Zilant
June 16th, 2007, 01:18 PM
I'm a wee bit perplexed.
In the next few months, I'm trying to assemble two portfolios, one for Concept Art, one for Animation. I hope to work in videogames.
One area of this whole process is making me scratch my head, the idea of Specialist vs. Generalist.
I know my professors, and a handful of google'd portfolio advice columns, say companies hire Specialists.
I understand that to the point I'm making two different portfolios each in a specific feild. But as I do more research into the industry, especially though helpful sites such as this, what amorphous glimmers I get into the inner workings of a videogame office floor seems to point to people being used in a Generalist kind of way. To the point someone (seedling?) said smaller companies don't even have a full-time Concept Artist position.
Even moreso,
I hear people saying Concept Art Portfolios should have a defined and consistent style. But then again, in practice, doesn't a concept artist stylistically work to the will of the Art Director? My first instinct would be to include a wide variety of styles just to prove I could adapt.
The Portfolio advice I'm getting seems so at odds with how things appear to be behind the scenes. I don't want to keep moving forward with portfolio construction if I'm moving in the entirely wrong direction. Am I getting less-than-fantastic advice? am I getting advice for the wrong feild? am I royally off-base on how things actually function? or is there some deeper reasoning at work here I just haven't grasped?
In the next few months, I'm trying to assemble two portfolios, one for Concept Art, one for Animation. I hope to work in videogames.
One area of this whole process is making me scratch my head, the idea of Specialist vs. Generalist.
I know my professors, and a handful of google'd portfolio advice columns, say companies hire Specialists.
I understand that to the point I'm making two different portfolios each in a specific feild. But as I do more research into the industry, especially though helpful sites such as this, what amorphous glimmers I get into the inner workings of a videogame office floor seems to point to people being used in a Generalist kind of way. To the point someone (seedling?) said smaller companies don't even have a full-time Concept Artist position.
Even moreso,
I hear people saying Concept Art Portfolios should have a defined and consistent style. But then again, in practice, doesn't a concept artist stylistically work to the will of the Art Director? My first instinct would be to include a wide variety of styles just to prove I could adapt.
The Portfolio advice I'm getting seems so at odds with how things appear to be behind the scenes. I don't want to keep moving forward with portfolio construction if I'm moving in the entirely wrong direction. Am I getting less-than-fantastic advice? am I getting advice for the wrong feild? am I royally off-base on how things actually function? or is there some deeper reasoning at work here I just haven't grasped?