other industries and have no
clear understanding of expectations.
To my surprise, I found very little on
this topic. Most of the articles I did read were either too broad or too
focused on the details.
In the absence of a substantial amount of written research
on the topic, I had to turn to alternative means for establishing these
professional practices. Beyond just my
personal experiences and observations, I solicited input from professional
colleagues.
I spoke with art directors and producers from other studios. I
spoke with faculty from different educational institutes. Finally, I discussed
these topics with senior artists from outside the gaming industry, all in an
effort to identify consistency in these practices or lack thereof.
Returning to that professor's original request, I sent him
the following off the top of my head:
-
Don't wrap up
your ego in your artwork. People are going to criticize the work you do.
Learn from those people.
-
Engage your
peers and learn from them. Every artist knows something you don't. A tool, a
tip, or a technique. You only have a limited amount of time to learn
these things from them (before you graduate, one of you changes jobs, etc.) The
best way to learn these things from others is by sharing what you know. Don't
hoard.
-
You can only
grow so much through school and work. The best artists hone their skills outside of school and outside of work. They keep creating
even when they're not "on the clock."
-
You will not
enjoy every task/assignment you are given. Some you will like. Some you
will hate. As a professional artist, you will be gauged on your ability to
execute both types with the same quality, efficiency and dedication. Half-assed
work, regardless of preference, is still half-assed.
- Learn to
communicate with others proactively. If someone tells you what they want, and
they walk away without you having enough information, it's not the other person's
fault. If there is information you need, it is your responsibility to obtain
it. If you start working with incomplete or inaccurate information, you're
probably going to end up doing the job twice. Ask the questions you need
to ask. The flipside of that argument is true as well. If you foresee a problem
or think that a peer or manager doesn't have enough information, then it's your
responsibility to voice your concerns.
Candidly, my original list in preparation for this article enumerated over 30 professional
practices. These were condensed through my discussions with others.
While this
article does not cover all of my thoughts and research on the topic, my goal
was to highlight three of the most consistent, high-priority practices that were
validated by others. It is my sincere hope that this can be used as a guide for
new and aspiring artists, and also provides food for thought for the veteran
artists as well.