Help! Clueless art student aspires to get into concept art!

[UkuleleSchnauzerFun]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I need some input.

I just completed my junior year in college, for the past three semester I have been an art major with a concentration in Graphic Design. I just got my first ever portfolio review back from the faculty at the end of my second class, Typography. The graphic design faculty (four people) told me to find a new major on the little piece of paper that came back with my portfolio. My minor for the past semester had been painting. I get wonderful feedback from all the studio art professors about my painting and they encourage me to keep on with it. Well today I declared my major as Art once again, but with the concentration in painting and I'm going to take this one more class and make Graphic Design my minor. I worry about picking the right major between the two, because I want to be a concept artist and I'm unsure of what the usual requirements are for that. What do game companies look for this stage of production?

I've loved videogames my entire life, I've enjoyed mostly RPGs my whole life, and ofcoarse the MMORPGs and alot of shooters and RTS games such as the Empires series. I've always been awed by the concept art from these games and it's something I would like to do myself. (Secretly wanted to for a few years now). I don't feel as though I am learning what I need to in the graphic design program anyhow, business cards, foundation advertisements, logos... coming up with snazzy advertisements and labels isn't what I wanted to do, and that's all we were learning. The senior show wasn't that impressive either imo, but I have no room to talk, I've been academically dumped by graphic design. So it takes a back seat to painting now.

MAIN QUESTIONS:

1. What do gaming companies look for in a concept artists university degree-wise? (Obvious need for artistic skill aside)

2. What mediums are used to create concept art? (I like to paint, but I get the feeling alot of it is handdrawn or digitally done)

3. Is it up to the concept artist when it comes to proposing a general atmosphere and feel to the game? Is there any creative freedom in rendering the feel of the game?

4. How do concept artist get paid? Is it by drawing? Salary? I'm clueless on this and would like some insight directly from pros.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[donm]

yeah im graduating soon with a major in 3d modeling but I am more interested in concept art than most of the students here if not all, and I am studying in my own time, so hopefully i can help a bit.

1. unless you want to be a lead artist or art director (in charge of scheduling) only your portfolio really matters in which case the former would be at the very least a bachelors of fine arts

2. photoshop, painter, and hand drawn sketches...from what Ive heard rarely is traditional painting used in production

3. it depends on what the game designer or art director is looking for, you will mainly try to capture a mood or feeling they are trying to get you to convey.

4. all the above, it depends on the company and whether you're freelance or not

again im not a concept artist myself but this is what I've come to know from discussing on the forums.

[UkuleleSchnauzerFun]

Thanks a lot, that really helps! I love art, but I feel like I have no direction on a road to nowhere. You know everyone talks about how awful the job market is and the hard times and all. Painting is just my thing right now and our illustration classes at the university just got canned. I'm nervous I'm not going to be able to work with video games.

You know the more I think about it, I'm just scared I'm not going to be able to make a living off any job I could get with my art degree. I'm not saying art isn't worth good pay, I've just grown up in a family full of nurses and engineers and techincal careers like that. They really like to put down things like liberal arts "for a living". My parents support me, but I just got this feeling I can't escape that I'm doomed to be flipping burgers at 50. I know it's stupid, and I'm trying to throw the whole starving artist cliche out of my head.

[donm]

i have the same family situation too. my mom is a va pharmacy tech and my dad is a home care nurse, just as well all my uncles are business execs or real estate salesmen...so its hard to find anyone that even utters the word 'art' in my family. my mom used to draw when she was young so she encourages me from time to time. I understand your paranoia with all the economies of the world going down too, but I was told in a videogame conference that any student that wants to get an internship would have trouble finding a free one if their lucky, and strangely enough I found a couple of payed ones recently...so I wouldn't fret about it and just work on your portfolio to show them they need you, not the other way around. good luck

[UkuleleSchnauzerFun]

Thanks, your advice really puts me at ease. When you do concept art to build your portfolio, do you come up with your own ideas for a game or do concept art of things that already exsist?

[donm]

that's good :). I would say do concept art of things from your imagination based in reality. I have a bad habit with not using reference because I have only one screen but it pays off in the end. and if you want to work for a specific company do concepts that resonate with their art style and themes like for example blizzard would be more exaggerated fantasy creatures, and a company like id would be more cyoborg aliens with sharp spikes type of thing.

[UkuleleSchnauzerFun]

What do you mean two screens?

[TheBullion24K]

What do you mean two screens?

I'm pretty sure he means dual monitors. Dual monitors are basically 2 monitors placed side by side (usually) that allows the desktop to be synced through the two. So you can have photoshop on one screen and maybe your reference photo on the other. This allows maximum quality and resolution so you don't have to scrunch everything down to work effectively.

[donm]

exactly bullion

[J Wilson]

Art is NOT like most careers, where after you've put in your college coursework, and followed along the path set out for you, you have an excellent chance of a job in your career. You NEED to put in a lot of extra work on art. Most art courses are, frankly, crap. Some might teach you some solid foundations, if you are lucky. Others are 100% worthless. Even in the best of cases, most of your success will be dependent on the extra work you did, and your own drive to improve. Degrees are mostly meaningless, it's the work that matters most.

[Grief]

sound slike youre at a cheap state university. if your school has any classes left that focus in illustration be sure to take them (beginning drawing, intermediate drawing, life drawing, intro to 2d design, intermediate 2d design, etc). do not rule out the possibility of switching schools be better hone in on what you want to study. college costs an assload and you might as well pay for something you want to pursue.

having a degree in illustration isnt a prerequisite by any means, but it is most closely related to the sort of work you would typically do in a nondescript concept art job.

also post some art, i'm curious about your typography work.