College degree?

[The Supreme Um]

When attempting a career in either movie or game concept design, how much does it matter to companies if you have a college degree? ( I hope I phrased that correctly )

[Hale]

Well I'm not a professional or anything but I am attending the Savannah College of Art and Design for Sequential Art (which does have concept art underpinnings) and from my previous 2 years of Digital Media study at Drexel University I would say that it is definetly important to have a degree when attempting to get a job in almost any (commercial) art field. One main reason is that you will learn a craft, be it Photoshop painting, 3D modeling, Compositing, or just plain old art skills (anatomy, proportion, perspective, materials).

I would say that it would be very hard to get a job if you are self-taught unles you are like a genius. Even basic things like putting together a portfolio (as well as a majority of the things that you would PUT into one) will come out of college.

Do you sit around all day drawing environments, characters, and vehicles with a decent amount of realism and with digital and traditional media, all in a small amount of time? Well then you might be able to hack it. But remember this, even a community college degree shows an employer that you have the drive and are responsible enough to finish 4 years (or more) or school. Soemone who hasn't done that may cave under the pressure of jumping into an intense 9-5 in the industry. Just my .02 cents

[MisterE]

Sorry for the long post, I hope this helps.

I have been working in the game industry for a little over 3 years, I have no degree but I spent all my life working towards getting to this point. I spent about a year and a half working on a 3D demo reel. Although I do some conceptual art at work I spend most of my time working in 3D Studio Max, I think it has made me more marketable.

I have constently read interviews from producers or directors (in the past) where they say that a formal education is not important and they really look for talent. This is true, the person with the most talent wins.

However, if you are just starting out, and you are not a master artist (I mean a true master with credentials to prove it from the art world) it is extreemly unlikely that you will hit your dream job at Epic, Sammy, Sony, Lucas, ILM, Dreamworks, or any of the big names. Start small and realistic for a studio that will be more likely to pick you because they can afford a young (cheap) talent, build your portfolio there, once you have titles under your belt you can make attempts to move to bigger studios. Although you should send your portfolio to any studio you like, occasionaly you can get feedback on what you need to improve on. Who knows maybe you will get lucky:)

Another thought, almost every studio big or small will try to take advantage of the fact that you don't have a degree. I once had a studio come right out and say "we all like your work but the fact that you don't have a four year degree bothers us, I don't think we can pay you what you are asking." the pay I was asking for was reasonable for CA standards of living. Thats just part of the game though. Make sure you make enough to live, check cost of living of the area.

I will give a little critique on your work as well (hope you don't mind)

If you are going to use your website as a portfolio, which is always a good idea, then you may want the home page to be more descriptive. Seriously. I have a friend who got so fed up with HR people and art directors not knowing how to navigate his fairly straight forward page that he put in big bold letters on his home page instructions on how to use a web page. You would think that in this industry people would get it but why take the chance.

As far as the art goes:

I like it, but a lot of it looks unpolished, or unfinished. Most companies who hire conceptual artists look for a variety of skills such as characters and environments, line work and color. Not all but most. You hear it alot on these forums. "draw from life" it will help alot. I think you need to work on your stuff, and get a more fluid line. the kitties picture has better line weight then the rest. Be honest with yourself.

Don't take the critique to hard, these are the same things I tell myself. You need to hold yourself up against the best of the best artists, they are the ones who are getting the good jobs and its for a reason. Keep working and you will get there. Don't not apply because I gave a harsh critique, just be realistic with the companies you choose to submit to. There are some very good artist (better than either of us) who can't land that dream job so don't let that frustrate you.

One last thing, don't discount school entirely, I may still go, there is a lot to learn from the right teachers.

whew, nuf said.

J

[The Supreme Um]

thanks you guys, that helps a lot. Heh. yah. maybe in 30 years or so I may try for Gnomon, but who knows.