joe randel's art dump

I received a note asking for some advice in working in the games industry.  I though about it and wrote down all I could think of that I’ve discovered in my career.  I liked it so much that I though I would share it with the rest of the world…  ^_^

I’ll tell you this about the game industry, it can be a tough job so make sure that you want to do it, and be prepared to work on games that you might not want to be a part of, it’s all a part of the industry.  You have to cut your teeth on the crappy stuff before you can be a part of the larger projects.  Be patient and don’t let issues with your current project eat at you.  Talk to your producer, talk to your studio director about what’s on your mind.  That’s what they are there for.  Push forward.  Never settle for being a grunt worker.  Learn all you can with in your studio and listen to what people say and keep that info in the back of your head, it will come in handy later.  Ask questions, ask all the questions you can.  If something doesn’t make sense, bring it up to your producer or at a meeting and then try to be proactive in solving it.  Have fun… your making games.  Play games, good ones and bad ones.  Especially bad ones.  You’ll learn so much from others mistakes.  Be your biggest critic but never trash your work.  Always know you can do better and then push to be better.  Don’t be afraid to walk away from your current studio to go to a better one.  Being too dedicated to your studio can kill you and your career.  Learn 3D.  Being 2D we have an advantage to learn 3D and then play for both teams because not all dedicated 3D people can draw.  Study design and layout, not only in games but in photography.  It will help you balance out your interface design.  Be comfortable with interface design.  Don’t be afraid to start over if it isn’t working.  Learn to paint.  Learn good colour theory.  Learn how light and colour effects moods and direction.  Push your ideas/animations/designs further then you normally would because you can always bring your ideas back if they go too far, but you’ll never know far they can go if you don’t take them there.  Finally, a good resume should only have 10 pieces of art.  5 pages or good life drawing, 3 design or work related pieces and 2 pieces of your fun work.  No anthro or goth/skull pieces should be in your portfolio.

I think that’s about it.  If any one has any other questions feel free to ask.

^_^