To be honest, before I started this course I was very uneducated and naive about the games industry. I didn't really know anything about it, other than the fact it was worth millions and was the reason I sat on my ass and played so many great games for years. With the 3rd year starting late September, [i think] I really need to think about applying for jobs. The idea that I've been a generalist at uni, meaning I've been doing a lot of different projects with different themes and tasks, means that I'm not just limited to one form of game art, but in the third year I really want to refine my style in 2D and try to improve drastically in my 3D stuff.
There are two areas that I would like to go into after my graduation. Concept artist or character artist. The thing that excites me about both is the character side. I love creating characters. The biggest difference between the two is the fact that the 3D side of it is a much longer process, but arguably has a more polished and refined outcome, after all, the concept art is the first stage of the long process of character design. So where do I want to be personally? Well, since the second year of college, I've aimed for a job in concept art, I feel like its the most popular art forms in the entertainment industry. The amount of applicants a studio gets must be astonishing. Someone like me really needs to push and push in order to improve the skills needed in order to even get a portfolio view. I feel like I'm still improving though, which is good. I've kinda found a comfortable place where I no longer sit and have a mental block, it feels good.
In terms of being a 3D character artist, I'm still really a total novice in the scheme of things. In my life as a game artists I've only really created 3 characters, which is kinda laughable. The funny thing is I really want to be good at this art form. The potential for an awesome piece is immense. The tools used are extremely 2D artist friendly, and I feel like I've got to grasps with the software fairly easily. I know the kind of level someone has to be to get a job in this prestigious field, and it extremely f'ing high. And I'm not really at a decent stage yet where I can comfortably create a fully workable, real-time game character. I'm not really doing myself any favours by picking two of them most popular, and rare job opportunities out there, but it's my goal, so I'm going to keep aiming at it.
The problem is the current economic climate. Even though the games industry is one of the biggest entertainment industry in the world, there are still job cuts happening left right and centre. Also, if a game flops and doesn't sell, it's pretty much goodnight for the company that produced it. This scares me slightly. At the end of the day, I want a job which pays for a nice house, and nice things. One of my favourite concept artists, Daryl Mandryk, lost his job fairly recently due to his studio shutting down. He's an amazing artist and will surely find another job with ease, but it's still troubling.
Hopefully, if the economic climate recovers, so will the jobs. When I graduate in 2012, I hope that there will be a few job offers that really take my fancy. I've got a lot of time to improve, and plan on working hard over the summer, ready for what the third year can throw at me. Then. hopefully, I can put together a great portfolio which will show future employers that I'm serious about working in the industry.
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