Anaglyph
May 7th, 2008, 04:41 PM
Hey y'all,
I've been gathering general information from this and other websites, and in order to organize my career options, I've summarized what I've learned in a three-paragraph paper. If you could read it really quick and point out any misinformation or neglected details, I'd really appreciate it, as it just may affect what I decide to do for a living.
The paper is below:
"The 2D Conceptual Artist is one of the few members of the art team that doesn’t exclusively use any digital tools to produce his/her work. The job of the concept artist is, predictably, to present the team with the base design of the game’s various visual elements. While (usually) none of the artist’s work is used in the final product, he/she is responsible for the style and the design of the game’s characters, environments, .etc; and therefore has one of the most important roles in videogame art. While concept artists are often believed to have the most artistic freedom, the reality is that a talented concept artist will draw up concepts based on the team’s preconceptions of the game’s visual style. It’s important for the artist to adapt to a variety of artistic styles, particularly the style that appeals to a specific employer. While concept artists are allowed lot of artistic freedom, the level of freedom is often dependant on the flexibility of the developer they’re working with. The concept artist is also sometimes asked to make storyboards for cutscenes, and with such projects the artist must know what detail to eliminate for the sake of practicality. Concept Artists get paid (on average) $58,500 a year, but this salary may rise to $68,000 with more job experience.
Concept art is one of the least technical positions in videogame art, and so a fine arts degree is more useful to a concept artist than a degree in game design. As a concept artist, potential employers will hire you on a basis of your talent and ability to work collaboratively with the other developers. Because of this, the credentials of the school you go to matters less than the amount of effort you invest in your degree. Many successful artists in the field have gone their entire careers without being asked once about their college education. The best education as an artist is the education that optimizes your ability, which is, ultimately, what will get you good jobs in the industry. Concept artists should also be able to limit the complexity of their work based on the time and space constraints the rest of the team is bound by, but beyond that it’s more important that you know how to draw well.
Concept art is a career with much more competition than job openings, so in order to succeed you’ve really got to be the best of the best. Smaller development studios usually contract freelance artists to do their concept art for them, so it’s generally the corporate giants that hire their own artists. These jobs are few in number and highly sought after, which shows why it’s so important to tone your talent in order to impress the studio you’re wooing. To succeed as a concept artist, you have to have skill, experience, and most importantly you need to be able to draw in a way that’s applicable to the game. Employers will want to see that you can draw in a variety of visual styles that aren’t difficult to interpret into game-ready 3D models. "
Please note that this isn't meant to be a beautifully written college thesis. It's just to organize my thoughts.
Thanks for your time. :) (I didn't quite know where to put this...)
I've been gathering general information from this and other websites, and in order to organize my career options, I've summarized what I've learned in a three-paragraph paper. If you could read it really quick and point out any misinformation or neglected details, I'd really appreciate it, as it just may affect what I decide to do for a living.
The paper is below:
"The 2D Conceptual Artist is one of the few members of the art team that doesn’t exclusively use any digital tools to produce his/her work. The job of the concept artist is, predictably, to present the team with the base design of the game’s various visual elements. While (usually) none of the artist’s work is used in the final product, he/she is responsible for the style and the design of the game’s characters, environments, .etc; and therefore has one of the most important roles in videogame art. While concept artists are often believed to have the most artistic freedom, the reality is that a talented concept artist will draw up concepts based on the team’s preconceptions of the game’s visual style. It’s important for the artist to adapt to a variety of artistic styles, particularly the style that appeals to a specific employer. While concept artists are allowed lot of artistic freedom, the level of freedom is often dependant on the flexibility of the developer they’re working with. The concept artist is also sometimes asked to make storyboards for cutscenes, and with such projects the artist must know what detail to eliminate for the sake of practicality. Concept Artists get paid (on average) $58,500 a year, but this salary may rise to $68,000 with more job experience.
Concept art is one of the least technical positions in videogame art, and so a fine arts degree is more useful to a concept artist than a degree in game design. As a concept artist, potential employers will hire you on a basis of your talent and ability to work collaboratively with the other developers. Because of this, the credentials of the school you go to matters less than the amount of effort you invest in your degree. Many successful artists in the field have gone their entire careers without being asked once about their college education. The best education as an artist is the education that optimizes your ability, which is, ultimately, what will get you good jobs in the industry. Concept artists should also be able to limit the complexity of their work based on the time and space constraints the rest of the team is bound by, but beyond that it’s more important that you know how to draw well.
Concept art is a career with much more competition than job openings, so in order to succeed you’ve really got to be the best of the best. Smaller development studios usually contract freelance artists to do their concept art for them, so it’s generally the corporate giants that hire their own artists. These jobs are few in number and highly sought after, which shows why it’s so important to tone your talent in order to impress the studio you’re wooing. To succeed as a concept artist, you have to have skill, experience, and most importantly you need to be able to draw in a way that’s applicable to the game. Employers will want to see that you can draw in a variety of visual styles that aren’t difficult to interpret into game-ready 3D models. "
Please note that this isn't meant to be a beautifully written college thesis. It's just to organize my thoughts.
Thanks for your time. :) (I didn't quite know where to put this...)