being lead artist...what does it take?

[Snowfly]

it seems i'm being groomed for the role at work, but i'm afraid of damaging my relationship with my colleagues by art directing them too heavily. what's more, a few of them are lacking in some fundamental drawing skills, but i'm not sure how to help them improve without stepping on their egos... anyone got any tips?

[Seedling]

Artist egos are a pain to work with. You have to break them down and build them up again. In other words, don’t let them get away with having weaknesses in their work or work habits. Point out what they need to improve at, but temper that with recognition of what they are good at. Show them where to grow, and also make sure that they feel needed.

You can practice by critiquing work here in the critique center.

What sort of team are you working with?

[Puck]

I think that the same skills that apply to critiques apply to art directing; Be polite but resolute. Don't 'hint' at things you'd like to see improved, say it out right, and be consistent your honesty so people don't think your meaning more than you say.

And when you get excuses because they still consider you a peer and not a lead, take the time to do a paint over and show them how you want it.
If you tip toe around egos it will just lead to a muddy dogs-breakfast of artistic vision.

And if all else fails you can scream "I'M THE LEAD NOW DO WHAT I SAY!!! I TOLD YOU TO MAKE IT APPEALING AND GIVE IT MORE ZING!" while ripping up their recent WIP submission.

[NoSeRider]

I've only done this once.....and that was enough for me, but I actually compared my drawing ability to somebody in the industry. He got wind of it.

I only said, 'lessor ability' then mine. I didn't get anymore elaborate then that. It was just a compare and contrast thing. You judge for yourself. Well, he has hardly any life drawing training and his perspective drawings all seem off.

Keep in mind he's already in the industry and I'm not....he went off on me. It must have been true, otherwise he wouldn't have gone off on me. I was perceived as a threat. You also have to keep in mind you're dealing with people's livelihoods too. Plus, they probably already think they're good enough already because they got the 'job'.......but they never take into account that they probably weren't hired by artists to begin with.

Basically, you're in a role of authority now. So, you have the opportunity to direct what you want with your team, or simply accept their ability and hope they can step up to the plate.........if they have no fundamental drawing skills....that's gonna be hard.

Then you have to go back to the 'you're dealing with people's livelihoods' thing. You're dealing with 'your' livelihood too. If you're being groomed for management position, then 'they're' probably going to make you do some hard choices. As long as you're not arrogant and mean spirited, I guess all you can do is be fair, honest and objective. As long as you do that, I believe people will respect you for that in the long run.

As long as you justify your opinions with facts rather then feelings, I don't think they can argue with you.

[Seedling]

Ooh, another thought for you, Snowfly.

A common problem with art directors or art leads is that they have a tendency to go through this thought process: “I am the lead artist/art director/grand poobah. Therefore my art must be superior to that of the staff artists/interns/newer employees and I have nothing to learn from them.” Whatever you do, do not fall into this trap. I can’t begin to express how frustrating and demoralizing it is to have to fight your own boss’s ego. Assume that your underlings know *more* than you in their specific areas of expertise.

[Inkaspies_Studios]

I just had my first experience working under an art director at a newspaper. It was deffinately an awakening experience because directors are not professors... they are artists who've made it to a top position for whatever reason luck, talent, slept with the boss, hard work... whatever...

This AD in particular has been in the business for 20-30years... excellent at what he does but seemed absent minded... he was content to just work on his illustrations it seemed and not be bothered with the team.

I know I'm newbie, but doesn't AD mean your responsable for more than just your own @#*!... how do you work with the AD's ego going in as the newbie artist?

[Justin.]

No offense Noserider, but I got a really arrogant air from your post, and I have from alot of your posts... Maybe it isn't so much what you said that set him off, but how you said it.

Just a thought.

(Sort of hypocritical, I get an arrogant sense from my own posts o_o)

[NoSeRider]

No offense, but you're arrogant?

Honesty is often confused with arrogance. If you go to an art class the 1st thing they try to in force in you is to be honest with not only yourself, but with others.

I've delt with 'brutal' honesty all my life.....people telling me I'm inadequate one way or another, either as an artist or a as person. If there's another way to approach honesty, then somebody is going to have to teach me by example, because I must have been given bad examples of behavior.

Basically, I've been dealing with overly competitive people all my life....and overly competitive people seem arrogant to me.

[Seedling]

I just had my first experience working under an art director at a newspaper. It was deffinately an awakening experience because directors are not professors... they are artists who've made it to a top position for whatever reason luck, talent, slept with the boss, hard work... whatever...

This AD in particular has been in the business for 20-30years... excellent at what he does but seemed absent minded... he was content to just work on his illustrations it seemed and not be bothered with the team.

I know I'm newbie, but doesn't AD mean your responsable for more than just your own @#*!... how do you work with the AD's ego going in as the newbie artist?

Two things: it is possible to have a bad art director. (Sounds like you may have had one of those.) And one does not need be the best artist to be an art director. In fact, since most of an art director’s time is usually spent overseeing art production by others, it’s actually silly to have the team’s best artist on the team in the position of art director. The best artist should be a staff artist or lead artist, so that his time isn’t wasted on making schedules and making high-level decisions.

A good lead artist has a mix of art and management skills. She has to be comfortable leaving the details to others, scheduling, mediating, working with artists and non-artists to get the best possible results from them, communicating between artists and non-artists and coordinating their efforts, and understanding the project as an aesthetic and technical whole.

My husband is an example of an art director who has never been an artist. He went from being a technical artist (which is a whole ‘nother can of worms) to being an art director for a year.

I can’t think of any good advice for dealing with a bad art director, other than “hang in there”. If you stay at a company for a significant amount of time, you will find yourself with more say in who your boss is. When you are in a more long-term position, you can talk to your boss’s boss, along with other people around the company who can help to get your boss to shape up or ship out.

[Seedling]

I've only done this once.....and that was enough for me, but I actually compared my drawing ability to somebody in the industry. He got wind of it.

I only said, 'lessor ability' then mine. I didn't get anymore elaborate then that. It was just a compare and contrast thing.

Hmm. Either you made a single faux pas right under the nose of the person you were talking about, and he was insecure enough to overreact to it, which is a possibility (albeit a slim one) or you aren’t telling the whole story or you aren’t aware of the whole story. Perhaps you could have been more diplomatic in whatever it was you said? Or perhaps you make more of a habit of rudeness than you are aware, and he took you to task for it? Perhaps your comment was personal enough in nature that he was obligated to defend himself?

It is possible for one to be honest and arrogant at the same time. Sometimes you have to keep your honest opinions to yourself, if you can’t figure out how to utter them with diplomacy, whether in a critique situation, or just in conversation.

At any rate, getting scolded for uttering an honest opinion has little to do with art direction, other than being an example of what happens when you give botched feedback. When you give a professional critique, you need to explain why something is or isn’t working, and be able to suggest how to fix it. It isn’t adequate or appropriate to merely state that “this isn’t good enough” or “you have less ability than I do”.

[NoSeRider]

OK, well I didn't want to explain myself at such detailed level, but basically I sent a private email trying to evaluate my ability. I keep seeing people get into the Game Industry that lack figure invention abilities and I was wondering what is required to enter the game industry.

I did a compare and contrast and said lessor ability.....that's all. Very cut and dry.

That email was spread around.

It seems to me people are not only arrogant but malicious too.

There's politics in the game industry. Don't let people fool you. It seems not only is it about merit of ability but allegiance as well.

it seems i'm being groomed for the role at work, but i'm afraid of damaging my relationship with my colleagues by art directing them too heavily. what's more, a few of them are lacking in some fundamental drawing skills, but i'm not sure how to help them improve without stepping on their egos... anyone got any tips?

http://www.thejonjones.com
It seems to me I'm more insecure then arrogant. Read this site for awhile if you don't believe me:

[dbclemons]

The Art Lead responsibilities are not necessarily the same as Director, usually a notch below in the pecking order, but it can depend on your company organization; sometimes they can be the same person. Generally speaking, they've got the responsibility of leading the art team through the project to stay true to the direction and quality set by the AD, and make sure they all hit milestone schedules.

As for management skills, that goes beyond the artwork itself. From a basic point of view, all team members have to carry their weight. If anyone is struggling with their assignment, you should be there to help them as much as you can, but they have to be clear what is expected of them, and what has to be done to maintain it. You can't carry the load for them, but you also can only produce results with what you have.

Find a balance between not being an a-hole and not being wishy-washy, :P and treat them like adults and professionals.

[Mike Dutton]

OK, well I didn't want to explain myself at such detailed level, but basically I sent a private email trying to evaluate my ability. I keep seeing people get into the Game Industry that lack figure invention abilities and I was wondering what is required to enter the game industry.

That has nothing to do with critique. It's tearing other people down to build your self up. Period. While you may be speaking your mind and being honest, you're also taking the merit out of what other people have worked very hard to achieve thus far, skill levels aside.
Your work needs to speak for itself 100%, regardless of what else is out there or what may be turning people on at the moment, stylistically or what have you. On top of that, your attitude needs to speak another 100%, and if it's currently one that's bashing your potential colleagues, then I'd say you need to check your own malicious behavior rather than whoever it was that spread around that email. We definitely have our opinions, man, don't get me wrong. I get burned in plenty of situations. But a positive attitude will go a long way in making sure that isn't always the case.

[NoSeRider]

On top of that, your attitude needs to speak another 100%, and if it's currently one that's bashing your potential colleagues, then I'd say you need to check your own malicious behavior rather than whoever it was that spread around that email.

Well, that's what I have to work on. Keep in mind I'm well aware that I'm exhibiting my flaws......that's hardly the demeanor of being arrogant......you may even construed that even saying that I can exibit 'my' flaws is arrogant?......jeez, it's an out of control spiral.

[Seedling]

Hey Nose, you seem to be getting a mite punchy. . . Mike didn’t call you arrogant. He said you had exhibited malicious behavior, which I agree with. In any industry you just don’t say bad stuff about your coworkers or potential coworkers. There are professionally safer ways of evaluating your own level, but you chose to name someone specifically and say things intended to make them seem lower on the totem pole than you, that just isn’t nice. You got caught, and you got yelled at; that’s the consequence. Move on and for your own sanity and future employment opportunities don’t make the same mistake again.

About failing to get a job in the games industry. . . there are loads of reasons why one person gets picked for a job over another. Raw skill is only one thing evaluated in a potential employee. Other contributing factors: who else is applying for the position? Which of the applicants would be a better personality match with the team? Have you demonstrated a willingness to learn and adapt to what the team needs of you? Are they looking for someone with a wider or a different array of skills? Can you work fast enough to suit the team’s needs? Can they afford you? Does the team have a preference for hiring people who live nearby? Have you demonstrated in your portfolio that you are capable of matching the art style of the team? Have you demonstrated an array of subject matter in your portfolio that shows you can do everything that the team will need you to do? Are you searching for a job that currently has a large pool of competitive applicants, and if so, what differentiates those who get the jobs from those who don’t?

Keep reevaluating yourself and your art, and do your best to make yourself a better potential employee in whatever manner you can. Then, cross your fingers and try again. Don’t let rejections get you down, and don’t get frustrated or angry when someone else gets a job and you can’t see why, because there are so many other factors involved. Just assume they had something the company was looking for, and move on.

[Mike Dutton]

I think he may have been acknowledging his issue is all. But yeah Nose, definitely take control of that spiral. :)

And Seedling, I've enjoyed reading what you have to say on the thread topic as a whole.

[Thaelys]

I've been working in the interactive media industry for about 8 years now, under 4 different art directors. Each was different. The best one in my opinion was a guy that managed to keep communication with his staff very objective and client/project focused.

An example of something critical he'd say is "This design element here fails. You put too much emphasis on it, distracting the user from this area. Revisit it, and I will need it in 2 hours." Then he'd walk away and hit his spreadsheet. Yep it sounds harsh, but he used the term failure in a manner that sort of nullified the personal connotation and kept it to the work at hand. Very rarely was he vauge about things. Short, sharp and simple.

His praise was conservative, "That works. I'll post it to the content development people. Move on to the next section." Before he worked as an AD at a catalogue house. It took me a couple of years to appreciate his pragmatism, but it taught me alot about the nature of a commercial art career.